In a letter to his parents, Cpl Edward Grice, R.A.M.C., son of the Midland Stationmaster at Luton and formerly a member of the Luton News staff, writes from France on February 6th:
"We are now staying at a chateau. It must have been a glorious place in peace time. No doubt it was the home of some prosperous French gentleman, but the guns have made a mess of it and everything is wrecked.
"All the houses are in ruins and still under shell fire. However, I am keeping fit and well. It will take more than this to knock me up, although the weather is bitterly cold and ice is a foot thick on the ponds and in the shell holes.
"You have to sleep in your boots, tunic, trousers, socks, and hat for a pillow to keep them warm else they are frozen absolutely stiff in the morning, and then you have a job to get them on. You would have laughed to see one of the fellows lighting a fire of paper and straw in his boots to thaw them. The shrapnel helmets we wear are pretty serviceable things, although somewhat heavy.
"Our unit is in action now, so we are having to work pretty hard, but it is better than Rouen. The work was killing there, and not as much comfort and dryness as there is in the dug-outs here.
"I have had some peculiar jobs since I left England. Being a newcomer with a unit, one has to do everything imaginable imaginable. I have been in charge of timber gangs, road-making and sanitation, store-keeping, and am now police corporal. These are only a few things I have done in addition to the usual R.A.M.C. work. The Army does make a handy man of a fellow.
"The French soldiers here are jolly fellows, and we can pick up the language quickly with them. A good many speak English well.
"In the town where we were before we came in action, there were lots of little estaminets or cafes, and you could get a cup of coffee and cakes for half a franc. The proprietors are mostly all women, who cling to their homes during the bombardments, and as a result are making little fortunes now."
Cpl Grice had previously taken part in the Dardanelles campaign and contracted enteric at Gallipoli. He afterwards underwent an operation for appendicitis at Alexandria. He came home to recuperate and was subsequently sent to France.
[Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: February 24th, 1917]