Brewster 'A Glimpse of War through a Private's Eyes', a retrospective account of experiences in World War I, 1915-1917 / John James Brewster - Page 171
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[Page 171]
news came through that the 1st and 2nd Divisions had succeeded at last in gaining Pozieres the justification for their satisfaction was confirmed.
Next day the saddest work of all was continued the gathering of the wounded by stretcher parties. The regular stretcher bearers having suffered severely from wounds & exhaustion, volunteers from the men holding the line were called for & responded to & the next two or three days the work continued.
On Friday the 56th Battalion moved back to support line & then in again to the firing line on Saturday to hold it four three or four days then back to reserve, where they were rested, although much to his shame one of the officers ordered all the men who had paraded sick, tired & worn out, through continuous hard work, to be kept at physical drill, till the men who had been taken for a route march returned.
Not being able to find an NCO & not deigning to do the work himself, he insisted on the Battalion Warrant officer, the highest .NCO. doing the drilling. To his credit before he started the Warrant officer told the sick parade that if he could have his own way he would order the whole of the men to rest themselves, but as they themselves knew, he had received his instructions & therefore could only carry them out.
One of the men of A Coy had been made to go to the Doctor by the Company Commander & on his (the (O/Cs) return, the very first thing he did was to hunt this man up & find out how he was getting on. Upon the O/C learning what had happened he was really like a madman, he rushed to Battalion Headquarters called out the offending Staff Officer & in pretty plain language to him what a "man" he thought him, & threatened if ever again he interfered in any way with any of his A Coy men he would not use words, but physical punishment that would take long to forget, would be his portion. Let alone drilling tired men who had done work that