a next morning. asked the cook for a hot drink & got it & at this request I tried to get for him mine & Berts & rum ration, Charlie Adams was the cook. he gave me a cup & I asked the O/c for it, the O/c knew (or thought he knew) Bert was at [?]Hala & sent for him, Bert went back on me & then Hank & I went to it. Yours truly won out & Hank owes me a drink at the Fort Garry Hotel as a result. To bed at 9.30. PM. Three letters from my queen. my tired feeling & all I had been up against were forgotten as I enjoyed my mail. How I long & yearn for that dear girl, read my letters again after I am in bed feel very tired & clean played out, made to dress & go up to parade by that b- fool of a Graham ready for the line, all I do is say Here sergeant & then go back to bed. 10.30 PM. Will Healey & the rest of the fellows left behind at the Brickfields are brought up & sent into
▸ Where was he?
▸ The war at this time
Life between actions on the Somme
Between attacks on the Somme, soldiers endured a gruelling routine of fatigue duties, supply runs, and brief rest in rear positions like the Brickfields near Albert. Even out of the line, men were subject to parades, inspections, and working parties. The tension between front-line soldiers and rear-echelon NCOs was a recurring source of friction: men who had just survived days of shelling resented being drilled by sergeants who had not shared the experience. Mail from home was one of the few reliable morale boosters. Letters and parcels could take weeks to arrive but were treasured. The army postal service handled millions of items per week on the Western Front. For many soldiers, correspondence with wives and sweethearts was the emotional anchor that kept them going through conditions that were otherwise barely endurable.
