"Things 'ave transpired which made me learn
The size and meanin' of the game.
I did no more than others did,
I don't know where the change began;
I started as an average kid,
I finished as a thinkin' man."
In those early days following upon enlistment we enjoyed some real good times in Halifax and the old boys will always recall with genuine appreciation the many kindnesses shown us by the citizens. Taking all the various circumstances into consideration we were well looked after by the military authorities; of course, our one burning eagerness was to get over to France and plunge into the thick of things as speedily as possible, and when it was rumored that we were going to be put on home duty feeling ran pretty high among the men and some quite lively times were experienced! The rumor, however, came to nothing and we settled down to the routine of our daily drill. By this time I had transferred to the Machine Gun Section and became linked up with "B" Co. with Lieutenant Medcalfe second in command. I shall not waste space in telling you about the time we strutted about, proud of our khaki uniforms, hugging the fond thought that we were real soldiers, even as not a few who today, still at home, wearing the uniform, are victims of the same absurd delusion. At last the great day came—the day of our embarkation; we were going to say our farewell to the land of our birth, sail away over the ocean and begin our great adventure, taking our place among the soldiers of the King and Empire in the greatest fight for liberty and right which the world has ever witnessed.
Eager and keen, and with spirits high, we stepped aboard the old "Saxonia" along with the 22nd French-Canadian regiment, and sailed on the 20th of May, 1915, arriving in England after a pleasant but uneventful voyage. We found the training in England far more thorough than anything we had before experienced. We had to work, and real hard, too, but undoubtedly the process made us better men and tended to increase our confidence as soldiers.
Chapter Two[ToC]
t is obvious that to relate to my readers the truth concerning the Twenty-Fifth it is necessary to be somewhat critical, and I shall endeavor to be absolutely impartial. To begin with, let it be said, and said with perfect candor, that the credit of handling our battalion in England which eventually helped us to go across to France must be given to our own officers.
For the most part we greatly enjoyed our stay in England. We had a splendid time in Folkestone, a beautiful sea-side place; and for company we had about 50,000 Canadians in addition to some English cavalry. After a little more than three months' training the welcome news arrived that the next item on the program was France and the firing line. This information was received with the utmost enthusiasm, for the boys were getting somewhat "fed up" with training and were anxious for a crack at the Hun. On going over, we had to leave some of our officers behind, as they were "extra" to the establishment. Among them were Will Cameron, Charlie MacAloney and others. They came out later and proved their worth as fighters. Arthur Weston, who was second in command, refused to stay behind and accompanied us to France as quartermaster, thus setting a fine example to a good many majors and captains who would rather hang on to a job in England than cross to France and fight. Weston was not of this type. He was a soldier and a man.