The soldiers in the static trench war at the western front in WW I also were prisoners - of circumstances, the narrow trenches and the tunnels and dugouts. During some of the pauses, chess was a popular sport - some soldiers had chess sets along, others made them out of the materials at hand - wood, cartridge shells and bullets etc. And at the end of the war, many german soldiers were marched off into camps, for example to Siberia, some of them spent several years there. Chess was one of their concerns, and making chess sets something between a hobby and a much procured service for others, including the guards! In general, the "trench" sets are more elaborate, because the craftsmen had better and more varied material at hand, and possibly more leisure during the combat pauses...

1 figure is replaced from another set
the box is also handmade
king is 50mm high