Over the Top Continued and Cooties Tales of a Tommy
A first person account describes the heavy gear of a British soldier en route to France, detailing uniform, equipment, and rations. The narrator recounts life in rest billets, the pervasive body lice called cooties, and the improvised methods to cope, including shirt hunts and scratchers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Batman
Tommy Atkins
England
Patagonia
Tommy
France
United States Cavalry
M. O
Southampton
Tess
Jim
Identity disks and church parade in British army training
Recruits receive identity disks worn on neck or wrist to identify rank, name, number, battalion, and religion. The writer recalls choosing C of E by error, then being ordered to attend church parade despite intending to skip. After a Sunday march, the unit watches a German Fokker while the chaplain holds a book in his left hand and the smokers play football.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Church of England
R. C
Empey
C. of E.2
Gefman Fokker
Into the Trench Frontline Baptism in World War I
The narrator recalls a brutal march to reserve billets and the first frontline baptism by shell fire. He witnesses German air activity, hears bursts and whistles, endures rain and rat-filled shellproof cellars, and experiences fear and cold before reaching the front line and dreaming of home.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Old Pepper
Stewart
Tance
Tommy
Trenches Map a Day of Mud and Courage in War
A first person account from the front line describes surviving a mortar blast that kills comrades, rebuilding the parapet under fire, and learning trench ethics and cautions. The narrator recalls codes about standing guard, water use, and the danger of No Man's Land as shells light the night.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
France
No Man’s Land
Love Letter Amid Cootie Hunt on the Front
In a trench scene two majors ignore shellfire while one writes a letter. He pauses to search his shirt for a moment, then continues, finally handing the note to a runner. The envelope is addressed to Miss Alice Somebody in London. the runner says she is the major’s daily correspondent.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alice Somebody
London
Miss Somebody
Also Mentioned on This Page
Rouen
Trenches
I Rish Hussar
Bill
Kaiser Bill
Whisky Street
Fritz
Prentice
Jersey City
TOSFT
Inwiott
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!