We entrained (our destination unknown) in cattle trucks, forty men in
each truck, penned in like sheep, and the only seats were the bottom
of the truck. It was awful, to say the least of it, but it turned
out rather a pleasant journey, as at every station we came to there
were people, both gentle and simple, waiting to give us a cheer, also
eatables, such as sandwiches and fruit of every description. It was
remarkable to see small banners of the Union Jack in almost every
hand, and shouting “Vive English,” while the troops replied with “Let
the sons of France march to glory,” which they seemed to know the
meaning of, as they joined in their own language. It was amusing to
see rather handsome girls giving kisses to us in exchange for a badge,
buttons, etc. They could not converse with us, but they conveyed their
meanings by signs, and a common one was curling their moustache and
drawing their hand across their throats, which meant we were to kill
the Kaiser, to which we answered by showing our jack-knives. It was the
same right through the five days’ journey; big and small stations alike
they fed us, and it was well they did, for we received no rations; we
were treated like gentlemen. I got a rosette of the French colours
from a lady, which I will treasure. The kindness of these people I
will never forget; they looked rather astonished at our accommodation
and surprised at our good spirits under the circumstances: _Pte. P. J.
Grace, 1st Northumberland Fusiliers_.