First Aid Nursing Yeomanry; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
Our reputation of being able to turn our hands to anything resulted in
Mr. Sitters--rushing in during 10 o'clock tea one morning with the news
that two English divisions were going south from Ypres in a few days'
time, and the Y.M.C.A. had been asked by the Army to erect a temporary
canteen at a certain railhead during the six days they would take to
pass through. There were no lady helpers in those days, and he was at
his wits' end to know where to find the staff. Could any of us be
spared? None of us _could_, as we were understaffed already, but
Lieutenant Franklin put it to us and said if we were willing to
undertake the canteen, as well as our hospital work, which would mean an
average of only five hours sleep in the twenty-four--she had no
objection. There was no time to get fresh Y.M.C.A. workers from England
with the delay of passports, etc., and of course we decided to take it
on, only too pleased to have the chance to do something for our own men.
A shed was soon erected, the front part being left open facing the
railway lines, and counters were put up. The work, which went on night
and day, was planned out in shifts, and we were driven up to the siding
in Y.M.C.A. Fords or any of our own which could be spared. Trains came
through every hour averaging about 900 men on board. There was just time
in between the trains to wash the cups up and put out fresh buns and
chocolates. When one was in, there was naturally no time to wash the
cups up at all, and they were just used again as soon as they were
empty. Canteen work with a vengeance! The whole of the Highland
division passed through together with the 37th. They sat in cattle
trucks mostly, the few carriages there were being reserved for the
officers. It was amusing to notice that at first the men thought we were
French, so unaccustomed were they then to seeing any English girls out
there with the exception of army Sisters and V.A.D.s.
"_Do chocolat, si voos play_," they would ask, and were speechless with
surprise when we replied sweetly: "Certainly, which kind will you have?"
I asked one Scotchman during a pause, when the train was in for a longer
interval than usual, how he managed to make himself understood up the
line. "Och fine," he said, "it's not verra deefficult to _parley voo_. I
gang into one o' them Estaminays to ask for twa drinks, I say 'twa' and,
would you believe it, they always hand out three--good natured I call
that, but I hae to pay up all the same," he added!
Naturally the French people thought he said _trois_. This story
subsequently appeared in print, I believe.
One regiment had a goat, and Billy was let out for a walk and had
wandered rather far afield, when the train started to move on again.
Luckily those trains never went very fast, but it was a funny sight to
see two Tommies almost throttling the goat in their efforts to drag it
along, pursued by several F.A.N.Y.s (to make the pace), and give it a
final shove up into a truck!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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