THE KING IN HIS ELEMENT
Describing some incidents in the King's visit to the front in December on officer of the Indian Army writes: ■ "A red-letter day indeed—for the King turned up here at 10.25 this morning and stayed quite a long time, inspecting detachments of the Indian Army Corps. He only crossed from England last night, I believe, stayed with the general. for breakfast, and saw us all before lunch, going on to the next army corps. . "It was quite the most informal show I have ever seen. He strolled up and down the ranks chatting with all and sundry; he asked two of our native officers how long they had been in tho regiment—the general interpreting. "It was a dull morning and the mud was awful and just before His Majesty was due a German aeroplane appeared heading straight for us; our guns opened fire on it, and it made off north, but it added excitement, otherwise it was a quiet morning and hardly any firing from the trenches. "The Leicester's were in front of us, they had only come up out of _ the trenches at midnight, and were in a lovely state of mud and unshavedness. The King simply revelled in them. Ho stopped and chatted to quite every one man in three, wanted to know all about trench fighting, and didn't seem to mind a bit their being covered in mud and unshaved for days.
"The Prince was just as interested. He wandered about at will, paying no attention to his father, and chatting with all and sundry. One man was wearing a pair of Gorman boots, which interested the King very much. Ho spent quite twenty minutes with the Leicesters, and thoy deserved it. Tlioy have, done splendidly all through. "At last they got him into his car to move on to the next army corps. Tho general came back to give us his message. It was that ho was very pleased with all he had seen and hoard; that he wanted the troops lo know that both he and the Queen always kept them in their thoughts. "It was altogether a wonderful visit s'i quiot and inform-il and businesslike. No apparent precautions or rehearsal: the King tramping about in the inud as though he were parlridge-shooting ; while the Prince wandered about as he lisl<-d. My interpreter, a Frond* Canadian, was amazed.'*
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Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2371, 29 January 1915, Page 6
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397THE KING IN HIS ELEMENT Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2371, 29 January 1915, Page 6
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