Item 04: G. O. Hawkins letters to his family, 2 January 1915-November 1917 - Page 240
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[Page 240]
11
All this while, about a hundred and fifty yards away, - on the road which edges the twelve inch guns position. There isa constant clatter and clog and rattle and jangle, clink, clank, clonk, and the thousand and one other noises of a busy absence of military communication
You must try to imagine a strange creeping thing of intense vitality which seemingly has the supernatural power of crawling in opposite directions at the same time, passing itself as it were with a ceaseless throbbing mingling movement. Then is you can also imagine such a creature to be built up of soldiers, horses, mules, waggons, motors, guns, cycles, baggage, and the various thousands of details of the impediments of an army; not forgetting the shouts, jokes, laughter and curses of human voices as parts of its vocal quality; you might form a crude picture in your mind of such an [artry?] of the battle field. Through where all else is wreck around us.