Josh Fradley
Letter From The Trenches
Dear Mother,
How are things? Has little Julie started school yet? Has dad got better? I’ve just arrived at Normandy, this morning in fact; the journey was ghastly four hours in the back of an old truck then 2 hours on a boat. I met some rather splendid people along the way though. I met this one lad who was straight out of school just like me, he travelled right from Yorkshire to be here. He was a private with the second battalion and was needed on the front line as extra support. He was telling me about how his father had fought in the war and been brought home because of lumbago. His father had prepared him for the horrors war would bring and had geared him up with the spirit of the British. He seemed a nice chap, I hope he does well and gets home safely.
I am excited about being here, to fight for king and country. I have always wanted to do it; I feel it is my duty; I am proud and honoured to be here. My commanders are a mixed bunch. I have two main officers, Osbourne and Hardy. I really like Osbourne he is the friendly one; he showed me around and taught me the ropes. He is almost a fatherly figure to me. Hardy on the other hand just seems lazy to me. I have never seen him do any work. Both of them have been speaking about a new officer, Stanhope I think his name was. Osbourne was praising him and saying he was the best commander the battalions ever seen, he made him seem like a nice chap. Hardy though, sees him in a different light. He calls him a drunkard and makes the man sound like a buffoon. He told me how Stanhope had once drunk a bottle of whisky in under two hours and how all the men had timed him and turned it into a sort of game. Osbourne had to step in to help regain Stanhope’s dignity. I believe Stanhope was straight out of school as well, it seems those kinds are favoured by the officers. Both the officers told me about this other chap, I believe his name was Smith. They told me how Private Smith had heard a muffled scream coming from no man’s land and how he had leapt over the sandbags to rescue him. He had to dodge machine gun rounds and had to avoid being caught in the barbed wire. He saved that private’s life and we was rewarded for bravery and received the Victoria cross.
