WWI Postcard

Here's a postcard I picked up today.
Army field post cancel (British I think) April 17, 1915.
The card reads:

17.4.15
We had similar shacks in a wood near our trenches, but not quite so elaborate in the way of windows. They'll make good curios when the war is over.
Having a glorious time
From Bertie
"Somewhere in France"
H. Turner Lieut.

Addressed to Mr S. Turner
Belfast Ireland

I have inherited a lot of these type of postcards, a handful sent, but a large number unwritten. I have many that show bomb damage of buldings and villages, or everyday scenes of army life, like the one you show here. It seemed to me that they had been printed in large numbers specifically for soldiers.
They came from my Great Grandfather, who had brought them home and put them in an album. It always seemed odd to me, almost as if the scenes of war were part of a strange sightseeing tour.
But I think that is just because I am looking at them with modern eyes nearly 100 years later. Now soldiers have access to phones to call home, digital cameras, and the internet to email, blog and facebook. I suppose these postcards were the equivalent.

"Having a glorious time" is a rather peculiar comment to make. From all of my reading, and it is very extensive, on WWI, there was nothing glorious about the trenches. They were miserable death-ridden hell holes.

You don't suppose Lieutenant Turner was speaking ironically, do you?

Perhaps he was having an unusually good day.

Great postcard

I too thought I noticed sarcasm with the 'having a glorious time' notation.

These particular cards were printed by the 1000s of different types. I have one complete booklet of these I bought at an antique show some years ago.These particular cards are a great source for FPO and APO collectors.

Chimo

Bujutsu

Though my field is Br. FPOs DC4, DC5, DM3 and DM4 datestamps used by Indian Army units in WW1, but I can tell that the Br. FPO 10 was located in Béthune area in France from January 22,1915 to May 9,1915, serving 10 Brigade of 4 Division.

The type CM3 triangular censor mark with No.512 was used from April 1915 to January 3,1916 by 1 Royal Irish Fusiliers Regiment under 10 Bde. 4 Div., which arrived in France on August 23,1914 in Boulogne-sur-Mer and in April 1915 it was deployed to fight in Battle of Ieper II.
On August 3,1917, the Bn was transferred to 36 (Ulster) Division and on 24 August to 107 Brigade.