In the last fight we were posted near to a wall over which hung the
most tempting grapes you ever set eyes on. When you’ve lain for nearly
a day in a hot sun without bite or sup, grapes seem more tempting
than ever. Though the Germans seemed to concentrate their whole fire
on the corner where those grapes were, most of us couldn’t resist the
temptation and risk of stealing out to get them. What you had to do was
to crawl along the top of the trenches like a big snail, and then, when
you got there, make a big spring up and catch what you could before the
German shots caught you. We weren’t always successful, and there’s many
a lad of ours owes his life or his wounds to touching that forbidden
fruit: _An Irish Guardsman_.
“Our Menu!”
We were on a convoy of ammunition and food, and had to go about 150
miles. We had got seventy odd miles, when we were sighted by Uhlans.
There were about 100 of them, and fifty of our men, and we got in a
very bad position, but we got out with the loss of a few drivers, and
we never lost any of our convoy. This is our menu: Monday: breakfast,
eggs; dinner, roast beef; tea, cake; supper, fish. Tuesday: breakfast,
eggs; dinner, roast beef; tea, cake; supper, eels. Wednesday:
breakfast, steak; dinner, rabbit; tea, biscuits; supper, eels.
Thursday: breakfast, liver; dinner, pork; tea, kippers; supper, stew.
Friday: breakfast, beef; dinner, ham; tea, jam; supper, stew. Saturday:
breakfast, bacon; dinner, rabbit; tea, ducks; supper, eggs. Sunday:
breakfast, eggs and bacon; dinner, roast beef; tea, tea. After Sunday
tea we all go to the pictures (I _don’t_ think): _Driver Ellis, Army
Service Corps_.
Trust Thomas!
We were all of us hungry yesterday. To-day I have been out about a mile
and have returned with some carrots, onions, and potatoes. These have
been peeled, cut up, and are now boiling in a pail with six tins of
corned beef added. A feed is what we contemplate, and a feed we will
have. We are all looking forward to a profound gorge, and I, for one,
have moist lips at thought of the meal within a commandeered pail!
But the bucket of stew is done! It’s fine! Excellent!! Yes! All that
because it is rare on campaigns such as this. We very seldom see a
cooked meal. It is usually bread and biscuit, tinned beef or tinned
jam, bacon or cheese. Trust Thomas Atkins to look after himself, as
you trust him to break the back of Kaiserism: _Pte. A. E. Basham,
Bedfordshire Regiment_.