“Hell with the lid off” is a phrase which many soldiers have used with regard to the present conflict, and Lance-Corporal Allen told a “Rushden Echo” representative that this was about the only sentence which properly described the war.

“I took part in the Battle of Mons,” he said to our representative. “We went into action on August 23rd which was the first engagement in which the English took part. The Retreat on Paris was grand, heroic, our men were fighting rear-guard actions all the way. I went through the Battle of the Marne and the Aisne, and also fought at Ypres, which was one of the toughest fights we had. We fought among a lot of woods, and these woods before we finished were strewn with the dead bodies of the Germans. Ypres cost the enemy very dear.

“When we were on the Aisne things were pretty quiet one morning. The man next to me was standing on sentry, and I was sitting down in the trench after two hours sentry duty, and was talking to him, when a shell broke over us. At the moment I was speaking to him, his head was blown off. This shook my nerves at the time, but afterwards we got used to things of this sort. I had a narrow escape myself when this man was killed, for a piece of the shell tore a hole in my overcoat, but it never hurt me. I think I am one of the luckiest fellows alive, but then anyone is lucky who goes out there to the front and comes back alive. On January 31st I was invalided home, being very ill with rheumatism and influenza. I had eight weeks in Scotland, and have been home some time. Now I am going back to report myself to the depot, and I expect to return to the front very shortly.

“I had 5½ months in France. I saw what Pte. Fred Bass said in the ‘Rushden Echo,’ and what he said is the truth. I went through it, the same as he did.

“I have had pretty good evidence of the truth of the stories about German barbarities. Many of my own chums have seen the atrocities. A chum in the Lincolnshires told me he saw a woman bayonetted by the Germans, and I believe it is true. I don’t think anything is too bad for some of the Germans, though there are good and bad among the enemy the same as with us.

“The Germans do not seem to value the life of the individual at all. The soldiers come up in massed formation, to be shot down. The dead and wounded Germans may be seen in heaps.

“Our British officers are very brave, and I think they sacrifice their own lives too readily, but they certainly value the lives of the men under them, and do not take needless risks. On the other hand, I have never seen a German officer leading his troops.”

Lance-Corpl. Allen was able to verify the truth of the statement which we have previously published regarding German trickery. He says:

“One night on the Aisne a lot of Germans came to give themselves up as prisoners. They held up their hands as they came towards us, but as soon as they saw we were weaker in numbers than they were they opened fire on us. Fortunately two of our maxim guns were in sight, and when the gunners saw what had happened they let fly at the Germans and thus saved us. The white flag business has had its day. The Germans will never be able to take us in again in that way – they’ve tried it on too often. As soon as our troops see the white flag, they fire, for they know what the trick means.

“I think our Government are too lenient with German prisoners. They are spending a lot of money on German officers which our Tommies could do with.”

“How are the British troops being fed?” asked our representative.

“On the retirement on Paris it was a bit of a job to get food, but, apart from that, the British Army is well fed. I have had to go without food for two days, and then on the third day I got the food all at once. The health of our soldiers is extraordinarily good. There is plenty of clothing, and the sanitation is effective. I had three pairs of boots out there, and three overcoats. There is no doubt the old Army boot is the best, and the easiest to wear.”

“What is your general impression of the war?” our representative inquired.

“There has never been anything like it in the world’s history. You cannot call it war. It is mechanical slaughter. It is mechanism that is doing it. The Germans have been preparing for years and years with their big guns. At the start the enemy had the advantage of bigger guns than ours, but now we have guns far superior to theirs. And the little French 75’s are beauties, and are doing excellent work.

“The hardships of trench life are quite enough, without fighting. The freezing cold in the winter was enough to kill anyone.

“I saw a lot of aviation work. I saw a British aeroplane brought down by our own men, who fired at it by mistake, and the two aviators were killed. Earlier in the war I saw a lot of our own men killed by British shells. The difficulty is that the communication wires are sometimes cut by the enemy’s shells, and then you cannot avoid mistakes happening. The same thing has occurred with the Germans. Many German soldiers have been killed by German shells.

“The devastation in Belgium and in parts of France is terrible. The Germans seem to have delighted in burning down villages. In the retirement from Mons it was heartrending to see the women and children leaving their homes, some without boots or shoes. We used to give them our bully beef and biscuits, and go without ourselves.

“I used to get the ‘Rushden Echo’ out at the front, and was very glad to see it. For one thing I am sorry to have been invalided home – I’ve missed my turn for promotion.

“I do not think the Germans will face another winter of warfare. We are bound to win. I should not like to see conscription in England, for I think one volunteer is worth four pressed men. It would be a sorry thing for this country if we had conscription. I have been very ill, but I am now feeling better. Nearly all my old chums have been knocked over and killed in this war.”