First aid in conquered trenches.
Transcript of a letter from Frank to Ethel
This was probably written over several days. Not all of the letter survives. All correspondence from the Front was subject to strict censorship carried out by a designated Officer of the soldier's unit. A letter containing what follows would not have passed the censor, because of the harrowing details in it. Personal letters such as this were commonly 'smuggled' home by hand in the care of a colleague who was returning, perhaps wounded or on leave.
Belgium (1)
May 14 1915
My own Darling and True Sweetheart Ethel May
I am commencing your weekly letter this Friday, and I shall write a few lines at every available moment and by doing so I must continue a few days, and then I always think it reads a little muddled but I hope my Darling does not mind as it is the best I can do under my present conditions, so I hope you never think anything. Darling I am very sorry indeed to hear your mother’s thumb does not improve, I shall be very pleased to hear of it getting a little better.
Now my Own Loving Darling I do hope you are feeling much better as you have not said anything as to whether you are in any of your recent letters but I trust you are.
I was very surprised to hear in your letter, that Fairbanks’ son has got to have his leg amputated, as his wound did not seem that serious at the time it was done and it must have taken bad ways since, I suspect septic, you say his Dad is coming over to France to see him, I guess he is now at the base, I did not know they would allow anyone to come over and see a patient. I guess it will cost a good amount to come. I guess Will Aston is anxious to get home, as he has been in England now some time, I should say it is a great suspense to be in England and wait so
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long, and not be able to get to your loved one. I should if it was me, if he comes over and you see him, give him my kind regards. Remember me to Edith. We have had some rain out here the past two days, apart from that time, it has been grand. I hope you have received last weeks private letter alright, as I gave you a rough account of some of my whereabouts, and I should not risk an account of our work very often like that. David has had a week on the coffee stall this week, doing the same as I had to do, I should have been on instead of him all this week, had it not have been for me working on the respirators, gags, as I have been working on them since I told you in my letter. We, a party of ten motor to and fro from business night and morning, and we turn out at the present time 1500 of the gags per day, we are doing very good work, and are supplying a large part of the firing line with same, more so we are gaining good praise and satisfaction from officers and Generals of superior rank, who come and inspect our work daily, and I motor to and fro to a corset factory where they make up rubber proof bags, it is a grand place, full of machinery and machines worked by girls, I have also worked a cutting upright saw, cutting off the material the proper size, I soon got used to it, I thought I was back on a machine at
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Beddow and Sturmey's Willenhall but not making locks of course the machines work similar, the gags as I told you are completed by young Ladies at a nunnery where we work also, but yesterday being Ascension Day, and them being strong Catholics, they had a whole days holiday.
It is practically all work for us, but I do not mind as long as I can stick up, but I have had great difficultly this week, although I have not said anything in your letters, I will just give you an idea of my work this week. I have got up every morning this week at 6 o’clock except this morning, and I was up at 5 o’clock and I worked until 10 o'clock last night, and it was too late to go back so I stayed at our large hospital all night. I have worked every night late, the earliest I have finished being 9 o’clock and what letters I have sent you this week I have written by candle light after that time and I must confess as I guessed you have noticed, my letters have been very short and poor, but I do hope you have not felt like complaining as I can assure you I have sat by candle light at 11 o'clock at night writing your letters this week and I have not known how to keep my eyes open, tired out, so you see Darling I have done my best.
We have all our meals at our large hospital near where we are working and we have lived well since I have been away on this work as we have lovely bacon for breakfast, roast beef and potatoes, and above all on several days we have had some
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boiled pudding, it is a change to have some nice food.
Darling I think you like to hear of some of my experiences out here, if you do not you must tell me. I went to dinner several times this week and just as I have reached the hospital, a long convoy of wounded has come in cars of above 50 behind each other containing about 200 stretcher cases, and instead of having my dinner I have had to get on and help to get the patients out of the cars, and fix them up comfortable, this is what occurs daily at our one hospital at that place, and there are many more hospitals. I have seen some of the most awful wounded cases this week that it is possible to see. I will just give you one or two, one being a young man who had got a shell wound of the face, it had blown his one cheek completely off and you could see his side teeth, also it had blown out his one eye, broken his jaw up, when he came into the hospital, he looked horrible, his mouth was full of broken teeth bones, the roof of his mouth being open to his upper part of the head, and all parts of the latter being smothered with blood, and he is still alive, and I think they will bring him round but he will look such an awful disfigured young man, it will be a pitiful sight to see all the days of his life. We had another case of a young man about my age, he had
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a shell wound through the chest and back and he was in a very serious condition when he entered our hospital, although he was bearing it well, but he was very anxious to know whether there was a possible chance of recovery. It made me think, what if it was me, as he was just like me. I will tell you why he was so anxious as I sat by his side and he told me his story. He said he had a sweetheart he loved dearly, and for that reason he craved to get well again for her sake, so he said to me at the end of his story, now tell me your firm truthful mind, as to whether you really think I shall live. I said look here chum, cease to worry, take things easy, and you will soon get well. I said you will be back in England soon in the arms of your Darling, and write and tell me how happy you both are. I also said, look how long it might be before I see my sweetheart, so as soon Major Hodder came round to examine him, he asked him the same question, and told him the above story so Major Hodder told him if he keeps himself quiet he would soon be back in England well again. I have seen dozens with limbs blown off, awful sights, to go round with the feeding cups and sit by the sides of some of the patients and hear their pitiful stories is an experience one will not easily forget. I can witness sights now without taking much notice and if I had seen any case 12 months back anything like so bad I should have fell
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over. For instance to sit by the side of a wounded man just as he is having his last groan before leaving this world does not seem very pleasant and carry him out straight away, sometimes we have a dozen die in our hospital in one day. All the wounded give our chaps a good name, as they are always waiting and willing to do or fetch anything the patient requires, and they do not like leaving it. I can tell you it is a grand hospital, fitted up fine like Wolverhampton, the most serious cases that can eat a little solid food have chicken each day as there is so many cooked every day. We have got two female nurses from England with us. I suppose the War Office send them along to work with us, there is any amount of English nurses out at the hospitals here. We should be able to do without the two we have got, as we have got three good nursing sections in our RAMC, and these two nurses only want to attend to the clean wounds, and they also want waiting on hand and foot, very swanky I can assure you, of course I must admit they are very skilful, and I can assure they are paid all due respect by all our troops out here, if an English nurse passes a sentry he always salutes her smartly, or if she passes a soldier anywhere he would come smartly to attention. We have had a good deal of rain out here the past two days, and it is not so warm.
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I have had a rotten cold all this week, a bad throat and I could hardly breathe, as my head was stopped up, although I have not reported sick, as in the case of medical units out here they soon send you into hospital at Base for a rest in cases of ordinary convalescent as it is not wise to let you attend to patients if you ought to be one yourself, and I should not like to move away from my unit and go amongst strangers, as I should feel lost and miserable so I have done my best to keep up, it is now a little better. Now I will answer your question about George Cartwright, he was not sent back to England after all, he returned to our unit 3 days ago, he has been down at the Base about 7 weeks. Darling I did receive your letter in which you said you would like to see Cartwright if he came back to England, and this is the reason Dearest I never answered that question. When he left us ill, a few days passed by, and the rumour got about that he had been sent back to England, and I never knew officially whether it was right until a good few weeks after and I heard he was at the Base, and I forgot all about your question, so I hope you do not think anything. I know you will forgive me as I have much to think about. I quite remember what
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you said in your letter, you would like to speak to him, I wish I could come to you, I would give you such a ...... , for wanting to speak to another young man, of course I am only joking darling. Dearest you do make me wish I was back home with you this Whitsuntide when you talk of possibilities of your people going to Rhyl, it makes me think of the grand time we spent together 12 months last Easter, I think that is right, when they went to Hereford, we had the time of our life, did we not, I did enjoy myself, and we should have been able to have had perhaps a better time perhaps this past Easter if I had been at home. And comes Whitsuntide insight; and possibilities of such a grand and happy time if I was at home with you, and there was not war, but Darling we must both make the best of our conditions, and I pray the war will soon be over, as I can assure you I am tired of it, as one never knows what each moment may bring you, all one can do is hope and pray and have patience. I shall be thankful to place my feet on English soil when the war is over and I pray I shall come back wholesale, as I ..................
Remainder of letter is missing.
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