Ward diary, 30 October 1917-16 January 1918 / Ernest Henry Ward - Page 8

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[Page 8]

supper with Ackerman. One loaf of bread issued for four men – 24 hrs. rations!

Dec. 16
Left Vaudeghem with battalion for Wavran. Billetted in a ruined mud barn. Nothing but ¼ loaf of bread & ½ tin of 'bully' & two drinks of tea without milk or sugar all day. The margarine issue was too rancid for consumption. We raided a cache of potatoes & a hen roost, securing ½ sack of potatoes & three fowls. The broth was excellent but the birds were very ancient – may have been with Noah on his maritime expedition. Plucking & drawing a fowl in a meadow, pitch dark, & a snow storm quite an experience. Over 20 men had a good supper without a qualm of conscience – a starving man marching 12 to 15 miles a day & carrying a load of over 90 lbs. knows no conscience.

Dec. 17
Left Wavran at 0330 in a blinding snowstorm – ten of us formed a rear guard. One poor devil fell out just at daybreak & we had a job to revive him. Secured an officer's horse & held him on until we

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