Stories from the trenches : $b humorous and lively doings of our boys "over there" — John Shaqi
Stories from the trenches : $b humorous and lively doings of our boys "over there"Case, Carleton B. (Carleton Britton)
History
Stories from the trenches : $b humorous and lively doings of our boys "over there"
Case, Carleton B. (Carleton Britton)
World War, 1914-1918 -- Anecdotes
This English section has been through the hottest fighting on this
front, having been posted at Verdun last year and running to the
most advanced posts, but never lost a man and had only a few slight
accidents. A person would think they were playing a safe game, but not
so, after hearing of some bombardments they ran through. One man in the
British ambulance corps has the Victoria Cross, the hardest war medal
of any to get. He drove his car up the lines in plain sight of the
Germans. One of the stretcher bearers having been killed, he rushed out
on to No Man’s Land with another man and rescued several men, put them
into his car, and drove off, all the time being the object of German
fire.
The English are world-beaters in the flying game, as I suppose you have
heard. The minute a _Boche_ plane appears over their lines, a couple
of fast monoplanes are after it and usually bring it down. Heard of
one air battle between five English machines and ten Germans; five of
the German machines were brought down and the remaining five headed
for Berlin with two English planes after them. The English did not
lose a machine. Again there were three German “sausages” (observation
balloons), and three English aviators, each in a machine, were detailed
to bring them down, each aviator to take a balloon. Two of the
Englishmen each got their balloon, but the Germans, seeing what had
happened, lowered the third balloon. However, the Englishman ordered
to get it, being ruffled a bit because he did not get a chance to get
his “bag” as the other two did, dived down over the balloon resting in
German territory, setting it afire and killing a number of Germans.
He was wounded badly, but succeeded in bringing his machine back. He
was awarded the Victoria Cross. Many other war medals are given, but a
man who gets the Victoria Cross really has done a feat of individual
bravery.
FUNNY THEY HADN’T MET
Pretty Lady Visitor (at private hospital)—“Can I see Lieutenant Barker,
please?”
Matron—“We do not allow ordinary visiting. May I ask if you’re a
relative?”
Visitor (boldly)—“Oh, yes! I’m his sister.”
Matron—“Dear me! I’m very glad to meet you. I’m his mother.”
NO END TO THE GAME
Two American lads were discussing the war.
“It’ll be an awful long job, Sam,” said one.
“It will,” replied the other.
“You see, these Germans is takin’ thousands and thousands of Russian
prisoners, and the Russians is takin’ thousands and thousands of German
prisoners. If it keeps on, all the Russians will be in Germany and all
the Germans in Russia. And then they’ll start all over again, fightin’
to get back their ’omes.”
UNCLE SAM, DETECTIVE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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