WASHING THE BRITISH ARMY

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XI, Issue 522, 18 May 1915, Page 2

WASHING THE BRITISH ARMY

At the outbreak of waa* nearly everyone m Great Britain had almost complete confidence m our small Regular Army, and felt certain that it .would give a splendid account of itself on the Continent. On the other hand, there was widespread mistrust of the capabilities of the new Territorial Army, either for purposes of home defence or for service abroad. Some battalions were known to be excellent, and have historic names, such as the London Scottish, the Queen's Westminsters, and the Artists' Rifles, but little or nothing was known of the character and. capabilities of the majority. I have often heard the question asked : Will the Territorials, some of whom do not belong to the old fighting stock from whom we have drawn our best officers m the past, lead their men into action with the same skill and the same self-sacrificing devotion? We can only judge by what they have already accomplished m the field. The- Territorials have tumbled to the new life with astonishing rapidity. Let me quote a few ,of the remarks I have heard from various generals. t — Praise for the Territorials. — S"ir John French himself is delighted with them. He has expressed his opinion in' his despatches and privately. His words are not mere praise intended , to encourage the officers and men, but represent his sincere and considered opinion. The Territorial battalions are m no way pampered; they lead exactly the same existence as their coniI rades m the line. They take their turn m the trenches and m the many fatiguing duties which have to be performed behind the lilies — such as roadmaking, forest planting, and trench digging. The appearance of th*. men is excellent, and their physique is splendid. The officers as well as the rauk and file seem to have giveii complete satisfaction to the generate under whom they have served: Take the case of a crack corps like the Artists' Rifles. Our losses m officers have been so heavy that Sir John French decided on the novel experiment of keeping the whole of this famous battalion behind the lines, and trying all ranks as officers. As they reached a certain standard of progress they were giren cvommissions and drafted to regular battalions. I made careful inquiries as to how this experiment had worked out m practice. One corps commander told me that he had' received a large . number of these new officers from the Artists' Rifles, and that with extremely few exceptions they had turned out admirably. -. — A Novel Experiment.— Scattered over Northern "Prance and Flanders are many factories' for making beet sugar and beer. These possess enormous vats, such as most of us are familiar with m breweries at home.. As their legitimate oc- , cupation is now gone, they have been utilised for the purpose of washing the British Army. This experiment of cleansing every man m an army several hundreds of thousands strong once every 10 days has never . before been tried m war. Yet so complete is the organisation that, except under exceptional circumstances, v every man and officer are sure of their hot bath every 10 days. A battalion comes off duty, and marches to its rest billets, the men* and officers covered with mud. Above all, it is, necessary to change their shii'fcs and undero-uthing. Let it nob be supposed that the only enemy our men have to face is found m the trenches. There is another who carries on a 'how-hie; nerve-racking .form of guerrilla .warfare m. closer proximity to you,- after a few days spent m the mud. His pertinacity', and vitality are amazing. He requires 10 times as much killing as any German, and the medical service has proved equal to the task of circumventing his wiles. The battalion is paraded and marched to the nearest bath. Often this is under shell /fire, and the shrap T nei is screaming overhead. But no one heeds such trifles as these. Each man strips and throws his shirts, underclothes, and socks into a heap. Has uniform he takes off, and ties to it his tin identification disc. At -a, word' of command groups of fourteen nude figures, with a wild howl of joy, rush into each of the steaming tubs. From these arise a chorus of screams and chaff as the I men soap or duck each other m the soap suds. Meanwhile the uniforms are placed m I j another vat, and steamed for ten minutes, j I The heat is so great, that no evaporation takes place, \and they come out perfectly dry. Each man as he emerges from the bath after his allotted span is handed a towel and a fresh set of underclothes. He then dries himself, put has new garments on, and claims his uniform, Tecognising it by the identification disc. The underclothes which he took off are then boiled or steamed m great vats, and then handed over to the washerwomen, who are employed for this purpose at 4 francs a day. They are then carefully inspected, and if found perfectly clean are ■made up into sets, and are available for the next battalion which comes to be washed. Thus the whole Army is continually changing its underclothes. I was present when a Territorial battalion Was having its turn. A young printer's clerk said to me: "This is the day we all live for. It helps you to get back your self-respect, just when you feel you are sinking to the level of brute beasts from mud and dirt. I don't believe one of us would surrender his turn for a fiver."