One of the seven, a Londoner, described the fight his regiment had with the Germans at a village near Maubeuge.
The British forces were greatly outnumbered by the Germans, but held their ground for twenty-four hours, inflicting very heavy loss on the enemy, although suffering severely itself.
He declared that the Germans held women up in front of them when attacking. "It was worse than savage warfare."
Paddy, an Irishman, stated that the soldiers got little or no food during the fighting. "When we got our bacon cooking the Germans attacked us."
A Scotsman of the party said he saw a hospital flying the Red Cross near Mons destroyed by shrapnel. "When we were ordered to retire," he continued, "we did so very reluctantly. But we did not swear. Things are so serious there, it makes you feel religious."
[FROM MEN IN THE FLEET.]
Equally interesting are some of the letters from men with the fleet. Tom Thorne, writing to his mother in Sussex, says:
Before we started fighting we were all very nervous, but after we joined in we were all happy and most of us laughing till it was finished. Then we all sobbed and cried.
Even if I never come back, don't think I've died a painful death. Everything yesterday was as quick as lightning.