Mercer papers, 9 December 1917-19 June 1919 / Harold Mercer - Page 132
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[Page 132]
they knew I was ill. If I happened to be asleep when any work came along for which I was supposed to be due, they would get someone else in my place, & not wake me up. One night, I woke up suddenly & found myself alone in the trench. A horrible nightmare of an idea that the line had been abandoned & the whole lot wiped out came to me; but then I remembered & got out on the wire fatigue.
Another night I found Judkins had taken my place on post, though it was my turn; & he didn't want me to take over from him. On another occasion, after I had been having some shivering fits, George Abrams brought me along a dixie with rum in it, & said the boys had all subscribed half a spoonful – a fine thing when the way in which rum is prized in the line is considered.
Of course, I did what I could for the boys: wrote letters for them, gave them advice, & helped to get matters rectified for them in paybook mistakes etc; & I used to tell them yarns; but I appreciated their acts of consideration, especially when a lot of them turned out to give me a send off when I left in the ambulance.