Revision Notes on “Journey’s End”

Remember that R. C. Sherriff, who was born in 1896, became a captain in the 9th

Battalion, East Surrey Regiment and was severely wounded at Passchendale in 1917, so he had experienced the First World War at first hand. “Journey’s End”, therefore, has its background in a real situation and is peopled by men whom Sherriff claims, in his autobiography, “No Leading Lady”, he knew, “speaking as they spoke”. Surprisingly none of the characters displays any hatred towards the enemy and Osborne gives Raleigh an example of humanity and decency on the part of a German officer who allowed a wounded man to be retrieved from no-man’s-land, an incident which has a real life counterpart in Robert Graves’s autobiography “Goodbye to all All That”, published in 1929. The characters in “Journey’s End”, men as well as officers, work together under a commander they respect, towards a common goal, loyal to each other and to their duty. War is not depicted as glorious, but heroism is admired. Unquestioning obedience to duty and to orders is necessary for a soldier in a situation in which a split second can mean the difference between life and death. None of the officers in ‘C’ company is a professional soldier and those who survived would find it difficult to ‘pick up the pieces’ when they returned home, particularly as no-one at home had the slightest understanding of what they had been through. Note how the characters, as well as being characters in their own right, represent a full-cross section of men involved in the war.

You may think there is ‘a lot of talking’ in this play, but remember that often, as they waited, talk was the only real weapon these men had: it was a way of drowning out the eerie silence or unnerving “damn quiet” whilst killing time, waiting to be killed and struggling to remain sane.

Remember how Sherriff gives an insight into the pressure these men were under, not only from being so close to the fighting and the constant fear of attack/shooting/pain/death, they were also under pressure NOT to let their fear show, let alone get the better of them (as Hibbert does). They had to try to remain fearless and maintain “a stiff upper lip” because they dreaded the loss of self-image as much as they dreaded the loss of life and they struggled to live up to the impossible heroic ideals of those in command and, often, those at home.

TYPES OF EXAM QUESTION ON THIS PLAY

You will be given a choice of two (or possibly three) questions:

(a) A passage-based question For guidance on this look carefully at the notes which come after the

general summary and breakdown of characters.

(b) An essay type question, based on the play as a whole. These may be character-based or theme-basedStudy the notes on characters and look at the list of themes.

(c) An empathy question along the lines of “Imagine you are Osborne and write a letter home to your wife” THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE CHOICE WILL INCLUDE THIS THIRD TYPE OF QUESTION.However, if you do opt for this type of question be careful! You are, of course, invited to use your imagination, but do not get carried away! Stick closely to what you know, or can deduce from the play and, if at all possible, quote. Try to convey the personality of the character in whose voice you are writing and try to use some of the words and phrases he might use. See the end of these notes for suggestions on this.

WHICHEVER YOU CHOOSE YOU MUST SUPPORT WHAT YOU SAY WITH REFERENCE TO, AND QUOTATIONS FROM, THE TEXT.

REMEMBER, ALSO, THAT THE EXAMINERS ARE LOOKING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL/ORIGINAL RESPONSE, SO DO NOT BE AFRAID TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION AS LONG AS YOU CAN EXPLAIN IT AND SUPPORT IT FROM THE TEXT.

REMEMBER: COMMENT (Make your point, express your opinion) QUOTE (Keep it fairly brief)

ANALYSE (Say what it is in the words or phrases you have quoted that has coloured your perceptions or led you to make the comment or deduction you have made e.g. the use of the word “ ……”, suggests that …….)

Now re-read the play in sections, referring to the following notes and reminders as you go along. As a test of how much you can remember, try to answer the factual questions under the “Keeping Track” section at the back of the book, starting on page 104.

Act One

1. From the beginning to “Three and Four, two girls more – ” on page 8

Captain Hardy, commander of the Company which is being relieved by C Company, hands over in a somewhat jocular and casual manner to Osborne. Notice the contrast here. Hardy is more concerned with eliciting what comfort and amusement he can from the situation and with getting away from the front line as quickly as possible than with making a proper transfer of command, or even with the well-being of his men – he does not seem to know or care where his men sleep when off-duty. Osborne, on the other hand, is thorough and conscientious and wants to do the job properly, referring to the trench stores and asking Hardy: “Did you check it when you took over?”. (Note that later we see that Stanhope is furious about the state in which the trenches have been left because his men will have to clean them out, which is not fair on them! See page 17 (and page 30): “I had a few words to say to Master Hardy. You never saw the blasted mess those fellows left the trenches in. Dug-outs smell like cess-pits; rusty bombs; damp rifle grenades; it’s perfectly foul.”) When Osborne asks to be briefed by Hardy, Hardy says: “You are a fussy old man!” It appears that Hardy used humour (and songs) to help him cope, but through his comments the audience is introduced to some of the conditions in which the men have to live. His hopeless attempts to dry his socks, the uneasy silence, the biting humour about supplies (“Here you are: 115 rifle grenades – I shouldn’t use them if I were you: they upset Jerry and make him offensive. Besides, they are rusty in any case” and the gum boots – “25 right leg and 9 left leg”!)

During Hardy’s conversation with Osborne two contrasting views of Stanhope emerge. To Hardy, he is a likeable enough person, but an unworthy commanding officer with a severe drink problem, who has become something of spectacle for fellow officers to gawp at and comment on. Through Osborne’s replies and responses the audience is given another picture of a man whose nerves have been shattered by continuous service at the front, but whose qualities of leadership and ability to command the loyalty of his officers are much respected. In this way the background to the play is established and the audience’s interest is heightened as they wish to decide for themselves their own view of Stanhope.

2. Page 9 to page 17: the arrival of Raleigh

Look at the description of Raleigh on page 9

Look at how Raleigh’s youth is established and the fact that he has only just left school and at how Osborne tries to help him feel less awkward, telling him what

to do (“I should take your pack off” and “I expect you find it a bit strange” and “We never undress when we’re in the line. You can take your boots off now and then in the daytime, but it’s better to keep pretty well dressed always”) and listening as he talks about his impressions of coming through the trenches to the front line (see bottom of page 15) and about himself. From this it emerges that he wanted to be in C Company because it is commanded by his schoolboy hero and that Stanhope is unofficially engaged to Raleigh’s sister. When Osborne says there is something rather romantic about the Very lights and Raleigh agrees Osborne says: “You must always think of it like that if you can. Think of it all as – as romantic. It helps.” Look also at the way in which Osborne tries, tactfully, to prepare Raleigh for the fact that his ‘hero’ might have changed: “You mustn’t expect to find him – quite the same ………..he’s a little quick-tempered …..You must remember he’s commanded this company for a long time – through all sorts of rotten times. It’s – it’s a big strain on a man.”

After this there is an interlude in which Mason apologises about the apricots, which he knows Stanhope cannot stand. Does this suggest he is a little afraid of the response this news might receive from Stanhope and wants Osborne’s moral support? (“Only I thought I’d tell you, sir, so as the captain wouldn’t blame me”)

3. Page 17 to page 31

Stanhope arrives with Trotter.Look at the descriptions of both men.How does Stanhope react to Raleigh when he sees him?Look at the humour over food, especially between Mason and Totter.Why is so much fuss made over the pepper? And the apricots?Hibbert arrives. (Look at his description on page 24.)Contrast the way Stanhope speaks to Hibbert, telling him Mason has his supper, to try to forget about his neuralgia, advising him to “Get tight”, telling him he will take over from him at four o’clock, allowing him to have a candle to take to his dark dug-out, with the way he speaks of him after he has gone. Is our view of him coloured by Stanhope’s strong language and imagery? Look carefully at page 25 – “Another little worm trying to wriggle home ………….Pure bloody funk (i.e. cowardice), that’s all. He could eat if he wanted to” etc. and his tactics of speaking to the doctor before Hibbert can see him. Why is Stanhope behaving this way?

Notice how Osborne changes the subject to Raleigh.

Look carefully at the discussion between Osborne and Stanhope which begins at the bottom of page 25 about hero worship and how Stanhope confides in Stanhope and tells him of his fears that Raleigh will tell his sister how much he has changed. To understand his fear further look carefully at what Stanhope says about Madge, Raleigh’s sister (and compare it, if you can, with the view of the girls in the poem “Disabled” (“to please his Meg” the now disabled soldier joined up) and, possibly, “In Time of War” (the speaker wanted “to say, as heroes’ women say ….. ‘Go forth, do gloriously for my dear sake’) in which men

were put under a certain amount of pressure from girls and girlfriends not only to join up but also (a) to be heroes and (b) to return home unmaimed by physical or mental/psychological injury: “I just prayed to come through the war – and – and do things – and keep absolutely fit for her” and “When I went home on leave after six months it was jolly fine to feel I’d done a little to make her pleased” (i.e. won the Military Cross and risen to the rank of company commander) – see page 28. Stanhope thinks that if Raleigh had not been sent to his company he would have been able, after the war, to “go away for months and live in the open and get fit – and then go back to her”. Do you think it would be as easy as this after all that Stanhope has been through? Look also at what Stanhope sees as divided loyalties for Raleigh. If Raleigh is loyal to his sister, as any decent brother should be, he would feel duty-bound to tell her that her fiancé is not the man she thought he was. Is this why he becomes angry and tells Osborne to censor Raleigh’s letters and hope they are all killed so that Raleigh’s sister, Madge, will retain the image she had of Stanhope?

At the end of the act everything from Raleigh to Hardy’s lack of standards seems to ‘get on top of’ Stanhope. Not very much more than a boy himself, he would like not to have to bear such a heavy burden and for someone to look after him for once. Look again at how Osborne deals with this.

As the first act closes, notice how Osborne winds up the watch that is to be so significant later on and how the sound effects of “distant guns” rumbling constitute a constant reminder that the war, and all it entails, is never far away.

Act Two: Scene One

A reminder to keep looking at the stage directions, especially those which refer to light and dark. Try to think of what they suggest to the audience.

Trotter, Mason and jokes about porridge and bacon Trotter mentions that he heard a bird singing (see bottom of page 33) – a

reminder that life goes on and spring will come again, despite the war, with, perhaps just a hint of hope for the future.

Notice on page 34 one of the many references to the unnerving quiet (which is also mentioned in some of the poems we have read e.g. “Exposure”) “Too damn quiet. You can bet your boots the Boche is up to something ……..”

Look at Trotter and Osborne’s conversation about gardening as part of the comparisons between life at home and at the front. This is a quiet moment in which there is no action. As well as Trotter’s obvious patriotism (red geraniums, white lobelia and blue calceolaria) and pride in his garden (he carries a photograph of his prize “’olly ’ock”) (see page 35) it makes the audience think of a peaceful garden, far from the fighting and dying – a reminder of the home and country and peace for which they believed they were fighting. Osborne mentions how he built a rockery when he was home on leave and how he cycled through the woods

to get some primroses to grow in his garden. There is something nostalgic in his “They’ll be coming out again soon if they’ve got this sun at home”. This conversation enables us to see more of these two characters, which, coupled with further references later on to Osborne’s home life, makes his death even more poignant.

Trotter tells the story of how, ‘one morning last spring’ he and the soldiers he was with at the time mistook the smell of may blossom for gas (possible cross-reference to “Returning We Hear Larks” where the speaker compares birdsong falling on him and his fellow soldiers with death, which could, just as easily, “drop from the dark”. In both the world of nature is being compared and contrasted with the death and destruction caused by war).

Look at Osborne’s conversation with Raleigh, which begins on page 37, about rugby. In what ways is this significant and important? Is there a hint of hero worship on Raleigh’s part when he discovers Osborne has played for England? Why doesn’t Osborne want the other officers to know? Modesty? Or is it because “it doesn’t make much difference out here!” – the war being a great leveller, especially when so many of them face death? Is Osborne also talking about the fighting when he says “You don’t notice it when the game begins” or “You feel it more when there are only a few”?

Note Osborne’s story (on page 39) of when he was some distance away at Ypres, or Wipers as they called it. Remember this did not happen where they are now. Why does Osborne give this account of German compassion? (Note the ironic anti-climax (bathos) of the sentence “Next day we blew each other’s trenches to blazes” – compassion, maybe, on a human, individual level, but war is about politics and strategies.)

On page 40 notice how Stanhope takes his job very seriously, sending out a wiring party and planning protection on each side of his company as well as in front.

Note how, on page 42, Stanhope and Osborne refer to Trotter as having “no imagination”. Is this fair to Trotter?

Make a note of what Stanhope says (on page 43)about the way he feels: “Whenever I look at anything nowadays I see right through it” etc. It is as if all that his terrible experiences have heightened his sensitivity and his imagination. Even Osborne agrees that everybody out there “feels more keenly”. Stanhope feels lonely and cut off, as if he is “the only thing in the universe……you struggle to get back – and can’t. He actually wonders if he is going mad.

Look at the bottom of page 43 at a further reference to the unnerving quiet and the contrast between the natural world and the damage done to the landscape by war.

Remind yourself of Stanhope’s discussion with Osborne concerning Osborne’s last leave and the rockery he built – constructing something from nature, for the future, as opposed to harming the landscape. There is humour here, but underlying it is the pathos and irony of the two boys playing soldiers, perhaps wanting to be like their father. The peace and tranquillity of normal family life, his wife knitting socks and playing the piano, pretending there was no war – this scene lends poignancy to the end of the play.

Look closely at all your notes on the passage where Stanhope tries to stop Raleigh sending his letter home. Think about how this is made dramatically effective and the tension which arises. Contrast the shouting with the quiet and look at how the audience might be surprised by Stanhope completely losing his temper. Osborne is a great one for calming people down and changing the subject, but even he is surprised at Stanhope’s over-reaction, exclaiming “Good heavens, Stanhope!”

Note the build-up and how the audience must be waiting to hear what Raleigh has said about Stanhope. Note the irony that after all the fuss Stanhope has made, Raleigh’s comments are very complimentary (“He looked tired, but that’s because he works so frightfully hard and because of the responsibility…….Dennis is the finest officer in the battalion and the men simply love him ……”). Although Raleigh is little more than a schoolboy and has only just arrived at the front, does he have more intelligence, understanding and insight than we, and Stanhope, give him credit for? Or perhaps Osborne’s careful preparation has helped him to understand (see page 13: “You mustn’t expect to find him – quite the same …..You see, he’s been out here a long time. It – tells one a man – rather badly.”)

Act Two: Scene Two

Stanhope explains to the Company’s Sergeant Major, the senior non-commissioned officer, how he proposes to carry out the orders he has been given for when the German assault comes. It is quite clear to both of them what the fate of C Company will be. Notice how Stanhope can offer the Sergeant Major a whisky and still give orders and command respect. With a change of tone, Stanhope puts down his glass and is business-like, facing up to reality: “Now, look here, sergeant-major, we must expect this attack on Thursday morning, at dawn. The sergeant major also takes his job seriously, but cannot resist a touch of wry humour as he notes down everything with his blunt pencil and even pretends to write down Stanhope’s sweeping and unrealistic order to “advance and win the war” – perhaps this is his way of coping with orders to do the impossible!

The Colonel arrives with further orders for the raid. (Whatever we may think of the Colonel, he has stood up to the General and told him the night raid he wanted was ridiculous as there was no moon.) There is to be “a surprise daylight raid under a smoke screen from the trench-mortar people. When the Colonel suggests that Raleigh goes on the raid Stanhope does try to protect him by saying: “He’s awfully new to it all ……..it’s rotten to send a fellow who’s only just arrived.” It is only because the Colonel proposes sending an officer from another company that Stanhope has to agree as it is his responsibility and his company’s job and it would not be fair on another company, quite apart from the fact that he is proud of his company and it would reflect badly on the company and the men in it if they could not provide an officer for the

raid. Note that the Colonel’s language is one of understatement: “It’s all a damn nuisance…”

Go through your notes and your essay on the passage which begins on page 54, where Stanhope threatens to shoot Hibbert. This is one of the most dramatic scenes in the play, so make sure you can write in detail on what makes it dramatically effective. Look at what causes the tension and suspense and don’t forget that part of that tension comes from the audience having seen Stanhope over-react regarding Raleigh’s letter in a recent scene, so they want to know if Stanhope will lose control and shoot Hibbert. A surprising revelation is that Stanhope understands exactly how Hibbert is feeling and admits it – see “Because I feel the same – exactly the same…………We all feel like you do sometimes, if you only knew. I hate and loath it” etc. page 57. When judging Hibbert, or any of the others, bear in mind the pressure these men were under to maintain the stiff upper lip; it wasn’t done to admit how you felt, so the men found other ways of coping. Many of them feared loss of self-image as they struggled to live up to impossible heroic ideals. Look carefully both at the way in which Stanhope makes death less frightening so Hibbert can face it better and at the reasons Stanhope gives for staying and fighting (middle of page 58) and finally how Stanhope is prepared to enter into a little pact to help Hibbert – he won’t say anything about Hibbert’s behaviour if Hibbert promises not to tell anyone what a “blasted funk” Stanhope is. Finally he promises to “go up together” with Hibbert and hold his hand as they are both afraid.

Stanhope breaks the news about the raid to Osborne, whose immediate response is not for himself but “Why Raleigh?” Osborne takes the news calmly and asks pertinent questions. Note that, apart from the two officers, the men are to be made up of volunteers – it was the sign of an excellent company that its commanding officer could ask for volunteers, especially for a dangerous mission, and expect to get them.

When he finds out, Trotter cannot help commenting on how dangerous the raid will be and recounts the story of a similar raid a few nights previously, to the south of them – the trench-mortars knocked a hole in the German wire and the Germans tied pieces of red rag on each side of the hole, taunting the British by indicating they knew what they were planning to do and mockingly showing them the way. Osborne is reading “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Trotter cannot understanding that books can be read on more than one level . Is the quotation at the top of page 64 a parallel to what Osborne knows might happen to them on the raid – might he and Raleigh be “little fishes” caught with “gently smiling jaws”? Alternatively, it could be that Osborne is reading something that is pointless or meaningless just for fun and to distract his thoughts from the imminent raid.

Finally, note Raleigh’s naïve enthusiasm about having been chosen to take part in the raid – it’s “frightfully exciting” having been picked “specially”, when we know he was the only officer available!

Act Three: Scene One

As the deadline approaches Stanhope expresses to the Colonel his doubts about the timing and the organisation of the preliminaries to the raid on German lines. The Colonel is adamant that it must go ahead as planned. Although there is a touch of sarcasm from Stanhope regarding how “they can’t have it later because of dinner”, the Colonel maintains that he cannot “disobey orders”. He tries to make things sound better by saying that “the Boche will be firing into a blank fog and Osborne’s a cool, level-headed chap”. Note that the Colonel is reluctant to accept Stanhope’s suggestion that he go and speak to the men who are about to go on the raid. He does agree, but needs Stanhope to go with him - for support? because he does not know what to say to them? As he leaves he promises he will recommend Osborne and Raleigh for the Military Cross if they succeed, whereupon they “murmur” their thanks.

Note how Osborne leaves (a) a letter to his wife (b) his watch (c) his wedding ring for Stanhope to send to his wife anything happens to him (page 70). Note the symbolism of the ring – his marriage,and the watch – traditionally fathers left their watch to their eldest son –

his wife and sons will be the ones who are affected if he does not return. From half way down page 70 to the bottom of page 75 Osborne and

Raleigh wait for the moment when they must leave for the raid. Osborne tries to support Raleigh by assuring him that he too has the “wind up”, meaning they are both becoming jittery and nervous. After going over their instructions one more time, they begin to talk about anything just to keep their minds off the tense period of waiting. This includes “Alice Through the Looking-glass”, from which Raleigh is able to quote, showing that they are both on the same wavelength. This leads to a discussion about the New Forest – again, the beautiful heart of the country they are fighting for and its rich heritage. Raleigh is impressed by Osborne’s archaeological pursuits. They discuss the special dinner that has been organised for their return. Raleigh naively points to Osborne’s ring, not realising the possible outcome of the raid and why he has left it on the table. Finally Osborne advises Raleigh just to take his revolver; it is “something to hold”. Osborne lays his pipe carefully on the table without knocking out the burning ash – a symbol of hope for the future, that he will return and resume smoking it.

Pages 76 to 80: Revise in detail the notes you made on this scene in class and the essay you wrote on what made this passage dramatically effective. Remember to consider why Sherriff included the German boy, the behaviour of the sergeant major, the attitude of the colonel, Stanhope’s response to the colonel (especially his sarcasm when he is usually respectful to the Colonel), Raleigh’s shocked state as he reels from realising the harsh reality of what war is really like, now that he has blood on his hands – literally and metaphorically, the poignant image of Osborne’s watch and ring as Stanhope stares at them and snaps at Raleigh when he sits on Osborne’s bed.

Act Three: Scene Two

Note how, at the beginning of this scene, the atmosphere is very different from the last one. The celebration dinner is going ahead, without Osborne, and Raleigh is missing. Stanhope is in the middle of an indelicate story. The hilarity and the laughter are forced and sustained only by liberal quantities of drink. What do Hibbert’s stories about girls and his collection of dirty postcards add to your general impression of Hibbert? Also, remember how, having had too much to drink, Hibbert oversteps the mark, ignores Stanhope’s hints and tells Stanhope to “go to bed”. When reprimanded for his audacity he sniggers, which makes Stanhope really angry and Hibbert sneaks off to his dug-out.

When Trotter comments that he has never seen Hibbert so cheerful Stanhope says to Trotter: “Nothing upsets you, does it?” Trotter replies “Little you know”. Does this suggest to you that Stanhope, and perhaps we, are wrong to think Trotter is not upset by war and death, but maybe his way of coping is with food and humour and by talking about the weather and other things and not about what might happen, although he is only too painfully aware of it as he has been in the army for some time and tells stories of what has happened elsewhere? Another way of coping for him is by doing and not thinking – just getting on with what has to be done. Possibly he cannot, or does not want to discuss his feelings because when Stanhope insists “But you always feel the same” Trotter just quips “I feel all blown out now”, referring to the fact that he has eaten too much and feels bloated. Stanhope confirms that Trotter is now his second-in-command.

Raleigh returns and Stanhope is furious that he did not join them for dinner and even more angry when he discovers that Raleigh has been sharing the rations of the ordinary soldiers. Why, exactly is Stanhope so angry? Is it because Raleigh has not behaved like an officer and made himself look like a fool in front of Stanhope’s men? Is it because he has ignored Stanhope’s orders and insulted Trotter and Hibbert by not turning up? Is it because that Raleigh does have a point about Stanhope’s resenting his being there? Why does Stanhope force Raleigh to eat his dinner? Possibly for all of these reasons, but Stanhope really snaps when Raleigh suggests that Stanhope’s eating dinner implies he is not upset by the loss of Osborne. When Stanhope explains that he has lost “the one man I could trust – my best friend – the one man I could talk to man to man – who understood everything” and that he drinks to forget because this is more than he can bear, Raleigh realises that he has misjudged Stanhope, but Stanhope, at breaking point now, and with no Osborne to calm him, cannot accept his apology.

Act Three: Scene 3

Mason wakes the officers, who prepare to join their men in the trenches as the German bombardment that will herald the assault becomes imminent. Trotter is cheerfully singing. Stanhope teases him by throwing some coins at him, as if he were singing the street. The sergeant

major arrives for his final instructions and Stanhope remembers to tell him to make sure the men have some rum in their tea. The sound of shells is heard. Trotter goes up to the trenches.

Raleigh appears and Stanhope is formal towards him, telling him to ‘go up’, so they part with nothing more being said. The shells are falling steadily.

Stanhope calls for Hibbert, who appears and moves “as if half asleep”. He asks for “a drop of water”, just as the cry of “Stretcher bearers” indicates that the company has suffered its first casualty. Hibbert is reluctant to move, making every excuse to delay, but denying he is too afraid to go. Stanhope tells him he can go up with Mason, who understands what Stanhope is trying to do and diplomatically says; “I’d like to come along with you if you don’t mind, sir. I ain’t bin up in this part of the front line. Don’t want to get lorst.” Stanhope gives Hibbert the dignity of making it look as if he is asking Hibbert to show Mason the way, which Hibbert acknowledges with “a slight smile”.

The sergeant reappears to tell Stanhope about the shelling and to ask what should be done with the injured. Stanhope gives orders for them to be taken to the big dug-out as the shelling is “pretty thick” in the “Lancer’s Alley” and “Fosse Way” trenches

The sounds of shells, grenades and rifle fire intensify. Stanhope is about to go up when the sergeant major comes back to tell him that Raleigh has been hit in the back with a shell, which has fractured his spine. Stanhope tells him to bring Raleigh down into the dug-out. The shelling is very heavy; nevertheless the sergeant major goes off to do as Stanhope has asked. When the sergeant major returns with Raleigh Stanhope insists they fetch a stretcher to take him back to base, even though it is very dangerous to do so. Look at what the stage directions tell you about the care Stanhope takes over Raleigh and also at how Raleigh compares his injury to the sort of blow in the back he sustained playing rugby. When Raleigh becomes gradually aware that his injury is more serious he even feels guilty for being in the dug-out when everyone is involved in the fighting. Stanhope protects him from the truth as much as he can: “It’s just gone through a bit, Jimmy” and, as cheerfully as he can, tells he has a “Blighty one” and will be going home. He cannot apologise in words for shouting at Raleigh the night before, but does his best to comfort and look after him. The audience read the signs when Raleigh says it is dark and he is cold but Raleigh dies before Stanhope returns with a blanket. Stanhope is deeply affected by Raleigh’s death. Notice the irony of Stanhope having laid Raleigh on Osborne’s bed when he shouted at him for sitting there earlier. Now both are dead. Notice also the ‘angry’ red of the lighting and how “the thudding of the shells rises and falls like an angry sea”, perhaps reflecting Stanhope’s anger. When the soldier comes with Trotter’s message that he is needed urgently, he does his duty, after affectionately running his fingers over Raleigh’s tousled hair. A candle burns, the noise increases, a shell bursts on the dug-out, snuffing out the candle, just as Raleigh’s life has been snuffed out. The dug-out, having been hit, caves in and collapses, forming a symbolic tomb for young Raleigh. Meanwhile the “dull rattle of machine-guns and the fevered

spatter of rifle fire” continue, reminding the audience that the war goes on and more young lives will be sacrificed.

Reminders about the CHARACTERS(Note the cross-section of young, middle-aged, enthusiastic novice and exhausted veteran, married man, family man, engaged young man with girl waiting at home, public school boys, officer who has come up through the ranks, Colonel, NCO and ordinary soldiers.)

Captain Dennis STANHOPE

Physical description – page 17

Takes his responsibilities very seriously: Trenches Doesn’t take the easy way out, even when tired and Osborne offers to help

lighten the load “That’s all right uncle, I’ll see to it” (page 21) Organises wiring parties to protect his men (page 40) Does what he has to do when the Colonel comes to tell about the need for

a raid

Is considerate and fair towards his men: Keeps his word, when Trotter asks if he can take a few more minutes to

finish his meal Stanhope says: “No, I told Hibbert he’d be relieved at eight”. (page 22)

Looks after Raleigh and sends him up with Osborne the first time he goes on duty (even given the fact that he knows Raleigh, we are given the impression that this is how he would treat a newcomer, whoever he was) (page 44).

Prepared to indulge his men just a little to help them cope – e.g. he thinks Trotter’s scheme with the circles is ridiculous, but still says: “You better go and relieve Hibbert. Then you can come back at eleven o’clock and black in three of your bloody little circles (though when he is under even more pressure and Trotter is not present he does say: “At the of the forty-fifth circle I’m going to draw a picture of Trotter being blown up in four pieces” – see discussion about Trotter having no imagination on page 42)

Joins in the jokes about the “onion tea” (page 59) Works late, but does not want to disturb the men: “I’d rather sleep by the

table here. I can get up and work without disturbing you” (page 24) Makes sure the men have some rum to give them Dutch courage before

the raid (page 68) and tea with rum before the attack (page 94) and he offers the sergeant-major a drop of whisky when he comes for his instructions (and makes sure he is allowed to finish it when the Colonel turns up).

He acknowledges that there are only two ways of coping with the strain - pretending to be ill and going home and drink (page 28)

Experiences conflict between what he is and what he is expected to be – by the men, by his superiors, by Madge (Raleigh’s sister) e.g. “She thinks I’m a wonderful chap – commanding a company …..She doesn’t know that if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I’d go mad with fright” (to Osborne page 27) and “I just prayed to come through the war – and – and do things – and keep absolutely fit for her, When he went home, having won the Military Cross, he felt he had “done a little to make her pleased” (page 28). He sees Raleigh’s arrival as a humiliation: “….to have come to me. I might at least have been spared that” (page 27)One of the problems over Raleigh concerns the fact that he now has divided loyalties. Stanhope would want him to be decent and honest, especially regarding his sister, but this might mean warning his sister that the man she plans to marry is not the man she thought he was (see page 29). He comes close to breaking point and Osborne has to put him to bed (page 31)

Look at his description of how his terrible experiences have heightened his sensitivity so he feels everything more keenly (page 43) . It seems to him that he is going mad and is never going to be able to regain his sanity: “ ….everything’s going farther and farther away – till you’re the only thing in the world – and then the world begins going away – until you’re the only thing in – in the universe – and you struggle to get back – and can’t …” (page 43)

Look again in detail at the scene where he snaps over Raleigh’s letter. Remember PAGES 45, 46 AND 47 so you can find them quickly and easily. Study what Stanhope says before Raleigh appears with his letter: “After coming in out of the night air, this place must have reeked of candle-grease and rats – and whisky. One thing a boy like that can’t stand is a smell that isn’t fresh. He looked at me as I’d hit him between the eyes – as if I’d spat on him…” (page 45). Then, on page 46: “Don’t ‘Dennis’ me! Stanhope’s my name. You’re not at school! Go and inspect your rifles!” Stanhope is “trembling and breathing heavily”

Look again at your notes on when he threatens to shoot Hibbert (pages54-58). What is he trying to do and why? Note Stanhope’s admission to Hibbert (a junior officer) of his fears: “… because I feel the same – exactly the same! Every little noise up there makes me feel – just as you feel …..We all feel like you do ….” How does Stanhope use reason and ‘a bit of psychology’ to try to convince Hibbert to stay and do what needs to be done? Look at the arguments he uses: “If you went – and left Osborne and Trotter and Raleigh and all those men up there to do your work – could you ever look a man straight in the face again – in all your life. You may be wounded. Then you can go home and feel proud”. You may remember these nationalistic sentiments from you reading of “Henry V”, when King Henry tells his men, just before the Battle of Agincourt that who ever fights with him on St. Crispin’ Day will, if he survives, show his scars to those around him every year on the anniversary of the battle and feel proud he was there and those at home will regret that they were not there (“Henry V: Act IV, scene 3). Remember how he offers to go on duty with him to support him and he

is prepared to promise not to tell the others what has taken place ( and Stanhope has taken a risk telling Hibbert because Hibbert could blurt it out to the men, which would be bad for morale). He is even thoughtful enough to send in some tea to help him get up after his rest. He tells Hibbert: “We’ll go up together and hold each other’s hands – and jump every time a rat squeaks”.

Stanhope joins Hibbert in drinking, joking and telling risqué stories after Osborne’s death, but why is Stanhope so angry (his temper has “risen to a trembling fury – he can scarcely control his voice”) that Raleigh has eaten with the men? Is Stanhope’s anger about Osborne’s death, or the pressure put on him by Raleigh’s presence or both? Is the public and private conflict coming together here to push Stanhope to breaking point? See “You think there’s no limit to what a man can bear?” (page 91)

Despite what has happened the night before, early on the morning of the attack Stanhope is organised and efficient and concerned about the men, but he cannot bring himself to say anything to Raleigh as he leaves.

He cannot say anything to Raleigh, it is too late when Raleigh is brought into the dug-out fatally injured, but look at the care he takes of him and the way he treats him.

LIEUTENANT OSBORNE

Dependable, reliable, philosophical and fair. Looked up to by his fellow officers and affectionately called “uncle”:

Willing to give Hibbert the benefit of the doubt: “I wonder if he really is bad. He looks rotten” (page 25)

He tries to make things better for the men, asking his wife to send a packet of Lux and giving it to Mason, not with orders but with a suggestion that he “tried it on something” – subtle, tactful.

He expects Mason to preserve the middle-class niceties of cutting and buttering the bread and not bringing the loaf as it is, but he is respectful and does say “please” when speaking to Mason and not ordering him to do things.

On Raleigh’s arrival he talks to him about school, to make him feel more comfortable (pages 11-12)

Encourages Raleigh to see the Very lights as “romantic” and not sinister or threatening or a reminder of the war because “it helps” (page 16)

He tries, tactfully, to suggest to Raleigh that Stanhope has changed and the reasons why: “You know, Raleigh, you mustn’t expect to find him – quite the same ……You see, he’s been out here a long time. It – tells on a man – rather badly” (page 13)

He explains the routine and procedures to Raleigh so that he can adjust as quickly as possible e.g. “We never undress when we’re in the line. You can take your boots off now and then in the daytime, but it’s better to keep pretty well dressed always” (page 14) and to Raleigh as he goes to inspect rifles for the first time: “You needn’t bother if the wood’s a bit dirty – just the barrels and magazines and all the metal parts.” (page 45)

Although he is nervous himself, he helps Raleigh as they wait to go on the raid and they talk about the coffee, the New Forest, archaeology etc. to take their minds off what is to come, then he helps him prepare and gives him advice about his revolver (pages 71-73)

He is a help, support and confidant to Stanhope: Stanhope can confide in him about being unable to cope without drink.

“If I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I’d go mad with fright” (page 27) and he can talk to him about his concerns over Madge and Raleigh being there.

He is the only one able to give Stanhope advice e.g. about going on leave, even though Stanhope might not take Osborne’s advice.

As he is older and like an uncle he is the only one whom Stanhope can allow to help him, without appearing humiliated e.g. Osborne putting Stanhope to bed, or trying to restrain him when he is angry and at breaking point.

Stanhope can talk to Osborne when he thinks he is going mad (page 43) and Osborne tries to reassure him.

Osborne understands why Stanhope is the way he is and as well as trying to help Raleigh to understand, he tries to help others to understand and not be critical e.g. Hardy: (whilst at the same time filling the audience in on some important information to take into consideration) “Do you know

how long he’s been out here? ………….Nearly three years. He came out straight from school ………..He’s never had a rest. Other men come over here and go home again ill, and young Stanhope goes on sticking it, month in, month out……. And because he’s stuck it till his nerves have got battered to bits, he’s called a drunkard” (page 6)

He is very modest, especially about his playing rugby for England, which impresses Raleigh.

He has a way of keeping things in perspective e.g. he measures distances in terms of a rugger field (page 37) and he is resigned to accept what has to be, even though he all too aware of the dangers ahead (page 41) – when told he has been selected to go on the raid he says: “O well”. He is realistic and knows he may be killed – hence his careful thought for his wife and family – letter, ring and watch. (page 70)

Osborne is given quite a well-rounded character/personality – schoolmaster, wife, boys – a family man who is obviously very fond of his family – writes to his wife, thinks of her playing the piano and darning socks, has fond memories of playing tin soldiers with the boys. Likes reading, the countryside, archaeology. Proud of his garden and especially his rockery – went out into the country to find some primroses to plant there, wonders how they are getting on and if spring has come at home – a reminder of the country and values the men were fighting for.

His way of coping is by being philosophical – one way of coping is being losing himself in a book or a letter home or focusing on the world of nature and he seems to try to help others (and possibly himself too) by changing the subject when things are becoming too bleak and depressing.

Like most of the others, he accepts that the war has to be fought and is willing to play his part in it, even if this means sacrificing his life – comment on the poignancy of his death – and he is not bitter against the Germans but tells how they, too, can show their humanity and compassion in an incident he experienced earlier in the war at Ypres (Wipers) (page 39).

SECOND LIEUTENANT (Jimmy) RALEIGH

Raleigh represents the naive recruit who has enthusiastically joined up thinking the war will be exciting and he might end up a hero (look at his reaction to having chosen to go on the raid: “I say – it’s most frightfully exciting!” and his comments about how good it would be if they won the Military Cross) and contrast this with his disillusionment after Osborne’s death (page 80) when he has been confronted with the harsh reality of war.

Look at how he is linked to the theme of hero worship and all his comments about Stanhope at school and how he looked up to him. Look also at how he is in awe of Osborne when he discovers he has played for England.

How do you react when Stanhope completely loses his temper with Raleigh over his letter home? (Look again at your essay on this.) When Raleigh’s letter is finally read aloud by Osborne what does it reveal about Raleigh? Has he, perhaps, listened to Osborne or does he understand more about Stanhope that he, and we, give him credit for?

Look again at the passage where Stanhope is almost uncontrollably angry with Raleigh after Osborne’s death, when Raleigh has failed to join the other officers for the special dinner. Is part of our sympathy for him because, although he is learning very quickly, he still does not understand how men do things like get drunk and laugh to hide, or avoid facing up to, grief and unbearable loss?

Think about Raleigh’s death – it represents the death of so many enthusiastic young men, scarcely out of school, who had the whole of their lives ahead of them and who sacrificed that future. His youth is emphasized by the fact that he compares his injury to a kick at rugger and pathos is added when, like a team player, he feels guilty about lying in the dug-out when everybody else is “up there” and telling Stanhope not to wait if he wants “to be getting on”.

He, no doubt, represents the tragic loss of young life in the war, being a young man with his whole life ahead of him.

SECOND LIEUTENANT TROTTER

Physical description – page 17Ways of coping:

Food – red, fat, round, tunic bursting Humour – Mason: “That one’s a cutlet

Trotter: “Well, it won’t let me cut it!” (pun – get it?) (Find other examples)

Irony – “Never knew anything like a war for upsetting meals” Changing the subject to food – from the unnerving and extraordinary to

the reassuring ordinary: he is not afraid to talk about the war (part of his way of coping) but when what he is talking becomes too much he changes the subject, usually to fool: “Too damn quiet. You can bet your boots the Boche is up to something. The big attack soon, I reckon. I don’t like it, Uncle. Pass the jam.”

Chart (page 22) something he can focus on to help him convince himself that the time when others will take over from them at the front is coming ever-nearer.

Lower middle-class and has come up through the ranks (page 33 where he recounts what happened to a cook they once had before he became an officer) – a reminder that the characters in the play represent a cross-section, unlike at the beginning of the war when Sherriff himself was not allowed to enlist as an officer because he had only attended a public school. He is portrayed with the speak characteristics of his class – dropping his h’s, leaving ‘g’ off the ends of words, colloquial words such as “blinkin’” and occasional deviations from received pronunciation e.g. “dooty” and “feller” (See Language and Dialogue.)

Osborne and Stanhope say he has no imagination but they are, perhaps, being unfair to him. He may not appreciate “Alice in Wonderland”, but he does have other qualities.

He is quite realistic and faces up to the fact that they are in a dangerous situation, but takes his orders seriously and carries them out, but he does not make himself out to be a hero, he will say what he is thinking e.g. he does not want to have to go crawling on his stomach in no-man’s-land just after eating the rather dubious cutlets Mason has just served up (perhaps using food and humour to cover his concern)

See ‘Changing the subject to food above’ – it is not that he does not talk about the war and its imminent dangers, but when it gets too much he reverts to food e.g. page 63, when speaking of the dangers of the raid he recalls what happened on a raid a few nights previously “The trench-mortars go and knock on ‘ole in the Boch wire to let our fellers through – and in the night the Boche went out and tied bits o’ red rag on each side of the ‘ole … And even then our fellers ‘ad to make the raid. It was murder”. No doubt he also thinks about what could happen to Osborne and Raleigh at this point because he quickly changes the subject to ask “Doesn’t this taste of onions?” in relation to the tea he is drinking.

He is not insensitive to other things and notices the song of a bird in the midst of the trenches, recognizing it as a sign of spring. He cannot get it

out of his head and says it made him feel “quite braced up”. A little later he recounts how one morning the previous spring he and the soldiers he was with mistook the smell of a may tree for a gas attack and how foolish they felt: “We did feel a lot of silly poops” (page 36)

We learn a little of Trotter’s home life. His wife (or ‘ole lady) writes to him often and tells what is in the newspapers. We imagine him “walking round in … slippers after supper, smoking (his) pipe”. And in his garden. He is so proud of his “’olly’ocks” that he carries a photograph of them with him and his red, white and blue geraniums, lobelia and calceolaria look “rather nice in the summer”. He is very human – just an ordinary man, who would rather be at home, but who is doing his best and coping as best he can.

He is not always as quick to comprehend as he might be, but once he does he is more than ready to be considerate: Trotter is expressing his, commonsense opinion that it is “damn ridiculous making a raid when the Boche are expecting it”(page 63). When Osborne says “You might avoid talking to Raleigh about it” Trotter does not at first understand, but when Osborne spells it out and says: “There’s no need to tell him it’s murder” Trotter is only too willing to try to protect Raleigh and says: “Oh, Lord! No. I’m sorry ‘e’s got to go. ‘E’s a nice young feller.”

Compare Trotter with Hibbert in the scene on pages 81-86 when they have just finished dinner. Trotter does not join in the stories about women (we are not sure whether Stanhope and especially Hibbert are exaggerating). When Hibbert talks about motor cars Trotter says he prefers walking or “shanks’ mare”. He tells Hibbert he has had too much champagne and he does not think whisky on top of that is a good idea. He prefers a picture of Margate Pier to Hibbert’s dirty postcards. He has appreciated the meal, feels bloated after it and just wants a cup of tea.

Paradoxically, he seems to appreciate Raleigh’s feelings after the raid, but in trying to stand up for Raleigh he inadvertently fails to be sufficiently sensitive to Stanhope’s feelings (perhaps because Stanhope is good at hiding his feelings): “I reckon that raid shook ‘im up more’n we thought ……….I ‘ope ‘e gets the M.C.; ‘e’s just the kid I’d like if ever I ‘ave a kid – strong and plucky” provokes: “Oh, for God’s sake forget that bloody raid! Think I want to talk about it?” from Stanhope.

Stanhope thinks Trotter does not feel things but Trotter says: “Little you know”. Maybe he does feel, but cannot express his feelings, or maybe he thinks it is inappropriate to express them, maybe it is a ‘class’ thing, perhaps suppressing his emotions is his way of coping

Trotter always takes orders and carries them out. He is respectful and fairly self-deprecating and does not assume he will automatically become second in command after Osborne’s death (see page 87), but when he says to Stanhope “I won’t let you down” we believe him and in Act 3 scene 3 we see him getting on with the job, using his initiative and getting Hibbert and Raleigh up and ready for the attack.

SECOND LIEUTENANT HIBBERT

In an atmosphere where it was important not only to be able to face life in the trenches, but to live up to impossible ideals and not lose face, Hibbert is the one who has not found a way of coping, but he cannot admit it and so tries to find a way out through his ‘neuralgia’ which will allow him to go home. Have you any sympathy for the fact that he cannot cope (regardless of what he does about it)? Stanhope tells him to “get tight” (page 24), but look at what happens when he has too much to drink – he cannot hold his drink to the extent that Stanhope can.

Are your perceptions of Hibbert coloured by Stanhope’s emotive language: “Another little worm trying to wriggle home …… pure bloody funk ……… “Artful little swine” (page 25). At this stage we do not know why Stanhope uses such strong language. Given what we learn later on, does Stanhope react so strongly because he feels exactly the same as Hibbert and yet he has had to cope with the strain for three years? Might you not think that Stanhope should be more sympathetic if this is the case?

Carefully re-read pages 54-58 – the confrontation between Stanhope and Hibbert where Stanhope threatens to shoot Hibbert, and look again at the work you did on this. Be aware of the penalties for cowardice, desertion and for striking a superior officer. Look at what Stanhope is doing in trying to spare Hibbert the disgrace (and the disgrace to his family) of being shot as a deserter. Does it surprise you that Stanhope is prepared to call the shooting “an accident”? Do you feel more respect for Hibbert at the of the incident? If so, why? If not, why not?

If Hibbert has gone up in your estimation following the above incident and the help and support Stanhope has given him does he them go down again when drunk after dinner, on pages 81-86. What is your opinion of his behaviour when he tells stories about women (Do you think there is any truth in these stories, or is it just the drink talking?) and what about the dirty postcards? Trotter is kinder about Hibbert than Stanhope:”Satisfies ‘is lust, I s’pose – poor little feller” in contrast to Stanhope’s: “Does his repulsive little mind made you sick?”. What about Hibbert behaviour to Stanhope when the former tells his superior officer to go to bed and sniggers when reprimanded by Stanhope? Is Stanhope justified in being angry at this point? Why?

What is your attitude to Hibbert’s reluctance to go up to face the attack and his delaying tactics?

MASON

Assigned to the officers as cook-batman, but also an ordinary soldier and when the attack comes he returns to his platoon to fight. Stanhope says to him: “When you’ve cleared your kitchen you must dress (i.e. dress appropriately for battle) and join your platoon in the line” (page 93)

Obviously his humour is a very important part of the play. When officers off duty meet together for a brief meal food in general is not only the safest and easiest topic to take their minds off their situation, but also one which they can all participate in and joke about. (Note that Hibbert, in refusing to eat, perhaps to make himself ill enough to be sent home, separates himself from this activity and therefore this means of relieving some of the tension.) Look again at “onion soup with tea leaves” and find some examples of Mason’s witty remarks about the food.

As well as general relief of tension by jokes about the food, Mason shows that he can be more specific in his use of humour and diffuse a serious moment. For example, when there is talk of the attack and they know they could all be wiped out, Mason deliberately asks Stanhope if he would like “a nice plate of sardines” when he knows Stanhope has been drinking and sardines, which were tinned in oil, were probably the last thing Stanhope’s stomach would want, but it breaks a very tense silence.

Mason does also show concern for others. When he has to send an ordinary soldier to ‘A’ Company’s Headquarters for pepper he tells him quietly and “confidentially” to ask for “a screw of pepper” so that the soldier will not be laughed at or embarrassed and know what to ask for.

He is prepared to make an effort. He does his best to make a special meal and conjures up a pudding with “ration biscuits and jam” and when Osborne’s wife sends the packet of Lux he does wash his dishcloths which helps matters considerably.

He can be tactful as well as amusing and his seriousness just before the raid (page 76) where he refrains from any quips and just wishes Osborne and Raleigh “Good luck” adds to the serious mood and build-up of tension.

He is supportive, conscientious and uses his initiative, knows when to be ready with a cup of tea, for example early on the morning of the attack. He packs up sandwiches for the officers during the attack, though when Stanhope enters the banter and Mason is out of his depth he uses his wit for a quick repost – see page 95:

Mason: Your sambriges sir. ‘Arf bully beef and ‘arf sardine. Sardine on top, sir.

Stanhope: How delicious. No pate de foie gras? Mason: No sir. The milkman ‘asn’t been yet.

Look at pages 60-61 when Mason asks Osborne if he wants him to cut the bread and butter or bring the loaf. Osborne replies “cut it please”. This shows that Mason understands that for Osborne, even under conditions in the trenches, the niceties and etiquette of normal middle-class life must be preserved – to be served with his bread sliced and buttered, rather than to have to cut it himself, to have the jam brought separately, even in a pot rather than in a dish is important. Mason understands to whom details are important and to whom they are not so important.

For some, one of the poignant moments in the play comes with Mason’s last exit as he displays a touch of genuine humanity and diplomacy when he realises what Stanhope is trying to do for Hibbert and humbly plays along: “I’d like to come along of you if you don’t mind sir. I ain’t bin up in this part of the front line. Don’t want to get lost”.

CAPTAIN HARDY

Introduces audience to the conditions at the front – wet socks (because it was always wet underfoot in the trenches and in the dug-out, contaminated water (which is bad enough before the authorities try to put some disinfectant in it), rats, inadequate supplies, grenades (rusty), gum boots (odd numbers of left and right feet)

In conversation with Osborne Hardy tells us how some of the men, especially from the other companies, see Stanhope “drinking like a fish” and he is regarded as a freak at a side show. Osborne, on the other hand, says: “He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got”, “his experience alone makes him worth a dozen people like me” and “There isn’t a man to touch him as a commander of men. He’ll command the battalion one day …….” and the love and respect he commands from his men is shown when Osborne says: “You don’t know him as I do; I love that fellow, I’d go t hell with him.” This makes the audience curious and they want to meet Stanhope so they can judge for themselves.

Hardy’s comments tell us a little about Osborne and how he is regarded: “It sticks out a mile. I know he’s got pluck and all that, but, damn it, man, your’re twice his age – and think what a dear, level-headed old thing you are.” (pages 4 and 6)

A sharp contrast is established between Hardy and Stanhope:(a) Hardy does not care as much about his men and does not know where they sleep when they are off-duty (page 3)(b) Osborne establishes that Hardy did not check the list of supplies when

he took over, which he was supposed to - he thinks the sergeant-major did it.

(c) Hardy does not want to see Stanhope for the handover because Stanhope “he’s so fussy about the trenches” which Hardy admits are “rather dirty”. This is something which Stanhope is very annoyed about (i) because Hardy has not done his job properly and (ii) the conditions will be appalling for Stanhope and they will have to clear up the mess, which is not fair on them (which shows he thinks of them as well as himself).

Hardy (in telling Osborne) provides the audience with information about the circumstances in which the play is set in relation to the forthcoming attack and its severity: “By the way, you know the big German attack’s expected any day now?” There is information that the Germans are moving reinforcements up to the front and Hardy is still about the consequences: “I should think you’ll get it – right in the neck”. (page 3)

Hardy also provides a little more information about Stanhope – how his father is vicar, how he has not been home on leave (even when he could go) and how his nerves are “shot to pieces”.

Hardy’s way of coping?- singing (about girls!)- drinking- insouciance (i.e. lack of concern, making light of things) e.g.

“Well, I hope you have a nice six days. Don’t forget to change your clothes if you get wet” (page 7) and “ A dug-out got blown up

and came down in the men’s tea. They were frightfully annoyed.” (page 2)

- earwig races (to pass the time and take their minds off other things) (page 8)

A thought: Stanhope is clearly a nervous wreck even before Raleigh arrives. Obviously much of the stress is caused by being constantly under fire, but does he put himself under even more pressure by trying to do his job properly and taking his responsibilities (especially to the men) very seriously? He does join in some of the banter (e.g. about the oniony tea), but he cannot make light of things or neglect important things and sing like Hardy does. So, in a way, it is ironic that Hardy survives because he is negligent and uncaring and Stanhope has a reputation for drinking and ‘losing it’ because he tries so hard!

THE COLONEL

The Colonel is answerable to the unseen Brigadier, who, the Colonel says, has issued orders for the raid. When Stanhope suggests the plans be altered and a surprise raid be made further up the line the Colonel replies: “I’ve done all I can, but my report’s got to be at headquarters by seven”. He represents the high command, whose efficiently and tactics, both at the time and subsequently, have called into question (remember “Base Details” by Siegfried Sassoon). He is bluff, unsure of himself when giving instructions about the raid, he is unwilling to go and talk to the men who are going on the raid (page 69), reluctant to go and see them on his own without Stanhope. He thinks the prospect of winning the Military Cross is sufficient incentive for men to risk their lives on a dangerous raid.

After the raid he is insensitive to the fate of the participants. All he can think about is the success of the raid and the way in which it will reflect well on him: “Splendid, Stanhope! We’ve got all we wanted …. I must go right away and ‘phone the brigadier. He’ll be very pleased about it. It’s a feather in our cap.”(page 79). By this attitude he elicits from Stanhope, who usually obeys orders and accepts authority, a rare note of sarcasm, which shows Stanhope’s concern for the men and especially his grief over the loss of Osborne: “How awfully nice – if the brigadier’s pleased.” Only then does the Colonel remember to ask and he does so rather hesitantly, as if he does not really want to know, possibly because he does not know how to react if Stanhope’s officers have been killed: “Oh – er what about the raiding-party – are they all – safely back?” and he does not know what to say to Stanhope’s unexpected further sarcasm: “oh – er – what – er - ?” All he can do is say “I’m very sorry, poor Osborne” and then turn to Raleigh, expecting him to be enthusiastic about the Military Cross. When Raleigh is in such a state of shock he cannot speak and can hardly speak the Colonel tells him to “sit down” and have a rest.

Notice how food is even used by the Colonel – to increase morale – fish for the meeting prior to the raid and chicken to celebrate the success of the raid.

You might also look at his behaviour to the captured German boy on page 77. Some find his weak attempts to speak German are an embarrassment and reflect badly on him, others think it typical of his class, rank or of the British in general and/or temporarily amusing, providing a moment of comic relief before the questioning of the frightened boy continues.

THE SERGEANT-MAJOR

Physically strong (he carries Raleigh down into the dug-out at the end) He is the symbolic embodiment of the ordinary soldiers in ‘C’ Company. He is the official link between the men and their commander. Through his conversations with Stanhope we are made aware of the full

implications of the situation the company will be in when the attack comes

His conversations with Stanhope show Stanhope is organised and knows what he is doing, which inspires confidence in him (see page 49)

He shows Stanhope can offer a non-commissioned officer a drink in a genuine act of consideration, and still give orders and command respect (something which comes from mutual respect and not straight away – something Raleigh has yet to find out)

He does his job in controlling the captured German boy, is embarrassed when the boy begs for his pocket book (which shows he is not deliberately vindictive) and is, in fact, quite kindly to the boy, referring to his as “sonny” , telling him they are not going to hurt him and giving him his possessions back “with a smile”, in an attempt to reassure the frightened prisoner. (see page 77)

His wry sense of humour helps him to accept that he is being asked to do the impossible: he asks a sensible question: “… what ’appens when the Boche ’as all got round the back of us?. When told by Stanhope, somewhat ironically, that they then “advance and win the war”, the sergeant-major replies, pretending to make a note of the instruction, as he has with all the other instructions Stanhope has given him: “Win the war. Very good sir.”

The passage-based question

This may ask you to discuss the dramatic effect of the passage (i.e. the effect this section of the play may have on the audience OR, possibly, the effect on the characters of something which has just happened). Recent questions have asked about dramatic effect or how the passage retains the audience’s attention. Some have combined a question about dramatic effect with a request for comments on the behaviour of one the characters in the passage (meaning “What is your impression of this character in this passage?)

Whatever the question, make sure your answer makes very specific, detailed reference to this passage, analysing the effects created by the words and phrases used. However, you may be asked, or expected, to refer briefly to something which has happened earlier or will happen later in the play.

Some points to bear in mind:

How is suspense created? Are there just tense moments (if so, say which they are and explain why they are tense) or is the whole scene tense and full of suspense because of what is about to happen or might happen? Remember that in this play apparently insignificant exchanges can add to the build-up of tension because of the sense of waiting anxiously.

Dramatic irony. Is there anything WE, the audience, know, which is not known by the character(s) on stage

Is there any other form of irony? What is the prevailing mood or atmosphere of the passage? Does it

contrast strongly with what has just happened, or does it change within the passage because of something that happens or something someone says or the arrival of another character?

Is there any HUMOUR? What purpose does it serve? A means of coping with a nightmarish situation generally or brief comic relief before continuing with the serious and tragic aspects of the play?

Are there any surprises resulting from someone acting out of character, or showing a side of his character which we have not seen or does a character develop further in some way during the passage?

What is contributed by the stage directions? Look carefully at the instructions which are given regarding the tone of voice in which a character says something. Look also at the instructions regarding lighting and sound effects.

What are the effects of silences and pauses? (It would probably not be a good idea to try to write about all of these, just pick the most significant ones.)

Look for the use of dashes. These suggest incoherent speech which might be designed to convey how a character cannot speak in complete sentences because he is so angry, or upset, or shocked.

Is the audience’s sympathy aroused at any stage? How and why? Does the sympathy of the audience first sway in favour of a character and then against him or vice-versa? For example, might one have sympathy for,

say, Stanhope at the beginning of the passage but then lose it later in the passage?

Are there any specific character traits e.g. Trotter talking about food, Osborne diplomatically changing the subject?

How is speech used? Is there any upper class/public school-type slang used, such as “topping”, “frightfully”, “jolly decent”, “ a good chap”,“jolly bucked”,“righto”, “go in like blazes” or “awfully nice-looking girl”? Is the speech like Trotter’s – dropping h’s off the beginnings of words and g’s off the end or pronouncing words slightly differently like “dooty” or “feller” or, as Mason says “sambridges”?

Use of SYMBOLISM for poignancy e.g. Osborne’s ring and watch, Osborne’s unemptied pipe, the dug-out caving in like a tomb for Raleigh at the end. How do you think an audience would re-act to such things?

TOPICS TO THINK ABOUT

The role of HUMOUR. Don’t waffle – be specific about how and why humour is used- e.g. for comic relief in a tense scene- e.g. as a diversion from the frightening things about the war- e.g. as a way of belittling something frightening or important and

putting the emphasis on something trivial- e.g. brings most of the men together because it often something

they can all join in, like jokes about the food, which even Mason joins in

- as an aspect of character e.g. Mason, Trotter- as a form of satire to belittle, for example, the Colonel in his feeble

attempt to speak German

The role of FOOD.- as part of the appalling conditions they had to put up with

a way of bringing the men together, because it is something they all have to put up with and they can all joke about without offending anyone, especially as Mason takes the jokes in good part

- it helps to give some sort of structure to their day and, however awful, it is something to look forward to and

- a way of coping, especially for Trotter

HERO WORSHIP:- Raleigh/Stanhope- Raleigh/Osborne- Probably Osborne’s sons and Osborne

HEROISM- What is a hero? Someone brave who wins the Military Cross – see

Madge and Raleigh’s thoughts to begin with. Enthusiastic patriotism, daring, glory.

- Perhaps Stanhope has become a different type of hero, one who sacrifices himself trying to do an impossible job and look after his men. Don’t forget the men volunteer for the raid, a tribute to the loyalty Stanhope commands and remember six of them were killed. (Give some examples of Stanhope’s behaviour) His behaviour at the dinner may seem crass but he is actually hiding his personal grief and sense of loss of a confidant and friend and excellent second-in-command to try to maintain morale.

- In what sense might Osborne be a hero? (Look, for example, at the way he looks after the commander and listens to and explains things to Raleigh.) There is, perhaps a deeper sense of heroism in Osborne, a man fully aware of the implications of what he is undertaking as he chats away to Raleigh before the raid, trying to take his much younger companion’s mind off what is before them because he knows the Germans are expecting them. Going calmly to an almost certain death is brave enough but to sit around,

waiting quietly for the moment to come and help others is a particular kind of heroism.

THE WAR- What have you learnt/impression have you formed of the problems

faced by men at the front? Mention the physical conditions but concentrate on the psychological – trenches, dug-outs, WAITING, unnerving QUIET, LOSS, PRESSURE not to be a coward, to maintain stiff upper lip like everyone else and not let the side down.

CAMERADERIE- How do men from very different backgrounds work together/live together and help each other?

CONFLICT- With the Germans – bombs, shelling, wiring parties, raids, the

attack, though at no time is there any suggestion that this conflict is personal (in fact Osborne tells his story about German compassion and Raleigh says “The Germans are really quite decent aren’t they?”

- Officers in the front line and those like the brigadier and colonel giving commands from behind the lines

- Hardy and Stanhope because of their differing attitudes to doing their job

- The commanding officer and an officer considered to be trying to get out of doing his duty (Stanhope and Hibbert)

- Is personal conflict greater than national conflict for Stanhope?

DRAMATIC QUALITIES

The famous playwright, George Bernard Shaw, in a letter to R. C. Sherriff, stated: “This play is a document, not a drama.” Do you find the play dramatic?

A good idea here would be to begin with a brief, general discussion about drama arising from conflict and then concentrate on two or three or four moments in the play which are very dramatic.

LANGUAGE AND DIALOGUE

Look at the ways in which each of the characters speaks. Look at the way in which each of the characters speaks, but remember also that that character also represents a type or class of person. Look at the kind of public schoolboy speech seen in Raleigh, for example in admiring the fact that Osborne played rugger for England: “I say!”, “Good Lord! That must have been simply topping” and the other officers ought to know about this as it would make them “feel jolly bucked”. Look at the very different way in which Trotter speaks, dropping his h’s and leaving g’s off the ends of words and pronouncing words like “dooty” and “feller”.

Look also at the deference shown by the sergeant-major with his repetition of “Yes, sir,”, “Very good sir”. He hesitates before bravely asking a question and clears his throat: “Well, sir …. what if they …keep on attacking?”

WAYS OF COPING

- Drink , obviously for Stanhope, to escape and to forget (especially Osborn’s death) but notice how drink is also used when, for example, Stanhope offers the sergeant-major a drop of whisky and how the men were allowed a drop of rum in their tea on the morning of the attack.

- Food , obviously Trotter, but look at the previous notes on how food brings the men together – something they can all talk about and laugh about (refer back to comments on Mason)

- Humour , especially about food, but also about things they might be frightened of e.g. Trotter: “I don’t like this time of day in the line. The old Boche ’as just ‘ad his breakfast and sends over a few whizz-bangs and rifle grenades to show ’e ain’t forgotten us.”

- Apparent insouciance (lack of concern) or making light of something, often coupled with irony: Osborne, in response to Hardy’s “A dug-out got blown up and came down in the men’s tea. They were frightfully annoyed” – “I know. There’s nothing worse than dirt in your tea”

- Attaching importance to trivial things in order to diminish really serious matters e.g. the pepper: “I mean – after all – war’s bad enough with pepper – but war without pepper – it’s – it’s bloody awful!” e.g. the pineapple chunks which turn out to be apricots and Mason announces he has had “rather a unpleasant surprise”

- Maintaining a ‘stiff upper lip’, including using slang expressions to make things sound as if they are all right or normal e.g. “Cheero” and “Righto” and hiding their true feelings. This is linked to:

- Use of euphemisms and metaphors to avoid words which too harshly convey what stares them in the face e.g. “funk” (cowardice) and “Blighty one” (a serious injury, causing them to be sent home). When Stanhope tells Osborne that the attack is imminent, he does not say that they will bear the brunt of it and stand a good chance of being killed because they are at the front line, he uses the metaphor of the theatre and says “And we shall be in the front row of the stalls” (the expensive seats nearest the stage).

- Trotter’s chart – something concrete to focus on – a tangible way of assuring him that his time at the front line is gradually passing

- Changing the subject e.g. Osborne, and Trotter (to food)- Thinking about home, talking about home, writing letters home

and reading letters from home- Talking about the weather or the world of nature- Reading for escapism- Singing and silly rhymes (Hardy at the beginning and Trotter at

the top of page 62)

SAMPLE EMPATHY QUESTIONS

Imagine you are Osborne and write the letter he leaves for his wife just prior to the raid.

My dearest (invent a name),

How are you and the boys? Well, I hope. I have constantly in my mind a picture of you as you were when I was last on leave. What was that piece you were playing on the piano, Mozart wasn’t it? It haunts me in the quiet moments, and there are many quiet moments. We have taken over from Captain Hardy’s company at the front, where people expect it to be noisy with bombing and shelling all the time, but it isn’t – that’s the unnerving part – the quiet! Sometimes nothing happens for hours on end then, all of a sudden, over come the Minnies.

I have also been wondering about the rockery and whether there has been enough sunshine to bring on those primroses I fetched from the woods on my bicycle. Funnily enough we’ve had some sunshine here. The sunlight shines down the steps into the dug-out and the sunrise this morning was gorgeous. It will be quite warm soon. I suppose that’s one thing we can share – the coming of spring (no matter what man does to the landscape) and the same sun unites us. You remember Trotter – I told you about him, rather fond of his food, yes, even what Mason manages to cook up! Well, he noticed a little bird singing; it really cheered him up. Like me, Trotter is keen on his garden and was showing me a photograph of the prize holly hocks which he grew in his garden at home. Guess what, he’s come up with a device for counting the hours until we go back down the line – a chart of circles, representing hours, which he blacks out one by one! I suppose, at least it’s one way of coping with the constant tension and he keeps cheerful. Personally, I don’t think you can beat escaping with Lewis Carroll, but no doubt Trotter would disagree.

I must tell you about our latest recruit, Jimmy Raleigh. He’s come to us straight from school. He puts me in mind of so many of my pupils who have joined up. He has such a naïve, unrealistic view of what life at the front is really like. I can’t help recalling lessons in my classroom on “Henry V”: “Cry God for Harry, England and St. George” and all that! He’s frightfully keen and, to be honest, chaps like him are the kind that do best. There’s one thing, though, he and Stanhope were at school together and Stanhope appears to be engaged to his sister, Madge. Dennis, of course, is three years older. I detect a spot of hero worship going on of the type I’ve often seen from Fourth Form boys for the captain of school or the skipper of rugger. Nothing wrong with that, there’s something very deep, and rather fine, about hero-worship. When I let slip I had once played for England in a little chat we had he seemed very impressed and couldn’t stop saying, “I say!” and “How topping!” but all this has put those moments of sporting glory into perspective. Last time Dennis was home he’d just won the M.C. so Raleigh thought he “looked splendid” and so, no doubt, did Madge. I’ve tried my best to take him aside and suggest, tactfully, that Dennis

might not be quite the same as Jimmy remembers him to be, but I didn’t think Jimmy would understand. After all, how could he?

Poor Dennis! He could have done without this added pressure. He thought Jimmy, being a loyal brother, would feel duty-bound to tell Madge how Dennis wasn’t the man he thought she was. He even tried to censor his letter home. I was very worried. It turned out that Jimmy had understood what I’d been trying to tell him about how Stanhope was tired because he works frightfully hard and because of the responsibility and how the men simply love him. Incidentally, when Dennis made me read Jimmy’s letter he’d said something about me – “an awfully nice officer – quite old – with grey hair”! How about that? Seriously though, Dennis does try so hard to do his job properly and treat his men considerately. He was furious when Captain Hardy left the trenches in a mess for our men to clear up. I do not know how much more he can take. He asked me the other day if I thought he was going mad. Events out here do heighten one’s sensitivity, but Dennis said it seems that everything is going farther and farther away, and then the world begins going away, until you’re the only thing in the universe and you struggle to get back and can’t.” Naturally I tried to persuade him that it was just nerve strain, but he was less than convinced.

My latest news is that prior to the attack, which we expect soon, there is to be a raid to capture one or more German soldiers in order to discover more about which German regiments are placed at the point where we plan to attack. Dennis has just broken the news to me that Jimmy and I are to lead the raid with ten volunteers, so I thought I would drop you a line before we set off. Of course, Jimmy thinks it’s “frightfully exciting”! It should be all over fairly quickly and we are even having chicken sent up the line for dinner when we return. So, I had better draw my letter to a close.

It seems funny, doesn’t it, but we don’t hate the Germans. Young Jimmy said, “The Germans are really quite decent aren’t they?” And do you recall that story I told you about the German officer up in Wipers who let us rescue an injured man? Nevertheless, we continue to blow each other’s trenches to blazes!

Always remember I love you very much and tell the boys I miss them, but that we are fighting for a better world. Our politicians tell us this is “the war to end all wars”. For the boys’ sake I hope it is. There was a certain irony in our boys luring my tin soldiers under the sofa and mowing them down because I do not want their young lives to be cut short or to be blighted by physical or psychological wounds. I want them, and boys like them, to grow up and live in peace – that is why we are fighting this war and that is my hope for the future.

All three of you are forever in my thoughts,

Your loving husband,

Imagine you are Stanhope at the end of the play. Write down your thoughts.

So now they’ve both gone. To think I was so worried that Madge would discover from Jimmy that I was not the hero with the M.C. she thought I was. She is such a topping girl! I just prayed to come through the war and keep absolutely fit for her and at school I rather liked the idea of looking after Jimmy, but out here it’s different. I’m sure that boy’s uncle pulled some strings to get him into ‘C’ Company. He must have. Did I let him down? Did I allow my feelings for Madge to come between us? I did over-react when Jimmy wanted to send his letter, I know I did, but it was the pressure, on top of everything else, of Raleigh seeing me. I thought I might be able to go away after the war and live in the open air, and get fit, and then go back to her, but my hopes were dashed when Jimmy turned up. I might at least have been spared that. I just thought this place must have reeked of whisky, and then he looked at me as if I’d hit him between the eyes or as if I’d spat on him. I felt I just had to stop him doing the decent thing as regards his sister. How was I to know what was in the letter? I certainly don’t feel worthy of what ‘uncle’ called ‘hero worship’. How can I face Madge? I ought to go and see her. She will want to know how Jimmy died, and her family too. I’ll tell them how well he did in the raid and how brave he was at the end. But what will they think of me when I think so badly of myself? I never had a chance to speak to him, to explain to him. Jimmy had only been out here a few days. How could he have understood the way we drink to forget, even laugh and tell risqué stories – to forget what is too painful to remember – the loss of ‘uncle’.

He was the one man I could confide in. I know what some of the men think of me – some sort of freak. “Just how much can Stanhope put away?” But uncle knew what I didn’t want Madge to know, that if I went up those steps into the front line, without being doped with whisky, I’d go mad with fright.

That’s why I understood exactly what Hibbert was doing, because I felt exactly the same and that’s why I called him “a little worm trying to wriggle home”. The rest of us have had to stick it, why shouldn’t he? I couldn’t let him try that neuralgia excuse with Dr. Preston. I needed him for one thing and it would not have been good for morale. I really had to make him face up to his fear, his fear of death, and see that he is no different to the others; we’re all blasted funks, especially me, and that all the others just go on sticking it because they know it’s the only thing a decent man can do. He may not see it now, but he might in the days to come if and when he goes home and is proud of what he has achieved. Mind you, it was touch and go. I thought he wasn’t going to make it up for the attack. It was good of Mason to take him along.

Yes, I could talk to uncle about anything and everything. He would even put me to bed when the whisky took its toll. I can imagine him as a housemaster. I could vent my spleen over that dirty little swine Hardy leaving the trenches in such a disgusting state for my men to clean up. He listened as I explained how I had begun to look right through things till I got frightened, and how the world

seemed to be going farther and farther away until I was the only thing in the universe and I was struggling to get back, but couldn’t. And about what affects us all – the unnerving quiet. You can hear a pin drop, yet you know thousands of guns are hidden in the Boche trenches all ready and waiting to …to …….. Sometimes I wish I was more like Trotter with no imagination, then I wouldn’t think about things in this way. Uncle tried to reassure me that it was only nerve strain and did what he always did, which was to change the subject to something more cheerful, usually something to do with the weather or the sunrise.

And now he’s gone too. Only time will tell what will happen between Madge and me, but in the meantime, when I eventually get back to Blighty, I must take the letter, the wedding ring and the watch to Mrs. Osborne.

Trotter’s letter to his ‘ole lady

My dear ?Ethel,

Thanks for sending me the latest news from the papers – it’s nice to know what’s going on. No, I haven’t got fleas, thank goodness, though there are plenty of rats and conditions are a bit muddy underfoot. The grub’s not too bad though. I must say Mason is not a bad cook. Might be a lot worse. D’you remember that prize cook we ’ad when I was in the ranks – the one what set ’imself on fire making the tea? Nice bit o’bacon Mason did for us the other morning and he takes the lumps out of the porridge. I told ’im: “Keep ’em and use ’em for dumplings next time we ’ave boiled beef.” At least we all can have a laugh about it; even Stanhope joins in sometimes.

As you know, we are at the front line now – only about sixty yards of no-man’s-land between us and the Boche. And there’s the ruins – I ’ate the ruins. Stanhope asked me to ’ave a look at them the other night. I was half expecting a nasty German to ’op out and say “Ock der Kaiser”. As it ’appened he went ’imself, which was good ’cos I didn’t fancy crawling on my belly after the cutlets we’d just had. Quite good Stanhope is when it comes to looking after the men. ’E was absolutely furious when we first come up ’ere. This feller, Captain Hardy, who was on dooty before us, left the trenches in a terrible mess and Stanhope was cross because our men had to clear it up.

’E can get a bit shirty can Stanhope. There was this raid. Osborne and our latest recruit, Jimmy Raleigh, who’s just out from school, were detailed to go on a raid over to the Boche trenches and grab a prisoner so the Colonel could find out from him which regiments we would be faced with during the attack I told you about in my last letter. Well, I reckon the Boche were all ready waiting for it. I mean, it’s damn ridiculous making a raid when the Boche are expecting it. I was sorry ’e ’ad to go really, seeing as he’d only just arrived. Anyhow, Raleigh made his dash (apparently he’s quite good at rugby) and brought back a German – no more than a boy himself. Trouble was Osborne got hit and didn’t make it back. We ’ad a jolly fine bit o’chicken for dinner and Mason rustled up a decent bit o’ pudden from boiled ration biscuits and jam. We’ad champagne too and Stanhope and Hibbert topped it all off with a drop o’whisky. (He’s a bit hard on the whisky is Stanhope – I’ve known him drink a whole bottle in one evening!) But I was too blown out; I just wanted a nice cuppa tea. Getting quite carried away they were! I must say I’d never seen Hibbert so cheerful. When I saw him earlier on his eyes was all red. He told me ’ed got ’ay fever. If you ask me ’ed been crying. He’s a funny little bloke. I must say it took me by surprise when he got out some naughty pictures and started showing us them. Still, satisfies ’is lust I suppose. Stanhope doesn’t seem too keen on ’im. I must say I thought Raleigh did brilliantly. I ’ope ‘he gets the M.C.; ’e’s just the sort of kid I’d like to ’ave if we ever ’ave kids – strong and plucky. Not that Stanhope appreciated me saying so – told me to shut up about the raid. I guess he was missing Osborne. You know, they think nothing upsets me. Little they know! It’s bound to get to you.

’E can’t think too badly of me though because he said I’m ’is second in command now. How does Lieutenant Trotter sound to you? He’s a decent feller, Stanhope, and I’ll do my best for ’im.

I’m looking forward to coming home on leave. Perhaps it will be after the attack. I’m counting the days – I had this idea. We’ve been sent ‘ere for six days, six bloomin’ eternal days. That’s a hundred and forty-four hours. So I drew a hundred and forty-four circles on a bit of paper and after every hour I’ve blacked one out – it has helped to make the time go. I was telling Osborne about me prize ‘olly ‘ocks yesterday. He liked gardening too, poor chap. Keep an eye on them geraniums, lobelia and calceolaria for me won’t you? We’ve got to show a bit of red, white and blue spirit. Spring’s coming – we’ve ’ad a touch of sun and some lovely sunrises. And damn me if a boomin’ little bird didn’t start singing when I was up in the trenches the other day. It didn’t ’arf sound funny in the middle of all them whizz-bangs and Minnies, but, as I’ve said before, it’s the quiet that’s the worst. You can bet your boots the Boche is up to something. I’d rather a few whiz-bangs and rifle grenades than it be too damn quiet. It’s nice to know the Boche ain’t forgotten about us!

Well, I’d better buck up. The attack is expected later today. Mason has just brought me a cup of tea and some ‘sambridges’ for later – ‘arf bully beef and ‘arf sardine, so I’d better be making tracks now I’m 2i/c!

Keep sending me news. I’ll write again when I can.

Love,

Some First World War Poems you could refer to in order to make sophisticated cross-textual links and impress the examiner!