FOREWORD

Down South, in the Valley of the Somme, far from the spots recorded in this book, I began to write this story.

In billets it was.  I strolled across the old farmyard and into the wood beyond.  Sitting by a gurgling little stream, I began, with the aid of a notebook and a pencil, to record the joys and sorrows of my first six months in France.

I do not claim any unique quality for these experiences.  Many thousands have had the same.  I have merely, by request, made a record of my times out there, in the way that they appeared to me.

Bruce Bairnsfather.

CHAPTER I

Landing at Havre—­Tortoni's—­follow
the tram lines—­orders for the front

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