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 300
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[Page 300]
It had been in occupation since 1914 by "Tommies" including a small body of cavalry & had been spendidly designed & laid out, & beautifully kept. Every convenience provided, bath rooms, drying rooms, Canteens & Library for each Company.
Each walk or path decorated with grass bordered, which also marked the boundaries of the flower gardens in the main walk & the vegetable plots between each hut. The walks were all nicely gravelled & even in the very worst of weather the absence of mud was a treat, & thus the whole camp could be kept scrupulously clean.
As at Salisbury Plains so at Wareham the Sentry had to attend daily at the massage Hospital to have the wounded arm treated.
The routine of this Camp was mostly Route marching morning & afternoon according to the condition. The halt & lame only paraded in the main road for the distance of a quarter of a mile & back, the next in convalescence marched about a mile out & back, while the practically fit men did about an hours physical drill in the morning then a short route march & in the afternoon another route march varying 2 . 3 & 4 miles & back again.
The men with one foot in France, as it was called, those sent across to the Camp on the other side of the main road, who were equipped all ready to "move off" as soon as the required numbers were attained, performed their Route marches with "packs up".
After being at Wareham Camp for two or three weeks, a few Companies of the Third Division were brought into it, and as soon as this was known constant "brushes" occurred almost every evening between the men of this Division & those who had come back from France, the least excuse being made to start a fight, mainly owing to the fact that the Third Division had not yet, "declared War on the Kaiser" . For some reason known only to the higher Commands