I was taking my class in instruction and asked each man in his turn to give "Fire Order." I was rather surprised when I heard a voice describe very minutely the target, but giving the range as follows:—
No. 1 and 2. Platoons at half past ten.
No. 3 and 4. Platoons at half past eleven. Five rounds rapid fire.
I looked round at my pupil and asked him if he meant No. 1 and 2 to fire at half past ten, and numbers 3 and 4 at half past eleven. He said, "Yes, sir. You gave your fire order 10:50 and 11:50." I then had to explain to him that my order meant yards, not time, and that his time scheme would give the enemy time to retreat to Berlin before firing commenced.
Physical training or, as it is called in the army, P.T., is the first thing that a soldier has to undergo to make him fit for the arduous life of a soldier.
One of the soldiers who was at the "bull ring" was a rather stout block of a man. His comrades called him "Shorty." He weighed over 200 pounds and his flesh was very soft, and when at P.T. I heard him groan many a time when he had to get down on his hands and feet, stretch himself full length without allowing his chest to touch the ground, and then raise himself up and down on his hands. Poor "Shorty" must have been in physical torture, but we had to reduce him in flesh, and he was game. When he had to lie flat on his back, and raise his feet into the air, keeping his hands on the ground without moving the body, it was very trying. It looked simple and it is simple, but when a man weighs over 200 pounds, raising the feet from the thighs upwards and keeping the other portion of the body level on the ground is no sinecure. However, "Shorty" stuck to it. Then we had races one day for money prizes. Someone asked "Shorty" to enter the race. He said, "Yes, all right, I will, if I can get the limit in your handicap." This was assented to, and "Shorty" entered.
When the time for the race arrived, he came out on the track in his canvas slippers and a pair of old khaki overalls. Everyone laughed at the idea of "Shorty's" running in this race. Certainly his appearance was against him as a sprint runner. I asked him how he fancied his chances were in his heat, and he said, "Fine, sir, I can win easy." I believed him, although others laughed uproariously.
When the heat was ready to be run, just as they were getting on their marks, "Shorty" shouted out, "You fellows behind can get a good view of me as I break the tape." "Rats, Rats," his fellow competitors shouted, "get on your mark."
When they were all on their marks, the starter told them to get set. "Shorty" got down in a very professional manner. He had made two small toe holes in the ground, and with his body bent to the ground he was all ready when the pistol went off. "Shorty" was away like a shot out of a gun.