The Lower Deck 03

And at the most crucial point of the shop assistant’s love-making-


“Somebody would shout out shop. shop, shop. shop -

Somebody would shout out shop."


All nights were alike at St. Pol - bombs and still more bombs, and casualties were not infrequent.


From St. Pol, as one of the transport allotted to No. 8 Naval Squadron I proceeded to Furnes, on the way to which place Air Mechanic Ted Evans, driving a new workshop lorry, met a railway bridge which obstinately remained low across the road and accordingly crashed the top of his lorry off.

And so at Furnes on this morning in March I found myself, theoretically and in fact, upon the lower deck with the proud rating of Air Mechanic.


The Squadron, commanded by Squadron Commander G. R. Bromet, then moved to Auchel, near Lillers, to take up duty under the lst Brigade 10th Wing, where we remained until moving up to Mont St. Eloi, directly behind the Vimy Ridge.


THE LOWER DECK AT MONT ST. ELOI


Of all the many places from which the Squadron operated there is not one which lives in the memory of the men so vividly as the camp at Mont St. Eloi, situated as it was on the La Targette Road in the devastated country leading up to Neuville St. Vaast and Souchez, with the Vimy Ridge extending directly before us from the battered Souchez Wood towards Arras, and immediately overshadowing our camp the two old broken towers on the summit of the hill of St. Eloi.


It was here we settled down from 7th May 1917 until February 1918, and as a consequence of our long sojourn in one place conditions of life gradually improved; bell tents, with all their discomfort of cramped space, damp earth for a floor and wet muddy beds (if you were near the opening), soon gave way to the more spacious Nissen huts, wooden floors, wooden bunks one above the other, and the whole warmed in winter by those never-to-be-forgotten Canadian stoves.

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