Accounts relating to Herbert Austin Bailey, 1918-1919 - Part 6

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& made to appear like their natural surroundings

& banked up around with sandbags & as a

neccessary precaution against shell splinters, & direct

hit on either tent or dugout, it would no doubt be one's

tomb straight away. From a healthy point of view it

would be an hard matter to find a more sturdy &

healthy body of men anywhere. While rumaging

about for the timber which I mentioned previously. I got a

fair dose of Fritz mustard gas. The building he had put

gas Shell into the previous night. I noticed it rather strong

at the time. But continued to pull out the timber. It was

a warm day I was prespiring freely & having my shirt

open, I suppose the dust adhered to my chest, which in a

lay or two got sores swollen, & inflamed. So I had to get

Medically treated. I'd got a Fritz hot mustard plaster

gratis. There are several kinds of gas shells. Mustard

gas, Tear gas, Another will give you fits of [sneesing?].

& other more deadly, which we have to cope with our respirators,

which we are supposed to allways carry no matter how

short a distance one is going, Its a very precarious

existance for these few people that are still hanging on

here. One instance there are some old folk living

in a house ? next to one thats blown to atoms. That

seems rather impossible, for had it been troops,

quite likely every man would have been killed

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by concussion. This war plays queer freaks

at times. There is a aerodrome close here &

its a great right to ree the flocks of birds

going out, on their errand of distruction

& returning when ^task completed. Some times

they get a bit wounded & gave a job to struggle

home. I saw one the other night come through the [i?ntu?)

barrage & wobble home with half a propeller. We

are getting a fair supply of vegetables. In a good

many instances the inhabitants had left their gardens

planted. We have some good athelic & general

sports, there is a great assembly of men, who like

ourselfs are out for a spell. Their are some good

aquatic events, diving & c, at which most of the boys

are pretty good. Its a good job Fritz had'nt previously

been imformed of what was going to take

place. Or his bombing planes might have paid a visit

entered into the programe & give an event or

or two. Or else sent over some other samples of his

Ironmongery in the shape of shells & c . My word he'd

have reaped a rich harvest if he had. I keep rather sore

on the chest for a number of days. Several of the other

lads have gone sick, they've got hold of what appears

to be, a violent attach of influenza. In case there may

be any infection they are put into isolation. We get a fortnight

back here. Now we're told we're to pack up & get 

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up a bit nearer to the front line, to relieve another

mob that are coming out for a spell.

Pack up & off once again, This time I'm relieved of my

pack & put it on the limbers, for I'm still a bit

sore. After a fairly long tramp we take up our

position on an hill, overlooking a great stretch

of country & Fritz's lines. Both his balloons & our

own are not far from here. If we can see him, the

observer, can assuredly see us. And that's not to pleasantly

any means. The air at times is quite thick with

other craft, dodging around & in & out, its we passed as aerodrome

this morning we could see evidence of what the wounded birds

had received from the Anti guns & c, they're mostly armour plated on

the underside so it takes a good direct hit to bring them down,

allthough they may be hit. We are not so well situated for water here

it having to be fetched from a distance away, in the carts, Drinking water

allways gets proper alteration before use, one's not supposed to

drink any that has'nt be^en passed as fit. We are dug in this hill

in one's twos & threes & c I'm living in the Hermet style & have a 

Bonzer little shelter all on my own. It'll do me while I'm

here anyhow, I've draped the sides with hessian, got a shelf on

two, Is a bed & Nice little [uiter?] down quilt. What more do you

want? Why a look round the home & hearth would be a change

But there its all in a life time & this is a part of my programe.

itround here the place is bustling with guns, so we to to byebye

to the old accustomed [tune?], the blooming hill rocking & heaving

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all the time. I & a few others get off to work, a good

march from here, to a place which at present is'nt very true

to the name it bears. It was untill recently a fair sized

township. Its now nothing much more than a heap of rubbish

Fritz having given it particular H L for some time past

We're supposed to be searching out for some timber for

bridge building a c. He keep things that lively that we

have got something else to look out for. For he knows

perfectly well men are there. He has the place under

observation from his balloons in the neighbourhood. 

I'ts as bad coming back in the evening. He pelts us all the

way, chiefly with shrapnel bursting overhead, which

covers a good radius, We wear out Steel Helmets as a bit

of a protection from this kind of sport. And if ever a man

felt that his hat was'nt large enough its when one of them

bursts overhead. you feel yourself appearing to shrivel

up. The raining bullets cutting down the grass &

the twigs of the trees & c all around. They're some

nice little round marbles about like what you see

the kiddies play with (only difference is they're

metal. If ever one felt like getting concealed behind

a blade of grass & c it then. To give a little instance

of what some of the houses ? at this place are like.

Just imagine (but there you cant) a shell from one of

his heavys, lobing in the centre of an house & exploding

on impact, what's left ? an hole any thing up to 18ft across

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& 10 or 12 ft deep. Stand a large Bell tent in it bottom

up. Where's the house ? well. Ask me something

easy. There's a constant , pummelling going on around

here all the time from both sides. The other night

he droped a few just below here, in the valley.

Placed several men Hors de Combat. And a number of

horses and mules. The following night he put a couple

in amongst our horses, nearly opposite my dug out

opening. Some he did'nt kill our cobbers had to finish off

When he commences to Straff any particular spot. I ts

laughable to see the fellows run to ground. Were you

ever in a large rabbit warren, when someone suddenly

discharged a gun, see them scamper to ground

& in a short space of time no bunnys to be seen? Well that

applys to what happens here at times. When the ringing

& Whirring of the spinning shells is heard, to be  to close for

comfort. All seek cover under ground, if there's any available

I'ts a great sight during the evening to watch the aircraft

all around. I sometimes go to the top of the hill to get a wide

view. When they've got a regular stunt on it, no use trying

to count them, they get a bit to numerous & one 

might aswell attempt to count the stars. I've made

70 & 80 and on looking around there's still more. Some

bombing, some fighting to protect them & other scouting

different kinds have different work to perform, but all

are armed of course. For the Anti aircraft guns to hit

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these scattered about and at different altitudes

is I think about as difficult as to hit a blue bottle fly

if shut in a room with a pea rifle. The past few

days its been a bit stormy & this place soon churns up

in a terrible mess. The nights are very cold & this is Mid

summer weather. What a vast contrast this to the temperature

& weather generally in Aussie. I'ts been as cool

here at night lately as it would be in Melbourne in

midwinter. One may talk about Sunny France &

the lovely climate on this side of the planet. I'm a

native of this side myself, but give me Aussie every

time. Some of our boys often say, why the d- l dont

they turn it in & all come over to Aussie & live, there's

room for the lot & to spare. And abundance of everything

to be had too. I was on top of the hill the other night

when one of our batteries opened up. Fritz had his balloons

up observing. Flare, Puff of smoke, Ballooon ? End

of Section. I would not care to be amongst the fellows

that do the excavating for the rebuilding of these

places. There's so many dud shells, that have failed to

explode & sunk into the ground various depths. And may

become active (if disturbed) for many years to come. The

same will happen in the fields, when tilling

the ground. Horses, men & all may suddenly get a

get a rise (not in wages) but in the air. I hope this

may be received intack. I don't think there's anything mentioned

that may get blurred out

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We take up another position, this time relieving some Tommy's, whose

ranks have recently been sadly depleted by gassed cases. We are

again in a Gully. place of the like of which this part of France

abounds with. Here we remain 5 days, around us are a lot

of Fritzs guns, which our boys captured, some out of action but a

lot are quite intact. Our work consists of doing much the same

as previously. Fritz is all the time retreating . We now hump our

packs & get a bit farther back for a few days spell. The day is very

hot, roads are thick with dust, & with the continuous stream of both

traffic & men, the conditions are well nigh unbearable. We pass through

several villages ? Morcourt, Cerisy, Sailly & c We are traveling over ground

that until quite recently was occupied by the enemy, he in his retreat has

smashed everything up, & like all others places, its in a pitifull condition,

a lot of course is due to the fire from our own guns. 18 ridges &

locks are smashed  neccessaryally by them to impede our mens progress

All these & more have been temporally replaced by our Engineers

After a very tiring & fatigued tramp we reach our present

destination. This place Vaux, has nt quite been reduced to a heap

of rubbish. i't was just away from the extreme limit of Fritz advance.

Consequently it was No Mans Land. untill the push

started. The firing of both parties for the most part, passing over

the top, We have to make shift with some ramshackle old barns

for billets. In lot of instances our Dugouts have been far

better shelter. We make the most of there few days, having a

clean up & c We're close to the Somme Canal, so the boys indulge

in a bit of aquatic sport. The weather keeping just [cova?y?]

excepting for one night. Then the water teemed in our Shelter ?

just beautifull. And lots preferred the open. A Concert Party

visits the place to give us a turn, the programe nearly

completed. Over comes a team of Bombing planes, droping

their eggs as they go. Lights out the Concert off for that night

While here I pay a visit to Corbie again, I'ts a lovely walk along the

Canal bank, line each side with trees, marshes & lagoons in places

its very picturesque & has suffered much less than the ajoining [?]

Quite a change has come over Corbie since my last visit. Though

frightfully knocked about at that time, its since been beated

far worse. But now Fritz has gone back, the railway has been repaired

& trains are now running. The whole place is Chock A Block

with troops, princcibly Scotish & also transport. The beautifull

Church is in worse ruin than before. A band is playing in

the square. & there are also a lot of Fritz heavy guns in the town.

After having a good look around, we jump up behind a Motor

Lorry & ride back to billett, 5 days we have here, then off again

towards the fray. We have been joined by several

reinforcements, some of them are men I have met before

We pass again over the scenes of previous fighting. of

which there's much evidence to be seen all around. Ruin

& devastation everywhere Hardly a square yard for miles

but what has'nt at some time or other been churned up by

bursting shells. The country truly is in an awfull state

The first night we stay in Dugouts, untill recently occupied

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by German Troops. Much was material, clothing, equipment & c is

strewn everywhere. Evidence of an hasty Exit on all sides. Lots of unburied

horses & men lie round about, & for our own benefit we dispose of numbers

of them. I'ts not to healthy to be living in such close proximity to those

who have departed a few days previously & are still lying around, especially

when warm weather prevails. What a contrast in the spirit of

our men, not that they are continually advancing. To what prevailed only

a short time ago. The dugouts which we are so often occupying recently,

are for the most part fairly comfortably fitted up. Fritz evidently had

every intention of staying, for allmost all have nice little stoves in, Good bed

bunks, furniture, accessories & c His bad luck. Our good, just a change

over. We continue our advance & are now on the old battlefields, that have

been fought on over & over again. The condition of the country is now

[much?] worse than than anything I have previously seen. Truly one see some

most harrowing sights at times, which would possibly in normal times

[?] him off his mental balance. Fallen men, horses & c are lying

round as we proceed. Scarcely a dead stick remaining of what were

[?] [?] [?] have desolation, rubbish shell holes & c [?]

[?] along the [?] [?] [?] [?] [?]

were once there, [ling?arged?] to the ground at an earlier period, they

are now grown over with rubbish & appear like the rest of the wilderness. He

has precious little opportunity of using his planes in the daytime. So makes

the most of his night trips, paying us frequent visits with his bombing

[?], the [conectsion?] of these is great. Especially if he drops an [?]

Torpedo in the vicinity, the concussion fairly takes ones breath. We're going

ahead now with our pontoons to assist in Crossing the Somme & lay a distance

back waiting a favourable opportunity. We [?] night in a line & under

[?] direct observation of his balloons. I spot ^[?sappore] [?] spots us & very soon things

get lively around here. A salvo of shells come over, right into our midst

[?] into a bunch of horses & mules, kills & wounds several, splashes a

pontoon with fragments. [jeist?] luck I suppose, quite a [?] of our boys

are just drawn up to a Canteen near by, when the shells lobed

the animals pontoon saved them. One Corporal was killed. instantly hit

in the temple several slightly wounded. [?] accompanied the shells

[?ite] a [member?], got more than their [share?] . I for one had a pretty

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good fill of it, but luckily I soon

recovered. Could'nt get mark on quick

enough. Several had to go away

to hospital. I [y?]

luck. because its marvillous

the whole [?] wasnt killed

right there. We go out several nights fixing

up bridges & c. He has of course done his utmost

to destroy all means of crossing, to retard the progress

of our troops. There are no places in these

areas that are safe possys. Our water cart goes

to a well in a village near by for a supply. And 

while there, over comes a Salvo of shells. Knocking

out quite a number of both horses & men

that were at the Water Point. He being in

the neighbourhood just recently, of course

know the exact range. I was getting water

there myself just previously, In ones wildest

imagineation it would be impossible to form

any estimate as to the Colossal amount of metal

that has been scattered over this vast area of

of country, that has been fought over, time

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& again during the past 4 years

& has caused such ietter & terrible scenes

of desolation everywhere. One goes

for many miles & the same scene presents

itself, Not many square yards of soil

anywhere, but what has been churned

up & pitted with shells. Many lines of

ruined & fallen in trenches still exist

showing only to plainly evidence of the

conflict that has waged about them.

The whole place is devastated & ruined

One also sees many hastily constructed

burial grounds & cemeterys, containing

the fallen. Isolated are everywhere, the

fallen one has been intered where he

fell. Rough crosses, or some other rude

token such has his rifle, helment & c to mark

the spot where some mother's son

is taking his long rest.