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 79
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[Page 79]
by wanted to to know by all the Gods above & devils below, What the [dash] the incinerator men were madly burning such good material for? Officers orders! Then stop at once!!
This officer did not belong to our battalion but he certainly prevented some thousands of pounds worth of the very best material being utterly destroyed, by stopping the burning when he did & having the material promptly carted to the Stores at Ismailia. Up till this time the men had taken special interest in keeping their clothing in good order but this incident created an indifference which to this day exists in France.
It was one of those sublime flashes of supreme thoughtlessness that rises now & then above the ordinary run of military stupidity.
A special issue of tinned goods, tobacco, cigarettes matches etc was a clear indication that the first stage in the process of embarkation for France was about to be commenced & sure enough we were on the move next day for Moasker having to leave behind lots of goods things (to be "scooped up" by the "Gyppos") that we would have dearly relished had there been time to consume them & would willingly have been carried had room been available.
By this time we had already observed that whenever we had to "Shift Camp" numbers of parcels would be discovered that should have been handed out weeks before, and anything in the shape of food, cigarettes or tobacco which would have been difficult to transport in the limbers or waggons, for want of space, would at the last moment be handed out to the men, only to find that all the carrying capacity was so taxed that it was an impossibility to take away what was then offered, although a day or two previous, it would have been most welcome. To a more or less extent this practice continues to exist to the present time, notwithstanding all the past experiences, showing loss of good material that will be greatly