On the Fringe of the Great Fight

ISBURY

isbury Plain. The force was divided into four distinct camps miles apart. One infantry brigade and the headquarters staff was stationed at Bustard Camp; one section was camped a couple of miles away, at West Down South;

ys." A thin layer of earth and turf covered the chalk which was hundreds of feet in depth; at any spot a blow with a pick would bring up the white chalk filled with black flints. The hills by

ens opened, work was begun and our boys settled down impatiently to receive the further training necess

r times it poured; but it never stopped, except for an hour or so. The constant tramp of many feet speedily churned into mud the clay turf overlaying the chalk, and the rain could

and steam traction engines. Passing cars and lorries sprayed the hedges with a thin mud-emulsion formed from the

never had at home. Sometimes the temperature fell below the freezing point, and occasionally we had sleet, hail or snow for variety. Tents were often blown down by the hundreds, and it was a never-to-be-forgotten sight watching a small army of s

er had a tent with a wooden floor. Mine was carpeted with an extra blanket to exclude draughts and make it feel comfortable under one's bare feet in the morning. The tent was heated by an oil stove which was kept burning night and day; and at night I slept snug and warm in the inter

paid a fabulous sum in Salisbury town. It also held some books, brushes, and other necessaries. A shelf underneath display

learned that he could get warm by the simple process of wrapping himself up in wet blankets and steaming as he would in a Turkish bath,-with himself as the heater. He also discovered that a pair of wet socks, well wrung out a

had become a morass with mud a foot deep, and Tommy looked out upon it and behold it was not good, and he cursed both loud and long whoever he though

ng idly in the mud, and in a good many cases had become diseased; in general they went off badly in condition. Standing orders prohibited the cutting down of a bush or tree on Salisbury Plain, but in the night time we could sometimes hear the familiar sound of an axe

e was a sharp tap on the tent of Capt. Haywood,

in" he

d into the tent. The Sergeant was a good man-an

is it?" sa

hink to buck me up" said the

tter?" said the M.O

"I just wants somethink to buck

" persisted the M.O. "W

me blankets are soaked. I 'ears the bl-- rine coming down on the bl-- tent which leaks all over; it makes a 'ell of a noise on the tent and I cawnt sleep. I gets up in the morning and 'ave to do me work and do me dooty. But Doc, it's gettin' me goat. I feel like cutting me bl-- throat. I 'ave 'ad thirteen years in the aw

en that and a little judicious "jollying"

fairly large number of the men were given leave, and an equally large number took French leave. The latter migrated in large numbers to the litt

hours' respite and forgetfulness in the town of Salisbury, where they hobnobbed with their British confreres and treated them to various drinks. At times the

PORTS IN SALISBU

new airiness and sense of freedom which he was proud of, and it brought him into trouble. My own chauffeur, an Englishman, was the invariable champion of all American cars as compared w

ned them. Privates, perhaps college men or wealthy business men in Canada, frankly said when arrested, that they were quite willing to pay the price, but that they had determined to get warm and dry once more before they were dr

to control the situation. Each night the motor lorries returned loaded with men under a

l; another had his legs amputated by a lorry; a third was accidently shot, and anoth

Canadians, belonging to Highland and other regiments, built roads, huts, and other works, in a country apparently filled with labouring men with no intention of ever going to war, and who, in fact, often did not believe tha

here were 780. It had rained every day in the interval, and there was a great deal of infl

raised from the ground, would be colder to sleep in, and whereas there had been only eight men in the tent to be infected should one man become ill with a comm

closed and sealed the windows with paper, contrary to standing orders, and went to bed with the huts overheated. When the stoves went out the huts cooled down and the usual story one

s had not occasioned any concern. Under these menacing conditions cases of the disease b

se from spreading. Accordingly, on the day before Christmas, I arranged with the Director of the Lister Institute for the loan of Dr. Arkwright of his staff and for the necessary apparatus to equip a laboratory at Bulford Cottage Hospital. It was a forlorn hope, but it was the only thi

e got it through. It took five men to shove the trucks containing the boxes, and we held the connecting train for five minutes at

utions to prevent the spread of any contagious disease; and it also showed them that when disease once got out of hand it would be possible to put whole battalions hors de combat.

more, and a rapid improvement was immediately apparent in the men. Again the sound of singing was heard in the tents at night and on route marches; and ag

ople took to them very kindly, and the men themselves looked so clean and happy that it was difficult to realize that they

would shortly leave for France. The men worked hard at their training, anxious to make good and get to the Front. They had the old Viking spirit of adventure in

n, with better weather, the sickness began to abate, I obtained permission from our Surgeon-General to try to get the rest of our men inoculated against typh

ttle Wiltshire town of Devizes, the head-quarters of t

English Inn, and the maximum amount of discomfort as judged by our modern standards. The food was good, and the fire places looked bright and cheery, like the bar maid behind the polished bar. It was mostly in looks. No wonder that the British people fortify themselves with copious draughts of stimulants to help keep out the cold.

als with them. Col. Burstall, the officer commanding, gave me every assistance

danger of using impure water, on typhus fever and how it was conveye

d ammunition beside Colonel Morrison and the medical officer Lt.-Col. McCrae, talking to the brigade drawn up at attention around us. It was an attentive audience; the men had to listen, though as a

n paraded for my lectures. The weather was frequently wet, and the talks were given in farm yards, village squares, churches, schools, hay-lofts, and open fields. In

sat and listened while, from the little stone church high up on the hill above us, drifted the sound of soldiers singing. It was unutterably sad to me to hear the full mello

e with some gun carriages in the centre. When all was ready I mounted a gun carriage and gave my talk with all the earn

trees in green leaf in the middle of the winter. In the garden at the back of the famous old Elizabethan house in Potterne-a perfect example of the old Tudor timbered style of architecture-cowslips and pansies were in full blossom, and I was told the wild violets were in flower in the woods. The trim, well kept gardens, hedges and fields of the country side and villag

mes on the plains. For the painter who wanted atmosphere and light and vivid contrasts, that was the place to b

one through the windows, these farm houses took on a wonderfully attractive and romantic appearance. It made you feel like going to the door and asking for a glass of new milk or a cup of cider; and you had visions of blazing fires in the great fireplace, and brass utensils, hanging fro

ould see crows settling on a spring wheat field on the open plain by hundreds; you would see starlings in

sing over it. When we came nearer we saw that the field was covered so thick with gulls that the ground was hidden. The gull was a small white variety about the size of a pigeon, with a black ruff

amiliar to us, while later on the larks spiralled with delirious songs into the sky

st ten years, found many wonderful things. Old Sarum is situated about two miles from the present city of Salisbury on the plain. It was built on the top of an enormous circular mound of earth several hundred yards in diameter, and was supposed to have been surrounded by th

hill ascending to Salisbury Plain. The figure, representing King Alfred's famous white charger is supposed to have been carved in King Alfred's time, to celebrate a famous victory in the ne

len, and lie prone upon the ground. Perhaps no relics in the world have caused more wonder and evoked more speculation in the lay and scientific mind than these curious stones standing in the middle of the plain, miles from any town. Books have been written about them. They are supposed to be of Ph?nician origin. Each sto

places. It is against the law to dig into them or damage them in any way, just as it is unlawful to ha

icers of the various infantry brigades with the exception of the Highlanders. In this way, though the returns were not quite compl

number one general hospital. Across the way from the manor was a field which was utilized as a tent hospital for venereal diseases. Then some new cottages just being completed about 200 yards away were

ital. At the beginning it was difficult to obtain drugs. The transportation of sick men from Pond Farm camp to Netheravon a distance of about 16 miles over very rough roads in rain and cold can be better imagined than described. And yet it was the best th

ame down and condemned nearly everything we had including motor and horse transport, harness and other equipment. Later on we realized that it had been very wise to sacrifice a few score thousands of dollars worth of equipme

red the tin roof of our mess room at Bustard Camp like so many hailstones and the outlook was most gloomy. Later on it cl

n a little hill opposite the saluting base where the King and Lord Kitchener stood. That review was the real thing. It lacked, perhaps,

ned to see and it seemed to be peculiarly fitting that before they left for the field of battle they should see that figure,-the head of

ptation to slip away for the day to see a little of the march past. Poor chap! He was killed at the second battle of Ypres three months afterwards. The first Canadian division as it swung past was certainly a magnificent spectacle and I was quite willing

everybody thought-though an officer who had been left behind sick was unable to find any trace of i

rifles and many other things. Why a man should leave behind his rifle, and how he managed to do so without getting cau