TRIPS HOME FROM THE TRENCHES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13594, 23 January 1915, Page 4

TRIPS HOME FROM THE TRENCHES.

SOME 2s OVEL FEATURES OF THE' WAR.. LUXURIOUS HOiURS. Week-ends home from the war seem a novelidea, but (says the Pall Mall Gazette) it has been realised. A considerable number of officers and men straight from the firing line m Flanders have spent some hours of welldeserved rest at home. Few of them have been able to spare many moments of their furlough apart from their relatives and friends, and still fewer have been disposed to recall m detail the grim and terrible realities of -the struggle of the past four months. |. "When a. man escapes for a few hours '. ho wants to forget," remarked a dis•tuiguished officer m a famous regiment j which has borne more than its share m ' the fighting since the very beginning. "I quite understand," he continued, ■"the feelings of the five men who arrived at a south coast port last week. :Tliey went straight to the best hotel they knew, took a room each for five days, ordered a- fire to be kept burning, and their meals to be served m ;bed.

"Probably they soon abandoned that vdan, but the anticipation must have been worth any sacrifice. These men Were old soldiers, too." The officer who can boast of several campaigns has a warm corner m his heart for the old soldiers.

"They adapt themselves splendidly to this new warfare. You don't catch the old stager taking unnecessary risks. I am afraid many of the new men have paid a big price for what looks like mr trepidity, but is really y foolishness. "The old stager's curiosity as to what is going on immediately m front is not sufficient to make him raise his head to see. He is content to wait for orders. The new man takes the risk, and too often pays the price, but they are learning..

"I have seen the. Ghurkas in 'action.. They are : splendid fighting, men, but have had to learn their lesson. On one occasion we had had a bad time, and the Ghurkas were behind, fairly wriggling to get off. When the. moment arrived the "order came -. -Ghurkas, you wdU take the trench!' "They sprang up with- eyes ablaze. Nothing could have stopped them, and nothing did. .They, sprang into and over the trench like tigers, but, instead of staying, they surged onwards, and all the effort of their officers failed to -stop them before they had covered three-quarters of a mile. They lost heavily, and had to come .back. Next time they knew better.

"One day a little- Algerian boy found his way into our trenches j how he managed- it nobody ever knew. He was cold and hungry, and was a. source of great amusement. He .came to be looked jon as a sort of mascot.

"He could eat at any time and all times. If the men did not share their rations with him- he stole them, with a broad smile. , After some days he van.ished, no one knew Avhere, and Aye never heard of him again. He may be eating m another trench now. "The men will come back better men than they AVent. The sad side, of the Avar has touched them deeply. The ruined homes, tho crowds of destitute refugees, the tearful little children: Avho have lost father, mother, and relatives, the Avidowed women and the old folk that Aye have seen these fouir months have seared our memories.

i "When our men consider what might happen at home if the Germans get through the thought makes them curse and fight like demons. The enemy Avi'll never get through onr lines noAv, do Avhat they » will, but the men at home ought to realise, as Aye have realised, what, Aye are fighting to prevent. ; "I liave been asked what do the men want moat. It .may seem funny, but they want neAvs. News from the eastern front; first, because every one feels that ifißu^sia comes a.lorig the Germans must Aveaken on the west, and we shall 'get a move on,* as the Cockney says. "Anything like a general advance wouild send the trench barometer flying up. Xo man. doubts for a moment that sooner or later we are going to Berlin, and every advance means nearer Berlin and -home. .

"There is noAv some prospect of short furlough r<t JjorVg- intervals. We get about an hour's notice. When the names of those, to go appear m the orders of the day, the lucky ones are just, like school boys.

: "Last .week a young" officer glanced through the list, saw ins own name, jumped up, and shouted with glee, 'Hooroof ! I'm dining and sleeping out.' Then .he was off. It's England and home iv about 10 hours' time. The men , who are left smile, and wait their turn*-,? ,■,..-".'' ■ ■ U

"The A^S.C. is doing splendidly, and the British force is well; fed: I . There are thousands of -Thermos flasks, stoves, and othev devices that go to make life iri;, the. trenches tolerable; .There is no shortage l 0f.., tobacco or oigarettes.. aiid even the notepaper difficulty is- being overcome.' ..... -'■-;•

i "The night- hours are itrying ; especially if smoking is prohibited, but officers' may sometimes have to look the other way when, the aroma of < smoke from- a seasoned briar comes from a pile of ooats m.- a. corner, where a man is enjoying a furtive pipe to keep himself awake, ■•.',- .:-.- •• "On many occasions we have been on what I may call' distant friendly terms with the enemy. Banter and an exchange; of. tobacco > or commodities is .all it amounts to, <but somehow : these incidents are i welcome. ; .. . . "After four -months I can sit. here m London, and prepare to go back, proud of the British officer and soldier, and without a shadow of doubt as to the end.? ... f ■■-. ■.-, .- . - I t "But there are thousands of men here who ought to' be there, and if they j don't go they ? ll"regret it later on."