Wednesday 28th October 1914

In the last week in October Tunstill’s Man, Lance Corporal Norman Roberts (he had been promoted on 12^th October) wrote home and described the challenging routine faced by the men:

“We are having it very rough. It is ‘drill, parade, drill’ and so on all day long. I have hardly any time for letter writing we are so rushed. Our tent has just ‘come down’ from three weeks isolation, and we are a bit backward in company drill, but all the same I have been made an N.C.O. … The N.C.O.’s have been doing bayonet drill this afternoon; quite hard work and very business-like. There is a marine instructor here and he nearly frightened us all to death; we dared not move our eyes. It is a bit wet now, but a lovely country”.

Roberts also noted that he had seen a piece of shell and ‘it looked deadly’. However, he assured everyone that was well but would appreciate some ‘Chairman’ tobacco which he could not get at the camp.

Roberts’ rather under-stated reference to the changing weather conditions concealed the fact that there had been several spells of heavy rain during the last ten days of October. This change was also referred to by J.B. Priestley in a letter to his family (dated 2^nd November) but he was rather more forthright as to the effects:

““Last week the general came round before we got up, and seeing the soaking tents, the large pools and masses of mud, said ‘Poor lads’ and condemned the camp. So the story goes and I believe it is true … We shan’t be here long … All sorts of rumours are going about, but they are not worth detailing. You may be sure we shan’t stop here; we spend half the day trying to drain the place.”