JEWISH BOY SOLDIER
INTERRPRERTER WITH HEADQUARTERS STAFF
Elsewhere in this issue we give a photograph of Harold Constad, a Jewish lad, whose parents reside at Edmonton. Without doubt he must be one of the youngest who are assisting the British military forces on the Continent. Young Constad is only sixteen and was at a school in Brussels when the War broke out. Constad became imbued with the military spirit on seeing the French and German members of the teaching staff at the school leaving to join their respective regiments. With the aid of the British Consul he was able to return to London. On his arrival he visited all the recruiting offices in Edmonton but was refused on account of his age. Nothing dismayed, he visited the War Office and thereby offered himself, pointing out that he spoke four languages, including French, German and Flemish. With the possession of such valuable knowledge, it was not surprising that the military authorities found that he would prove of great use to them as a linguist and he was forthwith engaged. After spending a few weeks at the depot, he was attached to the Motor Transport, Service Sections and is now with the headquarters staff on the Continent.

The First World War was a conflict which engulfed the whole world and destroyed large parts of it. Dragging in people from all walks of life and all parts of the world, speaking many languages, it was a cross-cultural horror that we have left nobody untouched.
Back in the early 20th century, it was quite common never to leave your home country, and many young soldiers’ first encounters with anyone speaking a different language was firing a gun at them, or standing alongside them in the trenches. In the UK, it’s well known that even French words and names were hopelessly mangled by the troops – for example, Ypres was rechristened ‘Wipers’.
Naturally, translators and interpreters were key to the war effort, and found themselves on the front line as often as in a back office, speaking to allies, enemies and prisoners alike. We’re familiar with this from popular culture – even Indiana Jones was shown as a fluent French and German speaker in films depicting his early life.
Other non-Europeans played important parts in the war as well, such as the Choctaw radio operators brought in by the United States as ‘code talkers’ – confusing the enemy with a language far removed from Germanic or romance tongues they were familiar with. Unlike the army, the ranks of translators were as likely to be female as male, placing their lives in danger, and often paying the ultimate price.
Translators in the First World War were not just spies or code breakers; they had a key role in coordinating vast, international armies on both sides, with an unprecedented array of languages. Their efforts and sacrifices were remarkable and essential, and should never be forgotten.
https://www.one-global.com/en/blog/interpreters-in-the-great-war