Accounts relating to Herbert Austin Bailey, 1918-1919 - Part 4

city is reduced to such a state of chaos. Near  13

by there is a Battalion of Chinese. These fellows

are very slow & slothfull in their work. But I

suppose they relieve some men for the more serious 
business in the front line. Two more nights

here & we get orders to proceed farther back

this time by rail. Bel Reveille at 3 A M pack up,

early breakfast, march to Peronne station load up

Transport. Finally we get away by A M. The

trains here travel very slowly & there are many stops,

owing chiefly to the great congestion of traffic & also

because the great part of the line has been entirely

renewed & made up track & c. The continual bombardment

its been subject to for such a prolonged period, both by our own

Artillery & that of the enemy's, has smashed twisted the

original rails, that for miles there is scarcely one left intact

It marvellous how quickly the material is brought forward

to the railhead & the whole line renewed. We pass

along through many miles of the war devastated [[?]]

big derelict villages, real pitifull to look upon

& as we get further back we come on lots of [[gangs?]] of

German prisoners that are being put to some use,

by helping to relay & repair the railway track & c. After

we came to a stop & the boys say there's someone has

borrowed our engine again. And so it seemed

for she was so often detached & used for shunting

purposes. We finally get away & behind at the

[[?]] of strife its [[quite?]] a relief to us all to 14

get a  view of a natural landscape. Green

field, wood, villages intact & a scene of a bit of

civilian life. The first I had seen since landing

in France. Untill we reach Amiens. This

great city Fritz had shelled with his long

range guns & had caused [[?]] havoc. But

happily for them he is now well away, & behond

reach. The inhabitants have returned & the

City is settling down to its former self.

Amiensis [[?]] in a far better condition than any

other place (shattered as it is) we have been

in. And it'll be many a long day before the

familys will be able to return to their old haunting

for the whole ^ of the places has to be rebuilt. This is

the last of the war scenery we get on the

journey. Has [[?]] past along through the many

different villages, we are hailed by the [[?]]

[[?]], & also lots of our boys that are billetted

about the districts. Finally we get to the end

of our rail journey about10/30 It pouring

with rain so things are not alltogether to pleasant, [[?]]

have to unload the Transport, practically in darkness

which takes us untill 12/30. By this time we are just

about tired, but no good, we have to hump pack & a

long walk is in front of us. Its stilling raining & a [[?]]

night, but luckily ^ for the greater pat of the way its a good