The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-01-29

Lieut.. Percy worthington, Young
American, Former Oxford Student,
Writes OF Experiences With Allies.
baltimore Sun.

j
baltimore Sun.
Lieut.. Percy Worthington. a form
er student at Oxford and son of an
American physician residing In Paris
before the war. has written interest
Ing letters of his experience at the
front" Lieutenant Worthington re-
ceived his early education at Harrow
and had completed his second year at
Oxford when the war broke out. He
enlisted In, the BrStish army one
month later. At the request Of
friend In Baltimore he has given an
account of his experiences from that
time until his return to England. af-
ter being wounded at Loos. the bat
tie In which John r. Poe was killed.
Lieutenant worthington is hardly
more than 21 years old. His expe-
riences are probably similar to those
OK many other Oxford undergraduates.
who. though little more than boys and
without previous military training, Of
ftred their services In answer to Lord
Kitchener's call for volunteers. The
letter follows:
'Tunbridge Wells.
- Dec. 10. 1915.
"You say that any personal docu-
ment of the war interests you; SO. at
the risk OF being tedious. I will try
to give you some idel OF my own sem
sations and experiences. @Sa
| II was In Wales when the war
broke out and at first was merely an
Interested spectator. but by the end OF
August all my English friends had
4 joined and. indeed, many OF my
! school friends ywere already dead
sunday. September /, 1914. l enlisted
as private in an infantry battalion. the
Public school BattaAionl Of the -
Regiment. aa
1 I'VE went into training at once at
l. race course. though we had neith-
er arms nor uniforms. 1t was a pret-
ty rough life at first. We slept on
straw, 10 In "a loose box. Knives,
forks and plates were conspicuous by
their absence. Few of us had been in
the army and food Vas Aat first q
IscSnmbie. and he ,lodt ed best. who loot
ed MrsG but We. gradually settled
down to the routine Of the line soldier
: A life In which hard physical exercise
and food were the chief constituents
was not very intellectual, though VIC
Iwsts ell supposed to be ;pahalc school
men; ergo. people OF education.
1T soon became apparent that, ev.
ieryone Of officer class would be
: needed in that capacity. for in the
British army tho ex-ranker. despite
experience OF war. is not altogether
satisfactory as an officer. and the
lTommies do not like him. Consequent.
Ily about the end of October / applied
for a commission and was gazetted
second lieutenant In thes- Regiment
: at the end Of November.
my new regiment was one OF
Kitchener's army and was then in
tents on the south coast. They were,
In an overwhelming majority. civilians,
mostly London artisans and laborers;
a very keen, CHEEKY and Intelligent
crowd. but without the remotest idea
Of discipline and quite unused to
marching or shooting.
! THE conditions were very trying
on the morale; insufficient clothing,
poor food, continual rain. and mud
inches deep and no way to get things
Idry yet they stood 1t like bricks and
gradually developed into soldiers in
stead Of civilians in uniform. In De-
Icember we moved into billets and
there We stayed till March. busy all
the timo drilling, marching and shoot
Ing and mancuvering, Then back to
camp on the coast, where huts had
now been built for us instead of tents
In June we moved to -. near Alder
ISh"'' "HH Snot WIN our service rlHeS
and put on the finishing touches by
big-scale maneuvers.
| TIL April 1 had had command Of
platoon; that Is to say, 1 was par
ent, spiritual and temporal guide, and
pastor to some so men, and a nicer set
of fellows 1 never expect to meet. NV
sergeant was the foreman of q big
Photographic works, my corporal an
electrical engineer In the London un-
foreground; my orderly had driven en-
sines on railways in England and even
In Buenos Aires, While my. chronic
drunkard was an elisted parson.
| After April became for some