I remember in my police training being given a lecture by some armed police – they told everyone that, faced with killing someone, you would hesitate. I don’t agree. Soldiers react instantly to threats. Then again, the armed police also tried to be clever by sending a loaded pistol around the audience with a blank round in the chamber. They thought someone would not be able to resist pulling the trigger. When the pistol was returned to them, a former soldier had made it safe, and they were presented with the blank round, removed from the chamber, as well. We were told he should not have done that because he wasn’t trained. The medal ribbons on the guy’s chest said otherwise.

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the phrase is expressing a preferred alternative. "---- this, I would prefer to play a game of soldiers." My reason for this is that there is an alternative formulation, "---- this for a lark" where "a lark" means "a fun and carefree activity". Painted in the nostalgic-style that this Yorkshire-born and bred artist is known and admired for, ‘Sod This For A Game Of Soldiers’ is an atmospheric work that shows a group of English and German soldiers playing football on Christmas Day 1914. From Forging the Link: A Handbook of Hashomer Hatzair in England and Israel (London: Hashomer Hatzair, 1952):From Robinson Crusoe Smith, by John Smith, published in the Sunday People (London, England) of Sunday 23 rd November 1975: As Europe embarks on four years of events to mark the Great War, Bob Barker has produced ‘Sod This For A Game of Soldiers’, a touching commemoration that depicts unexpected fraternity in the gruesome theatre of war.

Thanks for the response. I did see search the archives before I posted, but the explanation wasn't awfully clear. To begin with, the fight for independence was less about religion and more about British oppression, which continued into the twentieth century, where Irish Catholics were often discriminated against when looking for work. A lot of people still believe that the conflict was all about religion but, while religion played a significant part, the discrimination experienced by the Catholic population has always been the underlying factor. The training for Op Banner, as it became known, was long and comprehensive. It involved shooting ranges, fitness, and presentations from colleagues who had been on previous tours, information and training on terrorists and why things go wrong, as well as a lot of time in a shooting range that resembled the streets of Ireland, complete with targets that popped up from windows and doorways. From It’s really a question of confidence…, by Peter Wilkin, published in the Bury Free Press (Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England) of Friday 29 th November 1974:Later, land could only be owned by English and Scottish settlers, not the Irish. Protestants could rent to the Irish, but the Irish were no longer allowed to own land in the area of Ulster, in the north, and this spread to a large extent into the rest of the country. The conditions that the Catholic Irish endured led to the Potato Famine, the exodus from Ireland of over two million people, and an estimated one million deaths that gave rise to the revolutionary movements. From The Long and the Short and the Tall ( London: Penguin Books Limited, 1962), by the British playwright Willis Hall (1929-2005):

I have found several sources suggesting that "game of soldiers" is somehow referring to the unpleasantness of war, which would suggest the meaning "---- this, the current situation has become an unpleasant one." But this seems highly unlikely to me as the related phrase cannot possibly be construed that way: a "lark" is never an unpleasant situation.The British Government has always tried to take a neutral stance on the Ireland problem, made easier given the fact that until recently Loyalists outnumbered Republicans. If Ireland did become whole again, would the present Irish Republic welcome that, given the potential for more violence? Personally, I do hope that one day, in whatever form it may take, Ireland becomes whole again. You can’t help but be moved by this incredible piece of art by Bob Barker, it evokes myriad emotions in the viewer and it is particularly poignant because of all the commemorations that have begun to mark this chapter in European history. He’d set us up as the diversion but hadn’t thought it necessary to explain where we fitted in his grand strategy. Well sod that for a game of soldiers, I wasn’t playing any more. The other two didn’t even notice they’d been conned.

He brought Christmas Eve 1914 to life for me, he removed all the glory and set my imagination racing, making me see in my mind’s eye what things were like, from the bomb- pitted no man’s land to the freezing cold with men who were starved not just of food, but of humanity,” said Bob. From the review of a pantomime which appeared in dialogue form in the magazine Melody Maker—review from the column People Talk, edited by Mervyn Pamment, published in the Sunday People (London, England) of Sunday 24 th December 1978: Two aspects of the training stand out to me. The first was the street range, where you were taught to walk while looking at the second floor of houses you passed. Try it, you will see that it’s a difficult thing to master – as humans we are conditioned to look down and ahead but seldom to look up. The reason for looking up is because terrorists shoot from bedroom windows and rooftops. Another difficult one was running at the shooter. Bang goes the gun and you immediately ran towards the person shooting at you – odd and unnerving, but necessary as it put pressure on the gunman. The shooter would know that if we got close to them they would at best be caught. I have done Google searches and haven’t found any authoritative source. Most sources seem to agree that there is a meaning of “this activity is not worth the trouble” or possibly “this activity is no longer worth the trouble”.When Bob and Dave – whom the artist describes as the “most knowledgeable man on history I have ever known” – began to discuss key moments of the four-year conflict, it ignited a yearning in him to create the painting. From Country Matters ( London: André Deutsch Limited, 1971), by the British author and broadcaster Fred Basnett (1928-2006): Blow" in the sense of "damn" or "curse" was fairly common in the UK up until about 50 years ago - I remember my mother when surprised or irritated using "oh blow" undoubtedly as a euphemism for some swearword exclamation. I imagine it originally comes from a wish for the offending issue to be blown away - possibly to Hell - though I have no evidence of such. "Blow this for a lark (or laugh)" would still be understood here, though we'd be more likely these days to use "screw" rather than "blow". We might even say "screw this for a game of soldiers". The 9th of August is the anniversary of a now-suspended British policy of internment for suspected Republicans, which could have been why the disturbance was bigger and more violent. Suddenly, a shot rang out. I didn’t hear it over the noise, but it resulted in the death of Thomas “Kidso” Reilly, a road manager for the girl band Bananarama. I heard someone shout that there was a gun, but I cannot recall if that was before or after Reilly was killed, nor did I see Reilly or any other rioters with a weapon – that’s not to say that a gun wasn’t present but if it was I didn’t see it.