With the Expeditionary forces.

Bruce Herald, Volume LI, Issue 67, 30 August 1915, Page 5

With the Expeditionary forces.

INTERESTING- LETTER FROM . LViAJOR J. H. MOIR. From tho last letter received by Mr Thos. Moir, of Ciarksvilie, from liis brother, Major J. 11. Moir (second in command of the North Otago section of the main body of the Expeditionary Forces, and who was recently reported wounded) we have been permitted to reprint the following extracts Monday, June 28tli. "I am sorry 1 cannot give details of either where we are situate, or what doing, but can state in general terms that, we have been in this country over nine weeks, and during that period, whether in the trenches or in reserve, have never for an instant been beyond reach of flying bullets or whistling shrapnel. We have become so accustomed to the shells that unless one bursts immediately overhead we scarcely take any notice, but merely glance arouna, and' ask "Where did that fellow burst'.'" When not in the trenches our lidmes consist of "dug-outs" on the sides of the ridges which line the numerous gullies here; those sides exposed to tne enemy's lire being religiously avoided. The crests of the rluges —mueed any spot not half underground —have to be carefully shunned, or we may find ourselves stopping bullets from the snipers, why are rarely more than 50u to ouo yards distant. Our paths are deep trenches or saps leading to the diierent positions, so we have a kind of subterranean existence. The weather experienced to date has been delightiiu, though too hot for my fancy. one wears a jacKet, and many do not wear shirts, whilst all wear short pants —similar to the senior cadets, xoud is plentiful, if at tunes monotonous, but ig is surprising what a variety of dishes can be prepared iroin buney-beef and hard biscuits. .Latterly we had a lew issues of rice, which proved a welcome change, while fresh potatoes and onions have at times taKen the place of dried \ egetuuius. Although iresh water is nut t aiwa).s available for washing, we often male a, trip to the beach, and have splendid sea bathing. New Zealand coastal waters are not to be compared with these —clear as crystal, often as calm as glass, and warm and buoyant, such as our bouthern New Zealand waters never can be. It is quite common to see uuout 2000 men bathing at one time, the enemy tool*. to shelling the beach morning, afternoon and evening, and consequently most of our bathing is now accomplished after it is too dark to see for shooting. in giving a comprehensive description of the flora and fauna of the country, Major Moir remarks that the place would be a paradise for the plant lover if it were safe to move about amongst the hills and valleys. Tronoh work, he states, is very "interesting, if ratner dangerous. At one part, in which he was second in command for a fortnight, prior to being relieved, the enemy's trenches were only eight to ten yards distant, whilst at the furthest the opposing trenches were separated not more tnan 40 yards. Other *posts are not quite so close,* but the forces were gradually approaching each other, as the saps extend further on botli sides, .bombs pass freely from trench to trench, and to show one's head above a parapet is to court disaster Despite this the men were as "cheery birds" as could be found m a long day's march. Everyone is keen as mustard, and the majority are more pleased to be in the trenches than in the reserve guinea, >vith their never-ending series of latigue parties. The only drawback was the dust, where all the ground lias been broken for trench, dug-out, or track, and the surface pounded into line dust by thousands of ammunition boots. The flies swarm in millions everywhere, and will hot be driven off one'n bare knees, even for an instant. At a certain point, where 1 was for a fortnight, and where scores of dead bodies lay festering between the two lines of trenches, blow-Hies abounded, and the stench nearly made one sick. Xet our men cheerfully livo there, eat, sleep, and play cards, with the. risk of a bomb falling amongst them at any hour of the day or night. Major Moir states that personally, he has had remarkable luck, and many narrow escapes. From May 3nd to 4th he was cut off with a handful of men in front of the ir^_JJ i LLM _jij l [—bhi -y r

trenches, and first posted as dead, and afterwards as missing, tie got back during the night of May itJi with five slight wounds —in tne head, left upper arm, just above i'.ue lorehead, and his nose scraped vvith tue nickel casting of a bunet. rfince these escapes another bullet burned a mark aiong las boot without cutting the leather. Escapes ironi shell nre have been very common, and on the Wednesday previous to witing he was dazed ror the whoio evening by a shell which strueii an iron loophole, and burst witiuii a few feet or his head, but doing no more damage than to spot ins oiieeks witn sparks.