JOY OF THE BATH FOR "TOMMY"

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2370, 28 January 1915, Page 6

JOY OF THE BATH FOR "TOMMY"

fl "Eye-witness" has quite an interest- ■ ing account of the successful efforts to get "Tommy Atkins" a hot bath. He : wet and oold have added greatly to the hardships of the troops in the trenches, and the problem of how to enable them to keep their feet reason- ■ ably dry and warm is now engaging serious attention. At one place, owing to the kiniJuess of the proprietor, certain works nave recently oeen placed at our disposal as a wholesale bath- • house, lavatory, and repair shop. In the works are a number of vats large enough to contain several men at one time, and they serve most excellently for the provision of hot baths, for the men on relief from tlie trenches. Whilo they are enjoying a bath their : clothes are taken away. The underclothing is washed or burnt and replaced by a new. set, while the uniform i is fumigated, cleaned and-repaired, and buttons are sewn on and repairs done by a gang of women who are employed' • for the purpose. At this installation somo 1500 men are catered for, every this rehabilitation really means . to the soldiers can alone be appreciated from a realisation of their previous state. It must be remembered that they have not only not bathed for weeks; they have not even been able to take off their clothes, and that' consequently in many cases officers as well as men are verminous. As the latter troop up to the bath they are, to say tho least of it, unpro- • possessing in appearance. Weary, unshorn and haggard, they are coated with mud, a good deal of which has' crusted on them; and some are splash- , ed with the blood of their comrades or . of tho enemy. ■ When tliey come out clean, refreshed and reclothed, they are different beings. And not only is this a good thing from the point of r'cw of tho happiness and comfort of tho individual; it is a distinct gain in his fighting value, aud an asset to the 8 force to which iho beloncs.