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[Page 60]
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We asked them why they had never visited England (they had only been once to Paris even though it was only 200 miles from them) and they said that they couldn't think of taking such a long sea journey – twenty miles across the Channel!
The old lady said that she remembered the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. She was then a girl of 15 and remembered the Germans occupying her village, and after the war said she remembered her late father taking the gold Napoleons to the Bank of France after the harvest, every season, to help pay the indemnity which Germany then imposed on France.
They would listen, with their mouths open in amazement to us talking about Australia. We couldn't speak much French or they much English but we generally managed to understand one another. After my return to Australia, every Christmas – until the old lady's death – I always sent her a Christmas cake. I used to get the cake soldered up in a tin to make it airtight.
At St Maxent we erected a large marquee, which was floored, and here we used to hold our famous dances. It was continually snowing so going out of doors was almost impossible and the officers devised this way of keeping the men occupied and out of mischief. Every afternoon from two till six and every evening (Sundays included) from seven till midnight, dancing was indulged in. It was all "buck sets" with the exception of a few of the French village girls occasionally. The officers also took part in the dances and we had some very happy times indeed.
On several occasions an English lady came up from Abbeville and taught the men new dances – "Maxine", &c. Once we had a big dance for the W.A.A.C.S. from Abbeville, who came up in motor lorries in charge of their lady officers. One night we also entertained the French girls from Doudainville to a dance. The French girls are very good and light dancers.
I was pianist for all these dances and one night I took suddenly sick while playing, and had to return to my billets. My leg – where the piece of shrapnel had got in twelve months previously – started to swell up, as it was poisoned through long exposure in the trenches. For several days I was very ill and delirious and was taken in Red Cross Motor Ambulance to the big hospital on the outskirts of Abbeville. When I took sick I was in billets on the top story of an old barn. They had to put me on a stretcher and lower it down through a large outer door into the Ambulance underneath. This Ambulance was driven by a girl driver. The Doctors at Abbeville diagnosed my case as Thrombosis of right leg. German prisoners waited on us in Hospital and I got some very good souvenirs from them – which they made in their spare time – small carved wooden tank, paper knives &c. I used to give them my cigarette issue in exchange for souvenirs. After I left our Battalion our dances lapsed for a week until another pianist was secured from the 43rd Battalion. Several of my pals used to walk into Abbeville to Hospital to see me, but they all returned to Australia before I did.
Abbeville Hospital was the one that was bombed several times during the war and many of the nurses were killed or wounded.