Little Known Incidents of WWII (No 5) - Friends Reunited

 

This is the closing frame of the story 'Fight To Survive' published by War Picture Library. It's a good example of the quality of some of the movie-like images produced for these series. The lone figure gazing out over the desert waste while his men relax and gossip about him makes a striking scene.  

The soldiers shown are 'Desert Rats' from the British 8th Army and in my youth I was in love with the lot of them, not least for their sexy attire for going into battle - rolled up sleeves and shorts that reveal chunky legs. There's a simmering sexuality even in this innocuous grouping that I still can't resist. The Sergeant's hinted-at relationship with 'Farren' is even more interesting, enough to get my Gaydar humming!

 

This frame explains the relationship between The Sergeant, Lister (centre) and Farren (left). The third man on the right is supposed to be Lister's younger brother, Eddie ('the kid'). We' can raise eyebrows about 'closest friends' but all seems perfectly straight here, in this era the dialogue is not going to say anything else anyway.

However the way this picture is drawn conveys a rather different impression. Eddie is supposed to be on his bike and raring to go, but the artist didn't have to represent him in this scene by just showing his jeans-clad bottom did he? Nor did he have to show his brother's hands apparently poised to rub said bottom with an oily rag - while his best friend seemingly holds the lads legs apart.
All just coincidence? Or is this a particularly audacious case of hidden eroticism?

Tommy Farren and Eddie roar off together showing their bottoms like Tom of Finland bikers.
Alas it's a ride from which Eddie will never return.

The characterisation of Lister here is quite deliberately sexy with hints of hair on chin and neck and his mechanic's overalls showing just enough chest to suggest he's wearing nothing underneath.
Notice though that his chest cleavage is censored.

Lister blames his friend, Tommy for Eddie's demise, 

because he had failed to fix a defective part on the lad's motorcycle. 

Manly fist fights are a regular feature of these stories just as they were in many dramatic TV programmes and films of the period. Usually in War Comics it's a feed for a morality plot line about the benefits army discipline and becoming mature, but in this story the confrontation shown here is a key part of the plot. 

This sideways-on depiction of a fight is unusual and slightly two dimensional, but it creates a nice picture with two powerful diagonals meshing together (Farren's body and Lister's arm). They combine with the horizontal lines in the fence to create an arrow-like shaping which seems to emphasise the force of Lister's punch. 

Fights have an intrinsic, homoerotic quality for many and gay sensibilities will appreciate Farren's backward-arching body line and the close proximity of Lister's elbow to his crotch (bottom right). This is a juxtaposition that wouldn't be visible in the more usual 3/4 viewpoint but I don't want over-state my case here by suggesting it's deliberate!.  

After their falling out, Farren and Lister go their separate ways and only meet up again many years later when they are assigned to the same tank unit, with the now-Sergeant Lister in command. Lister's hostility remains implacable and this image captures a spat between the two men which you might easily mistake for a lover's quarrel from the words. Note the bewildered expression of the 3rd crewman on the left. 

This is another terrific image with the handsome Farren showing his own open neck-line and muscular forearms for our enjoyment. More seriously the artist has created a tremendous sense of him escaping through the hatch, out of the poisonous, claustrophobic atmosphere of the tank.

Lister tries to get Farren assigned to someone else but when questioned is unwilling to explain why.

It's a stance not easy to believe in the context of this story line, when all he has to say is that he believes Farren was responsible for Eddies death. 

However, 'I'd rather not say' however is a classic phrase for a gay story line, especially in this military context when an allegation would result in arrest and, if proven, a long term of imprisonment.  Lister's shamed, evasive face as he makes his excuse is not what you would expect either, but nicely done.

Eventually Lister's crew have their tank destroyed by the enemy and are forced to trek across the desert to safety. This is a classic 50's story line from the movies with antagonists forced to confront their behaviour in a survival march context. When the water runs out, Lister's former feelings for Farren (whatever they were) begin to return, assisted by his soldierly duty to care for the men in his command and, like a true Brit, to behave honourably. 

Sadly the artist's accomplished technique seems to falter at this moving movement. You can see that he's trying to capture the drama by using a intimate close-up, but the result is not quite as beautiful as some of the other images and there's some clumsy detail. 

Nevertheless, notice how close together the two men's heads are, almost poised for a kiss?.

Finally, only Lister and Farren are left alive. In a delirious state, Farren finally reveals what actually happened to Eddie, an explanation that would not have been believed if he had offered it in a fully conscious state. Lister realises he has been wrong about his former friend all along. That night Farren wanders off into the desert like Captain Oates in order to give Lister a better chance of reaching safety, unburdened by a sick man. Lister loyally goes out looking for him but in vain and is finally found unconscious by a passing patrol.

When he eventually returns to his unit (see first image) he has a lot to think about.

This is a good story (if not totally original), but played out by a pair of hunky men in shorts and boots and tattered shirts (exemplified by this last picture) it is irresistible to me. Romantic more than erotic I suppose and it works well even if you don't buy into my supposed gay subtext.

Read my gay re-interpretation of this story