The Times - 23rd April 1917

Roll of Honour

Wounded - 251062 Private C M Steevens, Essex Regiment - (Harrogate)

Harrogate Herald - 25th April 1917

Roll of Honour

Private C M Steevens (Essex Regt), son of Mr & Mrs Hubert William Steevens, of 91a Skipton Road, Harrogate, has been wounded, and is now an inmate of the Edward Ward, 27th General Hospital, Abbe???, Cairo. In a letter to his parents, he explains his silence through being on the "trek", and says the wound is below the calf of the left leg, just missing the shin bone, the bullet going right through. He hopes to be convalescent soon. It is like being in heaven, he adds, after the desert, and to be able to have a nice clean white bed to go to at night and meals in a proper manner. His battalion, he says, led an attack on the Turkish position, and they suffered heavy casualties. "Our platoon", continues the letter, "was in the front line. I managed to get within 200 to 300 yards of the enemy before being hit. Afterwards I had to lie under a heavy machine gun and rifle fire for about three-quarters of an hour before I could get to the dressing station. I had several narrow escapes from being hit whilst laid. One bullet went through the front of my haversack, hit my camera, and came out again on the outside, saving me from one in the hip". He concludes in cheery style that he is going on all right, and there is no need for anxiety.