In getting out of my trench I fell back, so injuring my back that I
could not move. I lay there, expecting every minute to be my last,
but it did not come. I took a bold front and looked over the trench
to see what was happening there. I saw that the Germans had taken a
sweeping curve to the right, and I saw the tail of them a long way off.
They seem to be driven along by their officers rather than led, for
the officers have their swords drawn. I laid down in the trench (my
comrades had evidently thought I was shot, as they took no notice of
me when I fell back into the trench) for two hours, looking now and
again to see if I could see any signs of our men. At last, after nearly
giving up hope, I saw a patrol of the 15th Hussars, and managed to
attract their attention, and they put me on a horse and carried me to a
French hospital in a village: _A Private in the Royal Sussex Regiment_.
A “Jelly Fish”
I was ordered to remain behind with the aeroplanes, one of which was
to go up early in the morning and return, and I was to take reports
on to headquarters. The machine had been gone half an hour when rifle
fire was heard, and we discovered that a German aeroplane was flying
overhead. The officers got rifles, and likewise myself, and stood up to
have a shot, but he went away, only, however, to return. We allowed him
to get in range and then opened fire. He came over the place where we
were lying down. I fired twenty-five rounds and expected to have a bomb
dropped on us, when I saw he was done. He made one dive and landed in
a heap behind us. On examining him we found twelve bombs, all of which
had safety caps and pins attached, luckily for us. He had a lot of
papers which I had the honour to carry to headquarters. The fall made
him like a jelly fish: _Private A. J. Davis_.
Cold--and Hot!
We had to climb up a big hill, and then through a quarry, so that we
were fagged out and wet through before we saw the enemy. When we did
get to the top they gave us a good welcome with shot and shell. It was
so heavy it dug up the ground in front of us, but we had to go on and
try to shift them. I saw some sights up there, with one man down after
another. I expected the next to be me, but I had determined that I
would keep my end up and do my best, so I kept going on. Well, the long
and short of it was that we got to them about tea-time, or what should
be tea-time. We found them about sixteen to one, or that is what I
thought. We could not shift them, but just as I thought we were getting
the best of it someone gave the order to retire, which we did. When we
got back we found we had lost all our officers, and nobody could tell
who gave the order to retire, and the sun was then sinking. It was in
going back that I was wounded. It is not a bad wound, and you must
thank God, as I have done, that I got through at all: _Pte. Clare, 1st
Royal Lancashire Regiment_.
“Knocked!”
When night came we knew where the Germans were, so we crept out of the
trenches and went down to the roadway. No sooner had we got there
than a great volley rang out. We were in the midst of it, and knew it
was either the Germans or us. So we at them. In the struggle that took
place I thought of you and the children. I made a jump at a German, but
whether I got him or not I don’t remember, for I got such a terrible
knock over the ribs. It must have been with the butt of a rifle. You
talk about getting your ribs bent. I got mine, and more than that my
appendix got first. They thought at first that it was a bullet wound,
but happily it was not, or I might not have been here to tell the tale.
I was knocked into a “trap” trench about eight feet deep, but I was
pulled out and carried eight miles on horseback: _A Private of the
Gordon Highlanders_.