Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    Z1360/1/3
  • Title
    Letter (2 sheets) from L/Cpl. W. Hammond 8064,18th K.R.R., B.E.F. France Dear Mother, Father, Sisters, Brothers and all Kind Friends. I once more start off with the yarn. I hope it does not bore you stiff but I think you might be interested. Our actual quarters here are in the grounds or field of two farms (both occupied) and consist of a hut made of wood round the bottom and canvas overhead. Turned upside down it would make excellent cinder sifter. (Joke!, pinched from Cockney pal.) We have no blankets at all but manage to keep warm alright at night. It amuses me to think what little heroes we used to regard those soldiers that we knew who used to have to sleep without bed, on bare boards. There is really no very great hardship, once one gets used to it, although of course one would very much like a bed. We are at the farm where our transports are stationed and have no regular job yet, so, anyone who feels like seeing us working, or working it, asks for a fatigue party and “up she goes”. We have made a name for ourselves as manure shifters and there is some talk of having it inscribed on our badges:- Cacka, Cacka [horse manure] removers to the War Office. We made a really beautiful road but unfortunately it rained the next day and then the wind winded and we haven’t seen it since. The nearest farm here is one at which we can buy café, citron and biere and which is occupied by Mere, Pa, five daughters, going down the scale from 30 to 8 yrs. Old, thus:- Maria, Martha, Lydia, Sophie and Jeanet Léroy and three sons. They are all rather nice people and very amiable. As you probably know Eva, gateaux (pronounced “gah-to”) is French for cakes and the other day my Cockney chum was asking Sophie (about 16) whether she had any gateaux (in presence of four sisters) and she replied “Garter, yes, me give you one to-night” and then all the lot went off into shrieks of laughter. As I also had been previously “bitten” and as I heard her say something about “Catch all Engleesh soldatz” I gather that it is one of her standard gags. On Monday evening I was in the farm when it was reported that there was a certain liveliness and on running to the hedge I found that three of our aeroplanes had been over three German observation balloons and fetched them down, all blazing. Of course I arrived only in time to see smoke after falling. We can see them when up, in the distance. One of the ‘planes, a French one, came over very low and we could see a piece out of the plane and a wheel off. We cheered and received an answering cheer from the pilot. Bye Byen.d. [June 1916]
  • Date free text
    n.d. [June 1916]
  • Production date
    From: 1916 To: 1916
  • Level of description
    item
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