Too Awful to Talk About

Private John George Ritson whose parents live at 28 Wark Street, Chester-!e-Street, is a very young soldier but had been in the army for considerably over a year before the war. When hostilities were declared he was stationed at Dublin, but his battalion was then moved to Portland, where he remained six weeks. On going to France he fought at Lille, Bethune and Messines and was in the trenches about a month mostly in the neighbourhood of the two latter places. On quite a number of occasions the water in the trenches was over their boot tops. His turn in the trenches was always during the night between dark and dawn, the worst time.Before they went into the trench for their long and trying vigil they were each given two tablespoons full of rum and that was all they had served out to them until they returned to the reserve trenches next morning. They had bully beef and biscuits, and what they carried in their water bottles, but they were not allowed to make anything hot or smoke, as this was too dangerous. He took part in more than one bayonet charge, but this was not a matter he cared to talk about, it was too awful. The worst duty on which he was engaged was picketing. In such work men are advanced beyond the trenches to prevent a surprise and it was a terrible job to lie motionless on one's stomach for many hours at a stretch in bitterly cold, frosty weather, waiting for a possible German attack. He was invalided home suffering from rheumatism, but expects to return to his regiment shortly.

Acknowledgements: Chester-le-Street Heritage Group