1 82 sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War 



I had my tea for the band this evening. We managed to get a 

 certain number of spoons and forks together, and had a hot 

 supper. Pork and beef were the piices de resistance. They 

 gave me a huge helping, about as much as I usually eat in a 

 week. I had to say I dined in the middle of the day and hardly 

 ate anything at night. They took away about half. It was 

 very highly seasoned. The light was bad, and the first thing I 

 put into my mouth was a large bit of pork fat ! I wished I had 

 never been born ! We also had cheese-cakes and peaches. 



"The beautiful , boots have arrived. It seems wicked to 

 put them on to walk straight into a foot of mud. My old 

 Norwegian boots are nearly gone." 



January 22.^" I did not get home till twelve last night. 

 When I got to the Field Ambulance a man was just going to 

 have a biggish bit of shrapnel taken out of his leg. It was not 

 far in, so he did not have an anaesthetic. It must have hurt him 

 sadly, but I talked as hard as I could to keep his mind off it. 

 He bore it very well. It was the third time he had been 

 wounded. One poor boy died just as he was brought in, and 

 the man who was carrying him out of the trenches had a nasty 

 wound in his back. Though it touched the spine I think he will 

 get all right, but he was in a good deal of pain, so I sat up with 

 him until he was more comfortable, and left him smoking. He 

 was a Yorkshire man and told me he was married when only 

 fifteen." 



February 14. — " I had a baddish night at the Field Ambu- 

 lance last night. It is rather trying, but it is nice to think one 

 is a little bit useful. I don't suppose now that I have started I 

 shall let anyone else do it. I have been over to my service at 

 the anti-aircraft. They sent me home in their car. They do 

 drive fast in the dark with no lights. I don't mind the ordinary 

 risks of a campaign, but I don't like taking extra ones. When 

 I came down from this place one of the boys said to the driver, 

 ' Now see how fast you can go.' Little beast ! " 



February 26. — " My Field Ambulance is on the main road 

 between two towns. Of course none of the cases are kept very 

 long, not more than twelve hours, as a Field Ambulance must be 

 kept as empty as possible. It is a long wooden building divided 



