The Sherwood Foresters in the Great War 1914-1919 | Page 8

once at Harpenden
by Lieut.-General Sir Ian Hamilton, commanding the Central Force,
again on September 29th, by Lord Kitchener in Luton Hoo Park, when
we thought we made a very creditable display, and lastly, on October
6th, after we had carried out an attack scheme ending up on the
Sandridge Rifle Range, when the Battalion had the honour of marching
past Lord Roberts.
The air, of course, was full of rumours. As early as September 1st, we
were told that we should be off to France in a month: later the date was
fixed for October 30th, and then November 7th, Bordeaux being
mentioned as the elusive objective. On this last occasion it seemed so
certain that we were going that a farewell sermon was preached, which
turned out to be decidedly premature. We heard with every conceivable
detail the delicious stories of the thousands of Russians who kept
pouring through Nottingham, and like others we had the usual
excitements of spy scares, all of which were very entertaining, and one
at least highly dangerous, when one of our chases took some of us over

the railway embankment armed with loaded revolvers.
Whatever the possibilities of our going out early may have been, one
step was taken which could have had only that object in view, viz.
inoculation against typhoid. We can only hope that the Medical
Officers who operated on us got more fun out of the operation than we
did.
Marching orders came eventually, and as ever, when least expected.
Late on Sunday evening, November 15th, we were told to be ready to
move at an hour's notice. This was presumed to be due to a feared raid
and landing on the East Coast--at any rate one hopes there was some
equally good reason for it, for quite a number of Officers and men had
been allowed to go on week-end leave, and had to be recalled by
telegram, whilst the following day was to have been a holiday.
We shall not easily forget that night--the energy we expended in
packing valises, brows sweating, tempers bad, language beyond
description,--all trying the impossible feat of making the wonderful
collection of kit we had got together on the advice of one friend or
another keep within the allotted allowance of 35lbs.
Apart from our own individual troubles, we had the additional
enormous task set of issuing new equipment to everybody. The 1908
bandolier pattern had been withdrawn, and new leather equipment
(pattern 1914) had arrived on the previous Friday and Saturday, and the
Quarter-Master's staff had been busy marking it and getting it ready for
issuing. This all had to be issued during the Sunday night, and was
carried round to billets in blankets. The language of something like 900
men all trying to put together an entirely new set of equipment, the like
of which they had never seen, may well be imagined. We were the first
Battalion to be issued with this equipment, which on the next day's
march proved very unsatisfactory, many buckles and straps pulling
right out of the webbing of the packs and haversacks. We were glad
when a month later it was all withdrawn, and we were issued with the
much more popular and lasting web equipment.
Eventually the Battalion paraded at 9 a.m. on November 16th, one hour

late, and in consequence instead of leading the Brigade we had to
march in rear. We got to Harlow, a distance of something like 26 miles,
about 8 p.m. This was a very trying march, and as many men had only
been issued with new boots during the night, it was not surprising that
several fell out. On this march we first realised what a difficult and
technical job "supply" can be. The supply and baggage wagons appear
to have been hopelessly overloaded, and in consequence both rations
and blankets failed to reach us that night. It was largely owing to the
extreme kindness and hospitality of the inhabitants of the delightful
little village of Harlow, amongst whom was the evergreen veteran Sir
Evelyn Wood, V.C., that we were fed and breakfasted and able to
continue the march the following day, 14 miles to Dunmow. This
proved more trying than the previous day, and the Medical Officer and
stretcher-bearers had a busy time attending to those who fell out.
On the 18th, we finished the journey by a nine mile march to Bocking,
and there settled down into billets for the rest of our time in England.
Though we were spoilt at Harpenden, we are sure that all ranks have
nothing but pleasant recollections of the time spent at Braintree and
Bocking, where one and all treated us with the greatest kindness, and
we hope were sorry to lose us. Where all were so kind it is