ecause probably, when I have been out here a little,
everything will become such a matter of course that it will be
difficult to give you any idea of what our life is like unless I begin
with a good chapter one.

CHAPTER I.

"The young soldier's last day in England."

The last day or two was rather a rush. Thursday we frantically packed
valises and vainly attempted to reduce them to something near the
regulation 35lbs. At first one put in a wardrobe fit for Darius going
to conquer Greece, which, when put on the scale, gaily passed its
maximum of 55 pounds. Then out came slacks, shoes, scarves, all sorts
of things. The weighing was then repeated and further reductions
embarked upon, the final result being about 45 lbs. However, we packed
them up tight and they all passed all right. Friday was an awful day
spent in full marching field service order, inspections, and rumours
of absurd Divisional and Brigade operations, which were to take place
at night, although we were to rise at 4 a.m. to march to the station.
However, the operations were only for Company Commanders, and so we
were saved.

In the afternoon we bought all the things we thought we had forgotten.
As everything was packed up a group of half-a-dozen of us assembled
round the anti-room fire to attempt to obtain a little sleep. I had a
chair and a great coat to go over me. The others slept on the floor
with table clothes and such like things. We kept a huge fire burning
all night, and, unfortunately, instead of going to sleep one could not
help looking into its red depths and seeing the pictures of men and
horses you always see in fires. Personally, I did not sleep at all,
only rested and dozed. At 3-0 a.m. a man came in and announced in a
stentorian voice, "The Corporal of the Guards' compliments to Captain
Seddon, and it is 3 o'clock." Appreciation of the fact from Captain
Seddon, who had been sleeping, in unprintable language which finally
resolved itself in a complaint that he had not been introduced to the
Corporal of the Guard and he failed to see why he should bear him a
grudge.

At 3-30 we got up,
4-0 a hasty breakfast,
4-45 I began to go to the lines to fall in,
4-46 I came back for my glasses,
4-48 I return for my identity disc,
4-50 I return again for my day's rations,
5-0 I fall in a quarter of an hour late.

At 5-15 we march off in the dark saying good-bye to those that remain
behind, and realising that