Item 01: G. O. Hawkins articles and notes ca. 1916-1919 - Page 97
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[Page 97]
1
After having survived, for many weeks, the mental torments and escaped the physical agonies of that hell-on-earth, the front-line trenches, the soldier who is rewarded with a spell of rest in a region of peace far behind the guns is blessed with a rare experience. This becomes clear on stating that it is only then that mortal intelligence is capable of realizing what might be the exaltation and gratitude of a soul that reaches heaven.
In a sub-conscious way the truth of this has been felt by thousands of men when, with the thunder of bombardment still rumbling in the memory of their ears, they have been transported from the horror and devastation of the battlefield to the undefiled beauty and calm where war is not.
In such a part of France, at the present moment, there are several of the smaller units of a tired army. One of these is quartered in a pleasant village at the back of which, after a somewhat abrupt