Mercer papers, 9 December 1917-19 June 1919 / Harold Mercer - Page 30
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[Page 30]
they can tell the distinctive smell of a dead German from that of any other dead man reckon to arise from a Hun buried in the end of the dugout, which has fallen in – with the Germans it probably communicated with some other exit & provided ventilation. You can see where the equipment pegs etc have been, but they have gone; and useless electric wires pass along the roof. Still, the place is warm; & being many feet at below the hill above us is quite safe. There is a big dugout capable of holding almost a battalion dug down into the ground about twenty feet under the level of the ravine itself. Its floor is slippery with water; and sometimes the pumping apparatus to keep it from becoming too bad fails altogether & a flood is threatened.
There are already signs of illness, "trench feet" having developed