Notes From Hecter

Horowhenua Chronicle, 12 September 1916, Page 2

Notes From Hecter

TO HIS LEVIN FRIENDS. SIDELIGHTS ON WAl{, I* rom Hector McDonald, formerly 0 f the literary staff of the Horowhcnua Daily Cbonicle, tlie following letter, -addressed to a member of the Chronicle staff, came to hand yesterday: France, July 18, 1916. "I? ear of-the censor forbids me telling you my exact geographical . position, and I am compelled to certify that the contents of this envelope refer to nothing but family matters. However, as we boys who left home together look on ourselves as one family, perhaps the censor in a generous fit will let me relate to you how Ave held a. front lino trench for the first time. "•We landed' in, (France, and we wero some weeks before we got to a town that is within a. few miles of the trenches. We were billeted in this town about two weeks, and were just beginning to think that war wasn't " such a bad job after all, when wo received notice to take over part of tUo line. My confidence, of which I possessed/ a good deal then, began to take wings, and I could' hardly resist .maJcing a fresh will out. I noticed that the others, too, had developed a habit of tilting their hats and scratching thoughtfully. (We all scratch now; but its not through worrying over the military situation.) We didn't get much time to worry over tilings, though, for we were given our final instructions (more of my confidence gone) and inarched off. .We passed through a shell ewept village that cannot boast one whole building. Things were not so bad on the march, but just as I was beginning to feel my warlike fpirit returning we discovered that we were lost. Then Sid. Smith came back to me and informed me that where wo were standing was called Suicide 'Corn('r - 1 fclt quite sure then that wo would be wiped out, but a guide arrived, and in a few minutes we were in the communication trench. tWe eventually relieved the cliaps who were holding the place, and as there wero not enough dug-outs to shelter the lot ef us, Sid. Smith, Chaiflie H'ook. young Ghussfordi and I—accompanied by a officer—were sent down to the banks of the canal to rest. There we found a, steel helmet with a couple of holes through it; also two spare rifles. That upset our plans, and rest for tho remainder of that night for us was nut of the question. When daylight ™me I was instructed to light the fire and "boil the william," but I. didn't

understandi coke, and I used so much wood to got the fire started tliat I soon had a fine colnmn of smoke going up, and in almost no time I had all the opposing forces firing at mo and my smoke. There was no breakfast that moaning. A new cook was put on after that, and when he wasn't getting wounded lie used 1 to fry 'bacon and make tea (we lived well in the early days). "We were shifted up afterwards, and given a bay in the trench to defend, "The first day passed quietly, and that night Sid. Smith and I, along with a lot of other chaps, went out in Xo-Man's-Land ais a covering party to some chaps erecting barbed-wire entanglements. The trenches lat this part were only seventy-five yards opart, and as the Huns were sending up star shells by the dozen. I felt the most conspicuous object on the landscape. Shortly after the wirers started work, one of them got hit. and; some men were told off to take him in, while three of us went with them to cover their retreat. Of coume we were obliged to crawl in, and with the wounded man groaning, the Germians were landing bullets all round us. Then a strange tiling happened. I hoard someone behind me, andi on looking round 1 beheld three men crouching in the grass about ten yards away. So as one of them was sneaking up to me I pushed up the safety catch on my rifle and grabbed Oliarli© Hook's foot just as he was going over a small ridge. 'He grabbed Sid. Smith, and the two of them came back, find we three waitedl for tlie "Huns to approach. We could see iFritz, Hans and Yarcob moving about, but they never appeared to get any closer; so after about llalf-an-liour's wait we decided to investigate closer. With mo in the rear we sneaked 011 the 'unsuspecting 'Huns, but to our amazement discovered! that they consisted of two 6>tunip6 and an. empty ruin jar. Then we were torn by conflicting emotions. We were pleiascd that it wasn't Germans, but we grieved over the emptiness of the rum jar. We soon got in tlien, and as it was nearly daylight didn't go • to bed that night. (Next day we were told we cou.ld sleep; but the officer d'dn't know me, for I couldn't get to sloop no matter what I did. Then when night dime I was put on sentrygo, and only the thought that I would b(> shot if I went to sleep enabledi ino to keep awake. "The third day saw us again off duty, and we went into a dug-out to slumber, but tilas and alack, just as we were passing into the land of dreams and nightniaires I heard a huge gun fired. I sat up, and so did the others, and we listened horror-stricken as the mighty shell oame at us. "We 'ie gone!" I said; and one of the boys said, "Well, we're all together!" Tho filie'l roared just above the dug out, and as we held our breath it burst in tho Germans' front trenoh. It was one of our own. Hundreds of times wo had the same thing happen to us. You see, as soon as you get inside a dug out h becomes a matter of impossibility to t"U whose shell it is that's coming. I think hardly any of the boys got any sleep at first, and everyone got quite lervy after a day or so. I remember mo night a chap came to me and lie <>ok me with him and showed me 'a

Gorman lying cm.our parapet. Idn ■burn showed a sergeant, a.ndi tho sergeant shct him. As a consequence wo had to put a new sandbag up next moi'i'itig. Our officer too, one night, pumped about u dozen revolver shots _ into a stump, on the advice of Charlie Hook, who had just stuck ail old hat on- it! "After ten days hfad pa,seed: according to the calendar (I think there were more) we were relieved imhl wont back to ornr billets in town. Once there, we were aible to read in tho Homo papers of our wonderful work in the tranches and our indifference to danger. Well, Stewart, hoy, I must knock off, ibb I've got to go on guwrdi soon; hut I will write soon again. Remember ma to all. Hoping to kick Will holm in the wummlo. n.« the Scotch sa.v, I remain, yours shakily, Hector McDonald."