Part 5

"A number of these prisoners next got into a shell-hole near Battalion headquarters, refusing to come farther, and one of the funniest sights was to see our R.S.M., Sergeant-Major Powney, who, as a rule, was most dignified, rush at them, and kick and cuff them out of it.

"I said to him: 'Sergeant-Major, that's not your job.' He replied: 'I know that, sir, but I couldn't help it.' Poor Powney was wounded later in the day, and died of his wounds.

"The advance to the second objective started promptly, but the Hun fought hard for a time, and held us up. Every bush seemed to contain a machine gun, and a redoubt on our left front caused us many casualties. This redoubt contained several machine guns, with overhead cover, and a first-aid post. As soon as the C.O. received news of this check he sent up two reserve Lewis guns. These worked round the redoubt, and, finding an opening, killed most of the garrison, and then rushed it. The survivors fled, but Sergeant Royston found one of their own guns was still in action, and finished them off with it.

"DEALING WITH COUNTER-ATTACKS.--The final objective was quickly reached and consolidated, and for a while our men had a pleasant time dealing with counter-attacks from the front. The field of fire was good, and they quickly dealt with all the attempts made to push us back. Our casualties, though, were very heavy, particularly amongst officers. At one time 'A' Company was commanded by Lance-Corporal Goodman, and another company by a C.S.M.

"Then the Hun artillery got busy on the wood, which was, of course, an ideal mark. For the rest of the day they simply poured heavy shells in. It was pretty terrible. Trees were torn up by the dozens, and fell blazing. By the end of the day there was nothing but shattered stumps.

"The Medical Officer had a busy time, and owing to the barrage could not evacuate his wounded. The aid post was filled, and the overflow had to be put in shell-holes round about. The consequence was that many of them were killed as they lay there. Owing to the barrage, too, the sending of messages back to Brigade headquarters and the companies in front became almost impossible. Out of sixteen headquarter runners no fewer than fourteen became casualties before mid-day.

"One message was sent back by carrier pigeon, and a message received from the Brigadier read: 'Hold on. Reinforcements are being sent.' The reply of the C.O. was: 'Of course we shall hold on. We are being hammered, but our tails are still up.'

"As the day wore on many efforts were made to get round our flanks and turn us out. Bombing parties crept up, and had to be dealt with by our bombers. It was in one of these tussles that Jerry Delany (the famous boxer) was killed.

"At one time word came from our comrades on the right that the Hun had broken through. So we sent over a party to their assistance, and finally repelled the attackers. We spent the whole of the afternoon and evening in this way, but when our relief came up that night we handed over the wood intact.

"The scene at night was awful, the wood being ablaze in many places. I read messages and wrote out the relief orders by the light of a blazing tree, which had fallen across the shell-hole then being occupied by Battalion headquarters.

"During the night our Brigadier came up and held a conference in our shell-hole. One of our men, Corporal Walker, who was attached to the Brigade Machine-Gun Company, came to this conference, and when asked by the Brigadier what he wanted, replied: 'I have reason to believe, sir, I now command the Machine-Gun Company.' This was actually the case, and he brought the remnants out, being badly wounded in doing so.

"We were relieved by the 6th Brigade, and at dawn returned to our quarters at Bernefay--that is to say, those of us who were left. Our casualties were nearly 400, over 60 per cent, of those who went in. Out of eighteen officers who went into the wood, thirteen became casualties, every company commander being included in this number, while the 1/60th suffered equally heavily.

"As I was making out our casualty return in our headquarters' shell-hole by the light of the blazing trees, our Quartermaster appeared with the rations. He threw a newspaper down to me, with the remark: 'You'll find something interesting in that.' I opened the paper, and found a full column describing how the South Africans took Delville Wood!

"When we were moving back into support, I noticed a horrible smell, and found it was due to the fact that almost every man was smoking a Hun cigar, large quantities of which had been found in the trenches, together with large quantities of soda-water.

"One of the Hun officer prisoners remarked that our advance through the wood was the finest thing they ever saw, but that he objected to being captured by civilians."

* * * * *

SOME LIGHTER STORIES.--Another story of Delville Wood, introducing the M.O.

"During the Delville Wood show a captured Hun Red Cross man was lending a hand in the Battalion aid post. Suddenly a scuffle was heard on the steps of the dug-out, and the prisoner went to see what was the matter. 'What's happened?' asked Doc. Isaac, busily engaged in bandaging a wounded man.

"'Oh, it's only some of those b---- Bosches!' was the reply...."

* * * * *

There were many middle-aged men in the First Sportsman's. This introduces one of them.

"The Battalion was marching down the main street of Carnoy when a charming French girl of about eighteen dashed into the line of route, evidently with the idea of 'parleyvooing' with one of the young sports. She commenced in a breezy manner chatting with my father, a youngster of fifty, not noting, at first, his grey hair. Suddenly he turned his head toward her and smiled. 'Oh, papa!' she ejaculated, and fled...."

* * * * *

The Quartermaster is a noted personage in the Army. This is to introduce him.

"While the Battalion was at Aix Neulette the transport came under shell-fire one morning. The shells came nearer and nearer, in a direct line with the water-carts, highly polished, the pride of the corporal in charge. The personnel eventually thought fit to take shelter in an adjacent shell-hole until the Hun had finished his unpleasant pranks.

"Over came the fifth shell with a whistle and a scream, and--bang!--up went the two carts in the air, while shell fragments flew all over the place. Hanging on a line were various articles of washing, the clean clothes of the water-cart crew. These were in the line of fire, and as a consequence were well perforated.

"Now comes the sequel. They were taken to the Quartermaster on the following morning, and, so it is said, he refused to replace them _on the ground that the holes were not the result of fair wear and tear_!..."

* * * * *

Two gentlemen rankers are introduced here.

"After some months of hard roughing it, two of the Battalion cooks decided to apply, modestly, for commissions. So they duly appeared before the Colonel. But the summons to attend did not give them time in which to get out of their cooking rig, and the sergeant paraded them in their old overalls.

"'Hem. Where were you educated?' asked the Colonel of one man.

"'Rugby and Oxford,' was the reply.

"'And what were you in private life?' asked the Colonel, turning to the other.

"'A painter.'

"'A painter?' queried the Colonel.

"'Yes, sir. I have exhibited at the Royal Academy....'"

* * * * *

Many Germans left London when the war started, to fight against us. This is one of them, turned up as a prisoner.

"We were up the line one day when a patrol brought in a Hun prisoner. Of course we wanted information, for we were expecting an attack of some sort that very night. So we hauled our man up before the C.O. and started asking him questions. We tried him in German, and got no reply. We tried French with him, and it had no result. Then, seeing he was eyeing a water-bottle eagerly, I suddenly thought he might be thirsty.

"'Ask him if he would like a drink,' I suggested.

"'I should,' came the reply, in quite as good English as I could have spoken myself. Naturally I was surprised, and I asked him where he had learnt his English.

"'In London, sir,' was the rejoinder. 'I worked as a barber close to Holborn for years.'

"We gave him a little drink of whisky, and he told us there would be no attack that night. But we took no chances. A guard, with fixed bayonet, was placed over him, and he was told in English that he would be the first to get his medicine if he had played us false.

"He had not, however. No attack was made, and he was sent back behind the lines to the 'cage' next day...."

* * * * *

Another.

Overheard in the ranks on the march up the Cambrai Road in a snow-storm to take over at Bourlon Wood.

"Italy!" said the Doc. "It looks more like being _another_ b---- Wood!"

+-----------------------------------------------------+ | EXPERIENCES AS A PRISONER OF WAR--EXTRACTS FROM | | THE DIARY KEPT BY "MR. BROOKS, THE SCHOOLMASTER" | +-----------------------------------------------------+

EXPERIENCES AS A PRISONER OF WAR--EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY KEPT BY "MR. BROOKS, THE SCHOOLMASTER"

"Reported missing."

Many poignant memories attach to such a bald announcement as this. Dead--probably a prisoner of war--perhaps. And there have been those who would have preferred, had they had the chance, of a death under the open sky to imprisonment under the Hun.

In the diary of a 23rd Royal Fusilier, "Mr. Brooks, the schoolmaster," as he was once dubbed by his captors, tells the story of how he was made a prisoner, his detention by the enemy, and his eventual return home.

The arrival of a parcel, he says, was a red-letter event; the problem of how much to eat at a time, and how much to save out of his rations for the provision of another apology of a meal, was a big one. Boiled nettles and dandelions for dinner and tea on Whit Sunday, 1917, proves what the fare actually was; quarters of eggs were unaccustomed luxuries. "I have picked mouldy crusts off the ground, and prunes off dust-heaps," he says.

Dry bread and tea was a luxurious meal; beards had to be cut, or pulled out by means of borrowed scissors; one loaf, and a small one at that, had to prove sufficient for the needs of five men; there were occasional intervals of twenty-two hours between meals. "We were thinking of nothing but food," he explains. All this time, too, the prisoners were engaged in heavy manual work, humping bricks, loading and stacking hay, and so on.

While in hospital, "Mr. Brooks, the schoolmaster," sold his boots for tobacco and his socks for bread, and he mixed his jam ration with coffee in order to eke it out. "Personally, I am hungry all day long," is how he describes his feelings. "I bought about one-sixth of a loaf for seventeen cigarettes."

"I was rather slow in getting into bed," is how he describes another of his experiences, "and the German orderly picked up my satchel and hurled it against the wall, open as it was, at the risk of spilling its contents."

He pays a deep tribute to the humanity of the French who were still living in the occupied territory; the Belgians he met were also kind; some Germans showed traces of feeling, others were no better than brutes....

Here, however, are actual extracts from the diary itself. They speak for themselves.

"Three or four Germans began to advance, and it seemed to me that the question which had been at the back of my mind since a second or two after the first opening of the guns, Was this the end? was about to be answered....

"With many signs to hasten, my German hurried me on. Soon, with three others, I found myself by poor old Bill Shoebridge, a good old grumbler of some fifty summers, who had been cruelly sent out to us in December, and had kept his end up well, with, at times, many grumblings. He was painfully hit above the knee....

"We came to the village, yet unsmashed, but showing signs that it had received a knock or two. OPPY was printed in black letters on white boards in various places, and after wondering for some time what Oppy meant I found it was the name of a place.... We were then marched off, and after some more wandering found ourselves in a kitchen with two or three Germans, who looked quite comfortable, well fed, and at home....

"The Germans we saw almost all regarded us kindly, though many of them had something of mockery in their looks. We now began to see a few of the French inhabitants. They are splendid. Willingly they give us all they can spare, and much that they cannot. Were it not for the fact that they are not allowed to give, and that all their gifts have to be _sub rosa_, we should, I think, want for little....

"Then came the first unpleasant incident. A poor Frenchwoman rushed out and gave a loaf to one of us. One of the guards, a boy of about nineteen, snatched it out of his hands, and threw it on the pavement in front of the woman.

"At Phalemphin station we were all included in a party of eighty. We were addressed in English by a German officer. The gist of his remarks was that we were to be marched to our destination, and that any man who tried to escape would be incontinently shot, also that any man who did not behave would be punished....

"After this day, Saturday, April 28, for more than five and a half weeks, day in and day out, we left our prison between 6.15 and 6.40, struck work and returned for dinner between 11.15 and 1.30, according to the job, left the prison at 1.30 (if we had not arrived for dinner until after 1 we got extra time), and struck work any time between 5.30 and 10.30....

"In our (British) lines if one (a prisoner of war) has to work extra time, one always gets time off to compensate, also one has plenty of food to work on. Here, extra work carried no compensations. The work, especially latterly, was mainly unloading trucks, pushing the trucks about, and packing the contents of the trucks in various stores.

"In the yard were always parties of French and Belgians working, and, if allowed, they would have given us their souls. At the commencement of our stay, however, we were told to take nothing from the French, and it was certainly not many days before we found it was almost impossible to take anything from them because the penalty was so great. Whenever the French and the Belgians did get a chance they availed themselves of it....

"Let us never forget that we also got things from the Germans. Until we reached Phalemphin we had received no rough or cruel treatment whatever....

"At Douai our gaolers were without exception friendly and kind; at Lille our gaolers were taciturn, and when they did speak, though loud and threatening in words, laid hands on no man. We were, therefore, expecting no man-handling, and it came as a fearful shock. It is my impression that man-handling began in about four days' time, but it may be that some smaller incident, such as being thumped in the back by the guard, had passed unnoticed as being mere playfulness on their part.

"As to man-handling, it began slowly and increased in frequency, and I think in severity, as the time went on, until, to me at any rate, it became somewhat of a nightmare. Within a week of our arrival at Phalemphin the guard would rush at, beat, strike, or kick any man who had a pipe or cigarette in his mouth while we were being counted in the yard....

"Suddenly the man in charge in that part of the yard appeared. It was the first time I had seen him. Judging from first impressions, he was a quiet, self-contained, steady kind of man, rather like the great 'Agrippa' in 'Shock-headed Peter' to look at.... Suddenly the man changed, and with a sudden rush was amongst us.

"'Agrippa,' thinking he was being disparaged, flew at Barber and struck him violently two or three times in the face. One of our sergeants, named Morley, remonstrated, and in a second 'Agrippa' had struck him two or three times in the face....

"I don't know what you would think of one and a half spoonfuls of jam, or grease, or preserved meat, or half an uncooked herring for the only thing to eat daily in addition to dry bread and a bowl of soup at midday, but such are our rations, and I can tell you that by now one has got to look forward to the day's issue as a very big thing....

"The first 'tying up' shows him, the sergeant-major, at his best as a wise judge, jury, and executioner.... The method of tying up was as follows: In the garden behind our barn were some trees. The man had to stand with his feet close together and his back to the tree; he was then tied to the tree by a strap round the ankles.

"His hands were tied together behind his back and the strap passed round the tree. The third strap was the worst; it was tied round the man's neck, and tied tightly round the tree, so that the back of the man's head was against the tree.

"Of course, a good deal depended upon the guard--some guards would tie all the straps lightly, some would tie some men tight and others loose, and so on. The most popular tree for tying men up to was not straight, so that being tied up tightly to it was no joke, as I can vouch for....

"A favourite pastime of the sergeant-major was to come and watch the men at work. Then, indeed, did everyone buck up.... On one occasion I saw him mercilessly belabour an Australian boy with his stick. The boy had not been able to respond quickly enough to his order.

"Well, it is six months to-morrow since I had an English meal. (This is written in hospital.) The last three days I have tried the tip of having a drink of coffee at breakfast-time, and having my breakfast between 8.30 and 10, but I don't know that it is any better. Strange are the ways of this hospital--no soap and no clean bedding since I came in.

"Sometimes peace and go as you please, sometimes every little rule fussed about. Clothes and food are not in any way satisfactory, but one is getting a rest, and that is what one should remember.... Suspense. Waiting with, oh, how many hopes and fears, for that parcel to turn up. Hungrier and hungrier, and with the dread of tobacco running out...."

Then in conclusion comes a pathetic little personal note.

"I have never read this through since I returned in December, 1918. Seeing the mention of Bull a few pages back reminds me that I afterwards heard he had died in hospital. I wrote to his wife on my return, and found she was a widow.

"The Germans reported that her husband had died from wounds in Mons Hospital. I was with him all through August, and he had no wounds. I saw him in hospital in November, and he had no wounds, only boils. So I do not see how he died of wounds."

THE HONOURS' LIST

NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN AWARDED DECORATIONS AND MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES

THE HONOURS' LIST

OFFICERS

+----------------------+----------+----------------------------- | | Date of | Rank. | Name. | Award or | Decoration, etc. | | Mention. | ---------+----------------------+----------+----------------------------- Capt. | Bull, F.G. | 4. 6.17 | Military Cross Capt. | Bull, F.G. | 26. 7.17 | Bar to M.C. Major | Bowyer, C.H. | 4. 4.17 | Chevalier de la Coronne Major | Bowyer, C.H. | 13. 3.18 | D.S.O. Capt. | Barr, A.J. | 11. 5.17 | Military Cross Lieut. | Colman, L.H. | 9. 4.17 | Mentioned in Despatches Capt. | Gardner, A.S. | 17. 4.17 | Military Cross Capt. | Humfrey, A.A.P. | 13. 2.17 | Military Cross Capt. | Humfrey, A.A.P. | 17. 4.17 | Bar to M.C. Capt. | Hilder, M.L. | 11. 5.17 | Military Cross Capt. | Isaac, E.E. | 20.10.16 | Military Cross | (R.A.M.C.) | | Capt. | Isaac, E.E. | 17. 4.17 | Bar to M.C. | (R.A.M.C.) | | Major | Lewis, N.A. | 13. 2.17 | Military Cross Major | Lewis, N.A. | 17. 4.17 | Bar to M.C. Major | Lewis, N.A. | 26. 7.17 | D.S.O. Major | Lewis, N.A. | 7.11.17 | Mentioned in Despatches Lieut. | Moore, E.A. | 22. 5.17 | Mentioned in Despatches Lieut. | Milsom, M.G. | 26. 7.17 | Military Cross Capt. | Spencer, H. | 15. 6.16 | Mentioned in Despatches Capt. | Spencer, H. | 1. 1.17 | Military Cross Capt. | Spencer, H. | 7.11.17 | Mentioned in Despatches Capt. | Spencer, H. | 7. 4.18 | Mentioned in Despatches Capt. | Spencer, H. | 8. 7.19 | Mentioned in Despatches Lt.-Col. | Vernon, H.A. (From | 22. 2.16 | Croix de Chevalier | 1st K.R.R. Corps) | | Lt.-Col. | Vernon, H.A. (From | 20.10.16 | D.S.O. | 1st K.R.R. Corps) | | Lt.-Col. | Vernon, H.A. (From | 4. 1.17 | Mentioned in Despatches | 1st K.R.R. Corps) | | Lt.-Col. | Winter, E.A. | 1. 1.17 | Military Cross Lt.-Col. | Winter, E.A. | 7.11.17 | Mentioned in Despatches Lt.-Col. | Winter, E.A. | 1. 1.18 | D.S.O. Lt.-Col. | Winter, E.A. | 23. 7.18 | Bar to D.S.O. Lt.-Col. | Winter, E.A. | 8.11.18 | Mentioned in Despatches Capt. | Wiggen, R.H. | 20.10.16 | Military Cross Lieut. | Anderson, J. McC. | 8. 3.19 | Military Cross Lieut. | Cashman, J. | 8.11.18 | Mentioned in Despatches Capt. | Cluff, W.B. | 23. 7.18 | Military Cross 2/Lieut. | De Ritter, J.R. | 15. 2.19 | Military Cross 2/Lieut. | James, C.F. | 8. 3.19 | Military Cross Lieut. | Phipps, G.C. | 8. 3.19 | Military Cross 2/Lieut. | Bird, H. Mc. | 18. 2.18 | Military Cross 2/Lieut. | Brownlee. J. | 18. 2.18 | Military Cross Lieut. | Carr, J.W. | 3. 6.18 | Military Cross Lieut. | Carr, J. W | 8.11.18 | Mentioned in Despatches 2/Lieut. | Colbourne, J. | 8.11.18 | Mentioned in Despatches. Lieut. | Driscoll, J. | 9. 1.18 | Military Cross. (Award | | | also mentioned in _Lon | | | Gaz._, dated 26.9.17) Capt. | Goodman, S.T. | 12. 2.18 | Military Cross A/Capt. | Gore, J.T., D.C.M., | 2.12.18 | Military Cross | M.M. | | Lieut. | Maxfield, S.C. | 18. 2.18 | Military Cross 2/Lieut. | McLean, A. | 2.12.18 | Military Cross A/Capt. | Royston, E. | 8.11.18 | Mentioned in Despatches Lieut. | Sizen, R. | 18. 2.18 | Military Cross Lieut. | Sizen, R. | 23. 7.18 | Bar to M.C. Lieut. | Skinner, T.E. | 18. 2.18 | Military Cross Capt. | Taylor, H.A. | 1. 1.18 | Military Cross 2/Lieut. | Woodford, R.D.L. | 8. 3.19 | Military Cross Major | Rogers, H.P. | 8. 3.19 | D.S.O. ---------+----------------------+----------+-----------------------------

N.C.O.'S AND MEN