Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1917-12-28
CHAPTER xi.
Preferred Firing Line to Hospital.

'''b INV ~ f'OeP'NSh
CO0N after this | reported sick for
y the first time since | had been in
the British army. had growth
I'm my throat, and they sent Inc to q
hospital In Armentieres. There they
removed the growth and put me to
bed on a stretcher.
| was In the hospital only three days,
and during my stay there the Germans
shelled the town the entire time.
felt awfully sorry for the poor fellows
there who were helpless and didn't
know at what moment shell might
come through and wipe them Off the
face OF the earth.
| stood it for three days, and when
saw that they had made no move to
discharge me from hospital | asked
the orderly In my ward when would
be likely to get out.
Oh" he said. you won't be out OF
here for week yetr'
Wont II" | asked. "Well, you Just
go down to the other end of the ward
and turn your back for a few moments
and see whether will get out or notv'
He said he couldn't do thing like
that, but the next time he was down
there | simply got up and walked out
In these hospitals SO near the firing
line there are no such things as beds,
and one simply lies on stretcher with
his clothes all on.
When | reached the gate of the hos.
pital ! found policeman on duty
there, but | simply said the magic
word DUTY and walked right by him.
! got lift on a motor lorry for four
teen miles. and | walked the other
eight back to camp.
When returned and reported my.
self they asked me for my discharge
sheet, but said had lost it. 80 there
was nothing they could do about 1t.
In the spring OF 1915 the kaiser paid
visit to the German trenches. guess
he came very quietly, for the first we
knew Of IL was when the Germans in
the trenches opposite us raised big
board above their parapet, on which
was printed something like this:
THE EMPEROR WAS HERE JESTER
DAY.
HAD YOU ONLY KNOWNl
THE ENGLISH WERE EVER sLoWl
Our chaps printed board which
went them one better. 1t said:
THE KING HAS BEEN HERE TWICE
TOMORROW THE PRESIDENT
or FRANCE COMES
WE ARE NOT AFRAID TO TELL YOU
NOW
FRITZ, you ARE HARMLEssI
To carry the joke to the end. some.
body dug up silk hat from some
where, and about | o'clock all the fel.
lows began to cheer. They stuck the
hat on the end Of IA stick and carried
II along the trench so that IL could be
seen
That hat was absolutely riddled with
bullets but they carried 1t clear to the
end OF the trench, and then they threw
both hat and stick over the parapet, so
that the Germans could see how they
had been fooled And how our fellows
howled.
The Germans were so mad | think
they would have done us violence had
they had the opportunity A little
thing like that means a lot to the boys
in the trenches and II is the subject
Of conversation for days and days
afterward
Later We began TO have more trouble
with spies. We caught lunches OF
them. but there always seemed to be
more about Occasionally there would
he Belgian among them but for the
most part they were Germans, and we
could not understand It We caught
them in all guises, but for the greater
part they seemed to fancy kits as be-
ing above suspicion On the face OF
the thing this Ia ridiculous for who