"
"Remember, on arrival in camp, _food before fatigues_."
"Always rig up some kind of shelter at night for the head, if for no
other part of the body."
At twelve noon on Monday the whistles blew at the bottom of the street
and we all turned out in full marching order with packs, haversacks,
rifles and swords. I heard the transport wagons clattering on the
pavement, the merry laughter of the drivers, the noise of men falling
into place and above all the voice of the sergeant-major issuing
orders.
Yet this, like other days, was a "wash-out." All day we waited for
orders to move, twice we paraded in full marching kit, eager for the
command to entrain; but it was not forthcoming. Another day had to
be spent in billets under strict instructions not to move from our
quarters. The orders were posted up as usual at all street corners,
a plan which is adopted for the convenience of units billeted a great
distance from headquarters, and the typewritten orders had an air of
momentous finality:
The battalion moves to-morrow.
Parade will be at 4.30 a.m.
Entraining and detraining and embarking must be done in absolute
silence.
I rose from bed at three and set about to prepare breakfast, while my
cot-mate busied himself with our equipment, putting everything into
shape, buckling belts and flaps, burnishing bayonets and oiling the
bolts of the rifles. Twenty-four hours' rations were stored away in
our haversacks all ready, the good landlady had been at work stewing
and frying meat and cooking dainty scones up to twelve o'clock the
night before.
Pages:
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80