In November '15 we were relieved in the early hours of the morning.
It had been raining, raining most of the time we were in the trenches,
and so we were more or less wet through and covered in mud when we came
out for a few days' rest.
About two or three kilometres from Béthune we were all weary and fed-up
with marching. Scarcely a word was spoken until we came across an
Engineer leading a mule with a roll of telephone wire coiled round a
wheel on its back. The mule looked as fed-up as we were, and a Cockney
in our platoon shouted out, "Blimey, mate, if you're goin' much furver
wiv the old 'oss yer'll 'ave to turn it on its back and wheel it."--_W.
S. (late Coldstream Guards), Chelsea, S.W.3._