de the town, without cover, and the officers were billeted at the
'Hotel du Rhin' and elsewhere. The hardships of the war were yet to
come. Lieutenant B. H. Barrington-Kennett, with his mind always set on
the task before them, remarks: 'There seemed to be a general
misunderstanding amongst the troops as to the length of time during
which rations have to last. They were apt to eat what they wanted at one
meal and then throw the remainder away. R.F.C. peace training does not
encourage economy with food, as the men are financially well off, and
can always buy food and drink in the villages.'

On Sunday, the 16th of August, the headquarters of the Flying Corps, the
aeroplanes of Nos. 2, 3, and 4 Squadrons, and the transport of Nos. 3
and 4 Squadrons moved from Amiens to Maubeuge. Second Lieutenant E. W.
C. Perry and his mechanic, H. E. Parfitt, of No. 3 Squadron, who were
flying a B.E. 8 machine (familiarly known as a 'bloater'), crashed over
the aerodrome at Amiens; the machine caught fire, and both were killed.
There was another accident on the 18th, when the aeroplanes and
transport of No. 5 Squadron followed. Second Lieutenant R. R.
Smith-Barry and Corporal F. Geard, also flying a B.E. 8 machine, crashed
at Peronne; the officer broke several bones, and the corporal was
killed. Three of these machines in all were flown over at the beginning;
they had been allotted to the Aircraft Park, and were taken on charge of
the squadrons in the field to fill vacancies caused by mishaps. The
third of them was the machine flown over by Captain G. I. Carmichael.

At Maubeuge the French authorities gave all the help they could,
providing blankets and straw for the troops. The Flying Corps were now
in the war zone, but for the first two or three days the conditions were
those of peace. They saw nothing of the British army till one evening
British troops marched through Maubeuge on their way to Mons. 'We were
rather sorry they had come,' says Wing Commander P. B. Joubert de la
Ferte, 'because up till that moment we had only been fired on by the
French whenever we flew. Now we were fired on by French _and_
English.... To this day I can remember the roar of musketry that
greeted two of our machines as they left the aerodrome and crossed the
main Maubeuge-Mons road, along which a British column was proceeding.'
To guard against incidents like this the Flying Corps, while stationed
at Maubeuge, turned to, and by working all night painted a U