First letter from the trenches - 1
My Darling Mum
You would laugh if you could see me now. We are all in dugouts on the side of a cliff. In some there are seven together but I thought it would be nicer to be by one’s self. There is hardly any space to move in mine – I can just sit up and that’s about all. We have moved from the place where I last wrote to you and we are now fighting the Turks.
The guns make an awful row and sometimes they fire just behind you and make you jump a yard. When I was on the boat that took us out here the day before I landed my kitbag was ripped open and all my things taken out so I was left with nothing, but I am getting various things from the officers. So could you send me out a pair of boots and a woollen helmet, some Vaseline and a thick woollen jersey as soon as possible as it gets cold here in the winter. You won’t forget to send me some papers as it is so dull when you can get no news….