Show ari atmas in a X ipac ft du a ii 9 out u a an ts by sergeant ergeant arthur guy 11 ll Y empey I 1 author of over the top al first calv etc 0 0 0 mr elpers v esperi teen months in the First line trenches of the british britis army in france i ance the it was christmas eve and cold not the kind of cold which sends the red blood 16 d tingling through your veins and ma makes es you want to be up and at em but that miserable damp dam P kind that eats into the marrow of your 3 our bones bobies boi ies attacking you from the re rear ar and sending sen jang cold shivers up and comyn down your ur spinal column jt it gives you a fr feeling ing of f dread and loneliness s the three of us caily curly happy and nd myself bif A were standing at the ille car cor ncr of yankee avenue anuell and yiddish street wit waiting I 1 ting for the word stand to 6 aich we were domount to mount our nia machine chine gun on the parapet and ko go on for two hours with our heads hads sticking na over the top yankee avenue was the name of trench while yiddish street was the communication trench waden leading to ape the rear we were occupying Y sector of the front line of our bi brigade aade the trench was muddy and in some places a thin crust of ie ice was beginning to form around around the edges eddies atthe puddles we had wrapped our feet and legs 5 with empty sand bags tind and looked like snow snow on fifth avenue my 11 teeth were chattering with the cold r happy was slapping hisha his hands nils on his ar thighs while curly carly had unbuttoned one of the buttons button sj on his overcoat and with his left hand was desperately trying to reach under his tight right 1 armpit aref at no doubt a cootie had gone mar borits for its christmas dinner i tl then cameille came the un unwelcome elcome stand to anait and it was up anthe on the fl for I 1 us to get our gu gun mounted amounted this took about curly while working away was wag muttering blime allme me christmas eve and ere I 1 am somewhere ome where liv in france A talf alf starved with the cold A happy was humming bumming keep tle the home fires burning right bight then to all me any kind of a home fire fire would n have been very welcome it was black as pitch in no mans land curly stopped muttering to himself and happus happys humming ceased there ivas was serious work la front of us IF for or two hours we had bad to try and pene that blackness with stra straining eyes eye s to see that arltz did not surprise us with some christmas stunt of his suddenly happy alio was standing anding on the fl nax aest t to rn me e gripped d dij nij my arm and in a low excited wIlI whisper slid 1 asked X did you see that out in front yank a little littleto to the ight of that black patch tin in the barbed wire eyes in the direction ail lp with my heart pounding ln against fist my ribs I 1 waited for some develop C sure enough I 1 could malce make out but a all slight movement nappy must have seen loftt it at the same jIme time because he carefully eased his rifle over the top for in siant use sly rifle was al read yIn position curly was fumbling ivi flare pistol Sudi suddenly lenly plop vl as as he pulled the trigger and a red streak shot up into the air as the star she shell ll 11 described an ard arc out in front it lilt hit th the ground and burst tb throwing rowin out a white ghostly light A fright 1 cried roe and a cat with speed gutc clutch open darted fi from orn tho the wire ln us jumped over our gun and disappeared feared into t the he blackness of them the trench curl curly ducked dacke dehls his head ant and Happy Iet out a weak veal squeaky laugh 1 I 1 was ads frozen stiff with fear i pretty soon eoon the pum of my henrt heart was res resumed timed arid and once more I 1 1001 looked ked out into anio land r fo the remainder of our two hours oti on guard rd nothIng happ then wel we turned over to the seand relief and ci half frozen wended bended our way th through rought the icy mull mud to uie the entranced entrance of df ours pur di dugout gou t pro from m the i depths of the earth came am the notes of a fi harmonica playing pack up your tour troubles in you tour r old kit bag and smile smile Sn smile itle stumbling down tb the muddy steps we entered the dugout about eight boysy boys brou acour r section sitting on theli their packs back 1 had formed a circle around a wooden J h os in an old ammunition tin six candles were werd burning barnin g Tin shuddered at this extravagance but sud dpn donly ly remembered that it anlas mas eve sailor bill ams making cocoa over the games flames of a tommas tommys Tom mys cio I 1 while ikey key honney va was s toasting bread pt of atren a cli pre fire et the alit fumes fr from in which nearly choked is sassoon As soon as wo baad oan appearance jn in the dugout the cir circle r 46 soad up and V asals S als usual with wo english made room 44 for us ug to get around tho fire b bucket to out our stiffen stiffened ed j joints jn jit about twenty or so BO the cold of the ibe trench wa forgotten and awe in the merriment the mu mn put his harL harmonica onica away ibid an d buiting with I 1 sa s1 sailor bill n CreEs edus u I 1 alc nt leroen lemen it Is now time far fb ahls 4 e ships compin to report progress as to what they have done dene for cor the christmas feed which ato la to bo held tomorrow nt at e eight 1 bells beald yank lets hear bear yours yours 1 1 I reported one dozen eggs bottles of walte alne v ia one bottle of if red wine jpe eight packets of gold flake tap fags cigarettes and one quart hattle of champagne which had d cost me inel five francs franca at a french this report was received with a cheer aliey honney was vaa next in order Hei proudly state that hohag ho had saved his rum ruin issue for the last eleven days and consequently was abw able to donate to via feast his water bottle three fourths full I 1 of rum i this a would eelpout help out ln in making bra brandy ady sauco sauce tor for the plum pudding sailor bill informed that thathy r lie bad a fruit cake a bottle of pickled walnuts and two AJ tins ns of deviled hum ham which had been sent out to him from london each man had bad something to report 1 I are carefully mode made a list ot of the articles opposite the name of the person donating them and turned the list overto over to bill who was to act as cook on the following day just lance corporal hall came into the dugoff duboue and warming his hands over themire the alre bucket eald if you blokes want to hear something that will take you home to come up into the fire trench a minute none of us moved that fire bucket e was too comfortable after much coaxing sailor bill ikey alonney and myse myself if followed hall out of tho dugout ou t and up into the alre trench A dedd dead silence reigned and wo we started to return hall blocked our I 1 way and whispered 1 just a minute boys and listen pi pretty ha soon from the darkness out in front we wd heard the strains of a d germ german ian cornet playing 11 its tsa a long long trall trail were winding we stood entranced till the last lasp note died aled out after about a four or five minute wait the strains striling lins of the suwanee biver were wafted wafred across no mans land toward us I 1 felt 1 onely lonely and homesick eurof out of the darkness from the fire alre bay on our lour left it awelch W easl voice sia started arted singing atsa its a long long trail 1 it was beautiful the gl german erman cornet player must have heard it because he picked up the tune and accompanied the singer on his I 1 co comet rn et ilhan I 1 had never neer heard anything so beautiful lamy in my life before the music fr from oni the german trench sud suddenly ena icea ceased sed and in the air overhead came the sharp crack 1 crack I 1 of machine gun bullets bullens as iome some bocho gunner butted in on the cone concert ert we ducked and returned to our dugout the men were all tired auf out find and soon goon rasping snores could be heard from flora under the cover of blankets and overcoats the nest ficht day was christmas and we eagerly aw awaited acted alted the mall mail which wa was to be brought up by the tha ration party part y at abon noon not noi a shot fief or shell had bad been been fired all morning g ali the a sun had conae come out and althou although ih i h the trenches were slippery with mud still it was wa warm swarm find and we ve felt the Ohr liina spirit r running through our veins we all turned in and cleaned up the dugout making reflectors out of ammunition tins ting sticking them into the walls of the dugout we placed a lighted candle on each the rays ailys from I 1 which whdeh turned night into day bill was ras bustling about prep preparing tiring th the christmas spread he atil placed ced a waterproof sheet on the floor and adding three dillree blankets be spread hric another ither waterproof sheet over ofer the top for a table cloth and arranged the mens the edges for chairs presently tho the 1 welcome wel vone voice of our sergeant came from tho the entrance tiance en of the dugout come coref e on me lads lend a hand band with W ith the ih mall emall there was a mad rush for the entrance in Wco a couple uple of minutes oi or so the boys returned staggering under a load bond of parcels As each name was lead off a parcel bould be thrown over to the i expectant tommy my heart bicari was bea beating ting with eagerness as 1 did you seii sea that out in front yank the s sergeant ergeant picked up each parcel then a pang of disappointment as the aguir was read off each ninn man in the dugout received from one to four parcels there was still one left I 1 could feel their eyes sympathizing me something to the sergeant that I 1 could uld not get the sergeant turned to roe me and said k why all ollnie me yarita lanb I 1 must be coln balmy I 1 left aur your parcel up tip in fil alid trench fron cli ill bo arje dijt rijt t jimoh baal 11 J lie returned in a few minutes with 0 A large parcel addressed to me I 1 angerly took the parcel and looked forthe tor the post mark etwas it was from from london another pang of digap disappointment passed through me I 1 knew no one in london I 1 then it all flashed over me ma in an instant about two weeks before I 1 had noticed if a collection being taken 6 up la in the and at tho the time though Ot aj very strange that I 1 was not asked to donate the boys boyd had bad all chipped in to moke sure that I 1 would not be fo forgotten I 1 go aten on christmas they eagerly crowded around me as V I 1 opened the parcel li Ii contained nearly everything under tinder the sun including some amerl I 1 A man named smith in our section had been detailed as runner to our captain and was not hot presentac presen tat the distribution of the mall mail three pa parcels and five letters on on his pack so BO he would receive them on his return to the dugout in about ten minutes q a ann man came alimo from tho the trench loaded down with small oblong boxes each tommy including myself received receive d one they we were presents represents from alie queen of england and each box contained a small plum cig cigarettes arestes ar ettes EC a coup couple 16 of cigars matches and chocolates every soldier in the british army received one 0 these boxes on christmas day A at t last pallor allor bill announced that christmas dinner was ready read yand and we losano lost no time in getting to our respective packs pack s sitting around armourd in a eire circle le smith was wad the only absentee a and nd hv his parcels and letters still unopened were wroot hapack ahls pack he wa snowa noaha half if hour overdue Sa sailor ballor llor bill noting our oui eagerness to begin held up his ll 11 hand and said now boys were all shipmates together dont you think jt it would be I 1 Eagerly Took 06 Par cei better to wait a few minutes more for smith wo we all assented but in our hear hearts ts wd we were bierd cursing him forhia for his hig delay ton ten minutes passed fifteen then twenty all eyes were turner in bills direction ile he answered bied our looks look s with go to it boys we cant wait for smith I 1 dont know enow keeping him but you know his name Is lit in orders for leave and perhaps he isso Is so tickled that hes going to see hla wife and three little nippers in blighty Blight yi that lies hes lost his bearings and has run aground we started olarte d jn in and waxed merry for a few minutes then there would be an uncomfortable be pause pause nn and dilall all eyed eyes would be turned in id the direction of the bacan vacant place I 1 uneasiness seemed to prevail suddenly the entrance to the aupp dugout was darkened and a form forin came stumbling down Wi with thone one accord we all shout shouted edv come on smith y youre 0 aire mis missing cingone sI ngone one of fehd the best christmas dinners of your life our oui sergeant entered the dugout one lo look at h bis aliface face was enough W we knew he was the bear bearer of tidings dIngs I 1 with tears in his eyes hild and a catch in his vole voice e he asked aided V which ilch Is 13 smiths pack we ive all solemnly nodded our heads in the dl df of the vacant place without a word the sergeant picked alj up the ilie letters parcels and pack and started to leave the dugout sailor bill could stand it no longer and just esthe as the serge sergeant was about to leavelle leave he asked out aith with lt it serg sergeant bant happened t the sergeant turned aroun 3 and ana in a choking volee voice said boys smiths gone west some bloody german sniper got him through the napper its as he M as passing ti that at bashed tn in part in yiddish street sailor bill ejaculated ejaculate a apo poor or old smith anne festl then lie he paused imil and sobbed sobbed oct out my afy god think of his wife and throe little ni nippers P waiting in blighty to come come home for the christmas holl days I 1 believe that right at that moment a solemn vow of vengeance registered itself in every heart around that festive circle tho the next nest day 70 we in a little cemetery behind th the lines while standing mound out our ni artillery fillery suddenly opened up with an intense bombardment on the german lines and as every shell passed screaming overhead wo we sent a prayer of vengeance with it abtil grave was filled in linings I 1 imagined ned a huge rain rainbow bov embracing the graves ves in hat fint cemetery on which I 1 in n letters i fi ke WR was boward I 1 written ivr pence peace on ear earth t h good will toward mon men but such ts Is war |