I was with the Salonika Force on the Dorian front. One night while
an important raid was on my platoon was told off to seize a big wood
between the lines and make sure it was clear of Bulgars, who could
otherwise have enfiladed the main raiding party.
The orders were "absolute silence, and no firing unless the other side
fires first." I halted my men behind a fold in the ground near the wood
and called up two men and told them to creep forward and see if the
wood was occupied.
It was nasty work as the first news of any Bulgars would almost
certainly have been a bayonet in the back from somebody perfectly
concealed behind a tree.
I asked them if the instructions were quite clear and one of them,
Charlie, from Limehouse, whispered back:
"Yessir! We're going to be the Babes in the Wood, and if the Wicked
Uncles is out to-night we don't fire unless they fires first. Come on,
George (to his companion), there's going to be some dirty work for the
Little Robin Redbreasts to-morrer!"--_A. Forsyth (late Army Cyclist
Corps), 65 St. Martin's Lane, W.C.2._