Alma Russell Letters
Letters of British Columbia men on active service with Canadian and British Expeditionary Forces, 1914-1918. Learn more.
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the German snipers. My feet used to feel like lead, as if I could not run, and I used to fall over some body every few yards in the dark. Well, I guided the Company through the trenches till we came to this road, and then the officer said he was very sorry, but I must go faster, he knew I could not, but he had to go quickly over such dangerous ground. So I quietly fell out, crawled under a busted ammunition wagon, blew up my air pillow and slept peacefully for six hours. I caught up the battalion late next night, having travelled all the way on various wagons. All next day I lay and carved, not scraped, the solid sheets of clay off my uniform.
Your delicious chocolates were a great blessing to us in the firing line, it was such a huge box I could afford to give plenty away, you could not have sent me anything to please me more. We get an almost straight ration of bread or hard biscuit and meat, mostly bully beef, and I long for sweets, cakes and fruit.
I had Effie's parcel the other day, and was delighted with it, especially the little bellows of insect powder.
Rations are rather scarce just now, so when Winnie's box of candy came last night, we were very glad to have them for supper with tea and bread and we did enjoy them. They would be even better if packed in a tin, thank her for me very much. It is awful the number of kind letters and parcels I receive and simply have no chance to acknowledge.
At this camp we have not a Y.M.C.A. near, although the work is so endless we should have small chance of getting to it. We had an extra hard day yesterday, as we are preparing for a fool inspection
BC Archives, MS-1901 Box 1 File 19 / RUSSELL, Alma M., 1873 - 1964. Victoria; librarian. / Letters from Cecil Harrow Unwin, 1916 - 1917.