Williams news., 1918-09-06
Vote for Hugh E. Campbell

Just as it begins to get dark the word "stand to" is passed from trav- erse to traverse, and the men get busy. The first relief, consisting of two men
 70 a traverse, mount the fire step, one man looking over the top. while the other sits at his feet, ready to carry messages or to inform the platoon off, ger of any report made by the sentry as to his observations in No Mans Land. The sentry is not allowed to relax his watch for a second. If he ls questioned from the trench or asked his orders, he replies without turning around or taking his eyes from the ex- panse of dirt in front of him. The re- mainder of the occupants of his trav- erse either sit on the fire step, with bayonets fixed, ready for any emer- gency, or if lucky, and dugout hap pens to be in the near vicinity of the traverse, and if the night is quiet, they are permitted to go to same and try and snatch few winks of sleep. Little sleeping is done; generally the men sit around, smoking flags and seeing who can tell the biggest lie. Some of them, perhaps with their feet in water, would write home sympathizing with the governor" because he was laid up with cold, contracted by getting his feet wet on his way to work in Wool wich arsenal. If a man should manage to doze off, likely as not he would wake with a start as the clammy, cold feet of a rat passed over his face, or the next relief stepped on his stomach while stumbling on their way to relieve the sentries in the trench.
 Just try to sleep with belt full of ammunition around you, your rifle bolt biting into your ribs, intrenching tool handle sticking into the small of your
 back, with a tin hat for a pillow and feeling very damp and cold, with ."cOoties" boring for oil in your arm- pits, the air foul from the Stench of grimy human bodies and smoke from a
 juicy pipe being whiffed into your nos
 trils, then you will not wonder why | Tommy occasionally takes a turn in the trench for a rest.
 While in front-line trench, orders forbid ,.- Tommy, from removing his boots, puttees, clothing ST equipment. The "cootfes" take advantage of this order and mobilize their fo. ces, and Tommy swears vengeance on them and mutters to himself, Just wait until 1
 hit rest billets and am able to get my own back" s.. Just before daylight the men turn i to" and tumble out of the dugouts, man the fire step until it gets light, or the
 welcome order stand down" is given.
 Sometimes before stand down. is or
 dered, the command five rounds rap id". Is passed along the trench. This
 means that each man must rest his
 rife on the top and fire as rapidly as possible five shots aimed toward the
 German trenches, and then duck (with
 the emphasis on the "duck''). There is
 a great rivalry between the opposing forces to get their rapid fire all off
 first, because the early bird, in this in
 stance, catches the worrn-sort of gets
 the jump on the other fellow, catching l We had a sergeant in our battalion | his platoon in the fire trench one after noon when orders came up from the ] rear that he had been granted sever days leave for Blighty, and would be relieved at five o'clock to proceed te i England. ~
 He was tickled to death at these
 welcome tidings and regaled his more tor less envious mates beside him or 1 the fire step with the good times in store. for him.i He, figured it out that ] tinEtwo days time che would arrive al lWaterloo station. London, and then