In which Owen recalls a tale from Elijah about his time in the Trenches of WW1...
My father Elijah never said much about his time in the trenches in France but he did relate a couple of stories and, as it is the time of year when we remember the ultimate sacrifice so many soldiers made, here's one of them. This was at the Somme I believe, in around 1916, near Arras. Elijah was in the Bedfordshire Regiment if I remember correctly.
Jerry launched an offensive at 4.00 am in summertime after several hours of artillery fire. Their attack led them to occupy the British front line trenches forcing the Tommies back to their second line of defence. After midday and fierce fighting Elijah was again on the move as the Germans pushed forward and by 3.00 pm he and his mates were back in the British communication trenches. His Unit had had no hot food or drinks at all that day; all there was available was water from his bottle and his tinned bully (corned) beef ration. Finally, in the communication trenches, his Unit was ordered to stand down. Before Elijah fell asleep from sheer exhaustion amidst the carnage and chaos he witnessed an endless stream of stretcher bearers carrying wounded men to the Advanced Dressing Station.
He was awakened a little later later by a shake on his shoulder. He looked up to see a Salvation Army officer offering him a mug of tea brewed on a primus stove. "Best cup of tea I ever had in my life" he reminisced.
Reinforcements arrived and he was sent over the top to face Jerry again. By 6.00 pm they had retaken the front line trenches they had lost in the morning. "We fought all day, lost thousands of lives on both sides, for nothing".
Elijah was not a religious man but he never forgot that tea and always put money in the Sally Army collection tin after the Great War. As he said, the Salvation Army men were not conscripted, they were there of their own free choice in the Hell that was the trenches. For that they had his utmost respect.
LEST WE FORGET
Photo: Elijah in his hospital blues uniform. He was severely injured by shrapnel lodged in his stomach and returned to an English hospital where he spent 18 months recovering.
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