The Editor of the Amman Valley Chronicle has received the following letter from a well known Ammanford man, Saddler Jonah Joshua, with D Battery, 5th Brigade, R. F. A., in the Dardanelles : —
“I take the opportunity of writing these few lines to inform you I am in good health, hoping it will find you the same. Glad to read in the Amman Valley Chronicle that the boys of dear old Ammanford who are in France are doing their bit the same as we are doing it here, happy and contented.
The chief thing here is health; then you can be cheerful and happy. I was in hospital for fourteen days under treatment for dysentery, and I can assure you if you have it once, you pray not to have it again, as it weakens you so much that you can hardly walk.
I am looking forward every weekl to the Chronicle to have news of dear old Ammanford. I get the paper from Q. M. Sergt. W. Morgans, Tycroes. His dugout is only thirty yards away from mine, so I spend a lot of my spare time with him. He has been a good friend to me.
When I was discharged out of hospital I had two days’ complete rest, as I was too weak hardly to walk. With him I spent my two days’ rest. Anything he could do for me he would do it with pleasure, and anything he had I was quite welcome to. He has been a good father to me when I was sick. We are the only two together from Ammanford in the Brigade out of the good crowd that went up together to Woolwich.
Ike New Inn, Lewis Thomas Coch, Dai Walters and Tom Walters, and the two Prices from Tycroes, and also the Ammanford footballers were all parted from us, and only me and Bill Morgan sent to join the Brigade at Leeds. Hard luck that was to lose all except one of my dear friends.
I have met a lot of Ammanford boys out here, with the 4th Welsh Territorials, when they were relieved out of the trenches for rest. They used to visit me every day or night, and we spent some happy hours together. Oh, what a blessing to see somebody you know, and some of them relations of mine from dear old home, and have a chat in this monotonous place.
Nothing to see but hills, mountains and water, but after all we are not downhearted, not likely; not as long as we have our Jack upon the sea and our brothers on land hand in hand to give the enemy socks. The 4th Welsh did good work here. I think they are worthy of the name.
Sergt. Dd. Thomas, Hall Street, visited us, that is, W. Morgan and myself, mostly every night while they were for rest, but we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing them since.
I hope some day in the future we shall meet again at dear old Ammanford, although there will be many a face missing, and probably by then many more, but we all pray and hope to return home some day.
I have had three very narrow escapes. Once three of us were tying the horses up, and a Jack Johnson burst within a yard to us; killed two of the horses and we three escaped, enveloped in black smoke from the shell. It wasn’t His will for us to go then, and we were saved.
I shall never forget my first experience under fire. What an excitement; perspiring and thirsty, could drink a well, but now we have got quite used to them and dodge them the best we can. I have dodged them all so far, and I hope I will do so in the future, but I think if there is one for you won’t be able to dodge it; you have to take it as it comes.
Well, I must conclude, wishing you and all my friends at dear old Ammanford a merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.”
