'Ypres, Dec 1915 - Battn H.Q. Hill 60. Practically every unit had a Decca gramaphone'

Pen and ink and watercolour by Lieutenant Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly MBE, MC, RI (1896-1971), Royal Field Artillery, 1915.

Dugouts were protective holes dug into the sides of trenches. Some were used as mess rooms to eat in or for sleeping in. Although they were often cramped and dirty, officers and men tried to make them as comfortable as possible by adding features like bunk beds, tables, shelves and lamps.

As part of an 18-pounder gun battery crew, Talbot Kelly took part in many of the major offensives of the Western Front. He regularly served as a Forward Observation Officer, tasked with spotting where the artillery shells were landing. The unique vantage point of the battlefields that this job gave him, inspired him to draw his experiences.