The Wipers Times was produced for WW1 troops in their stinking trenches, in constant fear of death but also under martial law where cowardice - widely interpreted - was punishable by death. As was mutiny or insubordination. It was a life or death struggle, with a rigid hierarchy of command where all was sacrificed to victory, where a horse was more valuable than soldier they cost more in transport and upkeep.
Troop morale however was vital so that they would continue to be willing to fight and die. How to achieve improved morale was the question In these harshest of conditions with the narrowest of focus - victory whatever it cost - it is inconceivable that, as portrayed in the film, two officers would be allowed to distribute an under the counter satirical publication lampooning senior officers etc without it being first intensely scrutinised, discussed then officially sanctioned.
What was unusual was that there was a senior officer able to understand its contribution to morale and willing and able to convince his superiors of what was a very risky enterprise. In the film all the Stephen Fry character is required to possess is a robust sense of humour. I believe the two officers combined this with their normal duties. If, as in this film, they appeared to have chosen a soft option, or pushed themselves forward, troops who had no such choices would have strongly resented it.
Contrary to the film, The Wipers Times did not make celebrities of the two officers, instead it promoted modest but authentic contributions from ordinary soldiers and thus appeared to be the voice of the ordinary soldier - which in reality it was not. Any hint of condescension or aloofness by these two officers - as appears in the film where one casually mocks the social ignorance of a lower rank - might have been, possibly literally, fatal for them.
Contrary to the film and verifying its central misconception, the two officers were neither punished nor discriminated against after the war both had MCs. They had done their duty and more. The troops had fought and died and none had mutinied. The Wipers Times had fulfilled its officially sanctioned purpose - but it had brought happiness, laughter and an easing of the burden along the way.
Ian Hislop is a good popular historian of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It seems he was seduced by the enobling heroic notion that his comfortable late 20th Century satire had its ancestry in the horrors of the WW1 trenches and those two self-effacing officers. The film turned these two men into Private Eye in khaki, worse still, the characters were portrayed as attractive and professional entertainers.
Such an idea worked in Oh What a Lovely War. It doesn't work here which cries out for a realistic treatment of a true and important story, giving some idea of the actual characters of these two officers. For all its production values, it is awful. Details Edit. Release date September 11, United Kingdom. United Kingdom. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 1 hour 32 minutes.
There are no results. Enter your keywords. The Great War. The Road to the battlefield The Menin Road had a special significance for the troops: it was the road that would lead thousands of soldiers to the part of the Front called the Ypres Salient - many destined never to return- as mentioned in The Wipers Times.
Join the Last Post , every night at 8pm. Ypres or Wipers? Stay up to date Contact us Press and News. Many trench journals shared the satirical focus of The Wipers Times but on occasion there was opportunity for some more poignant and direct messages. The Hun has of course little or no morale. His officers are animated by low and brutal hate, his men are driven by these as sheep to the slaughter…Different entirely from the fine clear sighted patriotism that sends our own men dashing into the hail of German lead.
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