Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1917-08-07

M
After That They Really Began to Make
Soldiers Of us.
We learned more the first week Of our
actual training in England than we
did from November to April In Cana
da. make this statement without
fear that any officer or man Of the
Canadian forces alive today will dis
agree with me, and I submit 1t for the
thoughtful consideration Of the gen.
tlemen who believe that our own
armies can be prepared for service
here at home.
In this war every man has got to be
q specialist. Hes got to know one
thing better than anybody else except
those who have had intensive instruc.
ton In the same branch. And, besides
that, he's got to have effective general
knowledge Of all the specialties In
which his fellow soldiers have been
particularly trained l can illustrate
this. Immediately upon our return
from first leave. In England we were
divided into sections for training In
eight specialties. They were: Bombing,
sniping, scouting, machine gun fight
ing, signaling, trench mortar operation,
bayonet fighting and stretcher bearing
I was selected for special training In
bombing, probably because was sup
posed, as an American and baseball
player, to be expert in throwing. With
the other men picked for training In
the same speciality, I was sent to Al
dershot, and there for three weeks,
twelve hours a day, threw bombs,
studied bombs, read about bombs, took
bombs to pieces to see what made
them tick and put them together again
and did practically everything else
that you could do with bomb. except
eat It.
Then l was ordered back along with
the other men who had gained this
intimate acquaintance with the entire
bomb family, and we were put to work
teaching the entire battalion all that
we had learned When we were not
teaching we were under instruction
ourselves by the men who had taken
special training In other branches.
Also at certain periods Of the day we
had physical training and rife prac-
tice. Up to the time Of our arrival In
England intensive training had been
merely a fine phrase with us. During
our stay there It was definite and
overpowering fact. Day and night we
trained, and day and night It rained
At 8 o'clock we would fall into our
hunks In huts which held from half
to q whole platoon-from thirty to SIX
b men-and drop into exhausted sleep,
only to turn out at a. m. to give
sudden and exact imitation Of what
we would do to the Germans II they
sneaked up on US before breakfast In
six inches Of mud. Toward the last,
when we thought We had been driven
to the limit, they told US that we were
to have period Of real, intensive train
ing to harden US for actual fighting.
They sent US four imperial drill SER
geants from the British grenadier
guards, the senior foot regiment Of the
British army and the one with which
we were affiliated.
It would be quite unavailing for me
to attempt to describe these drill ser
geants. The British drill sergeant Is
an Institution which can be understood
only through personal and close con-
tact and is about as cordial as loose
electricity. II he thinks a major gen.
eral Ia wrong he'll tell him so on the
spot in the most emphatic way, but
without ever violating single sacred
tradition Of the service. The sergeants
who took US In charge to put on the
real polish to our training had all seen
from twenty to twenty-five years OF
service. They had all been through
the battles Of Mons and the Marne,
and they had all been wounded. They
were perfect examples Of type. One
of them ordered all Of our commission
ed officers, from the colonel down, to
turn out for rife drill one day and put
them through the manual Of arms
while the soldiers Of the battalion stood
around looking on.
"Gentiemen," said he very politely
In the midst Of the drill, when I see
you handle your rifles feel like fall.
ing on my knees and thanking GOD
that we've got navy"
A Call For Volunteers.
On June 2, after the third battle Of
Ypres, while Mcfarland and / were
sitting wearily on our hunks during
a strange hour in the afternoon when
nobody had thought Of anything for
Us to do, soldier came In with
message from headquarters which put
q sudden stop to the discussion we
were having about the possibility OF
getting leave to 60 up to London. The
message was that the First, Second
and Third divisions Of the Canadians
had lost 20 per cent Of their men In the
third fight at Ypres and that 300 volun-
teers were wanted from each Of our
battalions to all up the gaps.
"Forty per cent" said Mcfarland,
getting up quickly. my God, think OF
It! Well, I'm OF to tell em III 60"
I told him l was with him, and we
started for headquarters, expecting to
be received with applause and pointed
out az heroic examples. We couldn't
even get up to give In our names. The
whole battalion had gone up ahead OF
%. They heard about It frst. That
was the spirit Of the Canadians. Il
was about this time that . story went
round concerning an English colonel
who had been called upou to furnish
volunteers from his outnt to replace
casualties. He backed bis regiment mp
AGAINST q barrack wall and said: . I.
"Now, all who don't want to voiun-
teer step three PAGES to the rear"
In our battalion sergeants and even
omcers offered to 60 a. privates. Nc.
Rariand and I Were not scceptod: our