The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 2 (of 10): From the Battle of Mons to the Fall of Antwerp.Parrott, Edward
History
The Childrens' Story of the War, Volume 2 (of 10): From the Battle of Mons to the Fall of Antwerp.
Parrott, Edward
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile literature
"What if you were to see how the wounded act after the excitement of
battle! They suffer their wounds, great and small, without a murmur;
they get their wounds dressed, take chloroform, give consent to have
their limbs amputated, just as if they were going to have their hair
cut. They are gloriously brave.
"Men who have been in the thick of the fight all day, seen their chums
wounded and killed, their own lives not worth a second's
insurance--still, these men cook their food and go off to sleep, and,
most wonderful of all, go back to the thick of it next day."
* * * * *
We must not imagine that all German soldiers are brutal and treacherous.
Let us always remember that they are very brave, and that many of them
are worthy foes. There is a little story which illustrates the chivalry
of a German lancer and the gratitude of the man whom he spared. "At Le
Cateau," said a wounded corporal of the Coldstream Guards, "I made a
bayonet thrust at a German lancer, and fell. He scorned to take
advantage of my accident, and we parted. I made up my mind to repay the
debt if ever I met the man again. Some time later I came upon him. He
had been wounded by a splinter of shell, and was in urgent need of
assistance. I managed to get him to the hospital, and he told me he was
well repaid for sparing my life on the first day we met."
[Illustration: The Welsh Guards and their Regimental Colour.
In the British army, when war broke out, there were four regiments of
foot guards--the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Scots
Guards, and the Irish Guards. You will notice that England, Scotland,
and Ireland had their special regiments of Guards, but not Wales. This
slur on the Principality has now been removed: a new regiment of Welsh
Guards has been formed, and on St. David's Day (March 1, 1915) it was
specially appointed to do sentry-go at Buckingham Palace, and was
afterwards marched to mount guard at St. James's Palace.
_Photo, London News Association_.]
Now let me tell you how a British soldier returned good for evil. During
the retreat a British artilleryman, slightly wounded, asked a German for
water and was refused. Some weeks later the artilleryman recognized the
same German amongst a party of wounded who were crying for water. He
went up to the man, who knew him at once, took off his water-bottle and
handed it to him without a word. The corporal of the Highland Light
Infantry who told the story adds, "You never saw anybody look so
shamefaced as that German."
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account