Dear Mammy … before we dig trenches an officer lectures to us on their use in practice in war, and how obstacles are made in front of them to prevent assaults. … [George] Herdman and I went on Saturday to plan out imaginary fortifications for an imaginary battalion.  [John Sampson Archive SP9/2/1/35]

24 November 1914. Letter to his mother from Michael Sampson, son of John Sampson  (1862-1931), University Librarian, from St John’s College, Cambridge.