Our Despatches from the Front (No. 62).
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Work with the Canadians. "When There's a Hate On." Life in a Vauxhall Staff Car.
PARIS,
.90t4 October, 1915.
More About Lubrication.
From accurate statistics extending over a full year, motors with circulating lubrication are fou-hd to give less trouble than those with forced feed. It must be admitted that the objections do not apply with the same force to vehicles in civil service, for more care is taken in the oil supply, and base chambers are emptied. at more frequent intervals. For rough military service it is evident that more efficient filtering devices are required than at present are found on -even the hest of engines with forced-feed lubrication.
Trying Out the Clutch.
Clutches, on the whole,. are not as perfect as might be desired. In the hands of an expert almost any clutch can be made to operate sweetly. But when a lorry is put into the care of a heavy-footed recruit, clad in heavy boa or sabots, weak points are immediately revealed, Leather-faced cone clutches are not particularly brilliant when used by inexperienced men. I find multiple-disc clutches are giving general satisfaction, but they have the disadvantage of :requiring a certain amount: of attention to keep them in condition. The only type of clutch I have met which can claim to he absolutely fool-proof is ii single-plate clutch used by a French firm on some of their cars.
Ferodo on any cone clutch helps things no end."
WITH TRE CANADIANS. 29th October.
"I should like to point out, with reference to the notes that have appeared recently about the usc. of towing hooks, that the springmounted drawbar arrangement, as fitted to many lorries with the Canadian columns, has proved to he most useful, especially that on the White lorries.
Unloading Engineers' Stores at the Tre nche s.
" During the past month, we have been doing trips for the Engineers fromn morning till late at night. Our loads have consisted of road material, timber, sandbags, barbed wire, corrugated iron, etc., and our destinations have been some six or seven different points along about 12 miles of this front. Quite often we have to drop our loads as near as 800 or 1000 yards from the German trenches.
" These journeys are naturally more interesting, and they certainly entail more risk than our ordinary trips from the station to the divisional train.. Last Sunday, for instance, we had besides a load of hay to be taken from the station to the divisional train, four trips from IMMO to NNW with three tons of macadam. Sunday being a day of rest, the civilians out here do no work, so we had to unload our total
of 12 tons ourselves.
When There Is a Hate On. As a round trip to 'Hyde Park
Corner' cannot he done under 11 hour, You will see that our machines did quite a lot of aseful work. Whilst unloading at this point, we can constantly hear spent bullets whistling overhead : in fact, when there is a hate' on it is far from Safe at this particular 3pot, as you can imagine. We very much prefer to get this journey over before dusk, as it is no joke taking a truck down a slippery road in pitch darkness with no lights allowed over about 31miles of this particular highway.
Despatches (62)—con.
Unloading with Shells Overhead.
" MINN Church and quite a number of houses in the viliage are all smashed to smithereens. The few people who still hie in this town have sandbag dug-outs in their gardens, to which they scuttle as soon as any shelling starts, and small blame to them. We recently had to unload our timber behind a large canvas screen. While doing so one of our batteries a little way behind was opened up. The first thing we knew was an ear-splitting crash, followed by a soft whizz. We then saw the shells bursting over the German trenches about 1000 yards away. This was soon followed by the reports as the explosions took place. The whole thing, as you may imagine, was very fascinating to watch, even at such close quarters as those in which we found ourselves.
" The desolation of this wilderness of no-man's-land is a terrible contrast to the exceptionally wellcultivated country a little distance in the rear. The infantry can get some rest for eyes, ears, and nerves, even four miles back from the firing-line, but we are luckier than they.
"This Road in View of the Enemy."
"The risks we rim are seldom great, as of course in a day's run we are not long in a dangerous area, though frequently we have to traverse roads labelled Liable to •shell fire' or 'In view of enemy.' On two occasions recently, however, shells have burst within 100 yards or so of the road, although we did not find it convenient to stop and measure the distance accurately.
Road Rollers Wanted.
"The roads on the whole in this part of the country at the present time are in pretty good shape, although bumpy. The soft spots are pretty easily found, but if we had more steam or petrol road rollers here it would be possible to keep them in much better condition. Miles and miles of the roadway here are constructed with the aid of wooden ramrners or iron mauls, as they are called, I believe. A maul is a piece of iron, about 10 lb. in weight, with a broomstick for a handle, which is used for pounding earth or stones into a more or less solid mass. This is a fairly elementary way of reconstructing roads, but I suppose it is handy, and the "tackle certainly needs little transportation."
BEHIND THE LINES. 5 I October.
"Same Every Blooming Thing."
"With thing; at more or less of a deadlock, as they are on the western front, the work of the 1314 A. S.C., M.T., units has been brought to a fine point in respect of thoroughness. The sameness about the daily work is, however, very monotonous, and this very condition breeds not a little impatience in the minds of active men. Same work, same roads, same camps, same every . blooming thing. We want to get finished with this for good. If the great advance ever takes place, we shall be glad to see it start as soon as they like. • We want to get on with the real thing. We, here, wish it may yet prove that " Not through Belgium" is wrong on the Editor's part, What the M.T. Want.
"We all stand ready, expecting the great move at any moment. I believe this is true right along the line. We want the time to come when we can feel that the real work of the Army Service Corps, Mechanical Transport Columns, is a great and solid support to the brave troops ahead of us, pushing their way into the hordes of Huns. We carry nothing nowadays with us which is superfluous : a change of underclothes, shaving kit and a blanket is all that we burden ourselves with. The men are always ready, and the machines in tip-top condition, tuned up to give their very best., and ready for heaps of hard work. Every lorry is stocked with a good supply of petrol, engine oil and carbide, and these are not allowed to be used, except in case of emergency. The tires are kept in excellent condition• in fact, we are ready to be off and away at any time.
Hating the Huns.
" So strong is this feeling of a longing to get going that I can recount cases where I have seen men jump up and dance about like mad fools at the sound of a short bombardment, and when the guns have ceased fire they will slink down into. their bivouacs, flinging themselves on their beds, curse the guns for ceasing fire, curse the Huns and everything else they can think of, simply because the great bombardment has not commenced yet. We know quite well that the great fight, when it conies, will not start as a football match or a race meeting, but that we shall get up some morning, start our work in the usual way, and be right in the middle of it before we know what is happening.
Sleeping in a Vauxhall Staff Car.
".Most of us have been through this before, and most of us are proud of it. When the last great push was tried by the Germans, I happened to be driving the supply. officer of a brigade that did wonderful work all through that fight. For two weeks nearly I was never 50 yards away from my ear. I carried a canvas water bucket, which I had picked up in a ruined street at Ypres, about with me. I washed when I had the opportunity with water out of the radiator, and slept in the back 6f the car. It is surprising how comfortable one can be in such quarters in an open touring oar. I have done it for months on end, and enjoyed it inimensely. The car in (Pies-Lon was a 25 h.p. Vauxhall with the usual touring body. To make my bed in the back, I used to place two petrol tins on the floor and put the front cushion over these, and by turning the back cushion over I made them both level. Lying across the car from corner to corner, it is possible to get a sound night's sleep in the open air without any difficulty, especially with the hood up and the side curtains drawn, and a blanket or something else across the front."
Campaign Comiorts Fund--con.
Miss M. Knight, Falkirk, Scotland (3 pairs of sucks). Miss Aikin, Manchester (4 scarves, 3 pairs of seeks). ._ Mrs. Skyes, Cleekheaton (10 pairs of socks, 5 scarves, 1 pair of cuffs, 1 pair of mittens),
St. ,Mary's Church, Glasgow (23 pairs.of sucks, 7 scarveS). Mrs. Lane, Kennington Park Road, S.E. (4 handkerchiefs, 1 scarf, 2 pairs of mittens). Mrs. Norman, Halstead, Essex (4 pairs of mittens, 1 scarf). Mrs. Alloway, Ventnor (3 pairs of socks). Odhams, Ltd., Long Acre, W.C. (parcel of papers and books).
Miss M. Loss, Purley (6 pairs of socks).
IN.Irs. H. C-oulson...Teigninouth (4.scarses,.3 pairs of cuffs). Lady Ida Low, Roland Gardens, S.W. (6 pairs of mittens, 6 pairs of Eocks).
Mrs. Grant, 13ournemouth (6 pairs of mittens, 6 pairs of socks), . _ .
The Regimental Agency, Tothill Street, S.W. (parcel of books and papers)..
Miss Jeffcoat, Somerset Road, New 'Barnet (2 scarves, 3 pairs of sock,--3 pairs of mittens, 1 shirt): • H, A. Francis, Ltd. (6 cardigans), Miss Jackson, Rosscahill, Co. Galway (2 pairs of socks, 1 Pair of mittens, 1 scarf).
Miss M. Smith, Edinburgh (2 pairs of socks, 4 scarves, 3 pairs of mittens).
Mrs. Birch, Waraington (1-helmet, .1 scarf, 1 pair of cuffs). Mr. St. George, Allerton, Liverpool (1 overcoat).
The Regimental Agency,Tothill Street, S.W. (bundle of
papers).
Miss Butler, Worthing (3 scarves, 3 helmets, 3 pairs of
mittens, 3 pairs of socks), Mrs. Windover, Hornsey Lane, N. (12 pairs of socks, 12 Scarves).
Mrs. Budge, Chiswick, W. (3 pairs of socks, 1 scarf). Mrs. Quin, Brighton (4 scarves). Mrs. Acheson-Gray, Charminster, Dorchester (6 scarves). Miss Bishop, Forest Gate, E. (4 pairs of socks, 1 helmet, 1 pair of mittens). .
Miss Russell, Falkirk (6 pairs of socks).
Mrs. Purton, Palmers Green, N. (4 scarves, 8 packs of
cards, 4 pairs of mittens, 3 pairs of socks). .Mrs. Fisher, Glasgow (6 pairs of socks, 1 scarf).
No name (30 pairs of socks, 30 ,pairs of mittens),
Miss Matthews, Paul, near Penzance (1 scarf),
THE COMMERCAR CONCERT.
An Unqualified Success.
The second of the series of the concerts in aid of the Fund took place on Thursday the 11th inst., last week, and;as was fully anticipated, the fixture was another great success, a result which was no less due to the strenuous efforts of a big Works Committee, headed by Mr. J. W. Worrall as Secretary, than to Luton's appreciation of a good thing at a reasonable price.
The Town Hall Baths, a fine large modern and well-equipped building, converted for -use as an assembly hall, admirably suited the purpose of a Fund Concert. Although at the time of going to press, owing to the incompletion of the checking of the ticket sales which were in so many willing hands, the actual financial result is not available, we know enough to record that a. handsome profit was made and that the available seating was actually not sufficient for the total number of tickets disposed of. That on a night which was one of the wettest of the year and in a town which is certainly one of the darkest in the country, was a result upon which all can very rightly congratulate themselves. It will he noticed that in our list of moneys received on the previous page, theaa. first transfer, of £30, has been z
made from the Concert Account, Appreclation from Commercial Cars, Ltd.
We will not venture on any criticism of the concert as an entertainment, we will leave that. in the hands of the writers of the two letters, addressed to the organizer of the concert series, which we publish herewith, one from Mr. H. C. B. Underdown, Managinfr Director of the company and one from Mr L. 3. Jackel, a director.
1348
Dear Mr. Windsor,—
Although we have not yet heard the financial result of the Comrnercar concert in support of the Campaign Comforts Fund, we trust that you and your committee were satisfied with the receipts and attendance. . .
Certainly the audience were treated to a first.class performance. Speaking for myself, I enjoyed myself remarkablywell, and have never seen artistes work harder and carry the audience with them better than those we listened to on Thursday night.
The Works Committee here and all Of us are only too glad .to have been of any assistance in making the concert the big success that it undoubtedly was, and we sincerely wish the Fund conti,aued success in its admirable work.
Believe me, Yours very -truly, IL C. B. UNDERDOWN : Commercar Works. (Managing Director).
Dear Mr. Windsor,— I thought I would drop You a line to express my very great appreciation of the organization demon. strated at the Campaign Comforts Fund concert on Thursday last. In spite of the terrible weather, I feel sure that we can regard the concert as an absolute success, and the general feeling appeared to be that we ought to have another concert in Luton at an early date.
I can only hope--and I think there is very little doubt—that you will be successful in all the concerts you organize for the A.S.C., M.T., and that your Fund will be amply augmented by this venture. Believe me, Yours faithfully, L. 3. JAEKEL Commercar Works. (Director).
Auctioning a Badge for 25s.
Those who formed the audience were generous in the way in which they responded to the blandishments of the programme sellers, and the special "Thank You" badges sold like wildfire.. In the interval two of, the humorous artistes evoked unbounded amusement by the auctiorteering of a big replica of this "Thank You" badge, which was, after spirited and exciting bidding, knocked down to Mr , L. J. Jaekel for the sum of 258. A similar one fetched 23s, at Letchworth. We understand that it is to be framed now that it is duly autographed by the
and the artistes, and it. will be hung in the Commercar offices at Luton as a memento of this very successful effort on the part. of the works to support the Fund which "looks after the men who are driving the lorries they make."
Many Thanks are Due to—
We desire to acknowledge the kindly and welcome assistance of the proprietor of The Grand Theatre, Luton, who not only loaned the complete stage setting for the platform, but provided assistance during the evening to manipulate it. Our thanks are also due to Mr. Climp,son who insisted on providing the beautiful display of ferns and flowers for the decoration of the stage, at no cost to the organization. We must finally record special mention of the help which was given by the e2ectrkians and joiners from Commercar Works, by whom the footlights and lantern platform were effectively installed.
Dennis-Drummond Next—And it Will be a Great Night at Guildford.
Letchworth and Luton have thus already responded splendidly to the request to help the Fund in this way. The Dennis-Drummond concert takes place on. Wednesday of next week and will, we anticipate, result with equal satisfaction if we are in any way to go by the heroic efforts which are being put forward by the two committees of the Dennis and Drum, mend works respectively.