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[page 71]
139
(2).
such as a heap of old trench mortar bombs on the side of a sap or the remains of an old French farming cart which had been in No Mans Land in front of us. By means of these guides we were able to locate the trenches which we had occupied and out of which we attacked on 28th July. Not much of the trenches remain now and by the time spring comes they will be entirely obliterated and over all will be a growth of grass and field flowers. Nature is a wonderful repairs-contractor. Woods such as Delville Wood, High Wood, Fricourt Wood, Bazantin Wood, etc. which now are only represented by stumps and blasted undergrowth will be leafy glades of the Christmas card variety in a month or two and shell holes of earlier days will be overgrown with yellow charlock like so many golden fairy rings.
As the battle line moves on so do the names given by the soldiers to the various trenches, saps, sunken roads, etc. In many cases the old notice boards are carted along and put up in new positions. The monotony of the names is appalling. When they are not called Piccadilly, they are Leicester Square, and if by some miracle they are neither it is an eighteen pounder to a tin helmet that they are Shaftesbury Avenue. Occasionally a bit of variety in nomenclature is found where some troops other than Londoners have been in first possession. Thus the East of Scotland might be identified by such names as x Princes St., Carlton Square, William St., etc., whilst the Glasgow men would christen their spots Sanciehall St., St. George's Square, etc. Australiaxx never had much chance to identify herself with the custom of name giving as we generally occupied trenches which had already received the necessary attention. One typical Australian name only I remember and that was at the intersectio n