Description:

SOLDIERS' CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS OF COMBAT WRITTEN IN A NURSE'S JOURNAL
Superlative content journal, 144p. 4 1/2" x 7", bound in red calfskin, compiled by Wenona Durant, a British nurse at the 22nd General Hospital in Etaples, France. It contains first-hand accounts, stories, satire, poetry, and sketches from more than thirty Allied soldiers under her care. Each contribution is written in the solder's own hand, and there are submissions from English, Australian, Belgian, Canadian, and Scottish soldiers. In brief part: "One evening late in April the news came through to our trench that the Germans had launched a gas attack on the French lines... This was pretty serious news to us because it meant that our left flank... was entirely uncovered & the Germans were pouring through the gap in the thousands... About this time we got the order that a counter-attack was to be made, and our regt. was told to keep up a rapid and continuous fire on the German line, so as to divert the attention of their artillery from the. The ruse succeeded, but didn't we pay a price!... We were now being shelled from front and sides, in fact they were coming from all directions and our trenches were beginning to look like scrap heaps... Looking back over that thousand yards of ground I can honestly say that I never wish to see such another sight. It was a vast shambles, bodies lying everywhere. That advance cost them a lot more than they ever care to remember..." From another account: "...We went out of the trenches the following day and went in again at Plugstein on the 24th of June. We were in a terrific Bombardment. A shell burst just on the parapet where a group of our fellows were standing. It blew two of them to pieces and wounded several more. On the following day our Captain was killed by a sniper who blew his brains out of his head. Our fellows went nearly mad over that. They only wanted the word charge and we should have been in the German trenches at all costs. We thought the world of this officer he was the only decent officer in the company..." Each account speaks to the horror, dehumanization, and individual courage of trench warfare. Includes a typed transcript of the contents. Bound in soft maroon boards, pages loosened from cover, minor scuffs on cover, minor toning on margins, else very good.

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December 9, 2015 10:30 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

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