Norwich bulletin., 1916-10-04
Tales By Wounded seTommies,v

Notwithstanding the well-nigh to- tai darkness of the nights and the number of wounded seen upon the streets London life is not without it's days of the great war. One reason for this is that the wounded soldiers are about the most cheerful lot Lon don has ever known. Most of those encountered along the Strand, in. Pic adilly and other promenades of the lia or New Zealand. The wounded English "Tommie" is more often found in the suburbs, in the neigh borhood of his old home.
 It would seem decidedly out of place to sympathize with these often hospital togs, for that is apparently the last thing they desire. As mat ter Of fact they deeply resent it as a rule. In crowded tram or tube cars women often arise and offer seats to wounded soldiers only to have them politely but very firmly refused.
 Nor will the man ordinarily talk of where they "got it."
 "Oh, somewhere out in o-man's land,' they'll say. One chatterbox of a Tommite went so far as to ad:
 T was 'opping along from one dug out to another when I ups and stun bles over something ard. I guess it must a been a bomb Anyway it blew me bloomin' foot off"
 A popular young Canadian officer, in multi and on crutches, recently swung his way with no little difficult ty into the lounge room of a hotel in the Strand. His left leg was shat tered from the knee down and hung stiff and helpless in steel braces.
 Have something, Livvy?" asked one of his fellows in khal1i. [ Sorry, but can't tonight, old man." replied 'Livvy"; you see I have got a crippled friend to look after.
 In came the friend, an even younger i officer with right leg gone at the knee.
 ! We tossed 6 coin," exclaimed .tLiv- w. "to see which one of us would i look after the other, and I lost.'' | In this same hotel, which is a sort ! of headquarters for the officers from l across the seas, q report was circu- young flying corps captain. He had often been in the "club'' and only a l few days before had "swanked" quite . bit about the easy life he was liv- | ing. All he had to do was to take new machines across the Channel and 1 turn them over to the aviators at the i front In this way he spent about every other day in London, much tc i the envy of the fellows lover there who were longing for the sights o1 | town. But now "GTlI' was gone anC a company of his friends drank a si- l lent toast to his memory. l Three days later 'GiP' created con- 1 sternation at the club by appearing very much alive and as hale and i hearty as ever.
 ''Why, you old cheater," shouted one of his friends, 'go back where you belong or pay us for that very ex- pensive round we had the other night. What right have you got to be living anyway?'
 ''GiT' admitted the obligation en- tiled by his return from the grave paid it handsomely, and Is still flying new machines 'cross Channel for the ''wingers" at the front.
 Another young Canadian of the fly ing corps told of a joke he hat played on the folks at home. He ha6 not written for nearly a month wher l along came a cablegram:
 'No letters for weeks. Is anything wrong with the hoy?"
 Promptly he had cabled back ''co1- lect";
 'Very serious matter. Boy abso- l lutely broke. Send much money"
 That" explained Boy" ought tc stop them worrying for a while"