Norwich bulletin., 1918-02-05
Copyright by ARTHUR GUY EMPEY


 the fire step with the good times in store for him. He figured it out that in two days time he would arrive at Waterloo Station, London, and then seven days bliss!
 At about five minutes to five he started to fidget with his rife, and then suddenly springing up on the fire step with a muttered ''I'll send over couple of souvenirs to Fritz, so that he'll miss me when 1 leave" He stuck his rifle over the top and fired two shots when crack went a bullet and he tunbled off the step fell into the mud at the bottom of the trench, lay in a huddled heap with a bullet l hole in his forehead..s
 At about the time he expected to arrive at Waterloo Station he was laid to rest in little cemetery behind the lines: He had gone to Blighty. In the trenches one can never tell it is not safe to plan very far ahead. | After stand down. the men sit on | the fire step or repair to their re- spective dugouts and wait for the | rum issue" to materialize. Imme- l diately following the rum, comes l breakfast. brought up from the rear. ! Sleeping is then in order unless some | special work turns up.
 Around 12.3o dinner shows up: When this is eaten the men try to
 amuse themselves until tea" appears at about four o'clock, then stand to- l and they carry on as before. WhIe in rest billets Tommy gets up l a;bou3 six in the morning, washes up
 ansNers roll call, is inspected by his platoon officer, and has breakfas st
 At S.45 he parades (drills) with his company or goes on fatigue accord i ing to the orders which have been
 read out by the orderly sergeant the night previous.
 i Between 11.So and noon he is dis missed has his dinner and is "on his | own" for the remainder of the day
 unless he has clicked for digging ol
 working party and SO it goes on from day, to day always looping the loop
 and looking forward to Peace ant
 Blighty.
 Sometimes while engaged in Z
 "cootie" hunt you think. Strange tt
 say but it is a fact. while Tommy i'
 searching his shirt serious thoughts come to him. Many time. whei performing this operation, hav ' tried to figure out the outcome of th' war and what will happen to me. l My thoughts generally ran in thi
 channel:
 ) Will I emerge safely from the mex 5 attack? If I do, will I skin througl the following one, and so on? Whil 5 your mind is wandering into the flu l ture it is likely to be rudely brough l to earth by Tommy interruptin : with, Whats good for rheumatism ) Then you have something else t
 think of. Will you come out of tbi l war crippled and tied into knots wit
 | rheumatism. caused by the wet an :. mud of trenches and dugouts? Yo D give it up as a bad job and general l saunter over to the nearest estamine e to drown your moody forebodingsl e a glass of sickening French beer. ( n to try your luck at the always preser e game of House." You can hear tn d sing song voice of Tommy dronin n out the numbers as he extracts th e little squares of cardboard from th = bag between his feet. - o- Y CHAPTER M.
 e Over the Top.
 e On my second trip to the trench, 5. our officer was making his rount Il of inspection, and we received u Il cheerful news that at four in u : morning we were going overn the tt n and take the German front lii d trench. My heart turned to lea d Then the officer carried on with. h o instructions. To the best of my men
 ory I recall them as follows: At ele' 'e en a wiring party will. go out in fro e and cut lanes through our barb n wire for the passage of troops in u