Auchy,
19 april 1915
[Monday]
Dear family,
Yesterday I received mother’s letter
of the 11th, and again a whole bunch of parcels, 11 this time.
The army stove wasn’t among them,
but there wás a can of preserves, which tasted excellent.
That is something quite different
from the food we get from the “Kohldampfabwehr”
[“anti-hunger defence”] or “Goulashkanone”
[both nicknames for the fieldkitchen].
The food is not bad at all, very nutritious even, but always the same and
ofcourse no meat. It tastes very good too, but you get a bit tired of eating the
same food every time.
Here, where we can cook something
for ourselves, we’re not so dependant on the fieldkitchen as we were back in
Don, and also still in Oignies.
I made friends with a couple of
artillery-guys. Those guys always have everything. Yesterday they gave me a big
piece of beef liver, which we prepared with potatoes yesterday. I can tell you:
that tasted like nothing before. With the eleven of us everyone only got a
small piece ofcourse, but we enjoyed it immensely.
We bake potatoes every afternoon,
with it we drink cocoa, coffee or tea, and a piece of bread. In the evening the
fieldkitchen arrives then with food and again coffee.
With this good life we’re leading
here at the moment we’re so boisterous I wish you could see us.
We’re só much the “poor, needy
soldiers in France”. I believe many of us didn’t have it as good as this back
home.
Furthermore we’re now on 4 nights
work and 4 nights rest. Here in Auchy we
moved from our cellar to another house. We now even have real beds (We’re not
allowed to undress though, because we can get an alarm at any time), a nice
stove with cooking utensils, porcelain plates and cups, and even silver
cutlery. As you can see : we lack for nothing.
Furthermore there is a beautiful
garden at the back of the house, where I’m now sitting writing this letter. The cherry trees are about to flower. The
flowers I send you today are also from this garden.
I’ve never seen primroses flower so
beautifully and abundantly like here; likewise the violas. They’re the last of
the season though.
What does the garden back home look
like now? Please write to me about it extensively please. Even here I’m interested in it. Someone else
than mother can write me then. Helene is
hard at work, and Else is otherwise “pleasantly” engaged, but Hanne is still
there ?
Or do her poor fingers still hurt
from writing the engagement-notices?!
In with the parcels there was one
from Aunt Bonert (Please thank her for me) and two from Herr Welcke and the
employees of B&G .
Please let father know Herrn W, between the lines, that he should
not send any more. I sincerely hope I will have nothing to do anymore with his
esteemded business. Herr W should be happy he can spend his money in another
way. I’ve send the usual thankyou-letter already yesterday. [*]
Then I received a postcard from
Erich Bonert, I don’t know where from. He wrote that they’re in reserve and had
to work in the garden, which they enjoyed very much in this nice weather.
I’ve written him back. Hopefully he’ll
receive my postcard this time.
Enough for today. I’ve lost the will
to write along the way.
Maybe more tomorrow. With many fond greetings your Fritz
[*] “Herr Wilcke” and his company “B&G”
have not been identified yet.
and the original letter:
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