The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1918-05-23

ty men-and drop into exhausted sleep.
only to turn out at 3 a. m. to give
sudden and exact imitation OF what
we would do to the Germans n thef
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 we're
10 have period of real, intensive train
Tag 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 we're affiliated.
II would be quite unavailing for me
to attempt to describe these drill SER
geants. The British drill sergeant IL
an institution which can be understood
only through personal and close con-
tact and Is about as cordial as loose
el ectricity. II he thinks a major gen.
eral is wrong he'll tell him so on the
spot in the most emphatic way, but
without ever violating a single sacred
tradition Of the service. The sergeants
. | WnO IOOk US III tIiuIkt W put Ou thO
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 Marine.
and they had all been wounded. They
we're perfect examples of type. One
of them ordered all of our commission
ed officers, from the colonel down. to
turn out for rifle drill one day and put
them through the manual Of arms
while the soldiers of the battalion stood
around looking on.
Gentlemen" said he very politely
In the midst Of the drill, 'when sec
you handle your rifles feel like fall
ing on my knees and thanking God
that we've got a navy"
A Call for Volunteers.
J On June 2, after the third battle Of
sitting YEARLY on our hunks during
/. a strange hour In the afternoon when
nobody had thought Of anything for
, us to do a soldier came In with a
message from headquarters which put
sudden stop to the discussion we
, were having about the possibility OF
: getting leave to go up to London. The
: message was that the First, Second
t and Third divisions of the Canadians
!. had lost 40 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'll Well, I'm Off to tell 'em I'll CO."
I told him was with him, and we
started for headquarters. expecting to
be received with applause and pointed
\ out as heroic examples. We couldn't
J even get up to give i'm our names. The
Y whole battalion had gone up ahead Of
us. They. heard about 1t first. That
= was the spirit of the Canadians. 1t
was about this time that story went
round concerning an English colonel
who had been called upon to furnish
volunteers from his outfit to replace
casualties. He backed his regiment up
against a barrack wall and said:
; "Now, all who don't want to volun-
i teer step three PAGES to the rear"
In our battalion sergeants and even
officers offered to go as privates. Nc
y Farland and I were not accepted; our
Y volunteers went at once, and we were
REINFORCED up to strength by drafts
from the Fifth Canadian division
Y which was then forming in England.
In July. when we we're being kept
on the rifle ranges most Of the time
all leave was stopped, and we were
ordered to hold ourselves in readiness
to go overseas. In the latter part OF
V the month we started. We sailed from
Southampton to Havre on big trans.
,r port, escorted all the way by destroy
re ers. As we landed we got our first
A. sight of the harvest of war. A big hos
NJ pital on the quay was filed with
,e wounded men. We had twenty-fouI
s. hours In what they called Tres,
" camp" We slept-on cobblestones ir
n shacks which were so utterly comfort
m less that II would be an insult to Q
ce Kentucky thoroughbred to call then
stables. Then we were on the way Il
no the Belgian town of Poperinghe. which
ne is $50 miles from Havre and was a
nj that time the rail head of the Ypre'
o. salient. We made the trip In box carr
% which were marked In French, "Eigh
nj horses or forty men," and we had Il
I'm draw straws to decide who should III
an down.