Say Cheese!

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This image of smiling Canadian and Japanese soldiers dates to the First World War and was probably published in July 1916 as the caption for what was originally a black and white postcard reads, "The Jap 'entente' after the Big Push". The words "Canadian Official" appear to the bottom right of the card. Three of the men wear bandages around their heads and the two bandaged Canadians standing front right also each have an arm in a sling. Despite this, all the men seem to be remarkably cheerful. 

The men's smiling faces also reveal, unwittingly, the shocking state of their dental health. The man standing second right appears to have no teeth, whilst the Japanese soldier far left, and the Canadian far right both exhibit poor dental hygiene. Dental caries was a concern for the British army and it was not uncommon for men to be rejected for the army on the grounds of bad teeth. This lead to at least one disgruntled would-be soldier to moan, "I don't want to bite the Germans, I want to shoot them."

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