Weird War One: Intriguing Items and Fascinating Feats from the First World War

“Friendly Aliens and the British Army.” “The Women Versus the Submarine.” These strange scenarios may seem to come to us straight from science fiction, but both were in fact bold and attention—getting slogans to encourage support for British involvement in the Great War. And bizarre propaganda posters are by no means the only curious or confusing memorabilia from the war. There are also pigeon parachutes, military—grade fly swatters, and tickle sticks.

For Weird War One, Peter Taylor has s...