The cover image (IWM Q6586) is taken from the British Government's Ministry of Information First World War Official Collection of photographs now held at the Imperial War Museum in London. It was taken by the official photographer John Brooke at the Battle of Lys during the German Spring Offensive in May 1918.

The men in the photograph are officers of the Royal Artillery regiment, with another from the Royal Army Medical Corps, sitting outside of a billet near Saint-Floris. One man is playing a piano and there is a small dog, perhaps their mascot, sitting on top of the instrument as the group relaxes on a set of steps.

I chose this image for the front of the book because it represents the ad-hoc nature of the majority of servicemen's musical encounters during the war. While it is inevitably a photograph which has been staged to some extent, the importance of the piano, and of random instruments and sing-a-longs, were central features of many wartime musical encounters. The relaxed pose of the men as they smoke their pipes and play along to the music, encapsulates the spirit of the book.

You can hear more about Emma's work on musical entertainment in the British Armed Forces during the Great War in this WARFUN podcast episode.