Mr William Sewell, who is employed at the Great Northern Railway Station, Luton, as a signalman, sends us an interesting account sent home by Sapper Alec [Alexander] Johnson, who was a platelayer here with the GNR before joining the Railway Operative Workers' Corps, with which he has been serving in the East.

He is the husband of Mrs Nellie Johnson of 32 Cobden Street, Luton, to whom Sapper Johnson wrote the letter, with the request that it should be forwarded to his friends at the station.

He states that he is 'in the pink' and proceeds: "We are still at El Arish beside the sea. We are having beautiful weather. We landed at Alexandria from Marseilles, went on to various other places and then worked towards Gaza, just behind the firing line. I couldn't have been 200 yards from where 'Micky' was lying, if I had known at the time.

"We lie in our dug-outs in the daytime, and could see our airmen looking over the Turks' lines, and when 'Johnny' fire at them the shells used to go over our heads. We only had to work at nights, so you can guess we were close up to the boys.

"We had a storm on October 28th, and I have never seen such a storm in all my life. There were rivers in half an hour's time, and it was enough to frighten anybody. Our chaps said the world was coming to an end. The spots were like five shilling pieces, so you can guess what it was like. We were all wet through in five minutes, and with the lightning and the big guns it was the limit.

"The night they started the push on Gaza we followed up with the railway line. We were in Gaza within five days after the push. We camped there three weeks and had a good look round the place where Samson took the gates away. Mr names and address is stuck up at the temple there. Our military never interfered with that.

"We went on from there to Medjohul, near Ascalon, and from there to Esdad and to Toona and Ramley, near Jaffa. We are now back to the El Arish show."

[Beds & Herts Saturday Telegraph: February 23rd, 1918]