World War One Soldiers Swimming

Amidst all the misery and horror of World War One, it's always so nice to get glimpses of the breaks the troops got from all of it. In this post, photos of soldiers swimming, bathing, and/or playing (usually all three) in the water during WWI. They look like they consider it the best thing ever, which, in that period of their lives, it probably was. I'm glad they got it.

Note: Most of these fellows were not at all shy about stripping all their clothes off for a swim, so there is some nudity ahead!

© IWM (Q 19041)

British soldiers splashing in the water at Corfu. Source

© IWM (Q 25257)

British troops in the River Tigris, Baghdad, 1917. Source

© IWM (Q 54298)

Piggyback wading (location unspecified).Source

Press Photographers at Play

Leslie Jones was a Boston photojournalist, working for the Boston Herald for 39 years in the early to mid-twentieth century. He (and his friends) also really, wonderfully, liked taking silly pictures. 

Photos from 1920s-1950s, with more specific dates when noted. 

More of Jones' (serious) work here. 

Boston Public Library

Jones and a young fellow photographer in just a normal handshake, 1936. Source

Boston Public Library

Jones getting action with a mannequin, 1935. Source

Boston Public Library

Jones and pal posing for the camera. Source