The Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Casualty And Other Stories, by
James Owen Hannay, AKA George A. Birmingham

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Our Casualty And Other Stories
1918

Author: James Owen Hannay, AKA George A. Birmingham

Release Date: January 21, 2008 [EBook #24393]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR CASUALTY AND OTHER STORIES ***

Produced by David Widger

OUR CASUALTY AND OTHER STORIES

By G. A. Birmingham

1918

I ~~ OUR CASUALTY

There is not in the whole British Isles a more efficient military body
than the Ballyhaine Veterans' Corps. The men look like soldiers when
they have their grey uniforms on and their brassards on their sleeves.
They talk like soldiers. They have the true military spirit. There is
not a man in the company under fifty years of age, but if the Germans
attempt a landing on the Ballyhaine beach, by submarine or otherwise,
they will be sorry for themselves afterwards--those of them who remain
alive.

Ballyhaine is a residential suburb, entirely built over with villas of
the better kind. Each villa has its garden. In times of peace we discuss
sweet peas or winter spinach or chrysanthemums on our way into town
in the morning, travelling, as most of us do, by the 9.45 train, with
season tickets, first class.

When our boys went off from us, as they all did early in the war, we
felt that it was time for us to do something too. There was not the
least difficulty about enrolling the men. We all joined the corps, even
poor old Cotter, who must be close on seventy, and who retired from
business three years ago. He used to bore us all by talking about his
rheumatism, but when the Volunteer Corps was formed he dropped all that,
and went about saying that he had never suffered from pain or ache in
his life, and could do twenty miles a day without feeling it We made
Cotter a corporal.

Our Commanding Officer is Haines, who plays the best hand at bridge of
any man in the club. He held a commission in a line regiment before he
went on the Stock Exchange. That was thirty-five years ago, and it is
not to be supposed that his knowledge of soldiering is up-to-date, but