The making of crucifixes provides comfort to two distinctly different groups of people. Firstly they were made by the men in trenches and seen as a protective force, something to grip tightly as you stand on the fire-step waiting for the whistles or to listen to your fears in the dead of night. These examples are often crafted from lead, from crossed strips of copper drive bands or flat brass crosses set atop a bullet.
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The second group of people to whom crucifixes appeal were the battlefield tourists of the 1920’s - visiting France to see the grave of lost loved ones, what better souvenir than a crucifix made from the detritus of war.
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Clearly crucifixes from the second group are much more common, and more commercially appealing, the former tending to be fairly crudely made, however the soldier-made crosses simply ooze feeling and emotion that are distinctly lacking from the commercial versions.
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