Item 01: Eric Susman war diary, 1 January 1915-4 April 1916 - Page 43
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[Page 43]
Tuesday 19 January 1915
In spite of the inconveniences and unnecessary discomforts to which we are subjected on board, a feeling of good fellowship with the vessel which is your home for a month or so, seems to be present within you. You no longer look on the steamer as so much steel and wood, all fitted together to form what we call a "liner". It gradually acquires a personality. Your whole interests, for the present, at any rate, are wrapped up in, and indeed are part and parcel of, the interests of the boat. And after a time on board ship, there comes a time when you recognise this salient fact.
An almost exactly similar parallel is the case of the infantry soldier, and that powerful accurate weapon with which he is armed – the modern rifle. After a time, there comes the day when he no longer looks on the daily cleaning of his rifle as a bore but as a natural duty to a friend, an almost live thing, a personality. It is no longer so much steel and wood – the trained soldier knows that some day or other, his own life is going to depend on it and treats it accordingly.