Back From The Brink

Hi Chums, Albert here once again. My God what a bloody war. I'm sorry I haven't wrote earlier but that blasted gas nearly had for me.

I've been convalescing in a field hospital. I'm not as bad as some of the others. I feel as though I've had my lungs burnt out but I'm breathing OK and I can get about. I've been coughing up some pretty awful stuff. Its a disgusting colour and smells. The doctor says I should be OK soon and that I can return to the regiment in a couple of days.

When I last wrote I was in the trenches and being gassed by the Hun. This was at a place called Shell Trap Farm near Wieltje. Oh it was a rum old do. There was no warning, it just came out of nowhere. We had no gas masks, only our handkerchiefs to cover our mouths and noses with. My mate copped it and so did a lot of other blokes. Some good chaps, some big burly blokes. They just gasped and wheezed their way to a slow death. It was awful.

When the gas struck we knew that Fritz would be behind it so we stayed put and put up a barrage of withering fire. We fired a wall of bullets into the gas to kill the Hun who were following up behind it. My mate Jacky Lynn put up a tremendous volley of fire. He's a machine gunner and as soon as he realised what was happening he was up on the top of the trench blazing away for all he was worth. It must have devastated the Hun who were coming up behind the gas cloud. I was there alongside Jacky blazing away with my rifle. I kept this up until the gas was too much. I then ran into a dugout to get some gulps of good air that was still inside there. I took this opportunity to pee on my handkerchief. Someone said it could prevent the gas having an effect.  The dugout soon filled up with gas and I then ran outside with my handkerchief tightly tied on and then blazed away for all I was worth again. Jacky had stayed there all the time firing like a demon but by now he was choking and desperate for some good air.

The doctor said I had saved my life by taking to the dugout to find some clean air and then peeing on my handkerchief. He believes this is why i haven't been so affected as some of the others.

It was a ghastly do. I've never been through anything like it before and never want to go through it again. The whole build up to it was terrible and terrifying. I thought Le Touquet was a bad place but by comparison Ypres and Wieltje is actually hell on earth. Its insane.

Over the next couple of days before I return to my unit I'll write to you everything that happened. The whole bloody lot. You'll then be able to see what sort of hell man has created on earth.

So for tonight its goodnight chums and I'll start my account of the Gas Attack tomorrow.

Albert x