"Over the Top," by an American Soldier Who Went: Together with Tommy's Dictionary of the TrenchesEmpey, Arthur Guy
History
"Over the Top," by an American Soldier Who Went: Together with Tommy's Dictionary of the Trenches
Empey, Arthur Guy
English language -- Slang -- Dictionaries; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
Having saved up a few pounds, he decided not to leave the house, and
to sham sickness, so he stayed in his room and had the landlady serve
his meals there.
Everytime there was a knock at the door, he trembled all over,
imagining it was a policeman who had come to take him away to the
army.
One morning his fears were realized. Sure enough there stood a
policeman with the fatal paper. Taking it in his trembling hand, he
read that he, Albert Lloyd, was ordered to report himself to the
nearest recruiting station for physical examination. He reported
immediately, because he was afraid to disobey.
The doctor looked with approval upon Lloyd's six feet of physical
perfection, and thought what a fine guardsman he would make, but
examined his heart twice before he passed him as "physically fit"; it
was beating so fast.
From the recruiting depot Lloyd was taken, with many others, in charge
of a sergeant, to the training depot at Aldershot, where he was given
an outfit of khaki, and drew his other equipment. He made a
fine-looking soldier, except for the slight shrinking in his
shoulders, and the haunted look in his eyes.
At the training depot it does not take long to find out a man's
character, and Lloyd was promptly dubbed "Windy." In the English Army,
"windy" means cowardly.
The smallest recruit in the barracks looked on him with contempt, and
was not slow to show it in many ways.
Lloyd was a good soldier, learned quickly, obeyed every order
promptly, never groused at the hardest fatigues. He was afraid to. He
lived in deadly fear of the officers and "Non-Coms" over him. They
also despised him.
One morning about three months after his enlistment, Lloyd's company
was paraded, and the names picked for the next draft to France were
read. When his name was called, he did not step out smartly, two paces
to the front, and answer cheerfully, "Here, sir," as the others did.
He just fainted in ranks, and was carried to barracks amid the sneers
of the rest.
That night was an agony of misery to him. He could not sleep. Just
cried and whimpered in his bunk, because on the morrow the draft was
to sail for France, where he would see death on all sides, and perhaps
be killed himself. On the steamer, crossing the Channel, he would have
jumped overboard to escape, but was afraid of drowning.
Arriving in France, he and the rest were huddled into cattle cars. On
the side of each appeared in white letters, "Chevaux 8, Hommes 40."
After hours of bumping over the uneven French road beds they arrived
at the training base of Rouen.
At this place they were put through a week's rigid training in trench
warfare. On the morning of the eighth day, they paraded at ten
o'clock, and were inspected and passed by General H--, then were
marched to the Quartermaster's, to draw their gas helmets and trench
equipment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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