This trench newspaper cartoon lampoons a malingering soldier. The Medical Officer tells the soldier that he is suffering from an attack of "Swingingtheleaditous." "Lead swinging" was a popular term for malingering, or pretending to be sick to get out of duty. Self-inflicted wounds and malingering soldiers remained a popular source of humour in cartoons throughout the First World War, attesting to the soldiers' dark humour and flair for anti-authoritarian jokes.
The Listening Post, No. 27, 10 Aug 1917, p. 30
Hartland-Molson Library Collection
RARE PER D 501 L578
Canada and the First World War
