“I
daresay you are aware I have been out a second time about three
months, and at present I am attached to an entrenching battalion,
where one gets plenty of work, pick and shovel playing a prominent
part. I wish to let all know that the Tommies out here are
all making things as happy as possible. Up to the present we
have only had casualties once; that was the first time I went
up digging. We were seen by the Germans, and of course they
disputed our right to be there in the usual way, sending over
four coal-boxes*. Then it was ‘get out and get under’ for
a while.
After
that, for safety, we worked in the dark. It is a usual thing
for us to witness bursting shells round about, but not nearer
than 400 yards, so we don’t mind. It is about time
any young man who has not joined the Army should do so now,
for we shall want more and more men to finish this job right
up. I consider any man not yet joined would be ashamed to
own it, if he could see what I saw the other day. Some of
the Navvy Battalion, who were repairing the road were past
their prime and old enough to be fathers to most of us. Surely
if men like these can do their little bit smiling, its about
time some of the young men who are standing back came forward?”
*
Coal-boxes refer to a shell burst, generally from a heavy
gun, causing a cloud of black smoke. |
