I feel sorry for the poor French. Be thankful you are living in
England! We passed through village after village on the march, and
there was not a living soul in the houses; doors and windows were
smashed open, and everything broken. We passed one house to which the
two women that lived in it had just returned after the Germans had
passed. As we passed they gave us a drink of water--that was the only
thing the Germans had left them: _Pte. Crombie, Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders_.
“Good Sports”
The French make a lot of us in camp, and when we pass each other in the
field, no matter how busy the Frenchmen may be, they give us hearty
cheers to encourage us on our way. There’s plenty of friendly rivalry
between us when there’s hard fighting to be done, and when we do get
there before the French they don’t grudge us our luck. They’re good
sports right through to the core, and the British soldier asks nothing
better from allies in the field: _Lance-Corporal E. Hood_.
“Give You Anything”
The French are so good-natured they would give anything, even to the
last bit of bread in the house, to our people. To us invalids on
our way through Paris they gave a good reception, bringing grapes,
bananas, peaches, cigarettes, tobacco, and bouquets of flowers. They
are thundering good-natured. To our mounted men the poorer classes
would also bring out buckets of milk and of water, and the women would
come with their aprons full of fruit. They would give you anything: _A
British Gunner_.