The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, March 28, 1918, Page 3, Image 3
r m i
r? %
; SYNOPSIS.
i
i CHAPTER I?Fired by the news of the
Winking of the Lusitania by a German
i submarine, Arthur Guy Empey, an Ameri*can,
leaves his office in Jersey City and
[goes to England where he enlists in the
{British army,
[ CHAPTER II?After a period of trainting,
Empey volunteers for immediate serv[|ce
and soon finds himself in rest billets
somewhere in France," where he first
[makes the acquaintance of the ever-presfent
"cooties."
CHAPTER III?Empey attends his first
[church services at the front while a GerSnan
Fokker circles over the congregation,
i CHAPTER IV?Empey's command goes
[Into the front-line trenches and is under
fire for the first time.
I CHAPTER V?Empey learns to adopt
[the motto of the Brtish Tommy, "It you
[are going to get it, you'll get it, so never
iworgr.z - - - |
CHAPTER VI.
MBack of the Line."
Our tour in the front-line trench
lasted four days, and then we were
. relieved by the ?? brigade.
Going down the communication
trench we were in a merry mood, although
we were cold and wet, and
every bone in our bodies ached. It
[makes a lot of difference whether you
j are "going in" or "going out."
i Afh*? or?r? nf r?nmrrmnieiition
I ? ? ? ? ?
(trench, limbers were waiting on the
road for us. I thought we were going
to ride back to rest billets, but soon
found out that the only time an infantryman
rides is when fie is
'wounded and is bound for the base or
foighty. These limbers carried our
Reserve ammunition and rations. Our
march to rest billets was thoroughly
enjoyed by me. It seemed as if I
were on furlough, and was leaving behind
everything that was disagree- j
J able and horrible. Every recruit feels
this way after being relieved from the
[trenches.
We marched eight kilos and then
[halted, in front of a French estaminet.
[The captain gave the order to turn
^[but on each side of the road and wait .
his return. Pretty soon he came back
land told B company to occupy billets
>117, 118 and 119. Billet 117 was an
bid atable which had previously been
Occupied by cows. About four feet in
front of the entrance was a huge manure
pile, and the odor from it was
4 anything but pleasant. Using my j
flashlight I stumbled through the door.
Just before entering I observed a
[white sign reading: "Sitting 50, lying j
|20," but, at" the . time, its significance
irHd not strike me. Next morning I
i :asked the sergeant major what It
meant. He nonchalantly answered:
"That's sod&<5of the work of the R.
1A.M. Cj>C^fal Army Medical corps).
lit means that in case of an atthis
billet will accommodate
pfty wonnded who are able to sit up
[and .take notice, or twenty stretcher
[cases." ' 1
< It was not long after this that I was
Hone of the "20 lying."
I soon hit the hay and was fast
[asleep, even my friends the "cooties"
failed to disturb me.
; The next morning at about six
ib'clock I was awakened by the lance
corporal of our section, informing me
(that I had been detailed as mess orderly,
and to report to the cook and
give him a hand. I helped him make
the fire, carry water from an old well,
and fry the bacon. Lids of dixies are
,used to cook the bacon in. After
breakfast was cooked, I carried a dixie
k>f hot tea and the lid full of bacon to
jour section, and told the corporal that
[breakfast was ready. He looked at me
iln contempt, and then shouted, "Breakfast
up, come and get it!" I immediately
got wise to the trench parlance,
and never again informed that "Breakfast
was served."
; It didn't take long for the Tommies
fto answer this call. Half dressed,
' ithey lined up with their canteens and
jl dished out the tea. Each Tommy
[carried in his hand a thick slice of
^>read which had been issued with the
Rations the night before. Then I had
jthe pleasure of seeing them dig into
[the bacon with their dirty fingers. The
Allowance was one slice per man. The
jlate ones received very small slices.;
|As each Tommy got his share he immediately
disappeared into the billet.
[Pretty soon about fifteen of them made
a rush to the cookhouse, each carrying j
!*? VinoA fttnn /vP KroaH ThpSP Sllf?PS i
0CL JLOUV.C VJ. ?- ,
fchey dipped into the bacon grease
which was stewing over the fire. The i
last man invariably lost out. I was
the last man.
_. After breakfast our section carried
jtheir equipment into a Weld adjoining
:the billet and got busy removing the
trench mud therefrom, because at 8:45
i ' i
a. m., they had to fall in for inspection I
and parade, and woe betide the man j
who was unshaven, or had mud on his j
[uniform. Cleanliness is next to godli- j
toess in the British army, and Old Pepper
must have been personally ac- j
;<}uainted with St. Peter.
Our drill consisted of close-order j
formation, which lasted until noon. !
paring this time we had two ten-rcin- j
iqte breaks for rest, and no snaner the j
II III Tf
mum SOLDER
0 WENT * *
lHfflYDIPtT
C GUNMER^ERVING IN fRANCE"
?1917 BY
ARTHUR tt/y EflPCY
word' "Fall out for ten minutes/' was
given than each Tommy got out a fag
and lighted It.
Fags are issued every Sunday morning,
and you generally get between
twenty and forty. The brand generally
issued is the "Woodbine." Sometimes
we are lucky and get "Goldflakes,"
"Players" or "Red Hussars."
Occasionally an issue of "Life Rays"
comes along. Then the older Tommies
immediately get busy on the recruits
and trade these for "Woodbines" or
"Goldflakes." A recruit only has to
be stuck once in this manner, and then
he ceases to be a recruit. There is a
reasoh. Tommy is a great cigarette
smoker. He smokes under all conditions,
except when unconscious or
when he is reconnoitering in No Man's
Land at night. Then, for obvious reasons,
he does not care to have a lighted
cigarette in his mouth.
Stretcher bearers carry fags for
wounded Tommies. When a stretcher
bearer arrives alongside of a Tommy
who has been hit the following conversation
usually takes place: Stretcher
bearer?"Want a fag? Where are you
hit?" Toamy looks up and answers,
"Yes. In the leg."
After dismissal from parade, we returned
to our billets and I had to get
busy immediately with the dinner issue.
.Dinner consisted of stew made
from fresh beef, a couple ^of spuds,
bully beef, Maconochie rations and water?plenty
of water. There is great
competition among the men to spear
with their forks the two lonely potatoes.
After dinner I tried to wash out
the dixie with cold water and a rag,
and learned another maxim of the
trenches?"It can't be done." I slyly
watched one of the older men from
another section, and was horrified to
see him throw into his dixie four or
five double handfuls of mud. Then he
poured in some water, and with his
hands scoured the dixie inside and out.
I thought he was taking an awfnl risk.
Supposing the cook should have seen
nim! Alter nan an nour or unsuccessful
efforts I returned my dixie to
the cook shack, be^ng careful to put on
the cover, and returned to the billet
I - I
J. 1 [
\
Resting Back of the Lines.
I
Pretty soon the cook poked his head
in the door and shouted: "Hey, Yank, i
come out here and clean your dixie!" (
I protested that I had wasted a halfhour
on it already, and had used up
my only remaining shirt in the attempt.
With a look of disdain he exclaimed:
"Blow me, your shirt! Why
in didn't you use mud?"
Without a word in reply I got busy
with the mud, and soon my dixie was
bright and shining.
Most of the afternoon was spent by
the men writing letters home. I used
my spare time to chop wood for the
cook and go with the quartermaster to
draw coal. I got back just in time to
issue our third meal, which consisted
of hot tea. I rinsed out my dixie and
returned it to the cookhouse, and went
back to the billet with an exhilarated
feeling that my day's labor was done.
I had fallen asleep on the straw when
once again the cook appeared in the
door of the billet with: "Blime me, you
Yanks are lazy. Who in a-goin' to
draw the water for the mornin' tea?
Do you think I'm a-goin' to? Well,
I'm not," and he left. I filled the dixie
with water from an old squeaking well,
and once again lay down in the straw.
CHAPTER VII.
Rations.
Just dozing off; Mr. Lance Corporal
butted in.
In Tommy's eyes a lance corporal is
one degree below a private. In the
corporal's eyes he is one degree above
a general.
He ordered me to go with him and
help him draw the next. dax.'s_rations.
\
also told me to take my waterproof.
Every evening, from each platoon or
machine-gun section, a lance corporal
and private go to the quartermaster
sergeant at the company stores and
draw rations for the following day.
The "quarter," as the quartermaster
sergeant is called, receives daily from
the orderly room (captain's office) a
slip showing the number of men entitled
to rations, so there is no chance
of putting anything over on him. Many
arguments take place between the
11 A ~ J
"quarter anu uie piuiuuu uunwiu, uui |
the former always wins out. Tommy
says the "quarter" got his job because
he was a burglar in civil life.
Then I spread the waterproof sheet
on the ground, while the quartermaster's
batman dumped the rations on it.
The corporal was smoking a fag. I
carried the rations back to the billet.
The corporal was still smoking a fag.
How I envied him. But when the issue
commenced my envy died, and I realized
that the first requisite of a noncommissioned
officer on active service
is diplomacy. There were 10 men in
our section, and they soon formed a
semicircle around us after the corporal
had called out, "Rations up."
The quartermaster sergeant had
given a slip to the corporal on which
was written a list of the rations. Sitting
on the floor, using a wooden box
as a table, the issue commenced. Oh
the left of the corporal the rations
were piled. They consisted of the following:
fii-e Innvps nf fresh hrend. each loaf
of a different size, perhaps one out of
the six being as flat as a pancake, the
result nZ an army service corps man
placing a box of bully beef on it during
transportation.
I?
COMMUNICATION""
TRENCH
Diagram Showing Typical Front-L
Three tins of jam, one apple and the
! other two plum.
*. T>?_ oil ,?#_
oevei'.ieeu Deiiuuua umuuo, ??*
ferent sizes.
A piece of cheese in the shape of a
wedge. .
Two one-pound tins of butter.
A handful of raisins.
, A tin of biscuits, or as Tommy calls
them "jaw breakers."
1 A bottle of mustard pickles.
The "bully beef," spuds, condensed
milk, fresh meat, bacon and "Macono-:
chie rations" (a can filled with meat,
vegetables and greasy water), had been
turned over to the company cook to 1
make a stew for next day's dinner. He
also received the tea,' sugar, salt, pep- _
per and flour.
Scratching his head, the corporal
studied the slip issued to him by the
quarter. Then in a slow, mystified
voice he read out, "No. 1 section, 19
men. Bread, loaves, six." He lpoked
puzzled and soliloquized in a musing
voice: i
"Six loaves, nineteen men. Let's see,
that's three in a loaf for fifteen men?
well, to make it even, four of you'll
have to muck in on one loaf."
The four that got stuck made a howl,
but to no avail. The bread was dished :
out. Pretty soon from a far corner of ,
the billet, three indignant Tommies accosted
the corporal with:
"What do you call this, a loaf of
| bread? Looks more like a sniping
plate."
The corporal answered: !
"Well, don't blame me, I didn't bake
i it; somebody's got to get it, so shut :
i up until I dish out these blinkin' rations."
i (
Then the corporal started on the
: 3am., ,
j "Jam, three tins?apple one, plum
j two. Nineteen men, three tins. Six 1
j in a tin makes twelve men for two tins,
! seven in the remaining tin."
He passed around the jam, and ;1
I there was another riot. Some didn't
i like apple, while others who received
| plum were partial to apple. After a
j while differences were adjusted and
! the issue went on.
"Bermuda onions, seventeen."
The corporal avoided a row by say:
; ing that he did not want an onion, and (
i I said they make your breath smell, so
: I guessed I would do without one too.
j The corporal looked his gratitude.
! "Cheese, pounds, two." 1
; The corporal borrowed a jackknife ,
i (corporals are always borrowing), and j
sliced the cheese?each slicing bring- j
ing forth a pert remark from the on- j'
lookers as to the corporal's eyesight. ''
"Raisins, ounces, eight."
By this time the corporal's nerves
had gone west, and in despair he said I
: that the raisins were to be turned over j i
i to the cook for "duff" (pluin pudding). !:
j This decision elicited a little "grous,
ing," but quiet was finally restored.
"Biscuits, tins, one."
With his borrowed jackknife, the
; corporal opened the tin of biscuits, and .
j _tQld everyone-to help themselves?no
body responded to" this invitation.
Tommy is "fed up" with biscuits.
"Butter, tins, two."
"Nine in one, ten in the other."
Another rumpus.
"Pickles, mustard, bottles, one."
Nineteen names were put in a steel
helmet, the last one out winning the
pickles. On the next issue there were
only 18 names, as the winner is eliminated
until every man in the section
has won a bottle.
The raffle is closely watched, because
Tommy is suspicious when it comes to
gambling with his rations.
When the issue is finished the corporal
sits down and writes a letter
home, asking them if they cannot get
some M. P. (member of parliament) to
have him transferred to the Royal Flyins:
corns where he won't have to issue
rations.
At the different French estamlnets
in the village and at the canteens Tommy
buys fresh eggs, milk, bread and
pastry. Occasionally when he is flush,
he invests f.n a tin of pears or apricots.
His pay is only a shilling a day,
24 cents, or a cent an hour. Just imagine,
a ceiit an hour for being under
fire?not much chance of getting rich
out there.
When he goes into the fire trench
(front line), Tommy's menu takes a
tumble. He carries in his haversack
what the government calls emergency
or iron rations. JTliey are not supposed
to be opened until Tommy dies of starvation.
They consist of one tin of
bully beef, four biscuits, a little tin
which contains tea, sugar and Oxo
cubes (concentrated beef tablets).
These are only to be used when the .
enemy establishes a curtain of shell
fire on the communication trenches,
thus preventing the "carrying in" of
ine and Communication Trenches*
rations, or wlien in an attach a body of
troops has been cut off from its base
of supplies. *
The rations are brought up at night
by the company transport. This is a
section of the company in charge of
the quartermaster sergeant, composed
of men, mules and limbers (two
wheeled wagons), which supplies Tommy's
wants while in the front line.
They are constantly under shell fire.
The rations are unloaded at the entrance
to the communication trenches
and are "carried in" by men detailed
for that purpose. The quartermaster
sergeant never goes into the front-line
trench. He doesn't have to, and I have
never heard of one volunteering to
do so.
The company sergeant major sorts
the rations and sends them in.
Tommy's trench rations consist of all
the bully beef he can eat, biscuits,
cheese, tinned butter (sometimes 17
men to a tin), jam or marmalade, and
occasionally fresh bread (ten to a
loaf). When it is possible he gets tea
and stew.
When tnings are quiet, and Fritz is
behaving like a gentleman, which seldom
happens, Tommy has the opportunity
of making dessert This Is
"trench pudding." It is made irom
broken biscuits, condensed milk, jam?
a little water added, slightiy flavored
with mud?put into a canteen and
cooked over a little spirit stove known
as "Tommy's cooker."
(A firm in Blighty widely advertises
these cookers as a necessity for the
men In the trenches. Gullible people,
buy them?ship them to the Tommies,
who, immediately upon receipt of same
throw them over the parapet. Sometimes
a Tommy falls for the ad, and
uses the cooker In a dugout to the disgust
and discomfort of the other occupants.)
This mess is stirred up in a tin and
allowed to simmer over the flames
from the cooker until Tommy decidesthat
It has reached sufficient (gluelike)
consistency. He takes his bayonet and
by means of the handle carries the;
mess up in the front trench to cool.'
After it has cooled off he tries to eat it.
Generally one or two Tommies in a
section have cast-iron stomachs ana
the tin is soon emptied. Once I tasted
trench pudding, but only once.
In addition to the regular ration issue
Tommy uses another channel to
enlarge his menu.
In the English papers a "Lonely
Soldier" column is run. This is for the
soldiers at the front who are -supposed
to be without friends or relatives.
They write to the papers and
their names are published. Girls and
women in England answer them, and]
send out parcels of foodstuffs, cigarettes,
candy, etc. I have known a
"lonely" soldier to receive as many as
five parcels and eleven letters in one
week.
(To be continued next week.)
Read The Herald, $1.50 a year. P
v^?ai5^
I The Wholesomeness of
I Chero-Cola
1 is insured by its perfect blend
4 of fruit flavors, to which is
I added the delightful aroma ,
and refreshing qualities of the
tropical cola nut.
Always look for the yellow
oval-panel label on each bottle,
which is a guarantee of purity
and satisfaction. A trial will
convince you, that?
'THERE'S NONE SO.GOOD" fj
IChero-Cola Bottling Co. J
Bamberg, S. C. Mr . I M
fjj ***** ^ 1
$ United States Government jg i
| THRIFT STAMPS j
3? May be ?
1 PURCHASED HERE 1
F 25 CENTS STARTS YOUR THRIFT SAVING CARD. ?
BUY 25c THRIFT STAMPS AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. tt?
& WHEN YOU HAVE 16 STAMPS WE WILL EXCHANGE &
IF THEM WITH A FEW EXTRA CENTS FOR A $5 WAR ?
tfc SAVING CERTIFICATE STAMP. S? *
? ASK ABOUT THEM I *
zs:
I JUST ARRIVED |
1 ?
Ifc Our line of men and children slippers $
jfj have arrived. We can please you
3! now. We are expecting our lady jj;
r| slippers at any time. jj
I DRY GOODS I
ft
V
Our line of dry goods is complete, ?
% and as we bought early we can &
p save you money. ^
1 H. C. FOLK CO. |
? BAMBERG, S. C. 1
For Indigestion, Constipation or
J. F. Carter B. D. Carter Biliousness
r* a PTPP Ri flARTER 1 Just try one 50-cent bottle of LAX-FOS
CAHE aw } WITH PEPSIN. A Liquid Digestive
BAMBER<3, S. C. Laxative pleasant to take. Made and
Special attention given to settle- j recommended to the public by Paris Mediment
of Estates and investiga- ; cine Co., manufacturers of Laxative Brorao
tion of Land Titles. Quinine and Grove's Tasteless chill Tonic.
?? Plies Cur 1' In 6 to 14 Days
India leads all countries in the im- YooJL dLn*?^t?'*"1 *efnnd ? pazo
OINTMENT fails to cure any cast of Itching,
iortation of cotton goods Kind,BleedingorProtnidhis:Pileain6tol4days.
ortauon or cotton gooas. The feat application gives Eaae and Rest 50c.
*
, , -t-,m