Dear Folks,
This is Saturday night and I have just come off duty at the hospital and am going to spend the evening writing letters. I have had two letters from home this week and one from Mae although it was an old one;it must have been delayed somewhere.
I was sorry that you had not fully recovered, mother, but you will no doubt be on your feet again before this. Why don't you take the summer off for you must surely need a good rest. Is Norma going to take that position in Toronto? So Vern is making lots of money selling tea. That is a good job for him this summer and if he works at it steadily he ought to make a good bit by the end of the summer.
Was I telling you in my last letter that I had seen Jack McMeecham? I went down to his camp last Sunday and had a chat with him. He was all through the fighting at Ypres and never had a scratch but had some narrow shaves. He wears kilts and looks pretty good in them. He had a letter from Orville a few days before and let me read it.
The weather here has been rather rainy this last week but, on the whole, it has not been too bad. We have a D.R.S. here and it accommodates about 150 or so patients and, in a pinch, it can be almost doubled. Just now, however, we only keep about 100 on hand, and so in case of a rush, we can accommodate a lot more if necessary. There are no wounded, just sick, and they require considerable attention. All cases of sprains, influenza come to us and we are busy from 7 am to 7 pm attending to them. the hospital is a tent hospital and has several wards, each a large marquee that can hold 20 stretchers easily. One man has charge of each tent. I like the work only the hours of duty are long, 12 hours, and it is hard to get a relief. I would much rather be at the advanced dressing station for we can have a good deal more freedom there (that is so far as Fritz will let us). Our NCOs do not bother us up there but back here they fairly dog the life out of us.
There is a special hospital here that "B" section runs. It is a hospital where all cases of "Self-inflicted" wounds are taken and they are kept there pending an inquiry or if necessary a court-martial and then if guilty through carelessness or of deliberately wounding themselves, they receive a sentence varying as the evidence shows up the circumstances. There are about 60 patients there now and as soon as their sentences expire, they are shipped over to England if they are still required to be in hospital.
The country is just great these days and the first chance I get, I am going to get a day off and take a long walk through the hills here. The highest point in France (in this part) is only a few minutes walk from here and a splendid view of all the country can be had from that point. If a fellow only had a wheel or a horse, he could get over some ground in a short time for the roads are great here and a person could surely enjoy a few afternoons out riding or walking.
Well, I want to write two or three letters tonight so I'll sign off and get at the others before it gets too dark.
Lovingly,
Harold
Showing posts with label Jack McMeecham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack McMeecham. Show all posts
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Saturday, July 2, 2016
30 June 1916 Flanders
Dear Folks,
This is Friday and our section is running the main dressing station and are having it fairly easy just now. We expect to move to the D.?S. in about a week or perhaps less and in the ordinary run of events we will be there for a long while. But here's hoping that there will be an onward move before the end of another month.
We have two or three detachments up at several advanced posts and they seem to be having a fairly lively time, as during the last week there has been intermittent bombarding nearly every night and they are nearly always as bad just behind the line as in the trenches. One of our boys was wounded day before yesterday. A machine gun bullet grazed his scalp and it was a mighty close shave for him. He was one of our reinforcements.
We handle wounded here but do not keep them any length of time. Some we do not touch but send them right on to C.C.S. where they can be properly looked after and receive a permanent dressing or where an operation can be performed. Most of the wounded cases come in at night and as I am on the day trick (?) I do not see so many of them but we have our hands full in the morning with the sick parades. I have to look after the dispensing and am able to do most of it.without calling Compounder who is a qualified druggist.
I saw something the other day that is a very rare sight. There were two Taubes cruising over our lines and 3 of our planes gave chase and after several bursts of machine gun fire between them, one of ours put on speed and came up between the two Taubes. They began to blaze away at each other and all of a sudden our plane turned right over and began to fall. It was up about 3-4000 feet when it was hit.and after flopping down through the air the pilot regained control of his machine just before it reached the ground and managed to land right side up. We heard afterwards that neither the pilot nor the observer was killed but it is almost a miracle that they escaped.
I guess you will not be having Mae home for very long this summer. Are you going any place, Mother? Tell Norma to write and tell me about her exams. I was very sorry to learn that you were sick Mother. I believe you are working too hard and are worn out. Don't you think you should go away for a good rest now that you have got rid of the cow? You should not be so tied down.
I haven't heard from Bill since I wrote before but am looking for a letter any day now. Say, you all want to be careful when so much typhoid fever is around. Why don't they inoculate the people of the town? All we soldiers get it and typhoid is the most rare of all diseases of that nature and we are in a position to become infected with the disease if anyone is.
What sort of a time are you going to have tomorrow? Are they celebrating in any of the towns around home? There is no difference in the days out here. Same routine for seven days in the week regardless of the occasion. the only thing we have to relieve the monotony is a little bit of extra work.
Say, can you tell me what Bruce Neilson's (a cousin) Battalion is? They might be out here some of these times and I might possibly see him. One of the boys saw Jack McMeechan who used to work for Orville. He is in the 42nd, a kilty regiment. He was asking for me. He was through the Ypres battle and was o.k. after that although his Battalion got a terrible cutting up.
Well, the supper gong has gone so I'll ring off for now . Hoping this letter finds everyone well again.
Lovingly,
Harold
This is Friday and our section is running the main dressing station and are having it fairly easy just now. We expect to move to the D.?S. in about a week or perhaps less and in the ordinary run of events we will be there for a long while. But here's hoping that there will be an onward move before the end of another month.
We have two or three detachments up at several advanced posts and they seem to be having a fairly lively time, as during the last week there has been intermittent bombarding nearly every night and they are nearly always as bad just behind the line as in the trenches. One of our boys was wounded day before yesterday. A machine gun bullet grazed his scalp and it was a mighty close shave for him. He was one of our reinforcements.
We handle wounded here but do not keep them any length of time. Some we do not touch but send them right on to C.C.S. where they can be properly looked after and receive a permanent dressing or where an operation can be performed. Most of the wounded cases come in at night and as I am on the day trick (?) I do not see so many of them but we have our hands full in the morning with the sick parades. I have to look after the dispensing and am able to do most of it.without calling Compounder who is a qualified druggist.
I saw something the other day that is a very rare sight. There were two Taubes cruising over our lines and 3 of our planes gave chase and after several bursts of machine gun fire between them, one of ours put on speed and came up between the two Taubes. They began to blaze away at each other and all of a sudden our plane turned right over and began to fall. It was up about 3-4000 feet when it was hit.and after flopping down through the air the pilot regained control of his machine just before it reached the ground and managed to land right side up. We heard afterwards that neither the pilot nor the observer was killed but it is almost a miracle that they escaped.
I guess you will not be having Mae home for very long this summer. Are you going any place, Mother? Tell Norma to write and tell me about her exams. I was very sorry to learn that you were sick Mother. I believe you are working too hard and are worn out. Don't you think you should go away for a good rest now that you have got rid of the cow? You should not be so tied down.
I haven't heard from Bill since I wrote before but am looking for a letter any day now. Say, you all want to be careful when so much typhoid fever is around. Why don't they inoculate the people of the town? All we soldiers get it and typhoid is the most rare of all diseases of that nature and we are in a position to become infected with the disease if anyone is.
What sort of a time are you going to have tomorrow? Are they celebrating in any of the towns around home? There is no difference in the days out here. Same routine for seven days in the week regardless of the occasion. the only thing we have to relieve the monotony is a little bit of extra work.
Say, can you tell me what Bruce Neilson's (a cousin) Battalion is? They might be out here some of these times and I might possibly see him. One of the boys saw Jack McMeechan who used to work for Orville. He is in the 42nd, a kilty regiment. He was asking for me. He was through the Ypres battle and was o.k. after that although his Battalion got a terrible cutting up.
Well, the supper gong has gone so I'll ring off for now . Hoping this letter finds everyone well again.
Lovingly,
Harold
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