Letters From the Front

Dated: December 23, 1915

A letter has been received from Herbert Johnston, a lad of 19 listed here when the war broke out. He writes from the Duchess of Connaught hospital, England

I suppose you know that I got wounded, and I thank God I am alive today. I had my skull broken above the right ear. Two pieces of metal have been taken out of my head by the doctors, that there is still some they can't get at. When I got hit I had been living in the trenches for a week, up to my knees in mud and stinking water, that was black. I had not had my shoes off for a week and it was [so] cold I could hardly hold my rifle. I have seen things I will never forget. One day I was in my trench shooting away at the Germans when the officer came around and said “Johnson, come with me, you have got to help dig a trench”. I knew right away it was a dangerous job. But I went with him and a party of 150. We walked about a mile and a half in mud and water up to our knees, and could hear the sing of the bullets over our heads. Then we were ordered to climb over the trench and crawled about 50 yards, when we commenced to dig. It was very dark, being about midnight. All the time the bullets were singing. Once we stopped, and my chum and I commenced to talk, a bullet came and killed him. I called the officer and he got some men and took him away. When they got back another was down and four more were wounded. That was the first night digging that new trench. It was raining hard in the morning when we stopped to have a little rest. I hadn't had anything to eat for 24 hours. All day we rested and the next night started to dig again; about 8 o'clock one of the fellows handed me a letter. It was from my brother. I had just shoved it into my pocket when someone yelled, “Look out, Johnson, there comes a bomb.” It dropped like a stone. I fell on my hands and knees; the bomb went off and so did I. I didn't know I got hit till I found myself rolling over. Oh, I was hot and cold, then everything came dark. I came to at a dressing station with a doctor by my side. Oh my head was sore and I was covered from head to foot with blood. I didn't know where one of my arms was. I was told afterwards that the shot in my head paralyzed my left side. Even yet I am unable to move some of my fingers but the arm seems to be all right. I have been in bed since about the 30th of September. It is no fun shooting Germans.