The Fernhurst Society
Tales from the Archives - 41
A Soldier’s Letter Home (1)
Extracts from Letters of Alec Dudman, 11th Battn, Royal Sussex Regiment, 1916.
‘Thanks so much for the parcel, it is quite a comfort to have a smoke and a book to read to pass the time away while I am in hospital.
‘I must tell you how I was wounded. I was lying down in front of our wire with one of my mates when the enemy spotted us and turned a machine gun on us and I got a bullet through my left arm, my mate had his rifle smashed to pieces. It was quite a marvel he was not hit. We also had a bag of gombs beside us. If they had been hit I should not have been here to write this. I’ve thrown several bombs since I’ve been out here. After the machine gun had finished, we were coming back to our trench I fell into a shell hole full of water up to my knees. It was not very pleasant with a bullet wound in the arm to get wet as well. I was soon taken to the hospital and luckily will not lose my arm.
‘We had a rotten march, seven miles in the rain, I was pleased to get to my billet being both wet and tired. It is like a dog kennel!! It is a little brick place just room enough for two to crawl into, but still it is more welcome than the trenches, anywhere to have a sleep in the dry.’
More from Alec next month.
If you would like to know more about this story, or research other local topics, the Archive is open on Tuesdays, 2.30-5pm in the Village Hall. Other times by arrangement.
Christine Maynard
Fernhurst ArchiveOne of a series of short articles bringing you some of the incidents from our rich village history. Collated by Christine Maynard, based on documents preserved at the Fernhurst Archives, these originally were published in the monthly Fernhurst News.
The Fernhurst Archives
Fernhurst History
