Hi Folks, well it looks like our holiday is over. Yesterday we got our marching orders and left the Blue Factory at Armentieres and marched to where we are today, Bailleul.
We had a grand time at Armientieres even though we could only go out one day in four. The accommodationwas first class and the tuck was great. With no bullets, bombs, grenades or shells flying about I was able to relax for the first time in ages.
We had plenty of route marches with parades and gymnastics to get us in good shape again. The transport section was able to repair all their kit and give the horses a well earned rest. In fact they were inspected by Lt-Gen J L Keir. He gave them a glowing report. He was impressed by the condition of the horses and the organisation of the camp where they were kept. True to top brass though he had to 'suggest' an improvement that could be made. This was that there might be some improvement of the greasing the wheels of the carts!
There was also a most comical episode that took place. One morning we were all told to fall in with our towels. We were then marched off to a nearby village. When we arrived there we were told to strip off and tie up our clothes in a nice parcel and to attach a label with our regimental number on it. The place looked like an old brewery. We were told to go inside the building. Inside there were some old wine vats cut in half and filled with warm water. Well chums this was going to be our spring clean. We climbed into the vats, 15 men in each. We were given big bars of mottled blue soap to wash with. This we duly did helping each other to scrub our backs. There was plenty of high jinx and jokes flying about. I can tell you 15 men in a tub is a sure fire way to raise the spirits and bring about loads of laughter.
When our wash was over we got dried and then went into another room to get our clothes. They were all laid out still tied but were steaming. They had been fumigated!
All this work was done to rid us of lice. It worked wonders until the eggs in the seams of the clothes started hatching out. We were then once more itching like mad and being bitten to death. We found that if we stuck our rifle with bayonet fitted into the ground and then hung our clothes on to the butt the warm sun would bring out the lice and they would congregate at the top. We then use a match to despatch the little devils. Next we run the flame down the seams of the clothes and we hear the eggs all crackling and popping. This despatches these as well. By doing this we have now managed to remain relatively lice free.
No sooner had we undergone de-licing than we had our second fun and games event. On another morning we were told to fall in and then marched into a field were a circular compound had been erected. We were ordered to strip and then shave our private parts. If we were unable to complete this task then we either had to ask our chum to help or an orderly would do it. Well my wedding tackle wasn't going to be handled by one of my pals or the orderly so I duly did the shaving myself in double quick time. Like the 'blue' bath there was plenty of jokes and ribalding going on. Some of the men claiming they needed more time due to the size of their tackle and claiming others appear to have shaved theirs completely off!
Once everyone was clean shaven we were given blue ointment to rub all over our nether region. This we did covering all our private parts. The men nicknnamed it 'blue unction'. We were told to keep it on for four days. We were told this was for crabs. Not the sort you get from Cromer but some small pesky variety similar to lice that lives in the nether regions. These are passed on during intimate contact with others. So it seems like the mademoiselle from Armentieres was giving more than her affection to the men.
Well chums those were the highlights of our time at Armentieres. We had 12 glorious days of rest and now we are on the march again. I'm not sure where we are off to. We have to fall in at 7:30 tomorrow morning with full pack and belongings. The transport wagons are currently being packed up and we'll be setting off for who knows where. It shouldn't be too far from here as we normally only march about 12 to 13 miles a day. That's far enough when we are carrying full pack and then have to bivouac if there's no billets.
I think I'll drop you a line when we arrive at our destination, either tomorrow or the day after. Everyone's hoping its going to be another 'holiday' like Armentieres. Well have to see.
So chums its goodbye from me once again. I'm in good shape after the rest and so I'm sure I'll be up to whatever comes my way.
Albert x
On The Move
Spring Beak
We'll chums what a week I've had. Its been a rare old holiday, not as good as being in blighty though but nevertheless its been grand.
We packed our bags and left Le Touquet and our billets in Le Bizet on the 12th. I must say it was with mixed feelings. I've known nothing but death and destruction interspersed with snatches of joy and frivolity for the best part of five months. It had become a way of life, a manic one at that, not knowing if you were going to come a cropper at any time. But we are now out of that hell.
As I left Le Bizet I was full of emotions. After the order went out that we were on the move I said my goodbye to my fallen chums and bade farewell to the few townsfolk who were still holding out. This was mainly the estaminet owners. We formed up in the town square and full of swank with our best kit on we stepped out for pastures new.
I couldn't help but glance back and look at the ruins that had been our home for what seemed to be an eternernity. I thought once more of my fallen comrades and said a silent farewell to them, thanking them for their ultimate sacrifice. I also thought on of the long gone townsfolk. They had greeted us like family and long lost sons. Now they are all gone. Their houses were homes to us. They were warm, cosy places were we slept well and ate well. Now they are all shells blown apart with some bearing very little resemblance to a dwelling.
I thought of everything we had gone through, from the first crude trenches we had constructed through to the elaborate trench systems that we built to replace them. It had been a continual matter of learn and improve.
Then my mind wandered back to my fellow soldiers that wouldn't be coming home. Their fate was to stay here interred in this place as though they were on guard forever. With that I held my chin high and puffed my chest out. My mates did the same, almost as one, and we marched off full of respect and honour.
We marched to Armentieres, we were full of excitement and happiness, yes happiness. It seemed strange after all those months of fear and death and destruction but we were out of all this now. We Marched to some old billets in the town and made our home for who knows how long.
It was just four miles to Armentieres from Le Bizet and Le Touquet but the difference between the towns was tremendous. Armentieres had hardly been touched by the war, people were carrying on with their lives as though the war wasn't even happening.
We were given plenty of rest and were able to wash and clean all our kit. We were given plenty of marching and drills as well. In the evenings we went to the many different estaminets that the town had. These were bigger than Le Bizet and had more entertainment. There were plenty of madamoiselles as well.
The men got quite drunk. I'm not a big drinker but I had a good few. The mademoiselles were well frequented. In the larger estaminets queues formed on the stairs leading to the rooms where they entertained the men. I'm a chaste man usually but after the hell of the front lines I must admit that I took to an evening of entertainment.
During our 'drunken' evenings of the 12th to the 14th the actions of the men got louder and bawdier. There were drunken Tommies all over the town and the queues to meet the mademoiselles got bigger and bigger. The top brass decided this had to stop. They came into the estaminets and ordered the men back to their billets. The next morning we got a ticking off by the colonel.
In the morning we were all summoned on parade. The colonel rode up on his horse and gave us a right rollicking. He berated us on our conduct. He stated it was ironic that our drunken sojourns were on the Rue des Bons Enfants. He said 'Do you know what the Rue des Bon Enfants means? It means the street of the good children.' The men let out a little titter. The colonel was enraged. He said he was going to put a stop to it. We would only be allowed out for two hours in the evening and only with passes. These would be issued to only a quarter of the men at a time.
Well that dampened the mood a bit but when considering what we had been through who could blame us though.
On the 15th we left our old billets to take up residence in some new billets. This was in the Blue Factory. I'm not sure what used to be produced here but it had been cleared and converted to provide us with some first class accommodation.
Since the 15th we have been doing plenty of route marches and general fitness activities.such as gymnastics, football and running. We've been making the most of the 2 hours we get every four days. Its surprising how much you can cram in!
This small section of a map that shows the location of the Blue Factory, it is marked Factories:
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| Location of the Blue Factory |
I have some snaps of Armentieres also, I've copied these below:
I also have a couple of snaps of the Ecole also marked on the map:
Well folks, I must say I'm enjoying my time here. It certainly beats living in fear and dodging bullets. I don't know what the top brass have in mind for us but we have certainly done more than our bit over the last five months. Hopefully we will stay here quite a while. Who knows?
I'll leave you with that song I promised to teach you. Its Madamoiselle from Armentieres. I've tidied it up a bit to make it not too smutty. We actually have another one to the same tune called Three German Officers Crossed the Rhine. I can't tell you the words to that, its far too crude.
So chums wishing you all the best from my 'Holiday Camp' in Armentieres. Theres no fear of wondering whether I'll be here next week, that's a certainty. So until next week its bye for now.
Albert X
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous,
Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
She hasn't been kissed for forty years,
Chorus:
Hinky-dinky parlez-vous.
Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous
She got the palm and the croix de guerre,
For washin' soldiers' underwear,
Chorus:
The Colonel got the Croix de Guerre,
Parlez-vous
The Colonel got the Croix de Guerre,
The son-of-a-gun was never there!
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous
You didn't have to know her long,
To know the reason men go wrong!
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous
She's the hardest working girl in town,
But she makes her living upside down!
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous
She'll do it for wine, she'll do it for rum,
And sometimes for chocolate or chewing gum!
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous
You might forget the gas and shell
But you'll nev'r forget the Mademoiselle!
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from Armentieres,
Parlez-vous
Where are the girls who used to swarm
About me in my uniform?
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from St. Nazaire,
Parlez-vous
The Mademoiselle from St. Nazaire,
She never washed her underwear.
Chorus:
Oh, Mademoiselle from Montparnasse,
Parlez-vous
As soon as she'd spy a Colonel's brass,
She'd take off her skirt and roll in the grass!
Chorus:
The Angry Hun
Well chums this week its been a case of keep your heads down.
After we exploded the devastating mine under Fritz and the unleashed hell on him in the immediate aftermath he has been reeking retribution on us. We retired from the onslaught we were putting down on him and started to repair and consolidate our trenches. Fritz started shelling us as soon as he had recovered all his dead and wounded. Volley after volley of shells rained down on us, they had little effect as we were expecting them. We had taken to our shelters and were well tucked up. In all we had 17 injured men and one dead.
The majority of our injuries were from the falling bricks of the explosion. Some of the bricks landed 300 yards away from the explosion! At one point a 5.9 inch shell went through the Battalion Guard Room roof and injured four men inside but none were killed.
Fritz also decided to reek his wrath on the front line houses from where we had commenced our tunnel. He withdrew his front line men in this area and then pummelled the houses with shells. Our men had to abandon them and take to the trenches.
On the 10th, the day after the explosion, the Hun unleashed 300 shells on our front line. These were little willies as we call them, they are 3 or 4 inch shells. They did little damage to us again as we were still well tucked up. We only had two men injured.
On the 11th Fritz vented his wrath again. He sent over sixty 5.9 inch shells into the front line houses and the small village of Le Touquet. They wreaked devastation. Some fell on the sheds of the North Block and set them on fire, they completely burnt down.
The Snipers House got a battering, three of its walls were blown away. Its sad to see it now, a broken shell. I have fond memories of that place. The comfortable sleeps I've had there whilst not on duty and the wholesome front line meals. Dinner at the Ritz on Valentines Day was a marvellous occasion, alas no more will be had at this venue.
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| Snipers House 1915 |
In all this shelling we have come off quite lightly however three blokes got wounded in the legs by a by a rifle grenade. It just shows you, its not the big things that may get you but the little ones!
We were relieved from the trenches on the evening of the 11th and returned to our billets. We had some great stories to swap about the mine explosion. The other regiments billeted in our area were all curious as to what it was like. They had heard it from the billets in Le Bizet but were too far back to see anything. Of course we lauded it up and relished our position of heroes. Boy you should have heard some of the tall stories the men came out with. This doesn't detract from the fact that it was a phenomenal event anyway. The chaps in billets were just in awe of it as much as we were that had actually been there.
A sketch of the event was drawn up, here it is.
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| Le Touquet Mine Explosion |
So chums today we are packing up and getting ready for the march off to Armentieres. Maybe I'll meet that mademoiselle? Who knows?
We've been here since November, well I have. That's more or less 6 months of war. Enough for more than one lifetime. I'm quite fortunate, or should I think unlucky. In this period of time we've had over 1,000 men come and join us to boost numbers, to overcome the losses to death, injury and sickness. There are only 800 men in a battalion and that's how many we currently have! That means all the men have been replaced in the battalion and some more than once, but I'm still here!
We'll I musn't grumble, I'm alive and in one piece, not like some of those unlucky chaps. When I think back and remember some of those poor blokes who have had their young lives cut short, like the chap on sentry duty on his first day in the trench, I know I'm lucky.
When I look at it I've spent four days in and four days out of the front line for six months. Thats three months solid at the front line. It doesn't bear thinking about.
So chums I'm off for some good old rest and recreation far away from the Hun and danger. I don't know how long for and when we'll be coming back but right now I don't care.
I'll write to you next week to let you know what we are up to and what plans are being made for us. This time I don't have to worry whether I'll be here or not. I'll be in no danger. It feels strange!
Until next week, all the best,
Albert x
Meet Thy Maker
We'll chums it isn't me that has met my maker. Was it any of our lads? No. It was the Hun.
What an almighty blast. The earth shook, the heavens darkened and there was fire and brimstone everywhere. It was the apocalypse. All made by man. Our men, yours truly one of them. A cataclysmic explosion that destroyed all in its reach.
When I left you last night we were busy racing against time to get the mine ready to blow it. We didn't know if the Hun was going to beat us to it or whether we would get there first. Well it was us who won the race.
All last night we prepared for the explosion of the mine. We were on duty all night long and were well armed. If the Hun blew the mine first we would have to repulse him. At about 8:00am our gunners opened up and shelled the German front lines. The Stokes Mortar we had in the Snipers House joined in and mortared the front line.
We were all ordered out of the Houses and into the front line trenches. We were told to open fire on the Huns front lines with everything we had. So we did, we let rip at anything and everything.
The Hun naturally thought we were about to attack and so brought up more men and joined in the volley of firing. This was exactly what our top brass and I must say most if not all of our men wanted. The more Hun that were packed into his front line and his front line houses the more we could send to Kingdom Come.
So the firing, shelling and mortaring continued until a shout went up at about 8:30am. We were then ordered into the bottom of the trench and to take cover. The guns fell silent and then there was this heaving of the ground and a rocking motion followed by a muffled roar that grew louder and then with a blue flame the earth and everything with it was thrown into the air. Mud and bricks showered down into our trenches and quite a few men received injuries from it. Pieces of cloth and dust then floated down and settled everywhere. Whether the cloth was from clothes or sandbags I don't know.
We were all stood in awe and silence as the remnants of this cataclysmic explosion settled to earth. Then a shout went out for us to reoccupy our front houses. We rushed out of the trench and into the houses.
When we arrived we rushed through to the end house and the barricade that we had built there. We peered over the back yard to the German House that was ten yards away. This was still standing as the tunnel we had dug hag gone well pass this into the Hun front lines. We were astonished to see one poor Hun chap who had been blown clear onto the outhouse. Whilst we watched one of his chums brought a ladder and climbed up and took him down. This was right in front of us and any one of us could have shot him but in respect to his bravery we let him be. He knew we were just ten yards away yet he didn't consider his safety and climbed that ladder in full view of us to retrieve his injured chum. He deserved the biggest medal going.
Later one of our officers said that when the mine went up he saw a group of Hun blown clear into the air with their breakfast, frying pans and stoves. We didn't know whether to believe him or not but certainly we caught the Hun by surprise. He expected a frontal attack instead he got blown away from the earth below.
When we had secured the front houses we were ordered to spread out across the trenches and open fire on the Hun. The entire battalion seemed to be opening fire without a shot being returned by the Hun. The shooting was so one way and was so effective that some of the men came out of the trenches into full view to get a better shot at the poor Hun. So the firing went on for some time until we were told to cease fire.
The Hun must have taken a severe beating. We have no idea how many men had been killed but at about 1:00pm one of our observers saw about 29 men being carried back across the River Lys into Frelinghien. As this was some four and a half hours after the mine went up we assume that the injured were first taken away and then the dead, this latter stretchering of men being some of the dead.
Once the Hun had licked his wounds he started up on us with a rage. This was about 4:00pm. He shelled us with ferocity and venom but his shells did little damage or should I say caused little death or injury. We were expecting it and had tucked ourselves away.
The total casualties we have sustained for this day is one dead and 17 injured, these mainly being from the falling bricks. The Hun must have had dozens of dead and injured.
So chums I bid you goodbye once again. We've given the Hun a bloody nose and he'll think twice about attacking us now. We are over strength in the battalion and he is now far below strength. Its his turn to sit and wonder whether we are going to attack him.
I leave you feeling weary and tired, I know we'll be safe tonight, it'll be some time before the Hun tries anything on.
Albert x
The Quickening
Hi Folks, I'm here again to tell you of this weeks exploits. Apologies to those of you who expect my normal Monday posting. Like everything else in this war timing has gone a little bit astray. Anyway chums here's the latest news.
There's been a big scare in the tunnel. Whilst digging away at the front of the tunnel face the men could hear other noises coming from the side of the tunnel. All digging was stopped to try to work out what was happening. Nothing further was heard so the tunnelling was started up again. There was a big fear that the tunnel was going to cave in. Anyway nothing further was heard so the men started up again.
This was yesterday and later in the day when the engineers had retired for the evening we were manning the front line houses when we heard the noises again. By a means of searching and listening we could hear the noises the loudest in the front right hand side of the first house. It then dawned on us that is wasn't settlement or movement, or a tunnel about to collapse. It was the Hun digging there own tunnel!
We sent for the engineers and they came with some listening devices. They went down the mine to the end of the tunnel and came back a bit ashen faced. It was the Hun and he was digging under our houses and obviously ad the objective of blowing us to kingdom come.
Well folks that was it, the shout went out and it was all men to the pumps or spades I should say. It was decided that the current length of the tunnel was as far as we could go. The Hun could be set to blow us at any time, we had to beat him to it.
So, starting last night and all today the engineers and every spare man available has been constructing a chamber at the end of the tunnel and today its been a case of packing it full of dynamite. Box after box has been carried down and as each minute has gone by the situation has got worse. Our tunnel is getting full of dynamite and probably the Huns is, who's is going to go off first and depending on proximity will they both go off! Not a pretty good position to be in!
As I previously stated in last weeks post, the most of this work is being organised by the 7th Company of Field Engineers with the South Lancs Territorials and some of the Monmouthshire Regiment doing all the work. Boy are those lads brave. I thought it bad enough working down the pits in Blighty but here where you are carrying dynamite in instead of coal out, well it doesn't bear thinking about.
I've managed to get a few diagrams of the Tunnel construction. This first diagram shows the tunnel entrance. As you can see it starts by a slight downward slop to the shaft head and then a vertical shaft down to the gallery. There is then the tunnel stretching out under no man's land.
The sides are lined with timber boards and there is some wooden bogeys running on steel rails. Every thing is shifted by hand down the mine. and then hauled up to the surface by hand cranking. I can tell you this is exhaustive work, I know because I've done some time at the shaft top.
At the tunnel face the digging is all done by hand. As you can see from this second diagram the usual way is for the tuneller to lay on his back and dig into the tunnel face with a spade. The spoil is then bagged and placed on the bogey.
The tunnel face work is usual done by a team of three; one digging, one bagging and one bogeying. After a couple of feet is dug out, the tunnel is shored up with more barding and the tunneller moves forward.
Well chums, whilst the laying down of dynamite has been going on, yours truly has been up in the front line and in the houses on guard. If the Hun blows his mine first then he will probably mount an attack. We need to be ready to repulse him. We are positioned in the Snipers house, this is set back from the two front line houses but near enough to feel the brunt of the Huns explosion if it goes off. We have a stokes mortar with us. We'll use this to lay down some rapid fire if the Hun decides to attack after blowing his mine. I can tell you everyone is on tenter hooks here.
As to other matters we've had some more injuries, on the 2nd of April 2nd Lt Wells and four men were wounded in the trenches, the dastardly Hun rifle grenades had done their deed again. By all accounts Lt Wells will be back from the Hospital to take p his duties in a weeks time.
We left the Trenches on the evening of the 2nd and spent four days in billets. This was a quiet time regarding the war, there was some shelling but nothing more than usual. We had a rip-roaring time in the estaminets and enjoyed some inter regiment football. But coming back into the trenches yesterday our time has been totally taken up with the laying of the mine, and the readiness to repulse the Hun.
We've had a few more men join us, 2nd Lt Greaves and Hartley joined. With the gradual loss of men to injury and sickness we are just above our full compliment of men. If the Hun blows his mine we'll be down quite a few!
We'll chums I bid you good evening. Whilst your tucked up in bed tonight think of me, Albert on guard to repulse the Hun or be blown up and sent to meet my maker. I can tell you I've been in a few near misses so far but sat here on a ticking bomb I definitely feel vulnerable and extremely fragile. So chums if you don't hear from me again I wish you well. If we beat the Hun and blow our mine first I'll send an immediate post.
Hoping to write to you soon,
Albert x
Consolidation
Hi folks, apologies for a late post this week. I bet you though Albert had succumbed to the Hun and gone to meet his maker. We'll I'm still here. Its been quite hectic and its been all men to the pumps and so I've been very busy and not able to write to you.
When I last wrote it had been pretty quiet, its still the same. The difference is that the Top Brass must have got something up their sleeve because we've been very busy doing lots of construction work and its now revealed to us that the tunnel we are digging is actually for a mine.
From the 22nd to the 25th I was in the Front lines with the rest of the Battalion. We carried out our usual duties. We exchanged some bombs and bullets with the Hun and went on some patrols.
Lt Rowby and 2nd Lt Spicer joined the Battalion during this period and we are now well over strength in officers and men.
When we came out of the trenches on the 25th we went to Nieppe the following day and had hot baths. It was grand.
The 5th Leicester Territorials joined us for bomb throwing training on the 27th. Yours truly is an expert bomb thrower and I helped with the training. Lt Evatt was in command and we spent a couple of days training the Leicesters.
The 7th Field Squadron of the Royal Engineers are in town as well. These are fantastic lads, they construct everything from roads to buildings and bridges. They were previously in these parts when the Battalion first took over Le Touquet after the Hun was chased out. They constructed the first barricades and barb wire entanglements. They are now back consolidating everything.
Together with the 7 RE is the South Lancashire Territorials. I thought these chaps had gone to other parts but they had been re-assigned to help with the consolidation work.
The 7 RE also have about 200 to 250 civilian workers with them. These chaps don't go near the front line but they work near enough to get shelled or even sniped on if they are sufficiently near. They must be brave blokes, either that or hard up and they need the money.
Our Battalion is also helping with the consolidation work when not in the front lines.
The major work being conducted by the combined 7 RE and Civilians is a second line of trenches parallel to the front line but 1 mile behind. This stretches a distance of 3,700 yards in length and runs from the River Lys in the south to Ploegstreet in the North. This is over two miles long and is no small engineering feat.
The 7 RE and the South Lancashires are now fully engaged in digging the tunnel, or mine as I should say. We are no longer engaged on this, we are providing all the protective duty for these lads.
The 7 RE are also working with a party of men from the Monmouthshire Regiment who are based a little further to the north of us. A mine is also being Dug in that area.
The 7 RE are also constructing breastworks and fortified buildings in the front line trenches.
Its marvellous to see these lads at work, they are fist class at their craft. They generally work in the evenings when in the front lines so that they aren't visible if they have to climb out of the trench, but the rest of the time they graft away all day long.
With this number of troops and civilian workers the Billets i n Le Bizet are fit to bursting and the Estaminets are heaving. Even though the camaraderie and high jinx, when out of danger, are excellent. Its like one big party with inter regiment competitions in everything from football to tiddleywinks. How times have changed over the past few days and weeks.
Needless to say the Hun keeps up his barrage of the town. Just about all the towns folk have left now and its like one big regimental city. Every available building has been commandeered and there is a tent city springing up further back. The military population based in the Le Touquet area must be about 4,000 and of these about 2,400 are in Billets in Le Bizet each night. This is much more than the population that was there before the war.
Well chums I must get back to the business in hand, The War. My battalion came back in the front line on the evening of the 30th. The Hun decided to welcome us with rifle grenades again. One chap got killed and six others wounded. Since then it has been fairly quiet.
Today is the 1st of April and is the Bismark Centenary, 100 years since his birth. We expect the Hun to put up a show and so are we are all going to be stood to most of the night to repulse anything he may throw.
On final thing, my Company, B Company, has been mentioned in despatches. we have done great work in the construction and drainage of the front line trenches . We have also constructed good communication trenches up to the front line trenches. Together with our Captain, Cpt Blencowe, we have been commended. I would prefer a trip home to Blighty but that's not going to happen so a pat on the back is the best we can have.
I thought I'd give you another couple of snaps to look at before leaving you again. This first one is of the Barricade at the Northern end of our sector. Its by the Railway Crossing of the road leading north.
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| Le touquet Barricade 26th March 1915 |
The next snap is of some of my compadres in A company of the Kings Own. This is behind the front lines in the northern part of our sector. the building in the background is Machine Gun House. As you can see its taken a battering from the Hun. The building by the railway crossing has faired better because the Hun can't shell it as its too close to his own lines.
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| Machine Gun House 5th March 1915 |
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| Shelter on Left High Command Trench March 1915 |
So chums as you can see there's plenty of work going on in our little area of the war. Quite soon the Hun is going to get a very nasty surprise when we blow the mines under him.
We have more than our full compliment of man in the battalion. We also have the Royal Engineers here doing some great construction work. We have a second line of defence being built. We have the South Lancs in reserve also. I'm feeling invincible. I've not come down with anything yet and haven't had so much as a shrapnel wound. With all what's happening around me I feel that we're in a great shape to take on the Hun and beat him. I mustn't speak to soon though so until next week I wish you well. Don't worry about me, I'm not stupid, I'll keep my head down.
Bye for now,
Albert x
