To start with I don’t suppose you know the difference between the gun line & the wagon line so here goes for some explanations. As you know I’m in charge of a subsection which consists of 1 gun and 2 wagons, 30 horses and about 32 men. The guns are of course in the firing line, or rather, as we are, they are in position to stop any advance on the enemy’s part, we don’t get any advances from them, or rather have not had any for a long time so we just keep everything in readiness in case. I’m the only serg’t at present in the firing gun line and have about 46 men here and four guns which I am in charge of, of course under the officers. In addition to my other duties I take charge of the canteen stores when there are any. I have at present in stock 2 bars of soap, a few tins of beans, some candles & matches. I see all the rations served out to the men and am in charge of everything. i live alone in a bell tent and in a grand isolation. My word is law and everyone trembles (or should do) when I approach. In the morning the men are reveille-d (good word that) at 6a.m. & some of them go on anti-aircraft watch & various duties. An officer gets up at day break to help things on a bit but I don’t worry him until about 7.30a.m. when I deign to come back to the realization that I am alive & living a blameless life. I then breakfast & clean up a bit in time to fall everyone in at 9 o.c. for inspection, after which I tell various individuals off for fatigues, gun drill, etc. and if not too exhausted with the effort of doing this, I stroll round & see if by any chance, they have “done the things which they ought to have done” During this procedure I’m wandering round what I suppose is a leafy bower, anyway its the side of a hill with lots of nice green trees on it and a very pleasant place in decent weather. I gaze over a lake which is large, oh very large, but which I’m afraid will have to be nameless, and on the other side there of I see the burst of shells fired by our people on our left and the returned compliments of our Bulgar friends.
Then perhaps we have an air scare & then everyone runs to see our anti-aircraft gun perform which it does much to the edification of our people but as far as I can see without worrying the aeroplanes at all. However the whole proceedings are a joyous interlude in an otherwise dull & dreary existance.
When evening comes I ask for next days orders only to be told to “carry on as usual” which means a sort of dismal encore & then I have the evening to put in which is about the worst time of the lot.
My bed is a sheet of corrugated iron on two boxes, and very nice too, and I generally turn in about 8 o.c. ------------ (and that is the end of a perfect day).

David,

Thank you for this letter from your Grandfather. I have just become interested in Salonika due to the possiblity of my Uncle Arthur being there during the War.
Don't you just love these first hand descriptions that convey the reality of actually being there at that very moment in 1917.

Phil.

In the wagon line of course things were different, there, there are always horses to be looked after and lots of things to be done and there are 6 or 7 other sergeants to foregather with, so things are a bit livelier there.......
Well dear, I think I have told you everything I can think of at present except about the mosquitos which are about the size of beetles & bite accordingly. The weather is just lovely except for occasional thunderstorms.

I have been awfully busy lately as both the other sergts in the wagon line have had a touch of malaria and I've been a sort of general orderly Sergt in consequence.........We have mosquito nets and part of my duty consists in seeing that my subsection of 27 men who are scattered all over the hill are under the cover of the same nets at night. In fact one of our orders is to the effect that No's 1 (meaning sergts) are responsible that their men do not get malaria so we have to go round +see that they are all tucked in nicely (just like mother used to do you know) + that they have their nets down etc, all very interesting work but apt to pall somewhat.

I am in hope of getting a photo of myself to send you I'm beside our Anti-aircraft gun which is my own gun + altho we are not firing on an aeroplane we are having a bit of a shot at a few gentlemen on the plain in front of us. It is not certainly a "scrap" as there is nothing doing from the otherside but we are just demonstrating to them that it is better to keep out of the way.
I have not yet seen the photo but I believe, I was busy when the thing was taken, that only my head + shoulders are visible. If that is so it is because I had to get down into the trench to fix something up, in the ordinary way I should be standing or kneeling right up close to the camera with my back to it.

I am enclosing a small photo of my gun you can't see very much of me but I'M standing in the gun pit and the gun is my anti-aircraft gun. The man in the foreground is just going to fire the gun by a lanyard as he is standing outside the gun pit.
The time this was taken was when we were firing on to some railway trucks on the plain below + it was something in the nature of an experiment as of course the gun pit was really built so as to make it possible to tilt the gun up so as to fire at aeroplanes + when we fired in the position it now is we were not sure what was going to happen. The gun brought down a Bulgar aeroplane last saturday but unfortunately I was not up at the gun line + can't claim any of the honor + glory of the exploit. It is, I believe, the first time one of this class of gun has actually brought down an aeroplane off it's own bat.

My Grandfather was with the 62nd Battery and just found in a letter about July 1917 he writes " am in hope of getting a photo of myself to send you I'm beside our Anti-aircraft gun which is my own gun + altho we are not firing on an aeroplane we are having a bit of a shot at a few gentlemen on the plain in front of us."