The football team of the Third Army Trench Mortar School pose for a group photograph in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise close to the Western Front, May 1917. The soldiers have been kitted out with matching kits of long sleeve tops, knee high socks, boots and shorts for their team picture
The horrors of World War I are not easy to forget but these stunning pictures show just how important sport was to boosting the morale of soldiers.
These black-and-white images provide an insight into the role that sport played in helping troops cope with the difficulties of war while they play a game of football or cricket.
Other striking images show how British soldiers enjoy a swim near Aveluy Wood in 1916 - where the Battle of the Somme which killed more than more than one million people took place just months later.
A British general is about to kick off a friendly football match between the British and Italian troops on the Italian Front in 1917. A few soldiers can be seen dotted around just above the pitch, looking over onto the muddy field as the game is about to kick off
Two football players battle for control in match between the 1/7th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment and the 1/7th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, as dozens of soldiers scramble to get a view of the action on the Italian Front, Trissino, Italy, 1918
The famous football game between British and German forces on Christmas Day 1914 in 'no man's land' is one of the key events which help encapsulate the importance of sport on both sides.
Sport was used by soldiers to help pass time and boost morale, an attempt to try to take their minds off the death and destruction around them.
Even when organised on an adhoc basis, sports helped provided a much needed distraction as well as helping to keep them fit for the rigours of combat.
Men of the 9th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, playing rugby in France, August 1917. One of the men is jumping through the air while others wait to try and catch him. The men are all wearing a similar uniform, consisting of a shirt, patterned kilts, knee high boots and a thick belt
It was not only British troops which enjoyed sports, as Australian soldiers pictured here play rugby on a large, open field in Barleux, France. In between the two men on the far left of this picture, an animal appears undetered while the men play their game with the makeshift ball
The games played by soldiers also reduced the level of discipline within the military ranks, providing some much needed relief.
And with troops from the US joining the war in 1917, it helped introduce other Allied nations to sports such as basketball.
Sport provided momentary relief to the brave soldiers, with the true nature of war not very far away.
A boxing match taking place between British troops at Mont St. Eloi, France, as dozens of soldiers in attendance look on. The shirtless men are even given proper boxing gloves for their bout in a makeshift ring with ropes and corners
These smiling group of soldiers from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry play a game cricket in Salonika, Greece. A wicket has also been made and the man who is batting is kitted out with a bat and shin guards. All four of the men are wearing their caps during the game
British Army troops play a football match on Christmas Day in Greece in 1915. Sports gave soldiers a chance to work on their teamwork and bond in the most hostile of atmospheres. The troops are all still wearing their army-issued military uniforms. Four of the group go up to head the ball as the other soldiers wait for it to be passed to them
A football match between officers and other ranks being played out in Salonika, Greece, Christmas Day, 1915. One of the troops shapes his body to shoot at the goal while the goalkeeper starts to dive to his left in a bid to stop a goal
A soldier heads a ball towards the makeshift net during an inter-company football match on the Balkan Front on Christmas Day, 1916. One man near the goal, most likely the goalkeeper, looks on at the ball and tries to run towards it from his starting position
Cricket was also played by troops in Salonika, Greece, as this picture from 1916 shows. Soldiers even had shin pads and a wicket for their game. From the picture, the batsman appears to have hit the ball high in the air and four of the fielders rush towards the ball to try to catch it
Among the devastation of war, officers of the 27th Division play badminton in a village in Salonika, Greece, using a makeshift net. The house in the image is surrounded by wasteland, probably from the war campaign around them. Two of the troops take aim at the same shuttlecock
A camel race involving British troops on Christmas Day, 1917, held at Sheikh Othman, in modern day Yemen. Dozens of men on their camels take part in the race as a crowd in the distance looks on. The war spread throughout most of Europe and spilled over into the Middle East as well as Africa
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