From a programme about the First World War
A man read extracts from his father’s
letters from the trenches during the First World War.
“I
was sitting in atrench in France with
other soldiers, both English and French. It was December and freezing cold. It
was also horribly smelly as some of the men were using the trench as a toilet.
It was not long to Christmas, and I shed tears when I thought of the wonderful
Christmas dinner I had enjoyed back home the previous year. Now this year,
everything was different.
On
Christmas Day we all cried as we thought of our loved ones back home. Suddenly
the Germans attacked. I heard our commander’s voice, “fire, boy! Fire, boy!” We
all fired. The fighting continued for more than an hour.
Many
of us could not walk because of the freezing cold because of sores and
frostbite in their feet. We all forgot
how to sleep. Day and night we waited in the freezing cold, watching out for a
German attack. Eventually an attack did come and we had to desert the trench
that we had been in as it was occupied by the Germans. We withdrew and dug a
new trench some distance back.
Sunday
was the one day where things were different. We attended services and prayed
for victory. No doubt the Germans did the same”
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