NEWS FROM THE FRONT.

North Otago Times, Volume CIII, Issue 13651, 19 August 1916, Page 7

NEWS FROM THE FRONT.

A NEW ZEALANDEE IN FRANCE. CHBISTCHUBGH, August 13. An interesting letter has been received from .Eifleman Win, Dick, of A Company, 2nd Trentham Regiment, who is now in the .firing line in France. Riflenian Dick Was, prior to his enlistment, a well-known inspector in the employ of the Tramways Board. Writing under date of Sunday, May -Ist, he says:— "After a lot of wandering about, we arc at the real thing at last. Since being ill I'rautCj we have not done a great deal of training, although we have had a good many hard route marches, going from one village to another. At present a portion of the New Zealand Division Is hi the trenches. We have been in reserve a few days, and to-morrow exchange places with a brigade in the trenches. Each brigade lias, of course, its turn in reserves supports, and firing line. 1 have been all through the trenches we are going to occupy, and Ihcy are comfortable and dry. 1 don't mean' to say they are covered in so you wouldn't get wet when it'rains, but all trenches have 'dud-walk' bottoms,.'so there is always something solid to stand and walk on. Underneath the 'duckwalk' there is a drain, and.though it has been dry and warm for over a week, there is still a considerable'amount of water in the drains. "At present we are billeted in the centre of a fairly, large, city, and we occupy part of a building)that was a home for the aged before the war. It is considerably damaged, but, nevertheless, is a very comfortable billet. The city itself is considerably damaged, and bears a deserted appearance, as most of flic inhabitants have gone. At the same time, it is surprising the number of shops open and doing business. The town was at one time in the possession of the ''Germans,-ami the damage was done by the British when they were retaking it. ' • • "We are within easy range of the German guns, but they scarcely ever drop .a shell in, and, when, they do, I understand, it is against some of our own guns, which they try to locate. Why they should be so considerate we do not know, but we surmise that if they shell this city, our side could, and would, shell some town in'their possession. .■■:■. . . *

"A part of the duty of the-reserves is to furnish working parties for the firing lino, 'Mo3t of this work is done in' the night-time, and it is fairly exciting. If the Germans discover any new work going on—this is done by aeroplane observation; of course—they train their machine gmi3 on it in the daytime, and theu let them go at intervals during the night. Very little firing is done by cither, side during the day, but both arc fairly busy at periods during the night. "The Germans are very persistent with star shells, illuminating the place just like day. The other night our company had to furnish a working party, and I was amongst those chosen. You don't take any notice of machine-gun or rifle fire when you are behind the parapets and in the trenches, but when you are in the open, repairing them, it is quite a different matter, Wo were making, a new communication trench leading from the second line to goodness knows where. This was some little distance from the German lines, but when a Btar shell went up it lit up all around us, and it was a case of 'duck,' One of our gang was unfortunate enough to get killed by a bullet, so our first effort at trench-making wasn't a happy one. When the front-line parapet entanglements become damaged, they have to be repaired, and, as the Germans see the damage in the day-time, you. can easily imagine repairing in these regions ian 't exactly what a man would take up as a hobby. Of course, the men who go out repairing have the assistance of, the whole division, practically, and get plenty of covering tire, It is very noticeable'that bolli sides do not fire at the same time, One side has his little say, and. when he stops, the ■ oilier starts, and so the game.goes on. . , . "All civilians, as well as soldiers, always have their gas helmets with them. ! 1 don't think there is much to fear from gas unless one is careless or a trille unlucky. 1 guess an ounce of luck is worth a ton of judgment at limes. The system of gas alarms,, or 'alerls.' as they are called here, appears to lie everything it. should be. At the first sign of anything suspicious the alert commences in the first line, and, in less time than it fakes to tell, it goes right along the line, back to the second and third lines, on through the villages and towns, and, in fact, everywhere, until there is no chance of anyone missing it, unless they are deaf." > Jn conclusion the writer states that several' of the men have been granted ftven days' leave to visit England, and he expected to get his turn later.