Prostitution and wars often go hand-in-hand. But this is perhaps most true of the First World War, where even the French government had a hand in the sex industry – a legacy that continued almost to this day.
“You could find anything you wanted in the brothels in the surrounding area and at the camps. It was a mêlée, a hard, dangerous and disgusting business. 50, 60, up to 100 men of all colours and races to see every day, all under the constant threat of air raids and bombardments.”
Those were the words of Dr Léon Bizard in his memoires of the First World War. He was describing the daily routine of a hidden army operating in the shadows of the one fighting on the front lines - the thousands of sex workers that catered to the soldiers of the Great War.
‘Where there are soldiers, pimps quickly follow’
Prostitution flourished from the moment fighting began in the summer of 1914 – supply rising to meet the demand of soldiers who, far from their families and plunged into the hell of war, found themselves in need of female companionship. From News 24
Val says When I think of the first world war I think only of the trenches, never thinking there would be such opportunities to "get your leg over" Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
