In the Trenches

Below is an letter pertaining to the 18th Battalion scanned and posted at the Ow.ly profile of LdnOntWWI (On Twitter @LdnOntI). The year of publication of this letter is unknown and is it is unknown if this it is complete. It gives us a glimpse of an experience a soldier of the 18th Battalion had.

In the Trenches
Oct. 2.

Dear Dad & Co.:

Well, dad, here I am at last in the fire trench, just 50 yards from the Germans. And we feel just as secure and almost as far away from actual war as we did when we were miles back. The weather to-day is simply wonderful; clear sky, nice breeze, although just a little cool. It is about time we did have a nice day, for the weather for the last four days has been rather “punk.” We took over the first line and support trenches last Tuesday night and the occasion will live in my memory for a lifetime. Of course, it was raining heavily and we had one deuce of a time getting up to the communications trenches, as the trench or pat leading up to the communication trench leads through fields and down roads, and there is usually a steady stream of bullets flying about, mostly the work of the snipers, who are usually very busy about dusk and in the early evening, and the rain made the paths very slippery and as everything is done, of course, in the darkness, and it was a rotten job getting along. I slipped in the mud several times and several of the fellows fell into ditches and shell holes.