Gas attacks

I was slightly wounded on two occasions, but I refused to leave the battery. I was foolish in that way. I refused to leave the battery, because once you get down at the reinforcement unit, it might take months before you get back, you know, and I liked the job too much. We had to wear respirators a lot of the time. Just before Hill 70, I know, we were subjected on our jumping off point to gas and I was fairly sick that morning but still I wouldn’t go, I kept on. And then they’d have this tear gas. It was in the air practically all the bloody time. At night, you’d get into your little dugout and you’d drop your blankets which had been impregnated with some sort of juice or something. It would combat the gas, keep the gas out, and it smelled worse than the gas did.