Adam's character was an ordinary working-class Nottingham bloke in the Trenches. His greatcoat was a bit tight around the middle because he'd been getting better food in the Army than he'd ever had in his life; and although he'd seen some terrible things, he kept his spirits up with a song and a drink. But on the Somme he was also coming into contact with types of people he'd never met before - not just the posh officers, but also soldiers from all over the Empire. He told us about the Indian soldiers, who were often ill-equipped with outdated rifles and no grtenades, but who made improvised grenades out of jam tins; and the men from the Caribbean he met on the front line; and the way that, in the heat of battle, many soldiers said that for a moment they felt they were all the same.The performance got the audience joking along with Adam; but it also hinted at the fear and hardship behind our Tommy's cheery exterior. Many of the elders in the audience had lived through WW2, so they knew all about that - although WW2 was 20 years later, many of the feelings were similar. Access Artefacts' collection of objects brought 1914 to life for people - there is something about handling an object from the time that makes that time seem real.
Adam's next performances are:
- Mon 3rd November, 1.30pm, at Edwards Lane Community Centre, and
- Tues 11th November, 1.30pm, at the Chase Centre in St Anns.