Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Letters from the front line
AUGUST 6, 1918 SEPTEMBER 19, 1918 UNDATED
ning for it, I hope we shall pull it off. Sunday is a favourite day for football.
One day after being heavily shelled all day, we had retreated across the old Somme battlefield, jumping old trenches and struggling through barbed wire, passing lonely graves of French soldiers, and at dusk reached a large deserted farm, which was to be the headqts of brigade.
Just to show how everyone is brought to the same level on such occasions, we had found a barrel of French beer and were drinking it out of a bully tin, when up came a colonel and asked for a drink. We apologised for the cup, but he laughed and said what was good enough for us was good enough for him. At 10am Jerry opened on us with field artillery, the order was: “Get on equipment”. As we fell back the shells were making a mess of the place.
We passed our artillery, who were firing over our heads. The din was terrible, one battery of 18 pounders was all limbered up and still firing.
We had been lucky up till then but 10 mins afterwards a big salvo of heavy stuff caught us, killing our wireless corporal, a brave fellow (married) from Edinburgh Post Office.
It was sad to see the dead horses at one crossroad. I can’t say I have seen any of the “glories of war” one reads about. Well old man, this is all this time. I hope you’re feeling better. Give Mum and Nanny a good kiss for me.
You would like to be where I am now, right in the midst of the Somme battlefield where Jerry has advanced and retreated again on four occasions.
Only a fortnight ago he was dug in all around here, and you should see the stuff he has left behind.
Just outside our tent are some of his gun positions, heaps of unused shells, some with fuses attached ready to fire, thousands of hand grenades, hundreds of picks and shovels, German tin helmets, rifles, bayonets, mess tins, every kind of war implement but very little personal things as our Tommies were of course here before us.
I hope you and Mum are both well, I am longing for the day which I hope is not far hence when I shall be on leave again, shall have a lot to tell you.
The French seem always drinking wine, it is the only thing that is cheap, everything else seems very dear. I should think the French are making a good harvest out of British Tommies.
The French money is a nuisance not for the value, that is easy, but there is little silver or copper and notes are issued as low as 50 cents (5d) so you’ve always got a pocket full of dirty notes.
The river Somme runs thro the town, it is very swift, there are some nice canals with nice rows of trees and always a lot of French soldiers fishing there, plenty of fish but rather small.
Crowds of German prisoners working here, they do most of the dirty work about the camp under guard with fixed bayonets. Most of them look strong and healthy, no mistaking the Prussian guards amongst them.
The First World War ended soon after at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month. If your family has an untold story, we would love to hear it.