Letter from the Trenches

October 29, 1914

Dear Mother,

It has been a while since I last wrote to you. Give my regards to father and the twins. I hope everything is going well for the family. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for myself. The last time I wrote to you, we had just arrived in France and everybody was in high spirits. Since then we have moved twice a week in the worst of conditions. We have lost a lot of men since the fighting started 3 weeks ago.

I have been assigned to the front lines in the trenches for a week or so. These trenches are ridges, about 10 feet deep and 5 feet wide that have been dug into the ground and are many kilometers long. They have been built to avoid machine gun fire. Men here have lost all sense of time. It is almost always dark as the clouds from all the bombs have formed an umbrella above us, trapping out all sunlight. I have seen such horrible things in the trenches, that it would give a grown man nightmares. Our people are getting killed and wounded day by day, hour by hour; it's hard to watch this going on. The rampage spread of diseases in the trenches has been another problem. There is no from of sewage system in these trenches, so when it rains, the water settles at the bottom of these trenches. When we are deployed to the trenches we have to eat, sleep and live in the trenches for at least two weeks at a time. One disease which has struck many, is trench foot, which happens because of the dirty water and mud. It causes swelling in the legs, until it reaches a point where many have to get their leg cut off so that the swelling does not move up their leg. My leg started to swell a little bit, but fortunately a new shipment of whale oil reached us before my legs got too bad. Whale oil helps to keep the water from entering the feet. Another problem in the trenches is the rapid growth of lice in our hair and clothing. We cannot sleep as we itch from head to toe during the nights. Also, these lice have caused a serious disease that we call "trench fever." It is a very serious illness and I have seen many suffer and die because of it. Fortunately, we have learned a few ways of repelling and destroying the lice. Another serious problem here in the trenches is malnutrition. The food is being rationed due to a shortage and the blocking of the trade routes. Pretty much all we eat in the trenches are "biscuits." These are square pieces of dry bread with holes in them, which you soak in water in order to eat. This doesn't provide all the nutrients needed to stay healthy and has also made many people sick. The food does not really give one energy in order to fight a war.

My best friend Samuel Roberts was killed in action a week ago, right before my eyes. The enemies were charging towards us. Fortunately I was operating the machine gun, which is a new invention and is a very effective gun. This weapon can kill thousands of people. Thousands have died trying to reach the enemies trench. It is quite large and so heavy that it has to be placed on a stand. It fires about 500 shells every minute. This helps in preventing the enemy from trying to cross "No-Man's Land." Unfortunately, Samuel was stuck with