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They were advancing on the front-line, and they were trying to get a trench dug out, but they could hear the Germans behind a hedge. So they had to try to be very quiet.

There were two men to a trench, and they couldn’t get out at all, but they were trying to dig it out to make it a bit deeper.

The lad that was with Marsh — Marsh said he was a real rough diamond, he said he didn’t think he’d ever been inside a church - didn’t ever want to. The one was digging, whilst the other was trying to clear the trench and the other was watching. Marsh looked up and saw that he'd he’d got his eyes shut.

Marsh said he shook him and he really woke up and said to Marsh, he was very annoyed. ‘Do you know what I was doing?' He said, ‘I was praying that you and I would get out of this alive’.

As Marsh said, there wasn’t an Atheist in the trenches — there couldn’t have been.

It must have worked for them anyway.
This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Mary Pritchard and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Mary’s stories:

• Worse than hell at times
• So many don’t realise
• Spending a well-earned penny
• Friends together
• Labelled
• Love binds forever faithful hearts
• Non-Fraternisation
• Thanksgiving service
• How to use this book
• Clothing books
• Marsh’s Medals
• Joining Up
• One to keep
• Names in a hat
• Too terrible to tell
• Tyne Tees Badge
• Cards to Mother
• 11th Armoured Division Badge
• Flensburg Christmas 1945
• KSLI Badge
• Homeguard Arm Band
• Driving permit
• A very hard worker
• Mary’s Medals
• Marsh’s Evacuees
• Evacuees on the farm
• Milk from cows?
• Marsh’s Parents with the Evacuees
• Me and the girls
• All of us
• ATS Cap Badge
• Mary Pritchard

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