THE
BRITISH SOLDIER
His Courage and Humour
BY
Rev. E.J. HARDY, M.A.
Chaplain to the Forces (Retired)
Author of "How to be Happy though Married,"
"Mr. Thomas Atkins," etc. etc.
"Nous entendons dire de tous côtés que vos pauvres Tommies se battent
comme des lions et que chaque jour ils font des exploits magnifiques.
Ils sont bons garçons et tres drôles."--(_Extract from a French
lady's letter._)
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN
1 ADELPHI TERRACE W.C.
_First published in 1915_
(_All rights reserved._)
TO
THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES
OR THEIR HEALTH
TO
SAVE CIVILISATION FROM BARBARISM
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
PREFACE ix
I. UP TO SAMPLE 1
II. COURAGE 7
III. COURAGE AND DISCIPLINE 17
IV. BOYS OF THE BULLDOG BREED 29
V. FACING FEARFUL ODDS 37
VI. FIGHTS TO A FINISH 45
VII. CAVALRY CHARGES 52
VIII. GRIT AND GUNS 57
IX. GALLANTRY OF INDIVIDUALS 68
X. SELF PUT ASIDE 78
XI. BROTHERS-IN-ARMS 91
XII. UNDER FIRE 101
XIII. "I'VE GOT IT" 110
XIV. FROM FEAR TO HEROISM 117
XV. UNCOMMON COMBATS 123
XVI. IN THE TRENCHES 132
XVII. NOT DOWNHEARTED 142
XVIII. PLAY AND WORK 148
XIX. WAR AS A GAME 158
XX. THE COURAGE THAT BEARS 164
XXI. IN A MILITARY HOSPITAL 170
XXII. READY TO RETURN 176
XXIII. FASHIONS AT THE FRONT 182
XXIV. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS 189
XXV. UNCONSCIOUS HUMORISTS 199
XXVI. NICKNAMES 209
XXVII. TENDER-HEARTED BECAUSE BRAVE 213
XXVIII. WHAT THE FRENCH AND BELGIANS THINK 228
PREFACE
I did not need a war of nations to learn about the courage and humour
of the British soldier. As a book I wrote called "Mr. Thomas Atkins"
shows, I had studied and appreciated him during the thirty-one years
in which I served as Chaplain to the Forces. Still, it was pleasant to
read despatches and letters from the seat of war highly praising my old
friend. This book is based upon the strong, clear letters of Mr. Thomas
Atkins (I am never guilty of the impertinence of calling him "Tommy")
which were written amidst the stress and strain of war, often even in
the pauses of battle. I have done little more than select and classify
the letters of that best of war correspondents--the British soldier.
The letters are a credit to his head and his heart, and throw a
searchlight on the war. The soldier wrote of the things he knew about,
and the result is that we can see his pen pictures.
I would like to express my indebtedness to the newspapers in which the
letters were printed, but find it difficult to do so as the letters
were all over the Press, so to speak, and many of them quoted without
mention of the paper from which they were taken. I know, however,
that _The Times_, _The Daily Mail_, _The Daily Telegraph_, _The Daily
Chronicle_, _The Evening News_, _The Star_, _The Standard_, _Reynolds'
Newsletter_, and _News of the World_ are amongst the papers from which
I have taken extracts.
What effect has war upon those engaged in it? A reflective soldier
thus answers: "If war brings out the brutal instincts, it reveals the
God-like also, for I have come across scores of instances of sacrifice
even unto death among men who in times of peace are looked upon as
almost worthless characters."
May we not trust that:
"Those who live on amid our homes to dwell
Have grasped the higher lessons that endure?"
In reference to Mr. Thomas Atkins, the British public is wont to blow
hot and cold. When he is engaged in a popular war they are inclined to
make a popular fool of him, talking as if it were rather wonderful, and
not a matter of course, that he should bear hardships uncomplainingly
and not skulk in battle. When peace comes there are in some places of
public resort as many snubs for him as before there had been sweets,
pairs of socks, and other "comforts."
The following lines were cut by a soldier in a stone sentry-box at
Gibraltar:
"God and the soldier all men adore
In time of trouble, and no more;
For when war is over,
And all things righted,
God is neglected;
And the old soldier slighted."
Let us hope that when this war is over God will not be neglected nor
the soldier slighted.
The Author's profits from this book will be given for the benefit of
soldiers.
CHAPTER I
Up to Sample
A manufacturer is glad when he can supply goods up to sample, and we
ought to be thankful that the old mixture of English, Scotch, Irish and
Welsh sent to the war against Germany was as good as it ever was.
Lord Roberts said, "Our men have done wonderfully at the front, and I
am proud of the British Army." Another old soldier, Lord Sydenham, told
an audience that British troops had never shown finer qualities.
"Ah, Monsieur," said a French Staff Officer to an English friend,
"without your Army we should have been lost. It proved that one
volunteer is worth ten conscripts."
In the retreat from the Belgian frontier it was the small British Army
that kept back at fearful loss the huge army of Germany, and by doing
so enabled the French forces to fall back in safety.
One who was associated with the British at the beginning of this
strategic retirement wrote: "I have seen a crack cavalry regiment
almost annihilated in a desperate charge against the German artillery.
I have seen the heroic Scots mown down. Yet the British have already
forgotten those tragic days when they alone bore the weight of the
German onslaught. When in my presence those British soldiers were told
of the disasters to their best regiments they never flinched. 'Never
mind. We'll have the best of it one day,' was the invariable answer
after a moment's silence."
Writing of the long resistance of our men against overwhelming odds in
the region of Ypres, Sir John French said in his dispatches, "No more
arduous task has ever been assigned to British soldiers, and in all
their splendid history there is no instance of their having answered so
magnificently to the desperate calls which of necessity were made upon
them."
The accuracy of British artillery and infantry shooting surprised
both our allies and the enemy. A French officer attached to one of
our contingents was astonished at the coolness and ingenuity of our
soldiers when under fire. He noted their good food and the celerity
with which they made tea, cooked, washed and shaved when the enemy's
fire slackened. He said that our aviators had mastered the technique of
the new arm.
General Zurlinden wrote thus in _The Gaulois_: "The British Army,
which grows from day to day, has done miracles under Field-Marshal
French. It shows in all engagements its incontestable superiority over
the German infantry and artillery; as well as over the German cavalry."
There is a large body of German prisoners in the old fortress of Blaye,
on the Gironde, and the French doctor told a friend that the first
set of prisoners hastened to inform later arrivals that the English
were fighting with the French against Germany. "This, however," they
added, "is of no consequence whatever. The English soldiers are not
worth taking into account." By-and-by other prisoners arrived, and
the same story was repeated to them. They immediately protested. "You
make a grievous mistake," they said, "if you believe that. The English
soldiers are terrible fellows."
The following is a translation of a letter that was found on a dead
German officer: "The English soldier is the best trained soldier in
the world. The English soldier's fire is ten thousand times worse than
hell. If we could only beat the English it would be well for us, but I
am afraid we shall never be able to beat these English devils. They are
very brave and fight to the last."
Even the Kaiser has found out that French's "Contemptible little Army"
is like what the nervous lady said of a mouse-- "small, but a horrible
nuisance."
The deeds of daring that were done in former British wars were repeated
over and over in the present one. There were cavalry charges which can
compare with that of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, only that nobody
blundered. Almost every day a small number of our men kept multitudes
of Germans at bay and got out of the tight corner at last. Guns were
saved or taken with up-to-sample bravery. Wounded men were rescued by
self-forgetting comrades who were often themselves wounded.
Here is an extract from a sergeant's letter printed in _The Evening
News_: "When on the Monday morning we were compelled, reluctantly, to
retire it was just as though we stood on parade at Woolwich. The line
was as straight and steady as ever it was. I could not help thinking
that here was an answer to the blatant ranters who are for ever prating
about the degeneracy of our race."
Nor were our men afraid of the greater amount of work which up-to-date
war entails. An officer mentioned having had during five days of a
retreat, two hours of sleep and nineteen to twenty hours marching a
day. "It was awful to see men with bad feet fall by the roadside; but
I am glad our troops are still the British soldier of history, taking
everything that comes in a most philosophical and courageous manner.
Lying in rain-soaked trenches for three days under a murderous and
hellish fire, wet, hungry, merely provokes him to song and laughter."
A corporal of the 16th Lancers wrote: "We are in the saddle from 3
a.m. and 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.; then off again at three next
morning--not exactly playing billiards at the club."
A sergeant-major was so worn out with marching that at the battle of Le
Cateau he fell asleep and did not awake until his regiment, which had
been in reserve, was ordered to engage. Some men with rifles still hot
in their hands and their heads resting on the barrels slept "the brave
sleep of wearied men."
In a letter from the front there was this passage: "Our fellows have
signed the pledge because Kitchener wants them to. But they all
say, 'God help the Germans, when we get hold of them, for making us
teetotal.' You can get plenty of beer, but I would not disgrace myself
with that, especially on active service."
The French expected our soldiers to be fond of drink, but they found
that they preferred tea to the free drinks of wine they offered.
The girls and women hung on the arms of the British and said that
their only hope was in them. The children played with them and the
old people were cheered up by their songs and laughter as they marched
through the villages. Mr. Thomas Atkins was as brave in resisting the
temptations of this popularity as he was when he came, as he soon did,
to his first battles.
The brave are always tender-hearted, and our soldiers were as humane
and considerate to those whom they conquered as they were strong and
courageous in conquering. After the battle the men with whom they had
been fighting were no longer enemies. They were, if wounded, poor
fellows to be pitied and helped.
And our men were generous in their appreciation. One man wrote: "In
spite of all we say about the Teuton he is taking his punishment well,
and we've got a big job on our hands. Getting to Berlin isn't going to
be a cheap excursion."