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Scholastic Canada Ltd.
ISBN 0-439-93882-1 PBK
144 pages
Ages 9 to 12
5” x 7”

by Jim Eldridge

Sixteen-year-old Billy Stevens joins the military to “kick the Kaiser back to Germany.” He lies about his age to join up, and is initially disappointed when he is assigned to the Royal Engineers because of his telegraph training. But soon enough he is sent to the Front and must face the terrible sights and sounds of the trenches.


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Spread from MY STORY: THE TRENCHES
by Jim Eldridge

After one raid, Charlie and I were sent out to repair yet another broken telegraph cable in yet another water-filled trench, this one even closer to the German lines. One look at the cable told us it was smashed beyond repair. It would have to be replaced.
We rolled the huge reel of replacement cable along the trench as best we could in the mud, then we set about hauling out a length. The only way to stop it from sinking in the mud and disappearing before we’d made the connections was to push the blades of our spades into the clay walls of the trench sides, and then drape the cable over them.

I was pulling at the cable when, suddenly, out of nowhere, something hit the wall of the trench just above us, landing with a sort of plop.

There was another plop, and this time I saw something falling into the mud just near us. For a second I thought it was a grenade and I threw myself backwards, expecting it to go off. Then Charlie started coughing and retching, and I saw him scramble to pull his respirator over his face. In that second I realized what it was and I felt sick to my stomach.

Mustard gas!

A feeling of panic hit me and I scrambled to get my respirator over my face before the killer gas got into my mouth and nose and burnt my lungs. It burned everything it touched. Eyes. Skin. And it always found a way in. Like now, I could feel where it had crept up the inside of my sleeves of my uniform and the skin on my arms felt like it was on fire. I threw myself into a muddy hole, pushing my arms under water, but I knew it was already too late.

My neck was burning too. My collar must have come undone while I was hauling the cables. It only needed one little opening for the gas to get in, and now I could feel it spreading down the skin on to my chest. Frantically, I pushed myself right up to my goggles in the muddy water, anything to stop the burning, but the water blocked the ventilator outlet for my respirator. My goggles started to mist up and I could feel myself choking.

I stumbled to my feet, saturated, with the weight of wet mud clinging to me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t feel anything except my skin burning. I screamed for help but was stunned by a searing pain in my head. It was as if someone had taken an axe to it and cut it in two.

From My Story: The Trenches. Copyright © 2002 by Jim Eldridge. All rights reserved.

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"This novel is a great read for anyone who loves war stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would suggest it to anyone." Nick M., Age 14, Ontario, Rating: 10 "Reading this was incredible. The story was so vivid and real, I thought I was in the middle of the story it self." Lindsay M., Age 14, British Columbia, Rating: 10

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