AT THE FRONT.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 84, 2 November 1918, Page 7

AT THE FRONT.

STRATFORD BOY'S LETTER. Following »re extracts from a letter received by a Stratford resident. "J suppose you saw in the papers the news of the big advance. 1 am at present- camped on ground that was miles behind Fritz's front line :i month ngo and now it is miles behind our own. I was with a working party tliat came, 'up to do a job two days after the advance started, and there were dead Huns everywhere, and no end of machine-guns and ammunition. One has to be very careful what one touches, as the Hun leaves ,so many tiaps. In one dug-out i saw he leftit full of trip-wires with bombs on the end. so that the moment anyone touched them, off they went. Some of the boys tied a string to a wire in a dug-out and pulled it, with the result that the dug-out was blown in. It was a pitiful sight .to see some of the French people coming back to their homes in some of the villages

which were not knocked about so much. Fp here whore we are now there is not a sound wall standing. The village is v just one pile of bricks. It will take years to clean some of the places up. Old Fritz must Tiav.e gone for his life over here, as there are very few shell holes,.; hut further back the ground is just ploughed ll( ). I had a good look at one of the Huns' tanks last night. They are different to ours. They are more square, with 3-in. armor-plating. 1 expect to be going up to the company shortly, so sun training again. The navv.ving stunt is the best, as there i s always too much cleaning up of brass for train-

tug. The correspondent send the following copies of verses written by a soldier :

THE REINFORCEMENTS' PLEA.

(111 reference to the bad reception of New Zealand soldiers' British wives by women in New Zealand.)

No we're neither real Anzacs nor heroes,

For wc< weren't in a hurry to go, And we were "not there waiting or

anxious For the oj>onin<>; events of the Show

We loved our own comforts too dearly We worshipped our-Freedom , to boct, i \ Wo thought that oro wo got to Europe, , There'd bo but few foeiuori to shoot.

Am\ you lasses of dear old Now Zealand, Oh, such shirkers you thought we '■ wore then!

For you sent us great bundles of feather, And said how you wished.you were men.

Yes, you took oil the mem of C'ornoEa Whon you spoke oi. war's glorious

Saying God has committed a blunder When he inside all the weakling's the :hovs.

But at last we donned raiment of Khaki, And we bade our dear lassies "farewell," We plunged in the sea of red slaughter, And the thunder of shrapnel and shell.

Now you hadn't the dimmest concept ion Of the perils you'd hidden us meet; You thought it would soon be all over, Soon again we should joyously greet. But when month unto moments were added, When years dark and gruesome hied past, You discovered that ardour of battle, Was an ardour not destined to" last. From Khaki you turned to starched collars You revelled in music and dance. And the hoys with the bomb and the. bayonet, It was they who had never a chance.

Now, some of yon lasses are wedded To the sliirliHr.fi, who •still stay behind ; While others, though single have broken The vows that ever should bind. Then why should you blame dear old Blighty ll' its girls For humanity's sake Heal the hearts of the lonely New Zealn.nde.rs. That, the girls of New Zealand, break? So listen, dear lass of my birthland, Please answer me ere you condemn— Ts it wonder if boys are not faithful To the girls who are faithless to them.