The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-06-02
34th and 35th InstaAment


Territorial army spranS. came into De-
ing in the years following the Crlmeah
war.
For some ten 20 twenty years after
ward the Volunteers may be said to Gave
met with little better than dertsion- IL
was said that they only wanted 10 We''I
q uniform and play at soldiers, ano
hardly anyone believed in the wonoertut
spirit which really animated them from
the start The military and otner au
thorities gave them but little help ana
hardly any encouraScrnent-inf fact they
refused 10 take the Volunteers seriously.
In spite OF all these drawbacks TINS
xonderful force, under the leadership OF
such men as the late Lord WemySs- LORD
Macdonald and others, went rapidly on
STRUGGLING against adversely, but IN
lereaSinR in strength all the time. Inc
great patriotic spirit which has always
been the soul Of the Volunteers was kept
alive by their great leaders IN face O.
sights and neglect. but II was reserved
for Lord Haldane to devise the scheme
which was to make the fullest use Oh
the Volunteers and bring them 10 the
zenith Of their reputation. He reallAeu
that their patriotic ardor nigh De puh
e. 1oo6 nurnose. and drafted the scheme
whareby. while remaining Volunteers
they were formed into great Tern
torial army, administered by the so
called Territorial County association 70
whose energy and devotion the county
owes % much
rne result OF Lord Haldanes states
rnanlike foresight has been clear 70 any
one who during the last four years mas
cast his yes across the channeFand seen
the KpleadId behavior OF oar citizens soE-
diers IN the 6eld-
have SPOKEN already elsewhere OF
what have always regarded as our
great initial administrative mistake ID
the war-namely, the raising OF an en-
tirely new army when the machinery Oh
expanding tho Territorial force, especial
ly established by Lord Haldane Tor the
purpos>-I mean the Territorial County
associations-was already at hand and
would have proved by far the most ef-
iciene and economical methoo Oh FaiSine
the troops required
Lord Macdonald and those who are
left OF the early Volunteer soldiers
must in their old age rejoice in the
Enowledge that they have lived TO see
the force which they tended and nur'
tured against such appalling dlnlculties
Aactually for several months standing De-
tween the empire and disaster.
Such a spirit az tina. which the Eoiun'
teers cultivated and maintained Is
bound sooner or later to make itself tcIt
and as the years rolled on the country
came at last dimly and slowly 10 realize
the Volunteers true value. They hSur'
ed in the hcld RS early as SS2 in the
Egyptian campaign and played their
part afterward in much greater numbers
throughout tho South African war.
After Lord Kitchener had made his
call upon the country Tor the new ar
mics the Territorials found themselves
neglected and put In tn" shade.
II Is true that. BY 4 terms or 'her
enxaxpment Territorial soldiers were
only available for home defence. but
even in peace time certain proportion
Of the force had volunteered 10 serve
anywhere in case Of war. and II was
always anticipated that when the ncccs'
sity arose a renewed call would be made
upon the whole force 10 do likewise.
The response to the call which was SUBJ
sequently made up them shows quite
clearly that. had they been asked al
first, they would have. come forward al
most TO a man.
However. as Il turned out. they were
ignored and tho call was never mad
NOV them. Officers and men aljk" ma
turally and inevitably made Up th"i,
minds that they were not wanted anc
, would never be used for any other pur'
pose than that for which they had ORG
inalIy taken service. namely. the defence
Of the United Kingdom.
But tho time for tn" employment o.
troops other than tho regulars OF tho o!c
army arrived with drastic and uneXpect
Cd speed The wastag" OF war proved
To be so enormous that tho fighting lln'
had to be reinforced almost before tn
new armies were in SHistencc.
II was then that the country in he
need burned to tho despised Trrrltorials
The call camc upon them Xix" Dol
front the blue. No warning mad peer
given. Fathers and sons. husbands ant
hrothers. Iart families. homes. tho worI
and cuisines Of their lives. almost at al
hours notice 10 go on active serrIc
abroad.
n seems to mo that We have n"vN
realized what II was these mon wcr'
asked 10 do. They were quite dittcren
from professional soldiers. who arc krp
and paid through years OF peace for thl'
particular purpose OF war: who spei>
their lives practjcinE their profcsst''
and gaining promotion and distinction
and who on being confronted with IN
enemy. fulfil the great ambition OF th"I
lives.
Equally distinct were tho Territorial
also from what ms been called the New
Army whose officers and men ha'
ample time TO prepare themselves 10
what they were required to DO.
wonder sometimes il the eyes or m
.ountry will ever he opened 10 wha
these Territorial soldiers OF ours nav
done.
7 saw without tho slightest hesitation
,ba, vithou, tho assistance which III
Territorials afforded between Octooc
1914 and Jurc 1918. il would nave pee
impossible 10 have held III" iine u
France and Belgium or to have prevents
the enemy from reaching his goal IN
Channel seaboarS.
Retvcen thc beginning OF NoTcmo"
and the end Of the battle OF fpres' A'r
ritorial battalions were constantly III
riyin-. A special training camp wa
formed for them at st. Omer unoer
selected commander. The post was au
= mirably filled first by BTEao'T7 HeneIa
chichester and later by Brigadicr Gene
raj Oxley.
have already told OF the fine wor
donn by tho Oxrordshlre .Hussars an
thn london Scottish-the first Terr1to'
;a1. to enter the line OF battle. In
Eortb and South irish Horse went I
E>,ance much earlier than these 'roop'
hut were employed as special escort
q n. O. The splendid example OF IN
Oxfordshire Hussars and the L"nuo
scottish rerritorials was well to'.o~g
and the record they rstaoiishcd nool
maintained by each unit or the err =,
torial Army as 1t successi'eiS 'o0N II
place in the trenches ,.,h,-
or these units the "nr"lcNs'' g.
xyorsu ArtiIlery battery detralncd at s
o. r., tho beginning Of November q
re cavalry, the O1fordshire hussaI
49,. rrad A. Dunkirk about the mid