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Primary Source First World War Letters Home from the Western Front - July 1915
Arthur talks of investments in Mexico and Argentina, criticises the Government, "The Russians are almost blockaded till Dardanelles are freed, Arkangel is now open & Siberian railway, but both very small inlets in comparison to the huge country & they can only get in ammunition in comparative driblets. If only Dardanelles are freed it will make an enormous change I should imagine."...
Convois Automobiles
S.S.A. No.3
Par Dijon
France
July 7th, 1915
My Dear Mother
…
I wrote Will to say I’d probably be passing through Boulogne on 9th Aug by day en route to London, so perhaps may see him at boat & Herbert if he is about. I’m told there will be 4 or 5 of us going on 8th to Paris & leave latter morng. of 9th via Boulogne getting to London 9.p.m. We are to get 3 weeks from here back to here which means a clear fortnight at home. It takes 2 days each way from here to London & a day over in London at least each way, so practically a week goes in going & coming …
You should have the £6 paid in by 1st July which is the interest (1/2 year’s) on Mexico Tram bonds, my letter may have been delayed, but by now Bank will have it. Call it £6, I won’t bother about the income tax, & as I asked them to pay in £10 to your acct. it will leave £3-16-0 of mine for you to pay my little bills for me, one for tobacco I sent you, 18/- I think.
Yes the Rio tram bonds will have been paid 1st July, they are very sound, I only wish I had put more money into them. The loan seems to be going off well,people selling out other investments to put into it. I wish balance of Turb. [Turbotston] money owing you could be paid off now & it would have given you a gilt edged 4 ½ % investment. I see Irish Railways are doing all right increases in all. 2/6 income tax now, I doubt it going to 5/- but it may be 3/6 later.
Yes it is a very serious problem for many. I read speech in Irish T. [Times] re economies & cutting down expenditure, in many cases it can be done, but in many it can’t. In your case there is not much margin as in all small establishments. After all if it really became necessary one can get a nice small place like Souldern in England for £35 a year. Very many will no doubt move into smaller houses.
I am not surprised at people being depressed at home, they are only just beginning to realise what this war is whereas in Germany & here people more or less grasped it months ago; it reached them here, not in England, or at least to no comparative extent. I see Haldane admits (today’s paper) we were sluggish at home & slow to move or grasp what we were in for & went on with “business as usual” ideas; why our statesmen whose business after all, it is to know about things a bit, should have been so slack all these months, it is beyond understanding.
We have to blame ourselves & not the unfortunate Russians, they have been battling away since beginning of war & were no doubt led to believe as we all were that in the spring our army would be ready & a real start made & give them a little respite & time to pull themselves together & get ammunition etc. but instead of that here we are half through the summer & no sign of any offensive on our part.
The Russians are almost blockaded till Dardanelles are freed, Arkangel is now open & Siberian railway, but both very small inlets in comparison to the huge country & they can only get in ammunition in comparative driblets. If only Dardanelles are freed it will make an enormous change I should imagine. Germany complains about England trying to starve out Germany whereas it is only just what the latter is trying to do with Russia …
I hope Evie will find a flat higher up in Rome, it ought to be a very good chance, rents should come down & no visitors to speak of. She is very safe where she is & of course moving about now is a business, passports, slow travelling & so on. Evidently she seems to think most people will remain in Rome more or less all summer. It will be hot of course.
I should have thought Feo could have got a job now with all the millions of men called up, if not a military one, then a private one, must be many jobs that want replacing when you think of all the men gone, firms of all sorts must be short handed, far more than in England.
He really might get something or get his rich Aunts to give him a bit for a holiday in hills or at sea, why you should always pay I fail to see, but as long as we do, I fear, he will never make an effort & just “do” the Corso as usual, we have been doing it for 12 years now or more. I can’t afford to send £10, my income has been so far reduced £72 by war & Mexican trouble, yours too by various things whereas E. gets her £100 regularly. I know it is not much, but then she knows what she is going to get. If I were better off I’d willingly send her £10 or £50, but really it is time he was made to make an effort & surly now is a chance to make one when all the men have been called up.
I get no pay here, not like most fellows who have jobs, Will with £420 a year & so on & money for their outfits & everything. As I said when I offered to pay £15 for E. & Ita to come back, it was presuming it to be necessity that they should & he perhaps called up or gone off on some Red X or other work & I’m still willing to do it, tho’ I can’t in the least afford it, if it should be necessary for her & I. to return to England, but if he is going to walk up & down the Corso as usual & do nothing then I can’t. After all there is a limit!
Best love
Yr affect son
Arthur
S.S.A. No.3
Par Dijon
France
July 7th, 1915
My Dear Mother
…
I wrote Will to say I’d probably be passing through Boulogne on 9th Aug by day en route to London, so perhaps may see him at boat & Herbert if he is about. I’m told there will be 4 or 5 of us going on 8th to Paris & leave latter morng. of 9th via Boulogne getting to London 9.p.m. We are to get 3 weeks from here back to here which means a clear fortnight at home. It takes 2 days each way from here to London & a day over in London at least each way, so practically a week goes in going & coming …
You should have the £6 paid in by 1st July which is the interest (1/2 year’s) on Mexico Tram bonds, my letter may have been delayed, but by now Bank will have it. Call it £6, I won’t bother about the income tax, & as I asked them to pay in £10 to your acct. it will leave £3-16-0 of mine for you to pay my little bills for me, one for tobacco I sent you, 18/- I think.
Yes the Rio tram bonds will have been paid 1st July, they are very sound, I only wish I had put more money into them. The loan seems to be going off well,people selling out other investments to put into it. I wish balance of Turb. [Turbotston] money owing you could be paid off now & it would have given you a gilt edged 4 ½ % investment. I see Irish Railways are doing all right increases in all. 2/6 income tax now, I doubt it going to 5/- but it may be 3/6 later.
Yes it is a very serious problem for many. I read speech in Irish T. [Times] re economies & cutting down expenditure, in many cases it can be done, but in many it can’t. In your case there is not much margin as in all small establishments. After all if it really became necessary one can get a nice small place like Souldern in England for £35 a year. Very many will no doubt move into smaller houses.
I am not surprised at people being depressed at home, they are only just beginning to realise what this war is whereas in Germany & here people more or less grasped it months ago; it reached them here, not in England, or at least to no comparative extent. I see Haldane admits (today’s paper) we were sluggish at home & slow to move or grasp what we were in for & went on with “business as usual” ideas; why our statesmen whose business after all, it is to know about things a bit, should have been so slack all these months, it is beyond understanding.
We have to blame ourselves & not the unfortunate Russians, they have been battling away since beginning of war & were no doubt led to believe as we all were that in the spring our army would be ready & a real start made & give them a little respite & time to pull themselves together & get ammunition etc. but instead of that here we are half through the summer & no sign of any offensive on our part.
The Russians are almost blockaded till Dardanelles are freed, Arkangel is now open & Siberian railway, but both very small inlets in comparison to the huge country & they can only get in ammunition in comparative driblets. If only Dardanelles are freed it will make an enormous change I should imagine. Germany complains about England trying to starve out Germany whereas it is only just what the latter is trying to do with Russia …
I hope Evie will find a flat higher up in Rome, it ought to be a very good chance, rents should come down & no visitors to speak of. She is very safe where she is & of course moving about now is a business, passports, slow travelling & so on. Evidently she seems to think most people will remain in Rome more or less all summer. It will be hot of course.
I should have thought Feo could have got a job now with all the millions of men called up, if not a military one, then a private one, must be many jobs that want replacing when you think of all the men gone, firms of all sorts must be short handed, far more than in England.
He really might get something or get his rich Aunts to give him a bit for a holiday in hills or at sea, why you should always pay I fail to see, but as long as we do, I fear, he will never make an effort & just “do” the Corso as usual, we have been doing it for 12 years now or more. I can’t afford to send £10, my income has been so far reduced £72 by war & Mexican trouble, yours too by various things whereas E. gets her £100 regularly. I know it is not much, but then she knows what she is going to get. If I were better off I’d willingly send her £10 or £50, but really it is time he was made to make an effort & surly now is a chance to make one when all the men have been called up.
I get no pay here, not like most fellows who have jobs, Will with £420 a year & so on & money for their outfits & everything. As I said when I offered to pay £15 for E. & Ita to come back, it was presuming it to be necessity that they should & he perhaps called up or gone off on some Red X or other work & I’m still willing to do it, tho’ I can’t in the least afford it, if it should be necessary for her & I. to return to England, but if he is going to walk up & down the Corso as usual & do nothing then I can’t. After all there is a limit!
Best love
Yr affect son
Arthur
Talks of his future in laws opening a hospital, prepares logs for winter fuel ...July 8th, 1915
My Dear Mother … All busy round here with hay, women & old men & a few soldiers help when available, it is mostly hay about here. Small crops of potatoes that look well. Will you please pay enclosed bill for me to R & Steele & keep receipt. I note you paid Hayes, I wish he’d send my eye lotion, I must try & get some stuff here for my eyes … The Smiths have taken a house in Auteuil for a hospital & one for themselves 3 or 4 doors away in same St. a well known woman Dr. of Melbourne they are putting in charge of it, Dr Helen Sexton, 2 Australian nurses, one French nurse & a man nurse, 25 beds & the girls & a friend of theirs I know, Mrs Blackwood, will help. Alison went over to England on Thursday for a fortnight. I must try & arrange to spend 3 days with them on my way back here if possible; there is so much bother over passports & stay over passes & one has to be in civilian attire while there, but in kaki to come here & various other red tape passes, so it is not all so easy. |
We shall all go through together to Boulogne on a military pass so have to keep together. Being a military individual has its drawbacks.
They have started the hospital under the French Authorities & they will take French soldiers. They would have liked to have helped our own, but say there did not seem to be an opening anywhere, I fancy our people are much harder to deal with. They are close to Bois de Boulogne. Fancy Fin keeping little Krause all through. I wonder they let him. I feel for Lilian, Dardanelles is a nasty place & I fancy now in hot weather very unsavoury, I’ve smelt bodies here, quite enough! The day before yesterday about 10 of us went up into the woods, took our lunch & put in the day cutting down trees & cutting them up into lengths to be brought down for our winter supply of wood …Beastly place in winter I fear. Best love Yr affect son Arthur |
Talk of Vatican and politics, society talk, Arthur's friend in Switzerland helps trace missing soldiers, more German prisoners arrive ...
Convois Automobiles
S.S.A. No.3
Par Dijon
France
July 15th, 1915
My Dear Mother,
Yrs.of 8th arrived today, quickest so far. Enclosed you sent from Brenda was interesting. Yes, Frank Hargreaves is our Commandant, but I think Tarbutt returns end next month & will be in command & Hargreaves second in com. If he stays on. Perhaps Will might get leave when I do & X over from Boulogne on 9th. I wrote & asked him to meet me at boat. Will spend 10th in London & go over to Ireland that night.
Been cool & cloudy here & really bar in May we have not had much summer weather. Lake quite rough today. Band played from 6 to 7 last evg. On the “Place” close to this villa & town turned out to hear it & most of us who could, a little music cheers one up. Glad you have had Unc. Dick, he will have been very happy there. Yes it looks as if ???? was a bit pro. German, of course in a way one understands it as Austria, Prussia & Bavaria have each had Ambassadors to the Vatican & not France or ourselves till P???? went, neither had Russia, but I believe she now has. I fancy a younger man than than P???? would have been better.
I’ve just been looking at a Tatler in which I see a photo of Mary Plunkett & others at Ld. Wimborne’s garden party, all looking very smart & quite unlike war time! May Wald told me she was going to nurse in some London hospital.
Our other 10 cars have joined us permanently & we have got another villa up the hill, fine views, but a climb, I remain in this one, much more handy & on spot, as we feed here & orders all come in here. I feel in Winter this place will be very damp, so they will score up there …
Have they heard from Wilfred Bretherton. An American friend of mine, Marion Lindsay, has just written me from Switzerland where she is busy finding out about French prisoners & communicating with their belongings, she says she has been very successful & asks me if I have any English friends prisoner & if so she will be most happy to do what she can to find out about them. She lives in Bavaria a lot & is well known in Munich & seems to know the prisons that be there very well, so if I can make use of her for anyone like Wilfred B. I shall do so & I’m sure she’d be happy to do what she could. I’m writing to her about a Frenchman whose son is working with us here as messenger boy, they have heard nothing of him since last Aug when he was made prisoner.
Hard to believe Brenda’s story about King of Greece & Queen. We were suddenly told on Saturday to take all our cars out of the garage, about 2 p.m. we got word to shift out & at 5 p.m. 800 German prisoners arrived & were put in there till today when we saw them all marched off to the interior somewhere. They looked awfully “done” & thin when they arrived on Sat & covered with dust, Bavarians most of them, some Prussians. Taken near here on Friday. I enclose snap taken by a nice Corporal, self on left & my shover & car & ??? in wood where we fetch the wounded. Please keep it for me …
Best love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
S.S.A. No.3
Par Dijon
France
July 15th, 1915
My Dear Mother,
Yrs.of 8th arrived today, quickest so far. Enclosed you sent from Brenda was interesting. Yes, Frank Hargreaves is our Commandant, but I think Tarbutt returns end next month & will be in command & Hargreaves second in com. If he stays on. Perhaps Will might get leave when I do & X over from Boulogne on 9th. I wrote & asked him to meet me at boat. Will spend 10th in London & go over to Ireland that night.
Been cool & cloudy here & really bar in May we have not had much summer weather. Lake quite rough today. Band played from 6 to 7 last evg. On the “Place” close to this villa & town turned out to hear it & most of us who could, a little music cheers one up. Glad you have had Unc. Dick, he will have been very happy there. Yes it looks as if ???? was a bit pro. German, of course in a way one understands it as Austria, Prussia & Bavaria have each had Ambassadors to the Vatican & not France or ourselves till P???? went, neither had Russia, but I believe she now has. I fancy a younger man than than P???? would have been better.
I’ve just been looking at a Tatler in which I see a photo of Mary Plunkett & others at Ld. Wimborne’s garden party, all looking very smart & quite unlike war time! May Wald told me she was going to nurse in some London hospital.
Our other 10 cars have joined us permanently & we have got another villa up the hill, fine views, but a climb, I remain in this one, much more handy & on spot, as we feed here & orders all come in here. I feel in Winter this place will be very damp, so they will score up there …
Have they heard from Wilfred Bretherton. An American friend of mine, Marion Lindsay, has just written me from Switzerland where she is busy finding out about French prisoners & communicating with their belongings, she says she has been very successful & asks me if I have any English friends prisoner & if so she will be most happy to do what she can to find out about them. She lives in Bavaria a lot & is well known in Munich & seems to know the prisons that be there very well, so if I can make use of her for anyone like Wilfred B. I shall do so & I’m sure she’d be happy to do what she could. I’m writing to her about a Frenchman whose son is working with us here as messenger boy, they have heard nothing of him since last Aug when he was made prisoner.
Hard to believe Brenda’s story about King of Greece & Queen. We were suddenly told on Saturday to take all our cars out of the garage, about 2 p.m. we got word to shift out & at 5 p.m. 800 German prisoners arrived & were put in there till today when we saw them all marched off to the interior somewhere. They looked awfully “done” & thin when they arrived on Sat & covered with dust, Bavarians most of them, some Prussians. Taken near here on Friday. I enclose snap taken by a nice Corporal, self on left & my shover & car & ??? in wood where we fetch the wounded. Please keep it for me …
Best love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
Arthur is very busy, watches a battle, lack of progress in Flanders ...Vosges
Saturday July 24th, 1915 My Dear Mother Yrs. of July 19th …came today … Enclosed 2 things may interest you, one re Mrs Smith I cut out of a Sydney paper sent to me & other out of this mornings communiqué which will explain why we have been so busy & going day & night all the week, I don’t know how much longer it is going on, but we can’t keep it up much more. Many of us nearly dropping off the cars for want of sleep, dust too has been very bad & ones eyes get in such a state. I was given a night in bed for a change last night which was most acceptable. Two days ago 3 or 4 of us who happened to be out over pass saw a big fight from hill in wood looking across valley on bare hills opposite. Fearful shelling of trenches & then Germans climbing out & running up hill to a wood & then the 75 guns firing shrapnel into them. It was a particularly clear day & could follow it all so well. We saw another night a fight on a famous Kopf here, sort of hill 60 of these parts, wonderful at night. We were up a high hill above valley looking down over German positions & where we were was just behind French trenches but not near the Kopf in question. Guns going off in every unexpected spot & the view of flashes from the hand grenades & bombs they throw at one another is like fireworks, extraordinary sight. |
The want of sleep, continual guns firing off close to you in dark when going along road at night & the wounded everywhere waiting to be brought in on ambulances is all rather weird & gets a bit on ones nerves. The talk of nothing else & various fellows describing some ghastly wounded man he has brought down, one gets, we all are I think rather fed up of it all & I shan’t be sorry today when today fortnight comes …
I certainly have no intention at present of returning here for more than 3 months, it is a beastly cold place in Winter & I shall have had more than enough of this job by 1st Dec.if not long before. One could always come back to it in Feb or March if war is still on then, but hope to be elsewhere & war over by then … Cecil Starkie [??] had a narrow shave going over the pass two evenings ago, shell burst close to him & broke the front glass of the car. Several of us have had shells pretty close lately, they shell the road we use to try & stop the staff & ammunition going down to the troops & also searching for batteries in hills around. Russians seem in not a very good way at moment & Warsaw in balance! Nothing seems ever to happen in Flanders & I don’t suppose we shall ever advance in those parts. How sick everyone must be of it all, Germans included ... Best love Yr affect. son Arthur |
Arthur's nerves are under strain, lack of sleep, German air raid and casualties, one of the section is killed in action, looking forward to some leave ...
Vosges
S.S.A.3
France
Thursday July 29th, 1915
My Dear Mother
Yrs. of 22nd enclosing one from Mr Harrison came 2 days ago ...
… a few letters get opened I believe. We never stamp them, they are stamped by fort officials. I sent you a paper yesterday with view of these parts & a bit of road on top of pass we continually go over , sometimes 2 or 3 times in the 24 hrs & so are very sick of it in spite of views & also they shell it from time to time they fired 80 shells on to it the other night ...
Has Maudie a car of her own now. I have not that longing for a car I had, in fact I feel I never want to see or hear one again one gets so sick of the hum & noise these cars make always round the villa & on the road, this day & night & with less than half ones usual sleep all those sort of things begin to get on ones nerves. Out night after night doing 50 or 60 miles & to bed at 2 or 3 a.m. & driving in dark, not that I do it, I mean drive, much to trying for my eyes & driving experience, but nearly as bad on look out.
Last evg. at 6-30 as 3 of us were having a little walk by lake just outside town we heard & then saw a Taube come right over us & on over the town where he threw 3 or 4 bombs, made a fearful row & killed a little girl of 10 and wounded two soldiers & killed & hurt some horses. One bomb made a huge hole in small field by an hotel & smashed windows & hurled mud & stuff 100 yards around. Another came this morning at 6 & woke me up & threw 3 more & another at 7.30 & threw 2 or 3 more, so one does not get much rest on such a morning. The ones today did no harm to anybody, they fire at them but nothing happens.
We had our first casualty the night before last, a poor chauffeur killed & another hurt & bits of shell through the car. Very lucky more of our fellows were not killed, one of our men was standing by his car & his chauffeur near former was talking to a wounded officer that he was just going to take up beside him to bring back here when a shell burst close to them, knocked them all down, killed the officer & the chauffeur died shortly after, Frank Hargreaves shover was wounded in head, other man only shock. I had been up there twice just before, fetching some wounded from just behind French trenches & had only left the second time a little while before this happened.
The poor fellow is to be buried tomorrow morning so we shall of course go, I suppose a semi military funeral & service at graveside, I don’t know if they can get a parson if not I suppose one of our men will read the service. A shell burst about 20 or 30 yds from us in much same place 2 or 3 nights before just as I had loaded up my wounded & was preparing to start. I believe one or two were killed, but we moved off with our load. Seen a good deal of fighting in these parts lately. I got my eye lotion all right & was glad of it & was given some ointment to use by a man & it has done my eyes good. The dust & night work is trying for them. Night before we were out from 7p.m. to about 2 a.m. & teeming rain almost all the time, beastly, last night it was all dust, or most of it, wonderful how roads dry up ...
If I can get particulars about Cecil de Trafford I will write to my friend Marion Lindsay & ask her to try & find out, if she can,anything about him.
Yes, I shan’t take home many clothes, in fact only a suitcase I think, as I have all I want at home. I’d like to get a job with some pay, but I know it is not easy, So I suppose I will come back here for 3 mths. Our first commandent, Tarbutt, returns to us on 7th Aug. & some new men to replace three that are going after their 6 months. If I do 9 months out here I think I should like to try & get something at home during winter. It was cold enough during last night both I & shover were wondering what on earth it would be like in winter here so I don’t think I could stand much of it ...
Best love
Yr. Affect. son
Arthur
S.S.A.3
France
Thursday July 29th, 1915
My Dear Mother
Yrs. of 22nd enclosing one from Mr Harrison came 2 days ago ...
… a few letters get opened I believe. We never stamp them, they are stamped by fort officials. I sent you a paper yesterday with view of these parts & a bit of road on top of pass we continually go over , sometimes 2 or 3 times in the 24 hrs & so are very sick of it in spite of views & also they shell it from time to time they fired 80 shells on to it the other night ...
Has Maudie a car of her own now. I have not that longing for a car I had, in fact I feel I never want to see or hear one again one gets so sick of the hum & noise these cars make always round the villa & on the road, this day & night & with less than half ones usual sleep all those sort of things begin to get on ones nerves. Out night after night doing 50 or 60 miles & to bed at 2 or 3 a.m. & driving in dark, not that I do it, I mean drive, much to trying for my eyes & driving experience, but nearly as bad on look out.
Last evg. at 6-30 as 3 of us were having a little walk by lake just outside town we heard & then saw a Taube come right over us & on over the town where he threw 3 or 4 bombs, made a fearful row & killed a little girl of 10 and wounded two soldiers & killed & hurt some horses. One bomb made a huge hole in small field by an hotel & smashed windows & hurled mud & stuff 100 yards around. Another came this morning at 6 & woke me up & threw 3 more & another at 7.30 & threw 2 or 3 more, so one does not get much rest on such a morning. The ones today did no harm to anybody, they fire at them but nothing happens.
We had our first casualty the night before last, a poor chauffeur killed & another hurt & bits of shell through the car. Very lucky more of our fellows were not killed, one of our men was standing by his car & his chauffeur near former was talking to a wounded officer that he was just going to take up beside him to bring back here when a shell burst close to them, knocked them all down, killed the officer & the chauffeur died shortly after, Frank Hargreaves shover was wounded in head, other man only shock. I had been up there twice just before, fetching some wounded from just behind French trenches & had only left the second time a little while before this happened.
The poor fellow is to be buried tomorrow morning so we shall of course go, I suppose a semi military funeral & service at graveside, I don’t know if they can get a parson if not I suppose one of our men will read the service. A shell burst about 20 or 30 yds from us in much same place 2 or 3 nights before just as I had loaded up my wounded & was preparing to start. I believe one or two were killed, but we moved off with our load. Seen a good deal of fighting in these parts lately. I got my eye lotion all right & was glad of it & was given some ointment to use by a man & it has done my eyes good. The dust & night work is trying for them. Night before we were out from 7p.m. to about 2 a.m. & teeming rain almost all the time, beastly, last night it was all dust, or most of it, wonderful how roads dry up ...
If I can get particulars about Cecil de Trafford I will write to my friend Marion Lindsay & ask her to try & find out, if she can,anything about him.
Yes, I shan’t take home many clothes, in fact only a suitcase I think, as I have all I want at home. I’d like to get a job with some pay, but I know it is not easy, So I suppose I will come back here for 3 mths. Our first commandent, Tarbutt, returns to us on 7th Aug. & some new men to replace three that are going after their 6 months. If I do 9 months out here I think I should like to try & get something at home during winter. It was cold enough during last night both I & shover were wondering what on earth it would be like in winter here so I don’t think I could stand much of it ...
Best love
Yr. Affect. son
Arthur
Battle of The Linge, funeral of comrade, bad news from Warsaw ...
France
July 31st, 1915
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. of 10th & enclosures to hand today & an I. Times. Enclosed may interest you.
The Linge is where we have been & are going up to night after night by that zig zag road to fetch down wounded from just behind trenches & one sees & hears a lot of firing & shells bursting & noise. Two nights ago another car & mine were going up after dark & on last turn & about there we found Germans were shelling road & round about so had to jump off our cars & run down & take repose under sort of bank, it is all open hill side, & one or two burst so near we ran down further & got behind a wall of a battered old farm house & remained & were joined by a soldier who had just had a narrow shave with his mate. It was fairly safe, French guns going off fast & shells coming over all the time & it is hard to know which one which till one bursts near & one knows it is German. It died down after a bit & we went on up & got our wounded, cars not touched.
We had funeral yesterday morng. of the chauffeur who was killed; very nicely done, Chasseurs Alpins on each side of one of our cars on which we put coffin & chauffeurs & ourselves walked 4 deep behind & some French officers & nurses & few others. As we were going up first to the little Prot. Church we passed some German prisoners with a Dragoon escort & they halted & presented arms & prisoners stood to attention. A short service & then we went on to cemetery where head of motor transport spoke very nicely about it & the work we had done & his dying on the Champ d’Honneur. Several wreaths, we, chauffeurs & our officers each sent one.
Still no summer here, but fine if cloudy. A lovely night last night. Got to bed about 2 a.m. Am to have a rest tonight. One gets very tired out by this constant night work. I suppose this will hardly arrive before I hope to.
I hear 3 Taubes were over here 5 a.m. this morng. & 2 French & they had a fight; no bombs dropped. I heard nothing, fast asleep. Two of our cars collided last night & one badly smashed up, but luckily nobody hurt. It is hard in the dark, tho’ we have been lucky in having a moon lately. So Dick Maxwell goes out after all. Warsaw looks bad.
Best of love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
July 31st, 1915
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. of 10th & enclosures to hand today & an I. Times. Enclosed may interest you.
The Linge is where we have been & are going up to night after night by that zig zag road to fetch down wounded from just behind trenches & one sees & hears a lot of firing & shells bursting & noise. Two nights ago another car & mine were going up after dark & on last turn & about there we found Germans were shelling road & round about so had to jump off our cars & run down & take repose under sort of bank, it is all open hill side, & one or two burst so near we ran down further & got behind a wall of a battered old farm house & remained & were joined by a soldier who had just had a narrow shave with his mate. It was fairly safe, French guns going off fast & shells coming over all the time & it is hard to know which one which till one bursts near & one knows it is German. It died down after a bit & we went on up & got our wounded, cars not touched.
We had funeral yesterday morng. of the chauffeur who was killed; very nicely done, Chasseurs Alpins on each side of one of our cars on which we put coffin & chauffeurs & ourselves walked 4 deep behind & some French officers & nurses & few others. As we were going up first to the little Prot. Church we passed some German prisoners with a Dragoon escort & they halted & presented arms & prisoners stood to attention. A short service & then we went on to cemetery where head of motor transport spoke very nicely about it & the work we had done & his dying on the Champ d’Honneur. Several wreaths, we, chauffeurs & our officers each sent one.
Still no summer here, but fine if cloudy. A lovely night last night. Got to bed about 2 a.m. Am to have a rest tonight. One gets very tired out by this constant night work. I suppose this will hardly arrive before I hope to.
I hear 3 Taubes were over here 5 a.m. this morng. & 2 French & they had a fight; no bombs dropped. I heard nothing, fast asleep. Two of our cars collided last night & one badly smashed up, but luckily nobody hurt. It is hard in the dark, tho’ we have been lucky in having a moon lately. So Dick Maxwell goes out after all. Warsaw looks bad.
Best of love
Yr affect. Son
Arthur
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