Item 07: John D. Wilson diary, 19 September-28 December 1917 - Page 141

[Page 141]

from 9 to 12.

There is a heavy bombardment to night in the direction of Ypres.
The flashes can be plainly seen.

There are a lot of complaints in the Transports about our food. There is not enough, no variety, and it is badly cooked. The Transport cook is the worst in the Battalion, and not very clean. The porridge is often raw and at other times burnt. While his hashes are often only warmed. His stews are often indistinguishable from soup unless he has named it. The tea is like dish water. There is some talk of parading to the officer about it. The pots and dixies are filthy, and the water for washing our mess tins is often greasy & luke warm instead of being clean & boiling. He should have no trouble in keeping things up to the mark, for there is a plentiful supply of water and a good cook house. He has a greasy assistant who wears spectacles, and spents most of his time sitting down or eating. In serving out the meals they are both as slow as funerals and measure out the allowance with niggerdly care. We should be on full rations now that the Battalion is in the Trenches. It is no better than when we were at Blequin. The fact of the matter is the Q.M. is running the Battalion as cheaply as possible.

Cpt. Gordon of the A.S.C. said yesterday that our Transports were the best in the Brigade, & easily came first for clean