Letters from Harold Edward 'Pompey' Elliott to his family, November 1916 - December 1916 - Part 8

in for they have hardly hit anyone

but they are getting plenty of

practice & will cause us a lot

of trouble before long. It is rumoured

we are bringing out a new & better

plane. Let us hope it will come

along soon. The rain is simply

pouring down. Poor old Bert

Layh has to go up into the trenches

tonight. Aren't you sorry for

the poor old chap. The trenches will

be full of water. Tomorrow I suppose

it will freeze & some of the poor fellows

will have their toes frozen off.

You will be getting tired of this belly old

letter dearie so I'd better stop. Bye

dear old Katie. Millions of love

& kisses from your very own

Dida Do.

P.S. Tell the dear little lad & 

Gaga that Dida is very sad because

he cannot come home at Xmas

to see his two little darlings but he

loves them & is always thinking of them.

                      Go to back of P

                                       France

                                       16/12/16

My dearest wife,

                I've just

received a dear fat ^long letter from you

dated the 8^th Oct. Wasn't it quick getting 

here this time. That was lovely. it brings you

quite near to me. Only six weeks ago since'

it left your dear loving sweet hands.

I felt like kissing it big heap. By the

same mail were two letters from Barby ^Belle

with one photo & a bit of a another showing just

the wee laddie. In the other there is Barby ^Belle

& dear wee Dhunach who looks quite sad

poor wee darling & the wee rogue who for

once is not smiling but looks very serious. In

your letter you mention you are posting another

wee one in the morning. That sperrik ^one didn't

turn up - but it may come along tomorrow or

soon after. I liked the photos very much. By

the same mail I also got a letter from my

cousin Minnie telling me that her father

poor old Uncle Robert died on Monday

11th Dec. It was very sudden. He took a chill

from the beastly weather we have had in

England & France of late, it turned to

                           2

Pneumonia & the poor old chap passed

away. They are all terribly upset though

they must have expected it at any time

really for he was very feeble indeed even when I

saw him last year. He became almost

the identical image of ^my poor old dad in his

old age & very feeble like him too towards the

end. I would not be surprised if poor old

Aunt Mary went too. She is a dear old

loving thing & ^was very very fond of her old man ^husband.

She was always looked upon as an invalid

always ailing from youth but she has outlived her

husband who in his youth was like my own Dad

noted as a very powerful strong man. He was shorter

than Dad but very heavy set with broad & deep

chest & shoulders even to the end. Far more so than

my own father indeed ay the end for poor old Dad

became stooped & bent but Uncle Robert when I saw

him last year still walked very erect without any

stoop at all. There is still no sign of a cable

telling me the new address so I must assume

you are still at the old place. Looks as if you

cannot leave Northcote. Oh I forgot to say that

my cousin Charlie called in just as I got

Minnie's letter. He did not know of his father's

death so I gave him Minnie's letter. He

had left England a fortnight or so ago &

had not received any letters. He said however he

was fully prepared for anything as his father

looked very very frail when he parted with him

& he did not really expect to see him again alive.

         Charlie looks well but I am afraid this

awful weather & the dreadful discomfort of

French life will just about settle him again

as his sciatica is pretty bad already ^pretty bad

threatening him pretty badly. He had to sleep

on the floor of a shell battered house last night

on his way up without blankets & he felt

twinges all day today he told me. The weather

still continues to be the absolute limit. Today

pouring rain & snow. Many of the poor boys

are very sick. I really cannot imagine how

they bare through it all. The ground is so

sodden with rain & so shaken with

shell fire that it is hardly possible to dig a 

trench at all. When it is dug the sides crumble

in almost at once for the rain. If you attempt

to build any shelter & put your rations & waterproof

                             4

sheet or anything at all down ten chances to

one if you turn your back a moment an

avalanche of the surface soil will slide down

& bury it under feet of sludge & mud. To

save the mens feet we issue them with long rubber

waders ^reaching up to the thigh but as they soon

wear out we don't let the men walk up

in them. They go up in their ordinary boots

with sandbags tied round their legs to try &

keep a little mud off their pants & putties. Then

when they get into the trench they take off their

sandbags & putties & boots ^& wet socks put on a dry pair after

rubbing their feet with whale oil & pull on the gum

boots as they are called. Then if they put their ankle 

boots & spare pair of socks down anywhere at

all they sink in the mud & get buried & lost if you

don't keep rescuing them or hang them up on a nail

if you are fortunate enough to have a piece of timer

to nail drive a nail into handy to you which is not

always the case. The men stay there three days

at a time. During this time it is practically

impossible to get any sleep as there is nowhere

to lie. The men get a little sleep propped against

the side of the trench but then the frost comes &

                                         5

freezes the sludge & their poor feet get frozen & unless

you get them back quickly their feet get gangrene

& their toes drop off. We have to leave them there 3

days as otherwise the awful toll of marching

up every day through the mud wh would

simply knock up every man we have & the

men themselves prefer to do the three days

at one go than face the awful walk. It

is a horrible walk too. Fritz notices almost

at once where a track is worn in the mud &

shells stall night & most of the tracks have

an avenue of mangle corpses all along the

border of them. Three men in the constant

relief every three nights have been killed &

as men cannot carry them away owing to the

mud ^they are placed just off the path on either hand

& you are able to find your way ^even in the dark with

fair certainty by these rows of corpses. Most of

them are dreadfully mangled having been left

again & again as they lie but owing to the great

cold there is no smell at all is that horror

that we had in Lone Pine which will be with

me always I think is still absent from this.

It is an appalling sight in the daytime & owing to

                                      6

 the impossibility of getting into the front line in

daylight hardly anyone goes these by day &

night minimises the horrors to some extent

but I do not think anyone would ever be afraid

of ghosts who has walked these avenues of death.       

As an aid to men passing this way by night we

have laid down lines of broad white tape.

To prevent this being trodden into the mud &

rendered useless it is necessary that some

object such as a stick or thistle or something

be used ^utilised the tape to, occasionally. Well

along this walk many of these poor bodies

are thrown into strange contortions and frequently

a leg or arm juts out a foot or so into the

air in all sorts of grotesques attitudes. The

boys fixing the tape have in the most

unconcerned & practical manner saved

themselves to bother of finding & planting stakes

by taking a hitch round a leg or an arm

or a waistbelt or any old thing that is at

hand. Dozens of different regiments are representing

Guards & Scots & Canadians ^Australians & Africans & of

course the Bosches are all to be found. I have

made it a rule that our own dead shall be                    

                                   7

buried by the Bn whom the dead man belongs

before it leaves the line & this rule is working well

& I have not noticed since I brought in the Rule anu

of my boys lying intended. Some say it is

foolish as it is our duty to save the men still alive

in the ^very least fatigue work that we can. But I think

is helps the men to bear all the hardships a little

better if they can be shown some little sign that

even the des bodies will be treated with a

little respect if they are killed. I am still

suffering with my chest - I get nearly better then

(as today) I get very wet & cold visiting the trenches

& get right back to where I was again. I am very

hopeful however that when we come out of the front line

which will be very soon now I will have a chance to get

quite better of it again. I am sorry "More Fragments

from France" didn't turn up. I must try & get another

copy somewhere. I forget how what the other papers you

speak of was unless it was a "Bystander" I hope it reaches

you in the end. I am afraid you will think I am

a [[?]] "state" about the silk scarves

when they are so long coming. I hope they are

truly & really off this time though. I haven't run

the Interpreter man for a week or two. When we came

                                   8

up into the line this time we were very much pushed for

room in our dug outs, so he asked to go &stay in

a village some miles back until we came out again so

I was very pleased & let him go as he is no use to us in the

line as there are no French about here for was all in 

German lands & they have taken all men women & children

& every living thing but the kids away. Not that they could

have lived here had they been allowed for there is hardly a

single firm piece of ground left every inch has been torn

up in most cases over & over & over again with hundred

of thousands of shells & everyday it is the same. The day

before yesterday I had a very narrow shave. It was only the

mud that saved me so I ought to complain of mud no more.

I was walking along a little behind Major Greenway of the Engineers

when suddenly without any warning a huge shell landed only

a couple of feet off my back & exploded with a deafening roar

I was pushed by the concussion or by the start it gave me

^violently up against Major Greenway who turned & clasped me in his

arms. He was certain I was hit & he called out most

anxiously to me. Are you hurt Sir, anywhere hurt? We were both

still enveloped in the huge cloud of smoke but although

startled I was able to laugh & tell him I was splendid

but ever since I have been a little bit merry or something for I

have had hardly any sleep for the past two nights - I dont feel

                                       9

one farthing the worse but I suppose it was a bit of a fright

& it is just enough to keep me wakeful. I am hoping

that tonight I will drop off all right. I feel sleepy headed

enough to do so. I have also had a tremendous lot of worrying to

do this week trying & trying to find ways of helping the boys

& to spare them as much as possible. Old Genl M^cCoy seems

very pleased & satisfied with what we have done & has adopted

quite a number of my suggestions. I say "my" but really

many of the suggestions came from my boys & if I see there is anything

in them I try them & then tell the General & he makes the other Generals

take them on for their boys. One of the ideas which one of our officers

Capt Taylor thought of - A sort of home made "Thermos" has

been taken on throughout the whole British Army &

is to be called 'the Capt C.B. Taylor Hot Box". I think

Mrs Smith is wrong about Lt Douglas Anderson. I dont think

there was an officer of that name in the 68^th Bn. There was however

one Lt Anderson in the 37^th who went missing on the 18^th July. The

57th was in Reserve & were ordered not to take part in this

fight as if the attack failed they would have to hold the

old line. This young Sperrik ^other however ^who had never been

in a scrap & he sneaked off & got with the 59^th Bn & went

into the charge with them & was never seen or heard of 

from that day to this though it is practically certain he is

dead. There was another Lt Anderson in the 39^th He fell also

in the charge but was rescued by men from the 57^th