Signallers were responsible for sending messages. In previous wars signallers communicated information by flags, lamps and heliographs. None of these methods could be used in trench warfare. Instead they used morse code and field telephones.

In the early part of the war, signallers began laying cables along the floor of trenches. When they discovered that the cables were constantly being broken by soldiers' boots, they attached the lines to the trench walls with staples. This was an improvement but they were still vulnerable to enemy shell-fire. It was therefore decided to bury the cables under the ground. Even when sheathed in steel and placed 3 ft. below the surface, cables could still be broken by a shell landing in the trench.

Signallers were trained to encode and decode messages. They also had the responsibility of repairing any damaged cable. As this usually happened during heavy bombardment, the casualty-rate amongst signallers was fairly high.

 

 

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