A Fortnight at the FrontWakefield, Henry Russell (Bishop of Birmingham)
History
A Fortnight at the Front
Wakefield, Henry Russell (Bishop of Birmingham)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
The next thing which struck me was the calm in the trenches. Over
here in England we seem to live in a continual change of feeling. We
get the account of some engagement in which we are successful, and
immediately we conclude the war is going to be over to-morrow, and
people who are wont to go abroad for a holiday think it is time they
went to Messrs. Cook's office to see about their tickets. But on the
way they see the placard of an evening paper which tells of some
minor disaster to our Forces, and then they return home, they call
together the family and they tell them that the future means either
the destruction of the country or twenty years of misery and poverty;
the bulk of the misfortune, of course, being sure to rest upon their
own individual shoulders. It is refreshing to get away from this
atmosphere and to go into the trenches where everybody is doing his
bit of work, content with somewhat unpleasant circumstances so long
as through him England is served. Whenever, in future, I am inclined
towards a fit of pessimism, I shall shut my eyes in order to see once
again, with the vision of the spirit, a stalwart Britisher of the
Worcester Regiment, not very far from the German lines, on a certain
afternoon, when a most appalling thunderstorm was raging and some
German shells were falling. He was munching the thickest slice of
bread and jam that I have ever seen, and looking with a mild contempt
at the intruding figure of an unknown padre whom a considerable
number of his comrades were greeting because they recognised in him
their Bishop. He put down now and again his refreshment in order to
do some bit of work, but he was just as calm and collected as if he
had been in his Worcestershire village and not in the trenches.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account