IN THE ICY SLUSH OF FLANDERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2632, 30 November 1915, Page 7

IN THE ICY SLUSH OF FLANDERS

> BRITISH PLUCK IN WINTER ; CAMPAIGNING I By Telerr&pli—Press Association—Couyrlzlit j (Rec. November 29, 9 p.m.) London, November 29. . Mr. Phillip Gibbs, in the "Daily Tele- | graph," gives a remarkable picture of ! winter conditions on the Western front. "The soldiers," lie says, "are experiencing the frigbtfulness of the elements, and the rain is filling the trenches with ice-cold water. A German shouted from his trench: 'How deep?' . "A Britisher replied: "Up to our blooming knees 1' "The German: 'We're up to our bolts I' "Frequently the German soldiers plead for a- truco because of their awful discomfort. Many of the British soldiers are provided with waders Teaching to their thighs. Several are suffering from what is known a 8 trencli feet, their limbs •being numbed with the intense cold. "Here is an instance of heroism. A sergeant was standing thigh-deep in water when a trencli mortar smashed one of his legs. A surgeon operated on the spot, the man's comrades holding the patient -up half out of the water. The sergeant joked after the operation, .and wrote a letter to his wife. "Many of the trenohes are simply puddles. The mud fouls the rifles and gets mixed with the food. The wind is so cold that it cuts through the thickest clothing like a knife. The German soldiers appear to suffer more than ours. ; The Britisher's unconquerable cheeriness enables him to paddle in a wet trench and stand for hours in the freezing slime ' without despair." • j