大象传媒

Behind the M.P.s were a lot of women, now they came towards the carriages and they were carrying mugs of tea and cakes. We were famished and we soon disposed of them, they fetched more and then they passed cards around and told us to put our names and addresses on them, telling us that as soon as we had left they would post them, they had even got pencils for us. I handed the filled in cards to a woman and she gave me some more to address, just in case she said. As I sat by the open window munching, a young woman came to the window, she asked if I was married, I told her I was and I had a son. She dived into her pocket and brought out writing paper and an envelope, 鈥渉ere鈥� she said, 鈥渨rite a letter to your wife, she will be glad to have a letter from you.鈥� I scribbled a hasty note, sealed and addressed it, I told her I had no money for a stamp, she just laughed and said I was not to worry about it. She pushed the letter into her pocket and blew me a kiss as the train started to pull away from the station. Lil, my wife, got the letter and the cards the next day, so they must have been sorted on the station and given priority over the other mail.
Along the line and at the stations there were cheering crowds, it was something we did not expect, but were certainly cheered by it all. We went to Crickhowell, stayed for two days for them to sort out the Regiments and then a dozen went to our mob at Hereford.
At Hereford we had roll call, all that was left of the Regiment paraded on the grass in a square and the R.S.M. called out the names. Those that were present would spring to attention and shout 鈥淗ere Sir!鈥� if there was no answer an Officer standing next to him would consult a list in his hands, and then say 鈥渕issing believed killed鈥� or 鈥渒illed in action鈥� and the R.S.M. would strike his name from the records. It was very moving, out of the 750 men that went to France, just over 200 stood on parade that day.
So ends my account of those three weeks that started on the 10th May and ended, for me, on the 31st May, truly a baptism of fire.

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