The Penguin Book of First World War Stories (8 page)

‘Just going along to Batt. HQ,' explained Baron. ‘I'm taking those reports – whoa! you brute!'– (the horse had tossed its head) –‘the runners are so careless.'

He patted his buttoned pocket, which was bulging with documents.

‘And, by the bye, Ellerton, I ought to strafe you. In the casualty report for the last action, you didn't mark how the
men were hit. Don't you remember there's an order that casualties are to be marked “G” for gas, “S” for shell, “B” for bullet, and so on?'

Ellerton laughed.

‘Rot! How the hell are we to know? We can't stay behind to discover how each casualty happens. If Whitehall are so keen on statistics, why the hell don't they come and collect 'em themselves?'

‘All very well, old man, but an order's an order.'

‘So long, old man, get us a good billet.'

‘So long.'

Baron bobbed off uneasily ahead, and Ellerton rejoined the first platoon. The men were singing one of the worst of their drawling songs:

Suddenly, round a bend in the road, appeared a staff officer on a chestnut, as handsome and fiery as Baron's Rosinante was ugly and tame. Ellerton hastily called the men to attention, but before they could unsling their rifles for the salute the staff officer waved his hand and shouted:

‘Armistice was signed at six this morning, and comes into force at eleven. The war's over.'

A languid cheer came from the platoon.

‘'Oo-ray.'

And then, as the staff man rode on, they at once continued:

Ellerton was amazed at their phlegm. He turned his head aside so that Warburton should not see his emotion. So it was over, really over, incredibly over! In a flash a dozen scenes of the war leaped into his mind, a dozen occasions when death had seemed inevitable, memories of the interminable months when it had seemed impossible that the war could ever end…
It was like the gift of another life! It
was
another life. Instead of living from minute to minute with the menace perpetually staring at you, instead of getting up and lying down with death… Incredible.

He would not be killed. Warburton and Baron and Hogbin would not be killed. No one else in the battalion would be killed. Incredible. A thrill of almost painful exultation went through him, as if the first rush of returning hope and vitality were a hurt like blood flowing back into a crushed limb. Then with a worse, almost unendurable pang, he thought of the millions of men of many nations who would never feel that ecstasy, who were gone for ever, rotting in desolate battlefields and graveyards all over the world. He turned his head further from Warburton to hide the tears which, to his amazement, came into his eyes. Would they dare to ‘maffick'
⁷
in London and Paris? Probably. Well, let them. A lot of cheering idiots in an unlimited cemetery would make a good emblem for the first quarter of the twentieth century. Perhaps the men's quietness and lack of demonstration meant that they too felt this – they were extraordinarily quick now in refusing to be taken in by humbug. Ellerton (like them) was indeed quietly and deeply grateful that the long torture was over, but neither he nor they could join with the Captains and the Kings in shouting for the Victory. The only victory that had resulted was in fact the victory of death over life, of stupidity over intelligence, of hatred over humanity. It must never happen again, never, never. It was the duty of the survivors to the dead so to warn the world that this abomination never occurred again. Even the dullest of them would see that and help. He turned to Warburton:

‘Well, what are you thinking about it all?'

From the more than ever perplexed frown on Warburton's babyish face, Ellerton expected some revelation of deep emotion, perhaps a solemn pledge to labour for the abolition of war. What Warburton said, however, was:

‘I'm wondering if Baron'd lend me the horse. If I could ride over to the Divisional Canteen I might be able to get some better grub for us.'

In the gloom near him someone coughed, a deep, hacking sound coming from down in the chest. They were in the support line, farthest from the front, the most complex of the three rows of trenches. Here were the kitchens, the latrines and the stores and mortar positions. Fifteen-foot shafts led to caves about five paces wide and high enough for most men to stand upright. Joseph made his way in the half-dark now, the slippery wood under his boots and his hands feeling the mud walls, held up by timber and wire. There was an awful lot of water. One of the sumps must be blocked.

There was a glow of light ahead and a moment later he was in the comparative warmth of the dugout. There were two candles burning and the brazier gave off heat and a sharp smell of soot. The air was blue with tobacco smoke, and a pile of boots and greatcoats steamed a little. Two officers sat on canvas chairs talking together. One of them recited a joke – gallows humour, and they both laughed. A gramophone sat silent on a camp table, and a small pile of records of the latest music-hall songs was carefully protected in a tin box.

‘Hello, Chaplain,' one of them said cheerfully. ‘How's God these days?'

‘Gone home on sick leave,' the other answered quickly, before Joseph could reply. There was disgust in his voice, but no intended irreverence. Death was too close here for men to mock faith.

‘Have a seat,' the first offered, waving towards a third chair. ‘Morris got it today. Killed outright. That bloody sniper again.'

‘He's somewhere out there, just about opposite us,' the second said grimly. ‘One of those blighters the other day claimed he'd got forty-three for sure.'

‘I can believe it,' Joseph answered, accepting the seat. He knew better than most what the casualties were. It was his job to comfort the terrified, the dying, to carry stretchers, often to write letters to the bereaved. Sometimes he thought it was harder than actually fighting, but he refused to stay back in the comparative safety of the field hospitals and depots. This was where he was most needed.

‘Thought about setting up a trench raid,' the major said slowly, weighing his words and looking at Joseph. ‘Good for morale. Make it seem as if we were actually doing something. But our chances of getting the blighter are pretty small. Only lose a lot of men for nothing. Feel even worse afterwards.'

The captain did not add anything. They all knew morale was sinking. Losses were high, the news bad. Word of terrible slaughter seeped through from the Somme and Verdun and all along the line right to the sea. Physical hardship took its toll, the dirt, the cold, and the alternation between boredom and terror. The winter of 1916 lay ahead.

‘Cigarette?' The major held out his pack to Joseph.

‘No thanks,' Joseph declined with a smile. ‘Got any tea going?'

They poured him a mugful, strong and bitter, but hot. He drank it, and half an hour later made his way forward to the open air again and the travel trench. A star shell exploded high and bright. Automatically he ducked, keeping his head below the rim. They were about four feet deep, and in order not to provide a target, a man had to move in a half-crouch. There
was a rattle of machine-gun fire out ahead and, closer to, a thud as a rat was dislodged and fell into the mud beside the duckboards.

Other men were moving about close to him. The normal order of things was reversed here. Nothing much happened during the day. Trench repair work was done, munitions shifted, weapons cleaned, a little rest taken. Most of the activity was at night, most of the death.

‘'Lo, Chaplain,' a voice whispered in the dark. ‘Say a prayer we get that bloody sniper, will you?'

‘Maybe God's a Jerry?' someone suggested in the dark.

‘Don't be stupid!' a third retorted derisively. ‘Everyone knows God's an Englishman!
¹
Didn't they teach you nothing at school?'

There was a burst of laughter. Joseph joined in. He promised to offer up the appropriate prayers and moved on forward. He had known many of the men all his life. They came from the same Northumbrian town as he did, or the surrounding villages. They had gone to school together, nicked apples from the same trees, fished in the same rivers, and walked the same lanes.

It was a little after six when he reached the firing trench beyond whose sandbag parapet lay no man's land with its four or five hundred yards of mud, barbed wire, and shell holes. Half a dozen burned tree stumps looked in the sudden flares like men. Those grey wraiths could be fog, or gas.

Funny that in summer this blood- and horror-soaked soil could still bloom with honeysuckle, forget-me-nots, and wild larkspur, and most of all with poppies. You would think nothing would ever grow there again.

More star shells went up, lighting the ground, the jagged scars of the trenches black, the men on the fire steps with rifles on their shoulders illuminated for a few, blinding moments. Sniper shots rang out.

Joseph stood still. He knew the terror of the night watch out beyond the parapet, crawling around in the mud. Some of them would be at the head of saps out from the trench, most would be in shell holes, surrounded by heavy barricades of wire. Their purpose was to check enemy patrols for unusual movement,
any signs of increased activity, as if there might be an attack planned.

More star shells lit the sky. It was beginning to rain. A crackle of machine-gun fire, and heavier artillery somewhere over to the left. Then the sharp whine of sniper fire, again and again.

Joseph shuddered. He thought of the men out there, beyond his vision, and prayed for strength to endure with them in their pain, not to try to deaden himself to it.

There were shouts somewhere ahead, heavy shells now, shrapnel bursting. There was a flurry of movement, flares, and a man came sliding over the parapet, shouting for help.

Joseph plunged forward, slithering in the mud, grabbing for the wooden props to hold himself up. Another flare of light. He saw quite clearly Captain Holt lurching towards him, another man over his shoulder, deadweight.

‘He's hurt!' Holt gasped. ‘Pretty badly. One of the night patrol. Panicked. Just about got us all killed.' He eased the man down into Joseph's arms and let his rifle slide forward, bayonet covered in an old sock to hide its gleam. His face was grotesque in the lantern light, smeared with mud and a wide streak of blood over the burned cork that blackened it, as all night patrol had.

Others were coming to help. There was still a terrible noise of fire going on and the occasional flare.

The man in Joseph's arms did not stir. His body was limp and it was difficult to support him. Joseph felt the wetness and the smell of blood. Wordlessly others materialized out of the gloom and took the weight.

‘Is he alive?' Holt said urgently. ‘There was a hell of a lot of shot up there.' His voice was shaking, almost on the edge of control.

‘Don't know,' Joseph answered. ‘We'll get him back to the bunker and see. You've done all you can.' He knew how desperate men felt when they risked their lives to save another man and did not succeed. A kind of despair set in, a sense of very personal failure, almost a guilt for having survived themselves. ‘Are you hurt?'

‘Not much,' Holt answered. ‘Couple of grazes.'

‘Better have them dressed, before they get poisoned,' Joseph
advised, his feet slipping on the wet boards and banging his shoulder against a jutting post. The whole trench wall was crooked, giving way under the weight of mud. The founds had eroded.

The man helping him swore.

Awkwardly carrying the wounded man, they staggered back through the travel line to the support trench and into the light and shelter of a bunker.

Holt looked dreadful. Beneath the cork and blood his face was ashen. He was soaked with rain and mud and there were dark patches of blood across his back and shoulders.

Someone gave him a cigarette. Back here it was safe to strike a match. He drew in smoke deeply. ‘Thanks,' he murmured, still staring at the wounded man.

Joseph looked down at him now, and it was only too plain where the blood had come from. It was young Ashton. He knew him quite well. He had been at school with his older brother.

The soldier who had helped carry him in let out a cry of dismay, strangled in his throat. It was Mordaff, Ashton's closest friend, and he could see what Joseph now could also. Ashton was dead, his chest torn open, the blood no longer pumping, and a bullet-hole through his head.

‘I'm sorry,' Holt said quietly. ‘I did what I could. I can't have got to him in time. He panicked.'

Mordaff jerked his head up. ‘He never would!' The cry was desperate, a shout of denial against a shame too great to be borne. ‘Not Will!'

Holt stiffened. ‘I'm sorry,' he said hoarsely. ‘It happens.'

‘Not with Will Ashton, it don't!' Mordaff retorted, his eyes blazing, pupils circled with white in the candlelight, his face grey. He had been in the front line two weeks now, a long stretch without a break from the ceaseless tension, filth, cold, and intermittent silence and noise. He was nineteen.

‘You'd better go and get that arm dressed, and your side,' Joseph said to Holt. He made his voice firm, as to a child.

Holt glanced again at the body of Ashton, then up at Joseph.

‘Don't stand there bleeding,' Joseph ordered. ‘You did all you could. There's nothing else. I'll look after Mordaff.'

‘I tried!' Holt repeated. ‘There's nothing but mud and darkness and wire, and bullets coming in all directions.' There was a sharp thread of terror under his shell-thin veneer of control. He had seen too many men die. ‘It's enough to make anyone lose his nerve. You want to be a hero – you mean to be – and then it overwhelms you –'

‘Not Will!' Mordaff said again, his voice choking off in a sob.

Holt looked at Joseph again, then staggered out.

Joseph turned to Mordaff. He had done this before, too many times, tried to comfort men who had just seen childhood friends blown to pieces, or killed by a sniper's bullet, looking as if they should still be alive, perfect except for the small, blue hole through the brain. There was little to say. Most men found talk of God meaningless at that moment. They were shocked, fighting against belief and yet seeing all the terrible waste and loss in front of them. Usually it was best just to stay with them, let them speak about the past, what the friend had been like, times they had shared, just as if he were only wounded and would be back, at the end of the war, in some world one could only imagine, in England, perhaps on a summer day with sunlight on the grass, birds singing, a quiet riverbank somewhere, the sound of laughter, and women's voices.

Mordaff refused to be comforted. He accepted Ashton's death; the physical reality of that was too clear to deny, and he had seen too many other men he knew killed in the year and a half he had been in Belgium. But he could not, would not accept that Ashton had panicked. He knew what panic out there cost, how many other lives it jeopardized. It was the ultimate failure.

‘How am I going to tell his mam?' he begged Joseph. ‘It'll be all I can do to tell her he's dead! His pa'll never get over it. That proud of him, they were. He's the only boy. Three sisters he had, Mary, Lizzie, and Alice. Thought he was the greatest lad in the world. I can't tell 'em he panicked! He couldn't have, Chaplain! He just wouldn't!'

Joseph did not know what to say. How could people at home in England even begin to imagine what it was like in the mud and noise out here? But he knew how deep shame burned. A lifetime could be consumed by it.

‘Maybe he just lost sense of direction,' he said gently. ‘He wouldn't bethe first.' War changed men. People did panic. Mordaff knew that, and half his horror was because it could be true. But Joseph did not say so. ‘I'll write to his family,' he went on. ‘There's a lot of good to say about him. I could send pages. I'll not need to tell them much about tonight.'

‘Will you?' Mordaff was eager. ‘Thanks… thanks, Chaplain. Can I stay with him… until they come for him?'

‘Yes, of course,' Joseph agreed. ‘I'm going forward anyway. Get yourself a hot cup of tea. See you in an hour or so.'

He left Mordaff squatting on the earth floor beside Ashton's body and fumbled his way back over the slimy duckboards towards the travel line, then forward again to the front and the crack of gunfire and the occasional high flare of a star shell.

He did not see Mordaff again, but he thought nothing of it. He could have passed twenty men he knew and not recognized them, muffled in greatcoats, heads bent as they moved, rattling along the duckboards, or standing on the fire steps, rifles to shoulder, trying to see in the gloom for something to aim at.

Now and again he heard a cough, or the scamper of rats' feet and the splash of rain and mud. He spent a little time with two men swapping jokes, joining in their laughter. It was black humour, self-mocking, but he did not miss the courage in it, or the fellowship, the need to release emotion in some sane and human way.

About midnight the rain stopped.

A little after five the night patrol came scrambling through the wire, whispered passwords to the sentries, then came tumbling over the parapet of sandbags down into the trench, shivering with cold and relief. One of them had caught a shot in the arm.

Joseph went back with them to the support line. In one of the dugouts a gramophone was playing a music-hall song. A couple of men sang along with it; one of them had a beautiful voice, a soft, lyric tenor. It was a silly song, trivial, but it sounded almost like a hymn out here, a praise of life.

A couple of hours and the day would begin: endless, methodical duties of housekeeping, mindless routine, but it was better than doing nothing.

There was still a sporadic crackle of machine-gun fire and the whine of sniper bullets.

An hour till dawn.

Joseph was sitting on an upturned ration case when Sergeant Renshaw came into the bunker, pulling the gas curtain aside to peer in.