Lewis war diary, August 1917-March 1919 / James Ray Lewis - Page 103

[Page 103]

it the devil drawing nigh. "One never knows does one". Another fatigue was the one of rations. We used to have to get the stew, and tea from the cookers in big cansters or petrol tins and cart it up to the outposts, a pretty long job as our cookers were back in a reserve trench in a hollow behind, "Diggers", supports. Then sometimes the tea would be hot from the cookers and the petrol tins would leak and run down ones side and back, 'I was nearly scalded one night', and then it was steal quietly through the wheat to the outpost and slip hurriedly back again.

The petrol tins were put in a box and strapped to go on ones shoulders. We used to go to the cookers just before sunset and be finished our job by 12 o'clock. One evening, I will remember well, we had got our dixies at the cooker and decided to go overland, oh! he can't see us said one for it was dusk so we walked along, there was about 20 of us, by "Diggers", support and crossed it, walking of course in the open. After crossing, "Diggers", support the party decided to have a spell, so we put our dixies down in the long grass and sat down by them. Barely had the party got settled when there was whe'eze bang! and a cloud of black smoke. You ought to have seen the scatter, there were men with cansters and men without racing