BRITISH IN FRANCE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 249, 20 November 1914, Page 2 (Supplement)

BRITISH IN FRANCE.

BRITISH IN FRANVI

SOME NEWSPAPER IMPRESSIONS

Some interesting glimpse* of the impressions made in France by the British soldiers are given hv Mr Hamiilton Fylo in the "Daily Mail": All the French newspaper correspondents who .saw them arrive or m«jt thein on tho march speak enthusiastically, lie savs, of their soldierly bearing,, '.ho ease with which t.lnv adapt themselves to strange conditions, their courtesy, tbeir cheery good humour A French officer, in the "Matin," speaks of the "aU-olute. correctness" lot " Ic.s iTo-n- - (correctness is the finest, boci.i! virtue in a Frenchman's eyes). They surprised this officer by their "youth and vigour, to which they join ttliat calm and thoughtful air which is the mark of their race. They seem to find it quite natural that they should '«■ in France, "iid thev make themselves quite a tlioim." fie was struck also bv the orderly manner in which all the oa.-.- and packages were arranged on the quav at Dunkirk. "A triumph." h;> .ays.'"of that genius for organisation which i- in the character of the British poop!*." M. d<> Lifrete savs in the "Echo de Paris": "The Knglish infantry are young and for the most pa'rt of a good height, fhr.v « •••• the celebrated khaki unitonii, wh. ii is very much like that of the Boy Scouts. Their heads are covered bv a kind of yachting cap. Their trousers on the inarch aro bound from the knee by mittoc.-. This costume at first struck the population as not being at all military." (The French are. of coins?, accustomed to red trousers and blue coats, and "ill not dream of giving them up. even though they :>dniit their eonspictiousness in the field.) "But they ended bv admitting thai it is eminently practical, for at a distance the English infantry are very difficult to see." Another observer admits that "the rather dull appearance of their uniiorm" (compared with thr gay blue* of the French soldier's kit) "is fully made up for by its comfort and practical cut." All our men are provided, in this last critic's view, with everything a soldier needs for comfort in the field, and their equipment is calculated to last them a. year. (Let lis hope th-'.v will need it. for only a third of that timeH Their knapsacks are a lifc'lo heavier thai, those of the French and thev carry more cartridges, too. Their

habit of holding iln'ir rifles by ill i-l uivl wnile thvy march ;it casn, and resting the butt on tlievr -Moulders, has ueen remarked. This i* v. novelty hero, riench soldiers never do it.

Jh c preparation of tlie meals aroused tliv wonder and admiration of a curlespondent ol the " letup*. II t-aw iii a Helium village cooks yetting rea ly ;i meal with their travelling kitchen lor roldiers who were coming in. They cut 11 j> frozen -beep with methodical skill, and had mutton ready, with the water hoilinir for tea, ny the time the UH'ii arrived. Always. he says, it is like lhi~. The "national irMinoj, (if coin fort" ordains that it shall bo ;-o. Thi' officers' horses are greatly prais-i-d. They :ir 4 > certainly better animals i lian the usual French officers' mount, though it i~ ail exaggeration to say ol tlifin, a.- one enthusiast, does. that "most ol 1 lie ill couie from the famous i acini: .stables across ilie (. hunnel. ' In the waivr our men were watched with interest as they bathed and "astonished the spectators by their swimming feat-.." Indeed. tliey could not lo anything which did not please tle-ir host- and win ihi'iii trooiK <>l friend-. Their on the march rutin r pu/li> the French, who like ;'.ay airs, ly ilie and almost inouriilul cliar- : cter ol' the lilts. "Sad and gentle, like the mists of their owu country." i-. one of tho descriptions appliul w lhetn. M. de Lugrote speaks t;t the uieii " -iuginy a ail", not at- all like our soldiers' marching songs." Flic feeling between -officer a an<l men U snokeu of at. Ik.-injj; evidently cordial. Observers noticed with -relief and pj<asimv that there is no attc-U)|H at Mich senseless discipline lor disciplines -ake as makes the (.'erniaii officer ;■ stiff lii irtinet and the (u rman soldier a inachille. All i'.re comrades together. No Iti iti-.li officer would e-vcr object, a- a I'rii--i;in lieutenant did the other day. hi travel in the ,-aiiie railway carnau' with some oT his company «li'i li l <1 ' -.-ell c.t i'l li red at the !>:••• liii:".