THOUGHTS, verses and messages from soldiers wounded in the First World War trenches are the subject of a new book written by former Lancashire Evening Telegraph journalist David Boderke.

His book Words from the Wounded is a poignant insight into how those soldiers viewed life at the Front while recovering at military and auxiliary hospitals in and near Blackburn.

David came across the collection of verses and messages in two autograph books handed down through his family.

They belonged to Maria (Cissy) Holden, who later lived in Cedar Street, Blackburn, and who was a member of the nursing staff at Queen Mary’s Military Hospital, Whalley, as well as at auxiliary hospitals, including Ellerslie Auxlliary Home Hospital and Staveleigh, both on East Park Road, Blackburn.

Previously known as the Whalley Asylum, Queen Mary’s was staffed by men from the Royal Army Medical Corps, along with nurses from Princess Alexandra’s Nursing Corps and the Voluntary Aid Detachment. It later became Calderstones Hospital.

Ellerslie, a large private house, was offered to the Blackburn War Hospital Committee in 1914 for use as a war hospital, while the Dugdale family, former cotton manufacturers in the town, let the house Staveleigh at a nominal rent.

“The entries in the book give examples of what life – and the fear of death – was like in the trenches, as shown by those men who wrote they had been wounded and gassed, and others who returned to ‘Blighty’ suffering from frostbite during the severe winter of 1915,” said David.

“They were remarkably upbeat considering the experiences they had gone through in the trenches.”

The soldiers came to East Lancashire from all over the country.

For example, Rifleman J Bottomley, of the King’s Royal Rifles, who was wounded and gassed at Ypres, wrote this poignant piece which was sung by the soldiers in the trenches: Though your head may ache awhile, never mind, And your feet may do the same, never mind, If a lump of German lead get stuck right in your head, You’ll not feel it when you’re dead, never mind.

The book also contains memories of two former RAMC men who served at Queen Mary’s Military Hospital and of private individuals, who remembered the hospital and what life was like there during the First World War.

Some of the poems reflect the indomitable spirit of the men, for instance: I’ve a little wet home in a trench I’ve a little wet home in a trench, where the rainstorms continually drench There’s a dead cow close by, with her hoofs (sic) to the sky, and she gives of a beautiful stench.

Underneath in the place of a floor, there’s a mess of wet mud and some straw, and the Jack Johnstsones tear through the rainsodden air Oer my little wet home in the trench There is also a selection of postcards which soldiers serving at the Front were able to send to their families at home.

The book, which runs to 80 pages, and is packed with photographs, is available from the publishers’ homepage, FeedaRead.com, or can be ordered from book stores, quoting the ISBN number 9781784077013.