The Irish Guards in the Great War, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b The First BattalionKipling, Rudyard
History
The Irish Guards in the Great War, Volume 1 (of 2) : $b The First Battalion
Kipling, Rudyard
Great Britain. Army. Irish Guards -- History; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- Great Britain
But the cure was ready to hand. On the evening of the 18th September,
in wet and cold weather, the Brigadier sent the Battalion a letter of
praise and prophecy:
As your Brigadier I wish to express my feelings as to your most
gallant work on the 15th September 1916 in the operations at
Ginchy. The advance from the Orchard in the face of machine-gun
fire is equal to anything you have yet accomplished in this
campaign, and once more the 1st Battalion Irish Guards has carried
out a most magnificent advance and held ground gained in spite
of the most severe losses. In this, your first campaign, you are
upholding the highest standard of bravery and efficiency for your
successors and more praise than that I cannot give you. You may be
called upon in the very near future to carry out similar work and
I know you will not fail.
(Sd.) C. E. PEREIRA,
Brigadier-General,
Commanding 1st Guards Brigade.
This meant that they would be moved again as soon as they could stand
up, and would go into their next action with at least 50 per cent.
new drafts and half their proper allowance of officers. Indeed, they
were warned, next day, with the rest of their Division for further
operations in the “immediate future,” and the work of re-making and
re-equipping the Battalion from end to end, saved them from that
ghastly state of body and soul which is known as “fighting Huns in
your sleep.”
On the 19th, Major T. M. D. Bailie’s body was brought back from the
front and buried in the cemetery in the centre of the camp at Carnoy,
and on the same day Lord Cavan, commanding the Corps, rode over and
spoke to the officers on horseback of the progress of the campaign,
of what had so far been accomplished on the Somme, what was intended
for the future, and specially, as bearing on their next battle, of
what their artillery had in store for the enemy. It was a simple,
unadorned speech, the substance of which he repeated to the N.C.O.’s,
then wished the gentlemen of His Majesty’s Foot Guards all good
fortune and rode away.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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