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LETTER FROM JOHN MC DONALD TO HIS SISTER MEG — FROM
MACEDONIA -- WRITTEN ON PAGES FROM HIS ARMY NOTEBOOK
MEKES, 1.
STRUMA VALLEY.
MACEDONIA.
16/03/17
My Dear Sister,
I
intend to send you this letter uncensored, so I shall be
able to tell you some things I could not tell you in the
ordinary course. I have already sent Nessie similar letters
in a similar way, and I daresay she will have told you about
the Division I am in, and the front I am on. I left the Base
about the middle of last September, and came up with
reinforcements, - men and mules, - for the 10th (Irish)
Division. The old Lowland Divisional Train has become the
10th Divisional Train. We lay near Langaza Lakes for a few
weeks, and our Sergt.-Major went with a draft for a Field
Ambulance, and
was left as acting Sergt.-Major of the Reinforcements.
Early in October we left the Langaza district for the
fighting area. The country we had to cross consisted of
range after range of high hills, and between every two
ranges, a flat plain. At the end of our first day's march we
tied up the horses and mules, and slept at the roadside near
Likovan. Next morning we set out again, and in the afternoon
we could hear the artillery very distinctly. Towards evening
we reached the top of the range of high hills running along
the South-West of the Struma Valley. There I got my first
glimpse of war. I shall never forget it. Away down in front
of us lay the Struma Plain shut in with the ranges of hills
reaching the clouds on both sides of it. Along the plain the
Struma was winding, and on this side our guns, and on the
other side the enemy guns were pouring out shells, and the
noise rolled like thunder among the hills. We left the main
road, and we were divided up for the different companies we
had to reinforce.
After dark I went down the Mahmudli Pass in the moonlight. I
had a few Britishers and a number of Greeks each with
several mules. When we reached the plain I had a little
adventure *** of which I will tell you when I come home. At
last we reached our destination, fed and tied up the mules,
and then lay and shivered till morning. The guns continued
to thunder all night. Next day they suddenly stopped. There
was a short truce to bury the dead and gather in the
wounded. The enemy took advantage of the truce to retreat,
and then you would read that the British Forces had crossed
the Strums, and were holding the ground lately in the hands
of the enemy. The enemy took up a position along the foot of
the hills on the other side, and so things have stood all
winter.
For a time we were in dug-outs, and in December we moved
forward a little nearer the Strums and our Company was lucky
enough to get into the village of Mekes, and of course we
made ourselves as comfortable as possible. We cannot go much
further forward. I do not see how we can possibly drive the
enemy over the hills. They have a strong position on the
hills. they have search lights on them that can light up any
part of the plain, and they have at least one gun which
fires shells a considerable distance, - two miles or so,
across the Strums, but they have not used their heavy
artillery much. Neither have our men.
It has been a case of watching one another all winter, and
both sides building up strength. A few nights ago a terrific
bombardment commenced. We thought the crash had come. We got
out of our beds to see how things were going, but within an
hour all was quiet again. Some nights there is a great deal
of rifle fire, but there has been no great engagement for
months. But there are rumours in the air seems to be
electrified with them, and it is expected everywhere that
there will be a big push before the end of this month.
It is certain that we cannot remain in the valley during the
summer on account of the terrific heat and the disease. It
is called the Valley of Death. The Greeks lay their heads to
one side and shut their eyes and say, 'English soldier stay
here: plenty sick; English soldier finish'. As you know we
have more Greeks in our Company than Britishers. It is a
cause of great discontent. The Greeks are fed and clothed as
we are, but they get 2/6 a day, whereas the most a British
A.S.C. Driver can yet is 1/8 a day. Besides, the Greek is
unarmed. He goes light, and the British A.S.C. man here dare
not go out without his rifle and ammunition. In the event of
a retreat the British A.S.C. man would have to fight, while
the Greek would go down the line with the mules and wagons.
In our Company it is a case of Pack Saddles, not wagons.
For a long time I was acting C.O.M.S. and the Commanding
Officer applied for my promotion, but it did not go through.
Lately I have been employed in connection with the Greeks,
and in a day or two I expect to take up another job. I am
going to the Gas School to be trained to act as Company Gas
N.C.O. It seems from the preparations that are being made
that they expect gas attacks to take a large place in the
fighting this Spring. While being trained in gas work I
shall be attached to the 31st field Ambulance for rations.
S.M. Ross is Sergt. Major there.
I
shall tell you in an ordinary letter more about two visits I
have had there. During the winter I had the opportunity of
returning to England to undergo a course for a commission in
the Cavalry, but I decided to carry on here. I have been
very fortunate out here, and in fact. I have much to be
thankful for. I was not long out before I had to mount any
horse given me and go on one job or another, and I have
never yet had an accident with horses. Several limes my
horse has lost his footing on rough loose hill sides, and if
I had not got clear I would have been crushed to pulp. But I
have always escaped without a scratch. I have never been
exposed to rifle fire as yet, and any time I have been under
shell fire I have been spared.
I
shall never forget one moment in my life when I dismounted
and stood at my horse's head prepared to leave this world.
Several shrapnel shells burst overhead but I did not get as
much as a souvenir. As you know we had a severe though short
winter. We depend on one road from Salonika for food and
ammunition. That road is over 70 Kilometres long, about 50
miles. There is a constant stream of motor lorries on it.
When the snow came, the motors could not come over the high
hills, so nearly all our men and our mules had to go down
and meet them. Two Sergeants went from this Company, and I
was lucky enough not to be one of them. The men on this job
had to travel all the day in the snow storm, and pitch their
tents among the snow at night. This went on for several
weeks. We were on short rations, of course, but the enemy
were worse off. Some prisoners we captured at this time were
sick, and the first time they were given food they vomited
it and grass along with it. Our mules suffered more than our
men. The Drivers going out to harness up in the mornings
several times found their mules up to the belly in mud and
some of them frozen to death, and we had several cases of
mules sinking in mud and slush, and being suffocated. But we
were well prepared for winter.
Every man had more than he required in winter clothing, and
with lying so long at the one place a good supply of spare
tinned food had accumulated. Now we are having beautiful
sunny days, - like a Scotch summer. Last Monday I was out on
the plain for the first time since October. It was a lovely
day, and I had to go away down the road towards Salonika, -
about 10 Kilometres. It was delightful to be up among the
hills again. In dry weather there is a continual cloud of
dust hanging over the road on account of the traffic, the
road is as busy as a city street. There is one long line of
traffic going in each direction, motor lorries with stores
of all kinds, ammunition columns, wagons with teams of
mules, ambulance wagons, Indian transport wagons, and
sometimes Greek bullock wagons.
The whole valley is filled with fig trees, vines, melon
fields, cotton fields, maize fields etc. and in summer it is
swarming with tortoises, lizards, frogs, mosquitoes, ants
and a few snakes. There are no civilians, of course, in the
fighting area. I wish you could see the church in this
village. I shall tell you about it when I come back.
The people must have had a rough time when they had to clear
out. In this village an old woman was left, - too old to go
with the rest. The village was under shell fire, and when
our men reached it they found the woman dead; - the shock
had killed her. The Engineers buried her, and put up a cross
made from two boards off a biscuit box. Many a time I have
passed it looking desperately for wood to make a fire, and I
am glad to see now that the cold weather is past that nobody
in the Company has interfered with that cross though they
went the length of pulling down houses in the night-time to
get firewood. The houses are built with beams of wood and
mud bricks.
Comparatively speaking, I am not in great danger. Of course
a shell may come over at any time, and I may get a share of
it, but it is the Infantry that get the worst of it. We are
lying behind the artillery, and it is very seldom that the
enemy shells come much beyond our artillery. I do not expect
to get through the summer if we stay here but you must not
be alarmed if you hear of my admission to Hospital. I was
just struggling along last October when the cool weather
came and saved me from going down with fever. The chances
are that I shall take it again this summer when we get the
intense heat. Last summer in the British Salonika Force
69,000 men were admitted to Hospital with Malaria. These are
official figures. But they have a good service of motor
ambulances and they soon get the men down to Salonika and on
board ship for Malta.
Nearly all the men in this Company who were here last summer
were in Hospital some time or other with fever or dysentery.
During the hot weather every man is forced to take a dose of
quinine every day. It is no wonder that this country is full
of disease. The skeletons of men and animals killed in the
last Balkan War are still lying bleaching in the sun. When
an animal belonging to the Greeks dies, they skin it, and
leave the carcass to the eagles. The water too is bad, and
in summer it is impossible to do without drinking it.
Dysentery sets in, and you can see men getting thinner every
day. Sometimes the dysentery is too slight to cause a man to
go to Hospital, but he does not get the good of his food and
after he becomes weak the fever soon sets in.
However, I am getting too gloomy in this letter. Don't think
I am worrying about it. I am just facing the fact that I
shall get my share of the troubles going, but somehow I feel
confident that I shall get through all right. My life here
has been better guided for me than I could have planned it
myself, and out of the past I get confidence for the future,
but should the final sacrifice be required, I shall not
shrink from it.
You will soon be having sunny days at home. I hope your good
health will continue none the worse of the winter.
Best Love.
Your loving brother,
Jack.
(
*** Dad's ' little adventure " was when he was riding by the
river looking at the shell bursting overhead with his mouth
open, and lost his dentures — he was lucky to find them in
the sand.)
ADDRESS IN AUGUST 1916—
JOHN MCDONALD
T. 4/213815
NO. 663 COY.,AS.C.,
HORSE TRANSPORT |
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