6th April. Reveille at 2 A.M. this morning, so you can see we have had a lot of sleep. We moved off at 3 to catch the train at Goddersville, arriving there at 6. Here we had breakfast, & then entrained in horse trucks. We had a very cold ride for the next 10 hours when we arrived at the storm centre Amiens. All along the line from Ailly sur Somme to Amiens the people are packed up & prepared to move at a minute’s notice, while the road from Amiens is crowded with refugees of all sorts, carrying or pushing their few belongings, all hastening to get out of reach of old Fritz should he ever come any further. The station at Amiens is simply crowded with traffic, troops, munitions, guns, stores, horses & etc coming in & being unloaded as fast as possible, while the outgoing trains are carrying everything of any value out of the city.
Amiens is a big place. To give you an idea of the size we marched for a little over an hour before we cleared the town itself. Her streets are full of soldiers, both French & British with a sprinkling of Australian here & there. Our way led quite close to the beautiful cathedral. What a shame it will be if ever this lovely old pile is smashed, for she is one of the finest churches in France.
By the time we got fairly on our way it was dusk & we could easily see the flashes of our guns away in the distance. There is a big ridge which runs right round Amiens & it is quite evident whoever holds this has the whole of Amiens & the great basin which spreads for miles in their hands for it is such a dominating position, & this is what Fritz is fighting so hard to get. I don’t fancy his chance of ever getting it now the element of surprise has gone & his forces have lost their momentum.
It was a terribly solid march for the men to Allonville & they dropped out pretty fast as we approached her for they were done to the world, having had no sleep & very little tucker for the last 36 hours. No one was more pleased than myself when we threw our packs off in a great loft which held nearly the whole Batt. Just as we got in down the rain came in torrents & we thanked our lucky stars with our remaining breath that we were not out in such a storm. Tea was on as soon as they were ready. After this we made our beds & turned in for the night, done to the world.
7th April. The morning broke nice & sunny & the weather shows signs of clearing up. I am writing this sitting under one of the great sheds & the sun is pouring down. In the distance Amiens lies, a great white patch in a sea of green, & she looks very pretty with the sun glistening on the roofs & spires of the buildings while overhead the drone of our planes almost lulls one to sleep so continuous is it. They are there in hundreds, coming & going to the line in regular flocks. One Fritz was foolish enough to get a peep at what was going on over our way but he was simply eaten up, being rushed at from all directions.
Things are very busy round our billet, getting ready for the line. There are officers & men about here from all the Australian Divisions but everything appears to be running smoothly. From all accounts our lads are keeping their splendid reputation up.
At the present moment there is a great rattle of artillery. The old Hun must be attacking again, & I must leave off for it has just gone dinner.
This afternoon Mackie, Price, Dimock & I went for a stroll in a pretty little wood which is quite close to us. How nice everything looked for the sun was shining brilliantly & great white clouds were drifting across the sky, throwing fleeting shadows across the old beech trees, which are just beginning to get faintly stained with a green tinge which heralds the approaching spring. The most beautiful part of it all was the lovely carpet of early wild flowers, for they were there in abundance & in all colours: violets, anemones, crocuses, daisies, cowslips, primroses, buttercups & lots of other pretty little flowers that I don’t know the name of. The whole land was just a mass of colour, & it was delightful walking in such a bonzer place. I picked up a number of flowers & am going to try & press them.
11th April. Slept in till 8.30 for during the night we had been warned that we would be moving off today & nearly certain for the north again. Oh she’s a lovely war, & what a time we’re having.
We have just dumped our packs, in preparation for a forced march, where to I don’t know, nor care much either, for it’s all the same to us no matter where we go — we will eventually be shot into the thick of it.
A few of our financial members of the Staff, being seized with a fit of generosity, rushed down to the boozer & secured a few bottles of champagne to help drown their sorrows & give them courage for the promenade. Price & a few more of this issue are now sitting in the sun feeling very contented with the present state of affairs & scraping the mud off their boots.
25th April. Well to start with I shall have to go back some 13 or 14 days, just before we left St Pol on our way to Flanders again, so I shall have to be very brief & remember what I can. First of all I must mention this is Anzac Day & I am trying to scribble away sitting up in my bed in the Queens Hospital, Birmingham. I will have more to say of this later on when I catch my arrears up, so here goes for the back stuff.
We were held up for some unaccountable reason or other in St Pol & while here we were heavily bombed by Gothas. All we could do was to sit still in our trucks & heartily curse old Fritz & our drivers, who seemed to have caught a fright & done a get. Oh all were heartily glad when after a delay of some few hours we at last got a new engine on & pulled out. For the rest of the night we travelled steadily northwards & we never seemed to be out of hearing of the guns. In fact at some places old Fritz was even sending shells over our heads. Luckily we stopped nothing but it all tended to show that he had made a good advance; however our spirits were of the best & to kill time a party of us played “pontoon” till just on morning. I finished up by winning just on £4, a nice & handy little sum should I be lucky enough to get a crack in the next few days.
We got out at a quiet little siding just outside Hazebrouck & from here we could hear a few guns belting away in the distance. After the bustle & confusion of detraining was over we “fell in” in an old paddock just close to the railway line. After the rolls had been called the Capt spoke a few words to the Coy & told them what he knew of the situation, which I might say was very little, for after the heavy fight everything was upside down & mixed up to an astonishing degree; however he told us we would have to take up a position & dig in as soon as we came to favourable positions for defending, & at the same time he brought up several other matters about holding on till the last, no surrender & etc, which to my mind were quite needless for had not the Australians always fought up to their reputation, & needed no telling about it.
At any rate after waiting about for an hour or so we put our gear on & marched away from the railway line. We struck some pitiable sights all along the road for the poor old French people were tramping painfully along with their few treasured possessions done up in bundles which they were carrying in their hands. Some of the more fortunate ones had their carts & these were loaded with their few little scraps of furniture, bedding, some hay for their horses & etc, & on top as a rule there were seated some old people who had been driven from their one-time happy & prosperous homes & were now fleeing for their lives. Following the people up came their cattle, horses, sheep & etc, & among all this mixture we were threading our way slowly up to meet the wily Hun.
Now there is one thing I am going to say right here & that is this: when a lot of these old people saw we were Australians, they stopped on the road & some of them even turned back, such faith they have in our chaps. More than one old lady I heard say, “Bravo Australia, Australia bon,” & some of the old people actually cried with joy & relief when they saw the lads coming up with that firm easy swinging stride which belongs to us alone when marching in columns. Here, they thought, were troops who would give Fritz a fight for it, come what may. I don’t suppose you will believe me but what I say is quite true. We have a reputation second to none, & I don’t think we are going to lose it either.
Just before we reached Borre, we were halted for breakfast & rations were issued so we sat down & had a good tuck in, for all were very h
ungry & tired after the long & tiresome train journey right from Amiens. While we were breakfasting numbers of Tommies kept on trickling down, all dead beat both in body & spirit. We stopped a lot of them & tried to get some idea of how things were going but they could tell us very little. I have my doubts if a lot of them had been near the firing line at all, by the silly yarns they told.
After breakfast we “fell in” & marched away up through the deserted streets of what had once been a thriving & busy little village (Borre). Here we dumped our packs in a big house & threaded our way through the horses, waggons, limbers & etc which were rushing up & down the road. When we got outside the village the platoons got into “artillery formation” for we were gradually coming under long-range shell fire & we wanted as few casualties as possible.
We came to a halt just before we entered Pradelles. Here we were delayed till darkness had nearly set in, then we got a move on & went forward steadily till we were on the ridge overlooking Strazeele railway station. All senior N.C.O.s were called forward to have a look at the situation where we were going to dig in later on, so over we all went. Mr Beckett, Lynch, Gill & I selected our spot after much arguing as to field of fire, communication, flanks & etc. We had quite a few close shaves while reconnoitring & arguing the toss, for old Fritz was slinging his shells about in a most reckless manner, aiming at nothing in particular, just chancing to luck where they fell.
Well we got our men up & started them digging. For some reason or other Fritz chose this very spot & he plastered it unmercifully for a good hour with whizz bangs & 4.2s. Hanged if I can understand why we were all not wiped out for they landed all round us, throwing the dirt up in all directions & nearly choking us with horrible fumes. In half an hour or so time the lads were quite safe, for such good purpose had they dug that they put one in mind of rabbits with only their ears showing. Shortly after however he knocked off shelling & for the rest of the night we dug in comparative safety & ease.
By 1 o’clock we had finished & started off back to where we were going to camp for the time being, just behind Pradelles. I don’t think I ever felt more tired in all my life as I struggled home at the tail of the platoon, picking up the stragglers & putting them on the right track, & Heavens talk about cold, it was absolutely freezing. A cutting wind was blowing which struck right to the marrow.
The first thing I done was to slip over to the village, go into one of the cottages & get a bundle of blankets, rugs & etc (they were here for the taking as all the people had fled). There were dozens of chaps sleeping in every room but I managed to get as much as I wanted & slipped back to our windswept little camping place. Here Charlie Tonkin & I spread the bedding out & after a drink of tea, which old Mac had waiting for us, turned in utterly knocked out & too weary for words. I slept like a log in spite of the howling gale & did not wake till 9 o’clock & only then when Charlie shook me by the shoulder & told me he had the breakfast waiting. I wanted to go to sleep again but Charlie wouldn’t hear of it, so I rubbed my heavy eyes & set to work on my breakfast. We both turned in again & slept till 12 o’clock.
Mr Beckett came round then so we started to hunt the men up, but we could scarce find a one. They had all bolted off to the surrounding farmhouses & cottages, & here we found them sure enough sitting round the fires, roasting & cooking fowls, big Belgian rabbits, eggs, pork & all sorts of stuff which the people had left behind in their haste. In lots of houses the tables were all set for dinner, food & all being on the table. Needless to say the lads made the most of their opportunities & talk about wine, champagne & beer, well here it was in abundance. Early as it was in the day a good few were very merry, but we got them all mustered by degrees. Just close there was one specially big farmhouse & judging by the furniture & clothing left they must have been very well off. I found half of my platoon tucked away in here.
Towards the end of the day the majority of the Coy were half drunk so some of us went round & smashed as much grog as we could lay our hands on; champagne, wine or beer, it all went the same way. It’s a regular danger, you know, to have such a lot of stuff lying about & you never know the minute you may have to fight for your life, & half-witted men are more of a hindrance than anything else. How they swore & cursed when they heard of this but it sobered them up a bit.
The day was still frightfully cold & we had our work cut out trying to keep warm. At 7 o’clock we fell in & started off to complete our outposts (we were going to lengthen & wire them so as to make them stronger). We had a very nasty barrage to go through for old Fritz must have got a lot more guns up for he was giving the ridge we had to cross a taste of heavy shell fire; however we managed to get through without any casualties is a mystery to me for it seemed impossible. Once we had to scatter & take cover in shell holes for the shelling was severe. He hit building after building & set them alight & soon the whole countryside was lit up as by a gigantic bonfire & you could see people moving everywhere. She gave every promise of a very lively night & perhaps an attack by the way he was “barraging”, so I said to Mr Beckett, “Let’s get across this strip as soon as we can & take a chance, for it looks as if we will be wanted tonight.” “I was thinking the same,” he said, so he gave the signal to advance & men seemed to spring up from all manner of places & rapidly moved forward.
Before long we were in position, & attending to such little things as distributing our men evenly, passing 303. round, pushing “listening posts” out, getting the best position for our Lewis Gun & team & the hundred & one little things that have to be thought of when expecting an attack. The very night seemed favourable for it was pitch black, the wind had dropped & it seemed to have a moaning sighing sound as it passed through the trees. Houses & buildings were on fire everywhere, both our guns & the enemy’s were pounding away, the shells of both sides just seemed to be sizzling over our heads, & every now & again Fritz would send up a series of green & white lights as if signalling. At intervals there would be a short outbreak of rifle & machine gun fire & we would think, now they’re coming, but it seemed to die away each time.
We got that way at last that we honestly wished something would happen & break the awful suspense which seemed to be hanging over us like a pall. These are the times when the strain on nerves are greatest. I know I always pride myself on my nerves & I must say that I felt rotten, worse than I ever remember feeling under the same circumstances at any time before, but I dare not show it for I had to appear as calm as I could. I walked along the parapet every now & then & cracked jokes with the boys, for an N.C.O. is supposed to set a personal example to his men. I know myself the value of a don’t-care sort of way in these critical times for it helps to keep the men’s thoughts off what might be going to happen; however I might as well say right here that I had a nasty feeling about me, as if something was going to happen to me, & my heart seemed in my boots, but by exerting my will power I crushed this feeling utterly & carried on.
About 12 o’clock there was an attack sure enough but it fell on the 3rd Batt front. Old Fritz attacked in 7 waves & after some fierce fighting he was driven off with great loss, though not before we had to go & reinforce some of their posts which were being hard pushed. You have no idea what a relief it was to all when this came off for the horrible suspense of waiting had come to an end, & we knew what was happening. We were engaged most of the night, but as the situation was well in hand by daybreak we were allowed to go back to our billets.
After getting back to our camp we had a drink & then turned in to get what rest we could & this did not happen to be much, for he evidently found where we were & started to shell us unmercifully. As it happened I was away when it started — went down to see Bill Barwick, who was camped in the next village. Found Bill hard at work digging a strong point. We had a good yarn & then I heard this shelling commence & I said to Bill, “That’s among my Coy. I must get back as quickly as possible,” so I said goodbye & off I started.
On my way down I met Jack Hayes, who had been driven out of house & home, & Jack
was cursing all the Fritzs in creation heartily. I said, “Come on, let’s go down to see how things are, they can’t hit us,” & for a joke I held up my arm & said, “Give us one, Fritz.” Jack laughed & said, “Right oh,” so down we went.
I was getting my men out from under the hedge & telling them to go down to the old sunken road for safety. Shells, big ones at that, were falling thick & fast & quite a number were getting knocked. I remember hearing the screech & howl of a big shell coming towards me. I stood quite still & waited to see what would happen. The next thing I remember was a frightful red-hot searing pass across my right side & I staggered from the blow. I knew I was hit but I did not know how badly; I thought at first that my stomach was hanging out when the warm blood started to run down my body.
As I staggered back Jackie Hayes caught me & throwing me over his shoulder started to carry me to a place of safety but the pain was too much so I got him to put me on the ground & he helped me across. The funniest part of all is that I never heard the explosion of the shell. I suppose the shock of getting hit took that away but I remember on looking round seeing 3 or 4 more chaps who had been hit & 1 lying dead alongside me. Lieut Champion was also cracked, so she had been a pretty successful shell from the German point of view.
When Jack got me over to a safe place he laid me on the grass, took my tunic off & cut the shirt away & disclosed the wound. It was as lucky a squeak as ever you saw. I had got it almost in the thinnest part of my body on the right side & it had cut a great gash, almost showing the ribs. Oh she looked a beauty. Jack took his field dressing & bottle of iodine out & poured nearly half the contents over the wound. Talk about sting & smart, made me sit up I can tell you, but it was the proper thing to do. Another piece just missed my arm, cut straight through the sleeve of the tunic, so I ought to consider myself rather lucky. This happened on the 15th, just 1 year & a week after I was hit at Doignies.
In Great Spirits Page 31
