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Letter to Gareth aged 10 years.
and about 20 men at different bathhouses. There is not much glory about cleaning. Thomas John Atkins, of Rhondda is here, but it wants tremendous powers of organising and concentration, as he is very particular that his little singlets and socks should be in a nice condition and aired. I don’t suppose I shall be at it very long. The billet is very snug and I have a lounge chair before a good fire with coal etc and as an old campaigner you will realise that one’s duty (according to the Boy Scouts Manuel) is too look after one’s health and comfort. I have got some fine shell caps, which I shall bring home also some pierces of a shell, which blew over my head in a field and dropped fairly near. I clear forgot to duck my head. They are very interesting to watch if you are out of the line of fire. They generally aim at certain spots and make huge holes in the roads and fields. One man was killed and three wounded in one of our baths but not RAMC men. Dai Jenkins, Barry was the sergeant in charge. He is now back with the field hospital and is getting on very well with his work.
I am told you don’t get very nervy with shells until you feel the shock of one. The shock of the biggest is enough to make a man unconscious even if no injury is caused. There is a battery near my billet since a day or two ago so we may expect a lot of shells here as they always aim for the batteries. I went up the trenches with a medical friend 2 weeks ago. I had to walk in the open on a narrow board for about 600 yards to get into the front line. I was awfully afraid of tumbling over into pools and old trenches all around and it was pitch dark. Bullets whizzing round but I was so funky of falling I had no time to think as much about these as I should otherwise have done. You see I haven’t seen much excitement yet but no doubt shall have plenty when the big “strafe" commences. I saw some fine shelling of 4-5 German aeroplanes by our guns the other day but sorry to say not one came down. They must be very hard to hit. Dada will be interested that Rev A Davies has been staying with us here and he is now in hospital but is coming back to stay with me tomorrow. He is a fine chap and we are very friendly. Bryn Lewis is also near here. There was at a very good concert wed. night at Div headquarters; fine singing by one of our battalions.
I shall write to Eirian before long. I am sending her a RAMC badge Warmest love to dada, Mama, Dada, Auntie Winnie and Eirian and Baden Powell Yychan (boy). Your affectionate uncle.
Raymond
The shell fuses that Uncle Raymond brought home for his nephew, Gareth
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January 11th ‘15 Dear Gwyneth and Eirian,
The baccy arrived safely. Thanks awfully. We have been away from our quarters a week and the letters were delayed etc. I enjoyed my week up there very much. We had two days in an Advanced Dressing Station, which I described in my last letter. There were RAMC regular officers in the mess who had been through all the war and their yarns about the different big ‘shows’ as they called them were really fascinating. The RAMC officers seem to have a very exciting time in these cases. Of course, now in the trench work it is pretty quiet. Shells at times fall into their stations and messes and they have to vacate them. We are likely to stay in this place for some time. Hope we will be ‘up’ in time for the next big affair - almost certain to be. We have a hospital here for very uninteresting cases ie skin cases. This week I am in the office sitting down by a big fire and trying to look as busy as I can. The work so far has been very light. We have a comfortable mess room, a good new building. Since I’ve returned I sleep between sheets in a big bed. Great! The O.C. and the other chaps are all good fellows and we get on famously. Have not practiced French as much as I should like, but got a bit last week with my landlord who is a musical professor with poor digestion. We are well supplied with reading stuff now and for sometime. I attended lots of wounds last week; some pretty bad and got an insight into the routine of the Field Ambulance work. Four of the men there were mentioned in dispatches and deserved to do so. There was a padre with the A.O. S. whose leg was pulled tremendously. He was a very conscientious chap with little sense of humour. It was hard lines. Spent most of the time looking for someone to console and the beggar would not be consoled. One man would be a nonconformist, another was unconscious, another not quite well enough to take the strain. Anyhow he was a brave chap and went into the trenches every day and made me a present off a pair of pyjamas (consecrated of course). The Roman Catholics seem to be the most useful. Their work is more definite as their sheep have to be consoled whether they like it or not. The mainstay of our chaplains are funerals. There the victim is a non-resister; there seems to be a peculiar code of etiquette with them. The C. of E must never feel the spiritual pulse or look at the spiritual longing of the N.C. or the R.C. nor give him spiritual castor oil or spiritual ipecacuanha. That would be awful!
I am curious to know what Harold Watkins will do now. I wonder whether he will be troubled with “cold feet”. Fred Roberts has joined in some class or other (guns). Bob his brother is in the firing line. I wonder what Robert Jones, Penllan has joined. Private Manuel Wragg’s military career also should be instructive. And entertaining. Will send you another photo if I can find one. I went to a concert of the Welsh guards on Saturday night. Welsh airs and ‘Hen Wlad Fy Nhadiau’ etc etc. They have done very well I am told. And lost lots of officers and men. We were attached to the Guards Division.
Well. Cariad cynhesaf abtoch ych dwy ac at y teulu oll. (Warmest love to you both and the family). Eich lwythr methodistardd a meluwel.
Raymond
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Easter Monday 1916 Dear Eirian I was very glad to get your letter. I am still in an A.D.S. with another chap. This the third one now. We left the other place where I slept in a cellar went to another place for a week and came here yesterday. The reason the changes being that the division are taking on another part of the line. It is much nicer than being in the Headquarters of our Ambulance. The Headman is a terror for making all manner of new rules and regulations for the young bloods who are unfortunate enough to be at the H.Q. I hope I shall be kept here still longer when I shall tell him what a dangerous place it is. As a result he hardly ever comes up and only stays 10 minutes or so. The place we were in last week was pretty warm; one shell just skimmed over our roof and smashed up a big tree and our tennis lawn just behind and as the place was not sandbagged at all we should probably have sampled the golden harp (wearing a gas helmet) sooner than convenient. We always carry our gas helmets here and a small knapsack slung on our shoulders. We have to visit the regimental aid posts whenever we are in the A.D.S.. The last place is quiet as regards work but shelled a bit and not very protected. But quite intact after 18 months as the inference is that it may last another 18 months but some pieces have been dropping at times. It is very interesting watching a ‘strafe’. Tremendous noise! Shrapnel bursting in the air. I watched a machine gun being fired the other day in a strafe. Wonderful how rapid 600 a minute is but the machinery seemed complicated. Haven’t been in the trenches yet. I was going round the other morning with an M.O but he couldn’t come when I went up. Dada will tell you where some of the people were last December. I am about ¼ mile from there. It is not very safe going about the roads at night as the machine guns are played on them and the country being so flat they can see us in the day. Ask Dada to write and also the rest of you to write oftener. Letters are awfully scarce recently and one does enjoy them.
Your Affectionate uncle,
Raymond
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