Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-02-15

feeling like nm overloaded camel,
On my feet were hcayy.solcd boots,
studded with hobnalls, the toes and
heels Of which were rc-cnfOrccd by
steel h0lf'mOons. My legs were in
cased In wooden puttees, olive drab In
color, with my trousers overlapping
them at the top, Then wooden khaki
tunlc, under which was blush gray
wooden shirt, minus Il collar; beneath
! this shirt wooden belly band about
six inches wide, held in place by tie
strings Of white tape. On my head
was heavy wooden trench cap, with
huge e0rlaps buttOncd over the top,
Then the equipment: A canvas belt,
with ammunition pockets and two
Wide canvas straps like suspenders,
called "D" straps, fastened to the belt
In front passing over each shoulder,
crossing in the middle Of my back, and
attached by buckles to the rear Of the
belt On the right side of the belt
hung water bottle, covered with felt
on the left side was my bayonet and
scabbard, and lntrenchlng tool handle,
this handle strapped to the bayonet
scabbard In the rear was my in
trcnching tool, carried in Il canvas case.
This tool was q combination pick and
spade. A canvas havcrsack was
strapped to the left side of the belt,
while on my back was the pack, also
of canvas, held in place by two canvas
straps over the shoulders; suspended
on the bottom of the pack was my
mess tin or cantcen in neat little
canvas case. My waterproof sheet
looking like jelly roll, was strapped
on top of the pack, with wooden stick
for cleaning the breach of the rifle pro-
ieCtlng from each end On a lanyard
around my waist hung a huge jack
knife with can-opencr attachment
The pack contained my ovcrcoat, an
extra pair Of socks, change of under
wear, hold all Containing knife, fork,
spoon, comb toothbrush, lather brush,
shaving soap, and razor made of tin,
with "Made in England" stamped on
the blade; when trying to shave with
this 1t made you wish that you were
at war with Patagonia, so that you
could have ''hollow ground" stamped
"Made in GermanyO then your house
wife, button-cleaning outfit, consisting
of n brass button stick, two stiff
brushes, and box of SOLDIERS
Friend" paste; then shoe brush and
box of dublin, writing pad indel-
ible pencil, envelopes, and pay book,
and personal belongings, such as
small mirror, a decent razor and
sheaf Of unanswered letters and Tags
In your haversack you carry your iron
ratons, meaning tin of bully beef,
four biscuits and can containing tea,
sugar and OXo cubes; couple of
pipes and pack of shay, tin of rifle
oil, and pull-through. Tommy gen
orally carries the oil with his rations;
1t gives the cheese a sort of sardine
taste.
Add to this a first-ad pouch and
long, ungainly rifle patterned after the
Daniel Boone period, and you have an
idea of a British soldier in Bllghty.
Before leaving for France this rifle
is taken from him and he is issued
with a Lee-Enfied short trench rifle
and ration bag.
In France he receives two gas he'll
NETS, q sheepskin coat rubber mack
intosh, steel helmet, two blankets, tear
shell goggles a balaclava helmet,
gloves and tin of antifrOstbite grease
which is excellent for greasing the
boots. Add to this the weight of Ms
rations, and can you blame Tommy for
growing at twenty-kilo route march?
Having served as sergeant major in
the United States cavalry, l tried to
tell the English drill sergeants their
business, but 1t did not work. They
Immediately put me as batman In their
mess. Many a greasy dish of stew was
accidentally spilled over them.
would sooner fight than be waiter,
so when the order came through from
headquarters calling for draft of
$50 re endorsements for France, l vol
unteercd.
Then we went before the NJ. o.
(medical ofiicer) for another physical
examination. This was very brief. He
asked our names and numbers and
said Fit" and we went out to fight.
We were put into troop trains and
sent to Southampton, where we de-
trained, and had our trench rifles is
sued to us. Then in columns of twos
we went up the gangplank of a little
steamer lying alongside the dock.
At the head of the gangplank there
was an old sergeant, who directed that
we line ourselves along both rails Of
the ship. Then he ordered us to take
life belts from the racks overhead and
put them on. have crossed the ocean
several times and knew l was not sea-
sick, but when I buckled on that life
belt l had a sensation Of sickness.
After we got out into the stream all
I could think Of was that there were
million German submarines with tor.