_Let it be remembered that these boys have looked Death in the face—not once only, but many times; and that, like our soldiers in the trenches—who no longer say of their “pals” “He is dead,” but only “He has gone west”—they have learned to see in the Great Deliverer not a horror, not an_ end, _but a mighty and glorious Angel, setting on the brows of their comrades the crown of immortality; and so when the call comes they, like Sir Richard Grenville of old, “with a joyful spirit die.”_ _What would be unnatural is that their stupendous initiation could leave them only the careless children of a few months back._ _The mobilisation of the Dartmouth Cadets came with a shock of rather horrified surprise to a certain section of the public, who could not imagine that boys so young could be of any practical utility in the grim business of War. There was, indeed, after the tragic loss of so many of them in the_ Cressy, _the_ Aboukir, _and the _Hogue, _an outburst of protest in Parliament and the Press. In the first shock of grief and dismay at the sacrifice of such young lives, it was perhaps not unnatural; but it argued a limited vision. Did those who agitated for these Cadets to be removed from the post of danger forget, or did they never realise, that on every battle-ship there is a large number of boys, sons of the working classes, whose service is indispensable?_ _It seemed to me that if my son was too young to be exposed to such danger, the principle must apply equally to the son of my cook, or my butcher, or my gardener, whose boys were no less precious to them than mine was to me._ _In the great band of Brothers who are fighting for their country and for the triumph of Right and Justice there can be no class distinction of values. Those who belong to the so-called “privileged classes” can lay claim only to the privilege of being_ leaders—_first in the field and foremost at the post of danger. It is the only possible justification of their existence; and at the post of danger they have found their claim to priority hotly and gloriously contested by the splendid heroes of the rank and file._ _Presumably the Navy took our boys because they were needed, and no one to-day will feel inclined to deny that those Dartmouth Cadets have abundantly proved their worth._ _For the rest, if there be any merit in this record, the credit lies with the boy who provided the material from which it has been written: for any feebleness, inadequacy, or indiscretion the blame must fall on that imperfect chronicler—_ _HIS MOTHER_ CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I DARTMOUTH COLLEGE 1 II MANŒUVRES 12 III THE BEGINNING OF THE “REAL THING” 24 IV WE JOIN OUR SHIP 34 V ALARUMS AND EXCURSIONS 49 VI WE LEAVE HOME WATERS 65