It was an effort to drag one leg in front
of another, and our feet were sodden and painful. Almost every particle
of clothing and equipment was smothered with red, clayey mud, and thin,
tired faces were covered with a many days' growth of beard. Here we
struggled into a row of lorries and were carried off to Vauchelles to be
housed in huts vacated by some army school. After a good meal and a
sleep we were roused in the middle of the afternoon to be told that
another move had to be accomplished. With imprecations on the staff and
all its works we fell in and marched off to Louvencourt to occupy
billets, and were at last assured that we had settled for a rest.
The next few days we spent in recuperation and cleaning up. The rapidity
with which the men recovered their smart appearance was one of the
striking features of the war, and indicated the wonderful desire for
fitness that the Britisher had acquired in his soldiering days. Col
Bromfield, however, had not been able to withstand the strain, and to
the regret of everyone departed to hospital with pleurisy, a
circumstance made all the more depressing when we learnt that his return
was highly improbable. A more popular C.O. never commanded the 7th, and
we were always proud of his high opinion of us. In his dealings with all
ranks, from the second in command to the lowest private, he had ever
proved himself a perfect gentleman, while his control of matters during
the most anxious times inspired an unswerving confidence.
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