The Washington herald., 1916-09-11
WORLD APPEARS mad
TO OFFICER AT Front
Roar of Guns Sounds Like lncessant
Beat Of Surf.

London Sept. IA British junior Of
ficer, writing home from France, says
Il have not yet reached my battery,
but have already been through enough
to write a book about II. We arrived
the other side OF the water from Eng
land about a. m. the next morning. We
voyaged in a troopship in awful heat
the men were like flies all over the ship
I've never seen such a sight, and the
heat was intense. We landed and went
to the base and reported, and spent Sum
day and Saturday afternoon there. where
shared a tent with three other Of
ficers.
I'VE left there on Sunday night TO Join
our division at the front, and / had my
first command. 1 had to take twenty
seven men up to the front to battery.
leave them there, and report to my own
division. We were in q train for thirty
six hours, sleeping and feeding en- route.
Yesterday We got to the railroad, and l
had to march my men away seven miles
in the awful heat myself at their head.
The roads-awful in the dust; shell holes
everywhere, Red Cross motors tearing
by, one long stream of ammunition wag-
ons, dispatch riders. and every known
kind of soldier-all in shrapnel helmets;
my poor men, dead beat with the heat
and carrying all their stun on their
backs. We halted for rests in between,
and the air one dull roar of guns; the
German trenches about four miles away.
Cheers Greet Tea.
L got them to the village about p. m,
and found their major in a ruined farm
house, which was his headquarters, and
handed them over intact Then l shook
hands and left. They evidently liked me.
those boys, as they gave me a cheer and
+, hoped TO see me some day in Hyde
! haf
bought them tea and stun en- route-poor
eegars. they had no money. Then
tramped homewards and ran into the
chief ordnance officer Of the district, of
whom / asked the way. He was in peace
time London chartered accountant and
good sort he was. He saw l was
bit done. so he asked me into mess with
them, and right good mess it was, too.
small tent. with a riCkety table sugar
boxes for chairs. boiled ham and beans
and hot muscatels and custard, and then
large cups of coffee. Oh, how good it
was!
The heat was intense, OF course. is
now and has been. 1t was then 10 D.
m, and dark, and I started to walk back
to the station by the railway line-the
end Of the line-to get my belongings, my
valise. etc. Then a train came along
they don't go very fast-and I boarded
truck and sat on the step and was carried
part way to my destination Then It
stopped and l got off and walked the rest
two miles. Eventually got there at II 80
and saw the officer there. who sent me TO
a rest camp for the night. quite close,
where I had a tent. three boards, and
two rugs. and fell asleep.
Cheers Y. VI. c. A. Driver.
Then this morning I got hold Of Y.
NJ. c. A. van which had as driver Che
tleman. He drove me here at Il this
morning-juet tents in a field. had a
swim in a cold river. changed my clothes,
had some food, and am now sitting down
on the grass writing this At about 3
a. m. in the morning I shall go about ten
miles on a terrific motor lorry to Join
my. division, and thence to my battery
''All last night when I was near the
front I could see the flashes Of the guns
. and the air was one roar OF guns It
was Just like the waves on the seashore-
you know the noise they make when the
surf breaks on the shore; but this roisr
never rolled back the wave does It
just kept on. ! shared tent with a boy
just going home and suffering from shell
shock; such a charming fellow. but his
nerves had all gone The great thing that
impresses me is the state OF the roads
and the dust; the roads are like a bank
holiday gone mao. and YOU wonder why
the houses have such holes in them and
why there are no glass windows. Every
thing is terribly busy; the push is on and
we are becoming top dog at last You
meet lots of German prisoners coming in.
with men with dust and sweat all over
them. with shrapnel helmets and big bay
Cnets guarding them, and they are so
pleased to be captured and so grateful
and ready to do anything. Everything is
white with dust and all the world seems
to have gone mad, and it seems impossible
that I'm right here among 1t and not at
home"