Daily Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1918-191?, 1918-03-13
CHAPTER vi.
"saek Of the Line"

OuT TOUT W tut AihhA-iAh' 1
lasted four days. and then we were
relieved by the - brigade. :
Going down the COMMUNICATING
trench we were In n merry mood. al
though we were cold and wet, and
every bone In our bodies achcd. n
makes a lot Of difference whether VOC
are "goIng In" or "golng Out
At the end Of the communication
trench, limbers were waiting ON the
road for US. / thought We were going
a. ridc back TO rest billcts, but soon
found out that the only time an In
fnntrymnn rides Is when he IL
wounded and Is bound for the bnse or
Bllghty. These limbers carried our
/ reserve ammunition and rutlons. Our
| march To rest billcts was thoroughly
/ enjoyed By me. II seemed ms II l
| were on furlough, aud was leaving be-
hind everything that was disagree
| able and horrible. Every recruit feels
this way after being relieved from the
/ trenches.
We marched eight kilOs and then
hultcd In front Of French estnminet
| The captain gave the order 10 turn
out on each side Of the road aud wait
his return. Pretty soon he Cnme back
and told n company 90 occupy billets
| III. lis and llD. Billet III was an
old stable which had previously been
occupied by cows. About four feet In
front OF the entrance was a huge ma
nure pile. and the od0r from II was
anything but pleasant. Using my
flnshllght I stumbled through the door.
Just before entering | observed n
white sign reading: sitting 80. lying
20" but. az the time, its Significance
did not strike me. Next morning I
asked the sergeant major what Il
meant lie nonchalantly answered:
That's some Of the work Of the II.
A. NJ. G. (Roynl Army Medical corps).
II simply means that In case Of an at
tack, this billet will accommodate
fifty wounded who are able 90 sit up
and take notice. or twenty stretcher
cases"
II was not long after this that was
| one Of the $40 lying"
I soon hit the hay and was fast
asleep. even my friends the "cooties"
| failed 20 disturb me.
The next morning at about six
O'Clock | was awakened by the lance
corporal Of our section, informing me
| that / had been detailed as mess or
derby. and 10 report to the cook and
U 4. L.fv..N III la
| the fire. carry water from un old well,
and fry the bacon. Lids Of dlXics are
used 20 cook the bacon IN. After
| breakfast was cooked. carried a dixie
of hot tea and the lid full Of bacon to
| our section. and told the corporal that
| breakfast was ready. lie looked nj me
/ IN contempt. and then shouted. Break
fast up, come and get az" | immcdl-
ately got wise 20 the trench parlunce,
and never again informed that Break
fast was served"
II didn't take long for the Tommles
20 answer this call Half dressed,
they lined NJ with their Cuntcens und
/ dished out the tea. Euch Tommy
carried In his hand II thick slice of
bread which had been issued with the
ratlons the night before. Then l had
the pleasure of seeing them dig into
the bacon with their dirty fingers. The
allowance was one slice per man. The
late ones received very small slices.
As each Tommy got his share he Inn
medlately disappeared into the billet.
Pretty soon about fifteen Of them made
a rush 10 the cOOkhOuse, each carrying
huge slice OF bread. These slices
they dipped into the bacon grease
which was stewing over the fire. The
last man invariably lost out. WIS
the last man.
After breakfast our section carried
| their equipment into u field adjoining
the billet and got busy removing the
trench mud thcrefrOm, because at s 40
a. In.. they had 90 full In for inspection
and parade, and woe betlde the man
who was unshnyen. or had mud ON his
Uniform. Cleanliness Is next 20 godll-
ness IN the British army, and Old Pep
per must have been personally ac-
Qunintcd with 81. Peter.
Our drill consisted Of closeOrder
formation, which lasted until noon.
During this time We had two ten-min-
ute breaks for rest, aud no sooner the
word. "Fall out for ten minutes" was
given than each Tommy got out a flag
and lighted II.
Fags are issued every sunday morn
ing, and you generally get between
twenty and forty. The brand gen
orally issued n the "woodblne." Some
times We are lucky aud get Gold
fakes" players" or "Iled Ilussars."
Occasionally an issue OF Life Hays"
comes uig Then the older Tommles