Item 03: John Duncan McRae diary, 10 February-6 May 1917 - Page 92

[Page 92]

attention he asked "What will interest you men". "Nap" & "Crown & Anchor" were the replies immediately given. The boys like free talk better than drill or lectures & try to qull the instructors into side-issues by asking them about their experiences at the front and so on, & the result nine times out of ten is a good yarn about the Somme or some such place. This is better than drill & makes the time pass quickly.

The other day one platoon was doing "extended order" drill in the Bull-Ring & the line was very long & extended beyond some of the huts there and when the order was given to close in again none of those under cover made their appearance. However, it has been reported that they all turned up at dinner-time a couple of hours later. Poor "Tommy" was none the wiser.

The 'box respirator' that is used as an anti-gas precaution consists of a 'mask' and a tin box with an india-rubber tube