This week’s postcard is a rather fun little cartoon of a burly German soldier hiding in a barrel, with the caption ‘If der Wiltshire haf gone by, den I kan kom out’: 

This card is typical of those produced in the early days of the Great War poking fun at the supposed military prowess of the enemy. The card would most likely have been available with a wide range of different regiments names, so the sender could choose one that had some meaning to them- either they were sending it to a member of the regiment, or they were in the regiment and sending it home to a loved one.  

The Wiltshire Regiment started the Great War with two battalions, however over the course of the war this rose to ten, of which seven were to serve overseas. Nearly 5000 men of the regiment were to be killed over the course of the war and the regiment won 60 battle honours and a VC.