Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

PRIVATE R. F. DENNIS.
Private R. F. Dennis, D Company, 58th Battalion, who is a son of Mr. Alex. Dennis, Eeyeuk, and a partner in Messrs. A. Dennis and Sons, writes from the trenches somewhere in France:----
August 17.---Since I last wrote we have been moved back into the front trenches again last Saturday evening. We go into the front line every night, where I have been on observation duty, that is to  say, on guard, watching over the parapet. We come back into the support trenches in the mornings to rest. I have a very small dug-out to myself now. The weather has broken this last week and has  been showery, which makes things rather uncomfortable as the soil is a sort of yellow clay and gets very slippery and muddy, but I have been able to keep dry enough. Our artillery has been very  active at times lately, giving the German trenches a bad time and though they reply on ours it is in considerably less degree. And, I am thankful to say, they have troubled my part of the trenches very  little. I have not seen a German yet, but get a bit of shoofing at night, replying to their snipers. I wait for the flash of a rife and then try to put a bullet as near as possible and though shooting at night, even in the moonlight, is necessarily very inaccurate, they generally shut up after one or two shots are exchanged. We have steel helmets and there is not much danger if you are careful not to shove  your head too far up, and keep down when their machine guns are at work. I see a good deal of Tom Leishman now. He has evidently proved himself a good man with a cool head, and has just been  given a stripe. I believe he did some very good work recently bringing in men from "No man's land." Lately he has had the job of doing up our barbed wire in front of the trench at night, being in  charge of the party. Rather risky and exciting work. He brought along young Hugh Stewart, of Mortlake, the other day and introduced him. The latter was wounded slightly in the shoulder the other day but is all right again and looking very well. Mosquitos are very plentiful here and are larger than ours but fortunately not so poisonous. Rats and mice are also very plentiful. Beyond artillery work there  has been very little doing in this part of the line lately, but the poor Germans don't get much peace from the artillery, which gives them plenty of work repairing their parapets, even if it does not inflict  many casualties. The repairing is usually done at night. I have seen Australian papers up till 24th June, but have received no further letters or papers myself.

August 19.---Still in front line and now doing day and night observation duty. Some great "strafing" has been going on here the last few days with artillery, trench mortars, etc., our side being the  aggressors. The din is terrific but casualties on our side almost nil. The weather is beastly wet.

Sunday, August 20.---We are having a rest in the support line today. Last night we were "standing to" the whole time and things were very lively for two hours, as our company with trench mortars,  and pudding bombs, assisted by the artillery, severely "strafed" the German trenches and the German artillery replied as vigorously as ours. The worst of if lasted an hour. It was a most awesome  experience, but, strange to say, after the first few minutes, all nervousness seemed to leave me, nevertheless I was glad when it was over. The ground trembled like a jelly- and the noise was deafening. As I was on observation duty I had to look over our parapet, and saw what was going on. It looked as if it would be impossible for any thing to live in the German trenches, they seemed just one mass of lurid explosions along that particular section. After the bombardment the company next to us made a raid and brought back two machine guns and other trophies, without meeting with  much opposition. Our trench was not much damaged, and my own boys especially escaped very lightly, though we were showered with earth occasionally. Only one man in our company was killed, and  he was our O.C., Lieut. Watson, who had relieved Capt. Tait only that morning. He had taken Tom Leishman's seat only a minute before. Tom had his legs buried under sand-bags but was not hurt. I believe the King was in the vicinity last week. We seem to be giving the Germans a good shake up all along the line, ever- where there is no advance being made, but at present it does not look as though we would be home for Christmas.