07 - They can kill me but they can't scare me
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- SpeakerCodford, England – December, 1915 – (Letter #7) “They can kill me but they can’t scare me”
- SpeakerMy Dear Brother; Just a few lines to let you know I am well. Hoping this will find you all the same.
- SpeakerI told you I received your watch O.K. and your letter and the dollar in it.
- SpeakerWell, dear brother, I did make good use of it.
- SpeakerThis is one hell of a place
- SpeakerMud up to your knees and the damn huts. They leak like a sieve, and rain, we are here now two weeks and it rained every day.
- SpeakerYou know the Canadians were here and they lost 300 men with fever,
- Speakerso they went away and then sent us here. I think we will help fill up the graveyard.
- SpeakerYou talk about your American army, but I think [at least] you could get enough to eat.
- SpeakerWe rose hell in the mess this evening. I will tell you what we have for tea
- Speakertwo small slices of bread and a pint of tea and one teaspoon full of jam,
- Speakerso the major came in to us. So you can bet we told him.
- SpeakerSome think he is going to make us parade all day Sunday in the mud, and if we does,
- Speakerwe will all lay down in the mud because we can’t march or work on an empty stomach.
- SpeakerGive me the trenches, the sooner, the better.
- SpeakerWe will be out of here the 9th of January.
- SpeakerWe are under orders to go at a week’s notice, that is why they took us away from Southport.
- SpeakerYou see we are handy Southampton. I was in London two hours last week after a prisoner.
- SpeakerQuite a city.
- SpeakerWe are about 70 miles from London.
- SpeakerIf I can get a pass this week, I am going to Tidsworth to if see if I can find any of the Island boys.
- SpeakerIt is about 25 miles.
- SpeakerThis is a part of the Salisbury Plains [and I say] "damn the plains", if they are all like this.
- SpeakerI am still on the machine gun, but we did not get started since we came here – have not got our target yet,
- Speakerbut we will have them this week. If not, I hear we will have to go to Aldershot, that is quite handy London, I think, and it will be better as we will be in barracks then.
- SpeakerWell, we have been getting it pretty hard for the last two weeks from the Germans.
- SpeakerIn fact, on all our fronts.
- SpeakerI think that is why we got so sudden a shift.
- SpeakerWe sleep on a board with two blankets and lousy as a skunk.
- SpeakerI got up last night and killed two rats.
- SpeakerThey had my rifle doing musketry,
- Speakerand they could do it in good style, but never mind, Jack, they can’t jar me any. I keep at it and say nothing.
- SpeakerThey say we are going to India, that will be a pretty fair climate if we can keep clear of fever.
- SpeakerWell, whenever peace is declared, they will have to give me my ticket.
- Speaker[Well, they have never assigned me as yet, but I don't know how soon]
- SpeakerIf the food don’t come up a little I can’t soldier because I can’t carry my pack and gun and the machine gun, too, that weighs 60 lbs.
- SpeakerSo you see, we get something to carry.
- SpeakerI tell you, Jack, in this damn outfit, they don’t seem to have any system on the feeding point.
- SpeakerYou can guess what it is like when 12,000 men are rushing into the messes. Every man grabs. If you are not quick, you won’t get yours as they only put out for the number of men in each mess.
- SpeakerSomeone will have yours in his pocket.
- SpeakerI got the cake and the other things Flo sent me. Let her know I got them today.
- SpeakerAll my back mail will be sent to me from Southport.
- SpeakerThere is 21 of us in this hut, so I tell you there is some rough times. I can hold my end up with them.
- SpeakerThe English don’t seem to be a [very] strong race of people.
- SpeakerWell, I told you enough, so now I may be on my way to the front before you get this letter,
- Speakerbut never mind, I will be there with the goods. They can kill me but they can’t scare me.
- SpeakerWell, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
- SpeakerGive a kiss to Mary and Teddy and all. Remember me to all, not forgetting Eugene and Lillian.
- SpeakerI am going to write a letter to all the kids if I don’t have to parade next Sunday, so goodbye. With love and best wishes for you all, from Lee