Mercer papers, 9 December 1917-19 June 1919 / Harold Mercer - Page 130
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[Page 130]
during the journey back, and don't remember the 3 Field Ambulance much, but know that the journey was rough, owing to shell holes in the road.
No 15 CCS is at St Omer or nearbye, and has the good fortune to have escaped bombing, so far. It was gorgeous to have a warm bath and lie in clean sheets. and the treatment & rest is splendid. The great question amongst all the patients is "Is mine a Blighty?" By unanimous consent mine is; and the doctor's reports, which I have quizzed, are alarming and lengthy. If I get out of bed I shake all over, and the others howl for me to get back into bed again.
Directly I arrived in my ward the man in the bed next to me asked "You're an Australian aren't you?" and then added, "I can always tell you Australians". Of course I had no uniform, having changed into pyjamas, so I was surprised; but I notice you can pick all the Australians, quite easily, even in their pyjamas. There is something distinctively "Australian" about us all, it seems.
The journey in the train was surprisingly comfortable. We went to Calais first & then down to Boulogne. At Calais there were a lot of signs of Fritz bombing, especially some marvellous big holes which showed