25th April 1941

Bert straightened his helmet as he crawled across the muddy ground with a frown and eight other soldiers. In the beginning his elbows hurt, but meanwhile he got used to the pain.

50 days since he was with his division.
50 days since he was a official soldier.
50 days since he had left London, and thus Mary.

He loathed all this and wished nothing more than that the war is finally over! But he was torn from his thoughts when his front man, John Andrews, suddenly wanted to get up. His hand jumped on the strap of the backpack and pulled him down.

"Andrews!", it echoed in her ears and the nine men stood up.

"Yes, Brigadier?"

The Brigadier-a strange type of man. He always wanted discipline and authority. Besides, he was not a friend of private conversations or general social interactions. He also just wanted to be called 'Brigadier'. His real name and surname was unknown the men. And that should stay that way. He did not want to build any kind of relationship with them.

"Are you tired of life!? If Private Alfred hadn't pulled you down, you wouldn't be so alive now! You're lucky that this is just an exercise!"

Bert watched the conversation in silence and with an empty look. It was not the first time Johnny had been admonished by the Brigadier- to be exact, it happened almost every day. The young man was incredibly sorry for Bert and he cursed himself for the thoughts he had again: 'He will not survive that for long.'

With a gloomy expression Bert looked briefly to the ground. He wished nothing more than the war is over soon! But unlike many others, he was still lucky: he, Johnny, and a handful of other soldiers from his division had been training for months and were not sent to an actual war zone. But how long that would stay was uncertain.

"Private Alfred, come with me," said the Brigadier, before he left.

The eight men turned to Bert, who trudged silently past them. But when he passed Johnny, he stopped and put a hand on his shoulder: "Don't mind..."

—

Bert arrived at the Brigadier's "office" and took off his helmet. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"In fact ...," the man turned to him, "you have demonstrated a lot of commitment and team spirit in the past few weeks, Private Alfred. Very praiseworthy and above all exemplary. Many should get lessons from you."

'You have to survive somehow', he thought but said "If you say so."

"It is a fact that can't be denied. You also have a tremendous stamina, a very good aim and you are always there for the others. Especially for the weakest in our ranks, Private Andrews ... It's almost as if you've done all this for years. "

Bert just nodded.

"But enough of that ... What I actually meant to say: you are, to be honest, the best man in our company, Private."

'No!', Bert felt sick when he had a thought: would he now be sent to a war zone?

The Brigadier continued, "That's why I want to promote you to Lance corporal."

The man shook Bert's hand. But he did not quite understand. Only a promotion, had he understood that correctly? "I beg your pardon?"

"You understood me perfectly, Lance corporal. I'm sure it will not be long before you become a Sergeant."

He kept talking, but Bert's thoughts were somewhere ele. As so often lately, his thoughts were nothing more than a messy pile of words. But the most pressing question was: would he continue to stay in Northern Ireland? Or would he be sent away soon?

—

In the evening Bert sat crouched in the pale, flickering light of an oil lamp and began to write a letter:

Dearest Mary,

I thought it was time again to write you a letter. I know, I wrote the last one only 10 days ago, but still I need to write to you.

Speaking of days, today 50 days I left London... And it feels like half an eternity.

But now to what I actually wanted to write you.
Today, nothing happened but also so much happened.

Let me explain:

Johnny got in trouble again and the Brigadier admonished him again. But it was also a really unnecessary mistake he made. However, I'm sorry for the boy ... He's still so young and inexperienced... And I think he's scared. And because of this fear or those fears, he makes mistakes that a normal thinking person would never make.

To be honest, I feel he will not survive long if he moves to a war zone. I could slap myself for these thoughts myself! But on the other hand, it is a truth that can't be denied. He doesn't belong here - he belongs to his family. Like all of us... None of us belongs here or to the front.
But I want to get upset again in a letter.

But now something else.

The Brigadier wanted to talk to me alone. At first I thought it was about Johnny, but there was another reason: he promoted me to Lance corporal.
According to him, I am the best man in our company and he is sure that next promotion will not last very long.

Many men would be pleased and proud of such news. Not me.

I'm scared, Mary. Scared that I will have to go to the front soon...

I just want to see you, Mary. I miss you, Lizzy and London ...

But enough of me: how are you? How's the new family doing? What's the weather like?
Please tell me something about your life. Something that brings me to other thoughts.

I love you,

Bert

As always, he drew something small at the bottom of the paper. This time it was a plain landscape, as he has seen her so often lately.

With a sigh he put the blunt pencil aside and looked at the new badge on his uniform, which was hit by a pale beam of light.

He was now Lance corporal Herbert Alfred.

This time you did not have to wait so long for a new chapter. As always, I hope you enjoyed it. Even if it was only from Bert's "point of view" today.