THE NEED OF SOCKS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 97, 27 April 1915, Page 5

THE NEED OF SOCKS.

The following is an extract from a letter from one of the men at the front:—"Your splendid parcel of socks arrived on the night we came out of the trenches for a few days in billets. It was most welcome, because we had a rather trying spell of bad weather, alternate rain, sleet, frost and mist.. Some days were so misty that we could not see more than twenty yards in front of us, and in consequence we were standing to most of the time. I was out on a 'listening post' job away out in. front of the barbed wire, lying flat on the ground, to give warning in case of attack. After you have been out on that job for some time you begin to get stiffened up all over, and on being relieved usually return to tie trenches staggering about like a drunken man. However, our fellows are very considerate, and always make a point of having something hot ready for those coming in, and in five minutes you are all right again. 1 don't think there was a dry pair of socks in Imy platoon, and some fellows were in a bad plight, indeed, going about in socks with no heels in them and as hard as leather. Yon can guess what a difference the arrival of your bundle made. T was able to supply the whole platoon with warm, dry socks, and to send thirty odd Tommies to bed with warm feet. You must accept the Xo. 15 Platoon's warmest thanks for your kindness in sending out such an acceptable gilt. The officer was much exercised in mind as to how he was going to get sonic socks for the men, and I was delighted to be able to set his mind at rest when he came round billets. You will see that the knitting efforts of your ladies at home are instrumental to a great extent in keeping us up to scratch and our faces in front of les A demands. So tell those at home to wire into the knitting and jsewing, because it's a lino way of fighting the Germans. If a fellow is warm and dry, sentry duty or any other duty |in the trenches loses a tremendous ideal of strain on the physical ewdurjance."