At the first Gaza battle we had to advance 1,700 yards across a plain
in full view of the Turks, who hurled a terrific barrage at us. We were
in artillery formation, and we marched up until within rifle range.
With machine guns and artillery the Turks were depleting our ranks, so
that less than half of us were still marching on at 500 yards range.
In my section was the Cockney "funny man" of the company. When things
were bad, and we were all wondering how long we would survive, he began
singing lustily a song which someone had sung at our last concert party
behind the lines, the refrain of which was "I've never heard of anybody
dying from kissing, have you?"
Before he had started on the second line nearly everyone was singing
with him, and men were killed singing that song. To the remainder of us
it acted like a tonic.
Good old Jack, when he was wounded later he must have been in terrible
pain, yet he joked so that at first we would not believe he was
seriously hit. He shouted, "Where is 'e?--let me get at 'im."--_J. T.
Jones (late 54th Division), 37 Whittaker Road, East Ham, E.6._