Assignment 7_Parkinson (1)

Staff Sergeant Clarence Berry served in the Great War for four years without being injured or experiencing shell shock. He considers himself lucky for surviving the war in one piece and for witnessing the entire conflict. Berry emphasizes the importance of honor. He mentions that the recruiters were more careful about enlisting soldiers who were of age, and he barely met the weight requirement for enlistment. After training, he was assigned to the Manchester Regiment 2nd Battalion and sent to France. Berry describes the boredom and quiet terror of spending months in waterlogged trenches, hoping to avoid foot swelling and the dangers of bombs, snipers, and gas attacks. Statement of Staff Sergeant Clarence Berry regarding his time serving with Wilfred Owen in the Great War. Original statement given November 6, 1922. Statement begins. A lot of people call me lucky, you know. Not many came through the entirety of the war in one piece. And if you discount the burns, then I did indeed do just that. Even fewer spent all four years at the front like I did. I was never sent for treatment or shell shock or injury. And even my encounter with a German flamethrower only ended up with me in a front-line hospital at Wipers. I was still in that field hospital when the fighting starved that saw me. So I suppose that was lucky, too. Four years. I sometimes feel like I'm the only one who saw the whole damn show from start to finish, as though I alone know the Great War in all its awful glory. But deep down, I know that honor, such as it is now, is the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. It's the most important thing. And the recruiters were much more picky about making sure those enlisting were even of age. Even so, I was almost too skinny for them to take me and barely made the weight requirement. But in the end, I made it through and, after my training, was assigned to Manchester Regiment 2nd Battalion, and it wasn't long before we were shipped off to France with the British forces. You seem like educated sorts, so I'm sure you read in the papers how that went. Soon enough, though, the trenches were dug and the boredom started to set in. Now, boredom is fine, understand, when the alternatives are bombs, snipers, and gas attacks, but months at a time sitting in a waterlogged hole in the ground hoping your foot doesn't start swelling, well, it has a quiet terror all on its own.