EBOOK THE AMATEUR ARMY ***
Produced by Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries
(http://www.archive.org/details/toronto), Suzanne Lybarger,
William Flis, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
at http://www.pgdp.net
THE AMATEUR ARMY
BY PATRICK MACGILL
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
CHILDREN OF THE DEAD END
THE RAT-PIT
[Illustration: RIFLEMAN PATRICK MACGILL]
HERBERT JENKINS LIMITED ARUNDEL PLACE HAYMARKET LONDON S.W. MCMXV
_Wyman & Sons Ltd., Printers, London and Reading._
PREFACE
I am one of the million or more male residents of the United Kingdom,
who a year ago had no special yearning towards military life, but who
joined the army after war was declared. At Chelsea I found myself a
unit of the 2nd London Irish Battalion, afterwards I was drilled into
shape at the White City and training was concluded at St. Albans,
where I was drafted into the 1st Battalion. In my spare time I wrote
several articles dealing with the life of the soldier from the stage
of raw "rooky" to that of finished fighter. These I now publish in
book form, and trust that they may interest men who have joined the
colours or who intend to take up the profession of arms and become
members of the great brotherhood of fighters.
PATRICK MACGILL.
"The London Irish,"
British Expeditionary Force,
_March 25th_, 1915.
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
I ENLIST AND AM BILLETED 13
CHAPTER II
RATIONS AND SICK PARADE 23
CHAPTER III
PICKETS AND SPECIAL LEAVE 36
CHAPTER IV
OFFICERS AND RIFLES 48
CHAPTER V
THE COFFEE-SHOP AND WANKIN 60
CHAPTER VI
THE NIGHT SIDE OF SOLDIERING 71
CHAPTER VII
DIVISIONAL EXERCISE AND MIMIC WARFARE 85
CHAPTER VIII
THE GENERAL INSPECTION AND THE EVERLASTING WAITING 99
CHAPTER IX
READY TO GO--THE BATTALION MOVES 111
CHAPTER I
I ENLIST AND AM BILLETED
What the psychological processes were that led to my enlisting in
"Kitchener's Army" need not be inquired into.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25