Daily life on the front would vary depending on which area the soldiers were fighting in as well as whether their unit was currently actively engaged in combat or had been rotated out.
Often soldiers would be sent care packages by family members or members of local communities. The luxuries contained within were often shared with their comrades and made life on the front more bearable. However, soldiers were prohibited from sending packages back home and could only send letters.
Letters home
A snapshot of life on the front line can be seen through these letters which discuss some of their daily activities. Letters home frequently included details of recent events, records of gifts received and rough locations of where the writer was. Some were accompanied by detailed drawings.
Sometimes soldiers would only be allowed to send postcards and these were frequently censored; they could only select from a group of predetermined phrases and any attempts to add further writing would result in the postcard being destroyed.
Diaries
Other soldiers kept diaries recording their experiences and any events which they found particularly noteworthy. Most of these were written during the war but some are closer to memoirs and were composed later. William Lockhart enhanced his diary by adding a detailed map of Europe and western Asia showing the route that he took.
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