The inhabitants of Flers were most friendly, and regaled us with stories of their late masters; and one heard with some misgiving that the bed allotted to "Monsieur le Capitaine" had been occupied by a German as late as 7 a.m. that morning. However, a bed is a bed, when all is said and done, and not a thing to be sneezed at when you are campaigning.
It was here that we first discovered that the German soldiers had used all the beds for themselves and left the inhabitants to sleep on the floor. Our first efforts at billeting, therefore, became rather complicated till the difference in custom was cleared up. There is little doubt that by our novel methods of proceeding we distinctly lost caste among people accustomed to the haughty ways of the Prussian. The local inhabitants were inclined to think, as we did not order them about like dogs, that we were rather poor creatures.
The orders for the next day (October 19th) were a repetition of those of the day before, and at 9.15 a.m. we pushed on to Annappes. Here we found the Irish still in possession, and a joint Headquarters was formed, and the transport was instructed to follow us up. A thriving trade was done by the inhabitants by the sale of paper ten-centime pieces and other relics of the German occupation.
About midday the Irish got orders to move on, and ourselves to follow at 3 p.m., to Willems. The Irish were to throw out an outpost line in front of the place, and we were in support in billets in the town. It was dark and raining when we reached the town, and a brigade of the 74th Division had already got the best billets. The Mayor, we found, was the keeper of the principal public-house, and thither the Commanding Officer, Adjutant, Regimental-Sergeant-Major, and other French scholars repaired to try and arrange for billets. The estaminet was much like any other, and was already full of soldiers and civilians trying to swallow a pale yellow liquid, which had sufficient smell to suggest that it had been poured once (not oftener) into a recently emptied beer bottle. Into this mass of chattering people we pushed our way, and tried to get into conversation with the proprietor. As he appeared to find our French difficult to follow, and was busy serving out the so-called beer, our efforts were productive of very little result. Eventually the situation began to dawn on him, and the entirely fallacious services of a girl reputed to speak English were called into requisition. All the French in the place at once joined in, and not a few of the Tommies. The confusion and din soon became appalling, and all this time the battalion were seated, patiently or impatiently, by the roadside in the rain. The situation really seemed hopeless, but after quieting the friends and supporters of the Mayor, we eventually succeeded, and billets—which our Billeting Officer had wisely been searching for on his own account—were duly approved and the battalion moved in.
At 7.10 the following morning (October 20th) we received orders that the Brigade was to seize the bridgeheads over the Scheldt north of Froyennes—i.e., just above Tournai—the 8th K.L.R., as before, leading the way. We moved off at 9 a.m., and shortly after crossing the Belgian frontier received word from the 8th K.L.R. that they were completely held up in front of Blondain, where they had established their Headquarters. We were ordered not to advance any farther, and were billeted for the night in a little hamlet called Les Empires.
Blondain was shelled freely, and our own vicinity slightly, consequently our arrival in this part of the world was hardly welcome. The inhabitants had seen but little of the actualities of war, and, much as some of them disliked the Germans, they could hardly be expected to watch with much pleasure their houses being shattered. Some 18-pounders arrived about this time and settled down near our transport lines, which resulted in the latter being shelled out soon after.
Official Photographs by permission of The Imperial War Museum and Canadian War Memorial Fund.
THE CANAL DU NORD.