The grime and the rats

"At present I am feeling rather dirty because I have had no wash or shave for some few days. My clothes are in an awful condition - covered with grease, oil, dirt and stains of all kinds."

"Last week ... we had two hot baths and cold swim ... Each tub holds about a dozen to twenty men and the water is about four feet deep. There are about a score of tubs. the place was apparently once a brewery & the tubs were beer vats. After the bath we hand in our dirty, licey underclothes and in exchange we get ones which have been washed properly. We also get clean socks. We all look forward to our spell from the trenches mainly in order to get the wash & clothes..."

"We have numbers - myriads almost - of rats ranging from the size of mice to that of cats, and fair-sized cats too. But we are quite accustomed to them by now and don't mind them patrolling over our chests, etc. during our moments of slumber."

"I often think when I look at the grass and trees around what a damnable thing this war is. The trees more than get knocked about, but the grass seems to flourish."