Kitcheners Mob | Page 8

of training before they could be
made physically fit, before they could be seasoned and toughened to
withstand the hardships of active service.
Plenty of hard work in the open air brought great and welcome changes.
The men talked of their food, anticipated it with a zest which came
from realizing, for the first time, the joy of being genuinely hungry.
They watched their muscles harden with the satisfaction known to
every normal man when he is becoming physically efficient. Food,
exercise, and rest, taken in wholesome quantities and at regular
intervals, were having the usual excellent results. For my own part, I
had never before been in such splendid health. I wished that it might at
all times be possible for democracies to exercise a beneficent
paternalism over the lives of their citizenry, at least in matters of health.
It seems a great pity that the principle of personal freedom should be
responsible for so many ill-shaped and ill-sorted physical incompetents.
My fellow Tommies were living, really living, for the first time. They
had never before known what it means to be radiantly, buoyantly
healthy.
There were, as well, more profound and subtle changes in thoughts and
habits. The restraints of discipline and the very exacting character of
military life and training gave them self-control, mental alertness. At
the beginning, they were individuals, no more cohesive than so many
grains of wet sand. After nine months of training they acted as a unit,

obeying orders with that instinctive promptness of action which is so
essential on the field of battle when men think scarcely at all. But it is
true that what was their gain as soldiers was, to a certain extent, their
loss as individuals. When we went on active service I noted that men
who were excellent followers were not infrequently lost when called
upon for independent action. They had not been trained to take the
initiative, and had become so accustomed to having their thinking done
for them that they often became confused and excited when they had to
do it for themselves.
Discipline was an all-important factor in the daily grind. At the
beginning of their training, the men of the new armies were gently dealt
with. Allowances were made for civilian frailties and shortcomings.
But as they adapted themselves to changed conditions, restrictions
became increasingly severe. Old privileges disappeared one by one.
Individual liberty became a thing of the past. The men resented this
bitterly for a time. Fierce hatreds of officers and N.C.O.s were
engendered and there was much talk of revenge when we should get to
the front. I used to look forward with misgiving to that day. It seemed
probable that one night in the trenches would suffice for a wholesale
slaughtering of officers. Old scores were to be paid off, old grudges
wiped out with our first issue of ball ammunition. Many a fist-banged
board at the wet canteen gave proof of Tommy's earnestness.
"Shoot 'im?" he would say, rattling the beer glasses the whole length of
the table with a mighty blow of his fist. "Blimy! Wite! That's all you
got to do! Just wite till we get on the other side!"
But all these threats were forgotten months before the time came for
carrying them out. Once Tommy understood the reasonableness of
severe discipline, he took his punishment for his offenses without
complaint. He realized, too, the futility of kicking against the pricks. In
the army he belonged to the Government body and soul. He might
resent its treatment of him. He might behave like a sulky school-boy,
disobey order after order, and break rule after rule. In that case he
found himself check-mated at every turn. Punishment became more and
more severe. No one was at all concerned about his grievances. He

might become an habitual offender from sheer stupidity, but in doing so,
he injured no one but himself.
A few of these incorrigibles were discharged in disgrace. A few
followed the lead of the Boer warrior. After many threats which we
despaired of his ever carrying out, he finally "greased off." He was
immediately posted as a deserter, but to our great joy was never
captured. With the disappearance of the malcontents and incorrigibles
the battalion soon reached a high grade of efficiency. The physical
incompetents were likewise ruthlessly weeded out. All of us had passed
a fairly thorough examination at the recruiting offices; but many had
physical defects which were discovered only by the test of actual
training. In the early days of the war, requirements were much more
severe than later, when England learned how great would be the need
for men. Many, who later reënlisted in other regiments, were
discharged as "physically unfit for further military service."
If the standard of conduct in my