A Farmer in the Trenches
In 1917, Australian trooper Samuel Rolfe, a farmer from Inverell, was exposed to mustard gas near Albert, France. The gas burned his skin, damaged his lungs, and left his body covered in painful blisters. Declared medically unfit, he was sent home, but the war stayed with him.
A Liquid Prison
At Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital, Rolfe spent nearly four years immersed in a bath of boric acid. The fluid soothed his pain slightly, but he could not leave. A screen surrounded the tub. Few visitors came. He spoke from behind the curtain, unseen and untouched.
The War After the War
Rolfe died in December 1924, years after the Armistice. He was one of over a million men wounded by gas during the Great War. Many, like him, endured chronic illness, isolation, and institutional care long after combat ended.
A Cost Beyond the Battlefield
Mustard gas inflicted permanent injuries. While designed to remove soldiers from the front line, it left many trapped in hospitals, dependent on care. Samuel Rolfe’s life in a bath was a continuation of trench warfare in another form—silent, painful, and without escape.
Mustard gas drifted over the trenches in 1917, scarring lungs, blistering skin, and leaving men broken beyond repair.
One of them was Samuel Rolfe, a farmer from Inverell.
Badly gassed in France, his war didn't end on the battlefield—it followed him home…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/5xXymC1YcJ
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 13, 2025