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Letters Home World War 1 - July 1918More Vatican and Ireland troubles, peace by end of 1920, possible wood and coal rationing in London ...Woods
France 5th July, 1918 My Dear Mother Yrs of 27th June was brought up to me yesterday at a post where I’ve been for 48 hrs on duty & got back almost 11 today … It is extraordinary the Aust. [Australian] Govt. do not deport him, they should do, it is wicked to allow a man to go on like that, especially in war time & it is so very unpleasant for all decent R.C’s [Roman Catholics] out there, as it would be for me if I was there. He gets worse & worse. Oh if only those sort of people would do their duty & not interfere in politics how very much better we should all get on. In Ireland too over this Conscription their attitude was practically advocating rebellion just as Carson advocated it in the North by arming his Ulstermen. I hope Will has got his leave, I fancy he is finding his job rather tiresome now, perhaps he will be able to manage a transfer to England before winter & better chance of getting regular leave … I see Kildare is not under Martial Law which is a good thing … |
We have been busy, got another post to work, means 48 hrs on duty at 2 posts now instead of 24hrs at each. Fighting here last 3 days over for moment, it was quite a success, but I suppose Bosches will try & get back what they lost, usual thing in fact they have had two attempts, but so far without success. Rumour last night had it that a big Italian attack on Austria had started, but don’t know if true. Wonderful American work getting over all these men & Bakers [Newton D. Baker, US Secretary of War] message to Pres. here will cheer up the French a lot. By 1920 Summer they should have 6 million trained men over here & then there seems some prospect of Victory & peace by end of that year, but it is a long time to wait, but it seems only chance of beating the Bosches thoroughly, any other compromise would mean whole thing over again … One has heard the nightingales so often here in the woods, still hear them, ‘tho getting late; noise of guns does not seem to disturb them. I’ve heard corncrakes twice. Be sure & get in a good supply of coal before winter. I fancy in London it will be strictly rationed & less than last winter. Must go and get some water & have a tub, as I’ve been 3 days in my clothes & weather warm by day, but cool nights. Best love Yr. Affect son Arthur. |
Map from THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR BY FRANK M. McMURRY, PH.D. New York THE MACMILLAN CO. 1919
Arthur carries French, Scotch and German wounded, treatment of prisoners, and wishes he spoke better German ...
July 25th, 1918
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. Of 15th was brought to me here where I am detached with 4 other cars to help evacuate the wounded from this big last push towards Soissons. First 3 or 4 days very busy day & night. We are stationed at a Chateau just outside a village & wounded are sorted out here & we carry them to different places. I’ve carried mostly French of course, but also Scotch & German wounded. There were crowds of the latter, rows & rows on stretchers all over the place. Very hot weather & they must have had a rough time & some kept dying off before they could possibly be attended to, naturally French first. They are very good to their prisoners, very different to the way ours are treated by the Bosches. They keep us here, as we may be busy again any moment. They have changed our cars since first lot came down. I asked to stay on if they liked, such a change from that wood & those posts up on front lines. Never see a soul, wood one gets very tired of being always in, alternative in 2 cases was a large cave, darker than wood. This is 30 or 35k from our base, a small town. Some English women & an American run a canteen & recreation hut here. I go round & chat to them & they come up here & give lightly wounded cigarettes & chocolates etc. The American is very energetic & she & I get on a.1. She took our photo this morning.
I wish my German was better, crowds of Bosches prisoners I’d liked to talk to & find out what they thought about things, some boys of 18! A very job looking lot. Luckily they took some Bosches doctors & then look after their wounded or help to. One Bosche youth being conveyed in a motor, exactly like the Crown Prince to look at, gave me a very fine salute which amused me much. Of course at home one only sees Victory in the paper & gets cheerful accordingly, but here you see the price, a very different picture. All the suffering & misery it entails. If only those who started the war could be put as ordinary soldiers in the trenches for a year & go through what the ordinary soldier does & be wounded badly in addition, it might convey to them something of the suffering it all means. After a year in the trenches I fancy shooting would be the only other thing left to be done.
I’ve been taken in to interpret at various hospitals for Americans & English, some of each seem to have drifted into French hospitals. It has been all very interesting in a sad way. With the German wounded we get a long run to a place where Duc d’Aumale had a fine Chateau, now state property [probably Château de Chantilly]. I’ve seen crowds of U.S. troops here, fine fellows, all so young, seemingly none over 30 & mostly 21 to 25 from look of them. Thousands been passing through & are around here & small town full of them & they buy up everything. Things have got woefully dear in France Americans all complain of the way they are charged. I got a few eggs & butter & fruit, ???, bread, wine & meat we draw from general kitchen here. Get small cheeses too. Eat in cars & sleep on stretchers in large tent with American Ambulance men. When busy one gets running all night as well as day. Alison got Yr. Fortnightly & was much interested in the article. Will the book ever appear.
Very glad Will has got home at last & hope he found all well. Parts of Ireland seem very bad. I see Bank of Ireland has done very well, but still only pays 10%. We expect to go down in 2 wks. For 3 wks repos & to overhaul our cars which badly want it & keep giving trouble; mine had to be redone & now runs well, but others in a bad way & all want painting too, after that we shall change our division & Lieutenant, as we do not get on with our present F. Lieut. in his official capacity. Don’t know where we shall go; it will be pretty well Sept. before we posted to another division I expect. I do wish it would all finish everyone is so sick and weary of it all & of the work. Driving the wounded is a messy job, they call out & groan & yell & one can do nothing for them, sounds bad & really sometimes it is very trying, tho’ for us of course in no sense as it must be for those poor fellows, but I mean in its different way.
Pretty about here & on a fine river, a pretty run right through a famous forest to get here. I got parcels from Stores.
I brought no change bar socks & no blankets, so I’m not as comfortable as one might be.
Best love. Pardon scrawl, am writing this, 9 p.m. sitting in front of my car. Thanks for 2 I. [Irish] Times.
Yr Affect. Son
Arthur
My Dear Mother,
Yrs. Of 15th was brought to me here where I am detached with 4 other cars to help evacuate the wounded from this big last push towards Soissons. First 3 or 4 days very busy day & night. We are stationed at a Chateau just outside a village & wounded are sorted out here & we carry them to different places. I’ve carried mostly French of course, but also Scotch & German wounded. There were crowds of the latter, rows & rows on stretchers all over the place. Very hot weather & they must have had a rough time & some kept dying off before they could possibly be attended to, naturally French first. They are very good to their prisoners, very different to the way ours are treated by the Bosches. They keep us here, as we may be busy again any moment. They have changed our cars since first lot came down. I asked to stay on if they liked, such a change from that wood & those posts up on front lines. Never see a soul, wood one gets very tired of being always in, alternative in 2 cases was a large cave, darker than wood. This is 30 or 35k from our base, a small town. Some English women & an American run a canteen & recreation hut here. I go round & chat to them & they come up here & give lightly wounded cigarettes & chocolates etc. The American is very energetic & she & I get on a.1. She took our photo this morning.
I wish my German was better, crowds of Bosches prisoners I’d liked to talk to & find out what they thought about things, some boys of 18! A very job looking lot. Luckily they took some Bosches doctors & then look after their wounded or help to. One Bosche youth being conveyed in a motor, exactly like the Crown Prince to look at, gave me a very fine salute which amused me much. Of course at home one only sees Victory in the paper & gets cheerful accordingly, but here you see the price, a very different picture. All the suffering & misery it entails. If only those who started the war could be put as ordinary soldiers in the trenches for a year & go through what the ordinary soldier does & be wounded badly in addition, it might convey to them something of the suffering it all means. After a year in the trenches I fancy shooting would be the only other thing left to be done.
I’ve been taken in to interpret at various hospitals for Americans & English, some of each seem to have drifted into French hospitals. It has been all very interesting in a sad way. With the German wounded we get a long run to a place where Duc d’Aumale had a fine Chateau, now state property [probably Château de Chantilly]. I’ve seen crowds of U.S. troops here, fine fellows, all so young, seemingly none over 30 & mostly 21 to 25 from look of them. Thousands been passing through & are around here & small town full of them & they buy up everything. Things have got woefully dear in France Americans all complain of the way they are charged. I got a few eggs & butter & fruit, ???, bread, wine & meat we draw from general kitchen here. Get small cheeses too. Eat in cars & sleep on stretchers in large tent with American Ambulance men. When busy one gets running all night as well as day. Alison got Yr. Fortnightly & was much interested in the article. Will the book ever appear.
Very glad Will has got home at last & hope he found all well. Parts of Ireland seem very bad. I see Bank of Ireland has done very well, but still only pays 10%. We expect to go down in 2 wks. For 3 wks repos & to overhaul our cars which badly want it & keep giving trouble; mine had to be redone & now runs well, but others in a bad way & all want painting too, after that we shall change our division & Lieutenant, as we do not get on with our present F. Lieut. in his official capacity. Don’t know where we shall go; it will be pretty well Sept. before we posted to another division I expect. I do wish it would all finish everyone is so sick and weary of it all & of the work. Driving the wounded is a messy job, they call out & groan & yell & one can do nothing for them, sounds bad & really sometimes it is very trying, tho’ for us of course in no sense as it must be for those poor fellows, but I mean in its different way.
Pretty about here & on a fine river, a pretty run right through a famous forest to get here. I got parcels from Stores.
I brought no change bar socks & no blankets, so I’m not as comfortable as one might be.
Best love. Pardon scrawl, am writing this, 9 p.m. sitting in front of my car. Thanks for 2 I. [Irish] Times.
Yr Affect. Son
Arthur
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