SOLDIER SAYINGS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3013, 26 February 1917, Page 6

SOLDIER SAYINGS

Many are the chants and catch-cries adopted by -the different drafts of soldiers in training, A favourite one for some time has been the following, delivered in short barking tones, somewhat resembling the, way. in which the ■ AH Black footballers used to deliver their war-cry:— "Who are—who are—who are we? " Wo are —we aro—B Companeel Are we It? Why, we should smile, We've been It a deuce of a while." . Tha senior draft' just now is the Twenty-third Reinforcements. The Twenty-eight n.c.o.'s aro in camp also, and when they march through the camp the blase veterans greet the new n.c.o.'s with the query: "Hullo, what war are you eoing to?" This is reminiscent of an. incident which occurred when a troop train, was taking troops from Trentham for embarkation.* _On the rear platform of the last carriage were three Soldiers, seated on a heap of kitbags. A civilian was walking along the platform towards -their train when it beban to move out. One of the men shouted to him: "Hurry up, mate, or you'll miss the war." Some men miss the war, even after they enter camp, through some defect which had not been discovered earlier. One of those unfortunates was on the rifle range. His firing first puzzled and then exasperated his" platoon commander. The bullets appeared to be going everywhere but on the proper target. "What is the matter," He asked the ", camiot you see the target?" No, Bir," the man truthfullv and calmly replied. "It's all a blur to me.". Yet hp. was doing his best. Hie simple soldier sometimes sees horror in simple happenings. At a bivouac, a chiropod/sts assistant was fishing for eels, using as a bait .a piece of tow,wrapped round with, string, and with a -hook hidden within it. "Hullo," said the simple soldier, "fishing for eels?" / "Yes," said th 6 chiropodist's assistant,. "What bait?" "Tow." _ "Toe," in tones of horror. "You choppodists are hot stuff. Whose toe have you been chopping off this time? Ugh! So-long, I'm off." And away ho hurried, as the fisherman afterwards said, "Fair too and "eels."