IN THE TRENCHES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144855, 6 December 1915, Page 7

IN THE TRENCHES.

UNSPORTSMANLIKE GERMANS.

A breezy description of trench fighting is given by a Canterbury sheep faymer (Air. W. 0. Berryman), who is at the front as a lieutenant in the Ist Royal Dragoons. "You may bo interested to hoar of my experiences in what are rather euphoniously described ns trenches,” he writes. “As a result of my confinement in those abodes of filth and foulness, I have a bad attack at present of the ‘flue.’ 1 have learned how to make Dio best of everything, but I can say with perfect frankness that the six days and nights I have just gone through are the worst 1 have ever experienced in my life. ‘Snow raking 1 in Now Zealand is a pleasure compared with life in the trenches. To get to our line of trenches wo had to march five miles, after dark, carrying our blankets and everything likely to bo required for six days, including a day’s rations. Every time a flare goes up down you go fiat on the ground, and up again the moment it goes out. Groping one’s way blindly through a wood, pitted with shell holes, etc., is an interesting, if somewhat wearying, variant, and on arrival'at Dio trenches one is generally in a state of exhaustion. Wo were over our knees in water in most parts of tho_ trenches, and the crowd wo wore relieving did not waste any time in saying good-bye to ns. Luckily wo all had waders, and the first thing to do was to put them on. The smell from the trenches was Ijko that of a lot of badly-mado drains, and tho language of tho men was sulphurous, A small cave hero and there answered to the name of an officers’ ‘dngont.’ After 5 d.jys’ work we improved our trendies tor the next lot of men by vigorous pumping and wood paving. ' Wo had no serious fighting ourselves; at least, nothing to write homo about.

“Of course, the Gormans were sniping all tho time. An unpleasant feature of this sniping is that they invert the bullets in the cases—i.e., fire with tho thick end pointing outwards, which naturally makes an ugly wound. Our trenches only being 60 yards from tho enemy’s tho bullets go true for that distance, but would not for a greater range. I myself hare a bullet that has been fired that way, to prove it, and a brother officer has a cartridge ready to fire which was left behind by the Germans, with tho bullet inverted. They have no idea of ‘sport,’ and are up to all tho tricks possible. One characteristic of the British Tpmmy is that he is always cheerful. Ho will growl at the Kaiser, tho ‘blooming’ trenches, and tho ‘blooming’ weather, but nevertheless is individually always cheery and very stolid. ■ Tho more one hears and sees of tho Tommies and tho hardships they are undergoing for their country, tho more ho feels ho should take off his hat to them.”