Our Despatches from the Front (No. 146).
Page 18
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Experience of a Lorry-driver Under Shell Fire,
A DAY UP THE LINE WITH A MOTOU LORRY..
The A.S:C., KT., is often • referred to as a !` soft job," with practically no riskof being under shell fire, doing work far from the trenchesand wøil 'aria on the roads of communication. There may be a. few columns who are fortunate enough in this respect?, but. in my ease the soft jobs were Well out of reach. For two month ii we were parked in a ruined town on the Somme, and during that tomethe place was continually, under shell lire by day, anct raided by hostile aircraft by night. It "put the wind up" you whilst sleeping peacefully on the floor of the lorry to be awakened by the burr of an approaching Taube ; suddenly the engine, stops, and you then know the flying roan is swooping down to
drop a few bombs. Bong fl Crash!: Bricks and earth fall like rain over the old bus. Not satisfied, Fritz will now bring into play • his machine gun, and you can hear the patter of the bullets as they strike the road. It is not a Pleasant place to be in, there being no cover at all, bar the old tazpaulin sheet through which the rain • drips. . One Day's Work.
. I will attempt to relate the work we undertook one day. You are detailed by the sergeant-major as follows :—'• Lorries J2345 and 23450 parade at 7.30 a.m. Report to R.E. Dump at M— at 9 ..a.m. Await orders of sergeant-major there." These two lorries, one of the four drivers (two to each car) being a, corporal in charge, then proceed to the dump named after a-long run, usually across country. A dump is simply a, -spot in the open field where are stored the various requisites necessary for the troops. The S.-M. says he wants one lorry to take at load of trench boards to F . The other is sent to another place. My lorry is the one selected and we were glad for My mate anci I were both anxious to. seeall we could, CI go as far up as possible. We little thought what our experiences would be.
A Driver at Each End.
In due course our load of 100 trench boards are stowed away, a good three-ton load, and off we go. The roadis, as usual, a mass of large holes, and a sea of watery mud. The old bus rooks from side to side ; the .pace has to be slow
if springs are to be considered. One driver has to remain at the rear, to keepa look-out for any ca.rS that-desire to pass. The authorities arc very strict on this point, and the police on road duty are over on the alert to catch lorries " without a lookiout man at the rear . of the vehicle.
Nearing the Fighting Area.
After a, short time an officer jumps &beard for a lift. As we approach nearer the trenches, the road becomes from bad to worsetill it is torture to have to sit at the rear, though the pace be only five to six miles an hour. Eventually a " town " away to the left comes into view, once a scene of very heavy fighting ; being in a valley you can clearly see the terrible havoc caused by the great guns of both ourselves and the enemy. Every building has been blown to the ground, with the exception of one, which, although still standing, hears the mark of many a hit. The ground around is a mass of shell hole-s, of all sizes ; not a square yard has escaped; dud shells and unexploded bombs lie everywhere, and if you look more closely you will see the ground covered with pieces of shell and shrapnel, as though it had fallen like rain. It 'appears wonderful how any human being can possibly survive tilde? such fire.
..Under Shell Fire.
The read becomes till worse, till the man at the back can endure it no longer, and, despite regulations, jumps down and keeps his mate at the wheel -company. There is no fear now of police, and the. passenger has already jumped off. It is indeed fortunate that the change is made for as the lorry rolls from . side to Side, and crawls up the incline towards the top of a ridge, the two drivers chatting together, discussing the scene along the road, a whine is heard, and then—crash ! ! A high-explosive shell drops on the road, not five yards from the tailboard. The force of the explosion seems to jerk the •lorry forward. and although it has been travelling away from the spot the shell struck, and it took a, little time for the earth and stones to mount upwards, yet earth is rained over the bonnet for quite a little distance. Without clotibt, the second man, had he, been at the rear. would have had a very unpleaaant time. One can imagine the look of surprise on the faces of the drivers, but this is simply a warning shot.
(To be coneinued.)