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Show War Office Carries Out Wishes Wish-es of Soldier However Crudely Written. MANY TRENCH WILLS Some in Dialect, Phonetic Spelling, or Rhyme and I Many in Cipher. LONDON, Sept. 15. (By Mail.) The "last will and testament" which the British private frequently writes into the little army "pay book," whiclr he carries witlvhim wherever he goes, is an interesting study. Wills made in the trenches are legal without witnesses wit-nesses and the soldier's own signature is all that is required to make such a will acceptable to the courts. Even if the signature is lacking, the will still may be accepted if there is evidence as to the handwriting of the testator. In every case the war office authorities author-ities make every effort to carry out the soldier's wishes, however, crudely they are expressed or however fantas- tic they may be. Many of these trench wills have Tommy Atkins' characteristic touch of humor. Some are in dialect, some in phonetic spelling. Several have been in cipher which have taxed the war office experts to solve. Occasionally they leave purely imaginary possessions posses-sions to institutions or fictitious persons. per-sons. Wills In Rhyme Here is a will in rhyme which was written while the soldier was on duty at a "listening post" in No Man's Land : "I haven't a sweetheart, I haven't a mother, I've only one sister, not even a brother, My sister Susan is all I've got, So of aught that's mine she can have the lot." This will went through the courts without question, despite its unusual form. Another will in rhyme, leaving the estate "to the first comer," is the following: fol-lowing: "Whichever first sets eyes on this, Gets everything I leave; For my kith and kin are gone. And I've not a friend to' grieve- "There's a tidy bit in the bank you'll find, And my army pay, though small; So stranger, breathe one sigh for me, You're welcome to it all." Sergeant Gets Bank Account This will was forwarded to England by the young sergeant wno found it and he shortly afterward received no- tificatlon that the "tidy bit" which turned out to be a substantial sum of money, had been deposited to his account. ac-count. Still another will in rhyme was written writ-ten by a private vho had been cut off ffom his comrades for three dayq, without food or water, and probably without sleep for the greater part of that time, until the .greatest desire in life seemed to him to get a big drink. It was as follows: "If I'm knocked out by bullet or bomb, When over the top we go, . A gallon of beer I leave to Tom, Another to Squint Eyed Joe. We've borne the worst of a soldier's thirst, Through days and nights of woe. Give my dad the rest, but if I go west, There's a drink for Tom and Joe."-There Joe."-There was some difficulty in carrying carry-ing out this bequest owing to the fact that half the men irf the company1 claimed to have been called "Tom" and "Joe" by the testator and the whole estatawas finally turned over to the father, it being left to him to carry car-ry out the "two gallons clause," as he should see fit. nn |