[Editor: A poem published in Aussie: The Australian Soldiers’ Magazine, no. 3, 8 March 1918.]
If Dreams Were Only True.
Last night I had a funny dream, and dreamt to my delight,
I had ten thousand blankets to keep me warm at night;
I dreamt there wasn’t any snow, or rain, or sleet, or mud,
And saw a German shell descend that proved to be a “dud”;
I dreamt I saw a big Q.M. who didn’t drink the rum,
And a great big Gotha overhead whose engines didn’t hum;
I thought I saw Old Bill himself, digging in a trench,
And heard our own Interpreter really speaking French;
I dreamt I played the Good Old Game, won five bob on the crown,
And saw our anti-aircraft guns bring a Hun ’plane down;
And I thought I saw a Driver who really couldn’t swear,
And got a shirt from “Divy” Baths clean enough to wear,
I dreamt I had some money, fully twenty pounds,
And came across a village that wasn’t “out of bounds”
I dreamt I saw a real M.P. who hopped the bags with dash
And a soldier on a base job who wasn’t very flash;
I dreamt we’d really won the war and finished Bertha Krupp,
And my blankets weren’t inhabited. “Reveille” woke me up.
A. N. Shuttleworth.
Source:
Aussie: The Australian Soldiers’ Magazine, no. 3, 8 March 1918, page 12
Editor’s notes:
Bertha Krupp = Big Bertha, a type of large-bore howitzer, manufactured by the Krupp company, used by the German military in World War One
Divy = Division; Divisional
Gotha = bombers manufactured by the Gothaer Waggonfabrik company (also known as Gotha), used by the German military in World War One
Hun = Germans (“Hun” could be used in a singular sense to refer to an individual German, as well as in a collective sense to refer to the German military or to Germans in general) (similar to the usage of “Fritz”)
Old Bill = Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II (William II), also referred to as “Kaiser Bill”, was the head of the German Empire, from 15 June 1888 up until his abdication on 9 November 1918, two days prior to the armistice which ended World War One (however, his official “Statement of Abdication” was dated 28 November 1918)
Q.M. = quartermaster
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