'in 10th Avenue. Philosophe', 1916

Pen and ink drawing on paper by Paul Sarrut (1882-1969), dated 25 July 1916.

Paul Sarrut served in the French Army during World War One (1914-1918) and was posted to the British Army as a Military Liaison Officer and interpreter for the French, Indian and British troops on the Western Front.

A thoughtful British soldier leans against a trench wall with his rifle close at hand. '10th Avenue' was the nickname of a trench in the Vermelles area, in the Pas de Calais. Philosophe, near Marzingarbe, is now the site of a British war cemetery.

After the War, Sarrut had a selection of his drawings engraved and issued as a portfolio, 'British and Indian Troops in Northern France, 70 War Sketches, 1914-1915', published by H Delépine of Arras, France, in about 1919.