1
00:00:36,328 --> 00:00:38,410
(WHISTLING)
2
00:00:52,761 --> 00:00:57,221
'I gave every part of my youth
to do a job
3
00:00:57,266 --> 00:01:00,759
and to go through a savage war.'
4
00:01:00,894 --> 00:01:03,431
'It was a different war
from year to year
5
00:01:03,564 --> 00:01:06,101
and one's reactions
were completely different.
6
00:01:06,233 --> 00:01:10,727
The intensity changed so much
that anybody who'd been out in 1914
7
00:01:10,779 --> 00:01:15,068
and went home, then came back in 1917,
wouldn't recognise it as the same war.'
8
00:01:16,118 --> 00:01:18,860
'I could only say one thing:
I wouldn't have missed it.
9
00:01:18,954 --> 00:01:21,742
It was terrible at times,
but I wouldn't have missed it.'
10
00:01:21,790 --> 00:01:24,873
'Oh, yes,
if I could have my time again,
11
00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,578
I'd go through it all over again
because I enjoyed the service life.'
12
00:01:28,630 --> 00:01:32,089
'I could only say that
I have never been so excited in my life.
13
00:01:32,134 --> 00:01:35,798
This was like a boy going to the play
for the first time.'
14
00:01:35,887 --> 00:01:38,970
'I never realised there was
anything unusual about it.
15
00:01:39,099 --> 00:01:42,387
There was a job to be done
and you just got on and did it.'
16
00:01:42,477 --> 00:01:45,435
'We were all instilled with that idea
17
00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,438
that this was war
and that we'd got to kill the Germans
18
00:01:48,483 --> 00:01:50,770
and this was
how we looked at the thing.'
19
00:01:50,819 --> 00:01:53,607
'I don't regret having experienced it.
20
00:01:53,655 --> 00:01:58,400
I wish I hadn't, but I don't regret it,
because I'm safe. (CHUCKLES)'
21
00:01:58,493 --> 00:02:01,155
'There were good times and bad times
in France,
22
00:02:01,246 --> 00:02:03,328
but you took the rough with the smooth.'
23
00:02:03,415 --> 00:02:06,999
'I was twice wounded and gassed,
but it just didn't worry me.
24
00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:08,993
I just made the best of it.'
25
00:02:09,087 --> 00:02:11,454
'Just took it in its stride,
like everybody else.
26
00:02:11,506 --> 00:02:14,498
We were glad to be in it
and we expected it to be rough,
27
00:02:14,635 --> 00:02:16,842
and it was rough,
but we didn't complain.'
28
00:02:17,638 --> 00:02:19,970
'There was no real excitement about it.
29
00:02:20,015 --> 00:02:23,474
You'd seen death so many times,
you'd seen wounded so many times,
30
00:02:23,518 --> 00:02:25,179
blood didn't excite you.
31
00:02:25,312 --> 00:02:29,522
We were professionals
and, to us, it was just a job of work.'
32
00:02:29,608 --> 00:02:33,647
'It would be a fallacy to say
that one enjoyed it,
33
00:02:33,695 --> 00:02:36,778
but one got afterwards
a nice, warm inner feeling
34
00:02:36,865 --> 00:02:38,526
that one had been of some use.'
35
00:02:38,617 --> 00:02:40,153
'It didn't affect me very much,
36
00:02:40,202 --> 00:02:43,365
because I wasn't sufficiently up
in the ways of the world.
37
00:02:43,497 --> 00:02:45,864
I was only a kid,
like other blokes there.
38
00:02:45,999 --> 00:02:49,208
It was more like
a great, big game to be enjoyed,
39
00:02:49,294 --> 00:02:52,707
apart from the actual shelling
and all that sort of thing.'
40
00:02:52,839 --> 00:02:54,876
'It made me a man, yes, it did.
41
00:02:55,008 --> 00:02:57,375
I don't think
I should have ever been the man I am
42
00:02:57,511 --> 00:03:00,378
if it hadn't been for having to serve.'
43
00:03:00,472 --> 00:03:03,180
'You'd learn to look after yourself
44
00:03:03,225 --> 00:03:07,184
whereas, in your civilian life,
your mother did all the chores.
45
00:03:07,229 --> 00:03:11,188
You've got to learn how to cook
for yourself, darn your own socks,
46
00:03:11,233 --> 00:03:14,146
sew on your own buttons
and all the things like that.'
47
00:03:14,236 --> 00:03:15,726
'It was just a day's work.
48
00:03:15,862 --> 00:03:17,899
I knew that I was not alone.
49
00:03:18,031 --> 00:03:20,318
I knew that
I wasn't fighting the war by myself
50
00:03:20,409 --> 00:03:23,242
and that what happened to other people
might happen to me.'
51
00:03:23,328 --> 00:03:27,913
'I had no regrets at all but, you see,
I had no wife, no girl, no nothing.
52
00:03:27,999 --> 00:03:30,161
No regrets and no horrors...
53
00:03:31,837 --> 00:03:35,330
...because, if you survive that,
you can survive anything.'
54
00:03:35,424 --> 00:03:37,506
(WHISTLING CEASES)
55
00:03:46,351 --> 00:03:50,390
'We were aware there was sort of a nasty
feeling between England and Germany,
56
00:03:50,439 --> 00:03:53,431
as we knew of the Kaiser's ambition
to expand his empire
57
00:03:53,525 --> 00:03:55,186
and all that sort of thing.'
58
00:03:55,277 --> 00:03:57,359
'During that summer,
59
00:03:57,446 --> 00:04:01,189
there was a lot of talk about
trouble going on in the Balkans,
60
00:04:01,283 --> 00:04:04,901
but we were a long way from the Balkans
and it didn't worry us at all.'
61
00:04:06,037 --> 00:04:09,621
'It was that Serbia business, wasn't it?
Serbia, when that chap was shot.'
62
00:04:10,709 --> 00:04:12,450
'I was paying attention to politics
63
00:04:12,586 --> 00:04:16,420
and I realised there was going to be
trouble between England and Germany.'
64
00:04:17,299 --> 00:04:20,382
'Well, it was
a lovely August 4th morning.'
65
00:04:20,469 --> 00:04:22,460
'We were all seated round the table
66
00:04:22,554 --> 00:04:26,138
and we were starting the rugby football
dinner with the German team.
67
00:04:26,266 --> 00:04:28,974
There was a German here
and next to him was an Englishman,
68
00:04:29,060 --> 00:04:31,472
and next to him was a German,
and so on and so on.
69
00:04:31,605 --> 00:04:34,313
And a runner arrived into
the middle of this dinner
70
00:04:34,399 --> 00:04:37,437
with extraordinary news of
outbreak of war.'
71
00:04:37,486 --> 00:04:40,649
'There was a big placard:
"War declared on Germany."'
72
00:04:40,781 --> 00:04:43,113
'We didn't know what we ought to do,
73
00:04:43,158 --> 00:04:45,570
whether we ought to seize
a knife off the table
74
00:04:45,660 --> 00:04:50,405
and plunge it into the German or what,
but after a little bit of discussion
75
00:04:50,499 --> 00:04:53,332
we decided that,
as far as we were concerned,
76
00:04:53,460 --> 00:04:58,671
the war was going to start tomorrow,
and the party proceeded.'
77
00:05:00,634 --> 00:05:02,500
'I'm proud of being a Britisher.
78
00:05:02,594 --> 00:05:05,256
I mean, I think we're as good
a country as any in the world
79
00:05:05,347 --> 00:05:08,180
and you've got to be prepared
to fight for that.'
80
00:05:08,266 --> 00:05:11,099
'There's no doubt about it,
in the First World War,
81
00:05:11,186 --> 00:05:13,268
we prepared for war.'
82
00:05:13,355 --> 00:05:16,848
The Empire was strong.
We weren't afraid of anyone.'
83
00:05:16,983 --> 00:05:20,601
'Everybody bought little buttons
and waved flags and sang songs.
84
00:05:20,695 --> 00:05:23,437
There was no feeling of despair
about it at all.'
85
00:05:23,532 --> 00:05:25,318
'England couldn't possibly lose,
86
00:05:25,367 --> 00:05:28,951
no matter how many Germans pushed
how many Englishmen into the Channel,
87
00:05:29,037 --> 00:05:30,493
they'd get no further.
88
00:05:30,580 --> 00:05:32,036
We couldn't possible lose.'
89
00:05:32,123 --> 00:05:36,162
'We were brought up to think that
one Englishman's worth ten Germans.'
90
00:05:36,253 --> 00:05:38,585
'I thought that any enemy of England
91
00:05:38,672 --> 00:05:42,131
was an enemy of mine
and I wanted to be in it.'
92
00:05:42,217 --> 00:05:46,302
'Oh, six months or 12 months and
it'd be all over and Bob's your uncle.'
93
00:05:46,388 --> 00:05:49,176
'I went with a friend of mine into
Shepherd's Bush Empire
94
00:05:49,266 --> 00:05:52,975
to see the picture show there and they
showed the fleet sailing the high seas
95
00:05:53,061 --> 00:05:55,769
and played,
"Britons never shall be slaves."
96
00:05:55,856 --> 00:05:58,439
One feels that little shiver
run up their back
97
00:05:58,525 --> 00:06:00,516
and you know
you've got to do something.'
98
00:06:00,610 --> 00:06:03,318
'A friend of mine said to me,
"We're going to join up."
99
00:06:03,405 --> 00:06:05,487
It was from the patriotic point of view
100
00:06:05,574 --> 00:06:09,818
and from the general excitement of
the whole affair, I suppose.'
101
00:06:10,912 --> 00:06:13,279
'I didn't believe in war to that extent,
102
00:06:13,373 --> 00:06:15,489
but I was prepared to do my part.'
103
00:06:15,584 --> 00:06:19,452
'You see, in those days,
men weren't to think for themselves.
104
00:06:19,546 --> 00:06:23,460
They just had to do what they were told
and that's all there was to it.'
105
00:06:23,550 --> 00:06:26,542
'Oh, my mother was
very aggrieved about it
106
00:06:26,636 --> 00:06:30,004
but, you know, a young man,
you decide you're going to go.'
107
00:06:30,098 --> 00:06:33,682
'At lunch time, I left the office,
went along to Armoury House
108
00:06:33,768 --> 00:06:37,136
and there was a queue of
about 1,000 people trying to enlist.'
109
00:06:37,230 --> 00:06:39,847
'Everybody thought
that it would be a civilised war
110
00:06:39,941 --> 00:06:41,807
and wanted to be fit enough to go.'
111
00:06:41,902 --> 00:06:44,940
'Two of us decided to join up together
and when we told the boss
112
00:06:45,030 --> 00:06:48,148
we were going to start training
on Monday, he was very annoyed.
113
00:06:48,241 --> 00:06:52,030
He didn't make any promise that our jobs
would be there when we got back.'
114
00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,579
'My mother, she said,
"You wait until you're 19."
115
00:06:55,665 --> 00:07:01,502
See, that was the age in those days,
19 to 35. Well, it was supposed to be.'
116
00:07:01,588 --> 00:07:03,829
'We were all lads together, you know,
117
00:07:03,924 --> 00:07:06,336
full of excitement
and all this kind of thing.
118
00:07:06,426 --> 00:07:08,918
I mean,
I just wanted to have a go at Jerry.'
119
00:07:09,012 --> 00:07:12,221
'I just thought that I'd like to go
and fight for the country.
120
00:07:12,307 --> 00:07:16,471
You were proud of your country
and you'd do the best you could for it
121
00:07:16,561 --> 00:07:21,055
and this was what most of the young
people thought of doing in those days.'
122
00:07:21,149 --> 00:07:22,810
'My mother, she said to me,
123
00:07:22,901 --> 00:07:26,110
"Look, we could stop you doing this
because of your age."
124
00:07:26,196 --> 00:07:29,939
I said, "Yes, I know you could, Mother,
but I'm sure you won't,"
125
00:07:30,033 --> 00:07:31,819
which they never did.'
126
00:07:31,910 --> 00:07:35,744
'I just felt that all the young fellas
of that age were volunteering
127
00:07:35,830 --> 00:07:38,413
and I thought it was my job
to do the same.'
128
00:07:38,500 --> 00:07:40,161
'I was desperately keen.
129
00:07:40,251 --> 00:07:43,585
A whole heap of us went.
I said, "Direct enlistment, please."
130
00:07:43,672 --> 00:07:47,131
They were highly delighted
and pushed me in as quick as lightning.'
131
00:07:47,217 --> 00:07:50,050
'Lots of the lads
were joining the local regiments,
132
00:07:50,136 --> 00:07:52,377
like the Bucks and the Middlesex.
133
00:07:52,472 --> 00:07:54,463
Lads that I knew
and been to school with,
134
00:07:54,557 --> 00:07:58,425
played football and cricket with,
we joined up, hoping for the best.'
135
00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,932
'We were good friends, comrades
136
00:08:01,022 --> 00:08:05,186
and it was a relief from
rather boring jobs at home, you see.'
137
00:08:05,276 --> 00:08:08,689
'I was walking down
the Camden town High Street
138
00:08:08,780 --> 00:08:11,147
when two young ladies approached me.
139
00:08:11,241 --> 00:08:14,905
"Why aren't you in the army?"
I said, "|'m only 17."
140
00:08:14,995 --> 00:08:16,906
"Oh, they all say that here."
141
00:08:16,997 --> 00:08:20,240
And to my amazement,
she put her hand in her bag
142
00:08:20,333 --> 00:08:23,667
and I put my hand up
to sort of safeguard myself
143
00:08:23,753 --> 00:08:26,745
when this white feather
finished up my nose.'
144
00:08:27,674 --> 00:08:31,713
'As we marched to the station,
some of the chaps had bowler hats,
145
00:08:31,803 --> 00:08:35,762
some had straw hats, some had
the regulation peaked army cap.
146
00:08:35,849 --> 00:08:39,843
Some would have tunics, some would
be dressed with their ordinary jackets
147
00:08:39,936 --> 00:08:41,802
with a pair of army trousers.
148
00:08:41,896 --> 00:08:47,141
Some had army boots, some didn't,
and we really were a motley throng.'
149
00:08:47,235 --> 00:08:50,444
'Some of them were obviously chaps
who had hoped to live in some comfort
150
00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:54,114
and brought suitcases with clothes
with them which they never saw again.'
151
00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,283
'We had to all get our hair cut.
"How would you like it, sir?"
152
00:08:57,370 --> 00:08:59,657
And you'd say, "Short back and sides,"
153
00:08:59,748 --> 00:09:03,082
but the answer was straight over the top
with horse clippers
154
00:09:03,168 --> 00:09:05,876
and we looked more like
convicts than soldiers.'
155
00:09:05,962 --> 00:09:10,456
'As soon as war broke out, there was a
call made for all ex-soldiers to rejoin
156
00:09:10,550 --> 00:09:12,837
and they made 'em sergeants
straightaway,
157
00:09:12,927 --> 00:09:15,294
so you got a lot of instructors
that way.'
158
00:09:15,805 --> 00:09:18,172
'The people
who really carried us through
159
00:09:18,266 --> 00:09:21,258
was the old sweats
who'd had previous war experience
160
00:09:21,352 --> 00:09:26,518
and gave us a lot of wise advise as to
what to look for and what to dodge.'
161
00:09:26,608 --> 00:09:29,646
'We were ordered down
onto the parade ground
162
00:09:29,736 --> 00:09:33,479
and then we were allotted
to different platoons.'
163
00:09:33,573 --> 00:09:39,740
'When they came to us, they were weedy,
sallow, skinny, frightened children.
164
00:09:39,829 --> 00:09:42,491
The refuse of our industrial system
165
00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:47,076
and they were in very poor condition
and had to be made into soldiers.'
166
00:09:47,170 --> 00:09:51,129
'Many of us had given our wrong ages
to join the army.'
167
00:09:51,216 --> 00:09:53,924
'The adjutant walked down the lines
and gave an order,
168
00:09:54,010 --> 00:09:58,425
"Every man under the age of 19
to take two paces forward."
169
00:09:58,515 --> 00:10:00,882
Nobody moved.'
170
00:10:01,768 --> 00:10:05,762
'I was a lad of 17,
and they'd probably see I wasn't 19,
171
00:10:05,855 --> 00:10:07,937
which you had to be to join up,
172
00:10:08,024 --> 00:10:11,312
but they says,
"How long do you want to sign on for?"'
173
00:10:11,402 --> 00:10:14,895
'Everybody else was joining up,
so I went into the recruiting office.
174
00:10:14,989 --> 00:10:17,947
He said to me, "How old are you?"
I said, "17, sir."
175
00:10:18,034 --> 00:10:21,368
"Well," he says, "Go outside
and come back and say you're 18."
176
00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:24,116
So, of course,
I went outside and said I were 18.
177
00:10:24,207 --> 00:10:26,494
Then straight o'er the sea
for Flanders.'
178
00:10:26,584 --> 00:10:30,248
'The sergeant said, "How old are you?"
I said, "|'m 18 and one month."
179
00:10:30,338 --> 00:10:33,171
He said, "Do you mean 19 and one month?"
So I thought a moment.
180
00:10:33,258 --> 00:10:36,091
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "Right, sign here, please."'
181
00:10:36,177 --> 00:10:40,216
'He asked me how old I was
and I said I was 16 in March.
182
00:10:40,306 --> 00:10:44,345
"Oh." he said, "You're too young. You'd
better go outside and have a birthday.“
183
00:10:44,435 --> 00:10:49,805
'I was 16 years old in 1917,
and I was six-foot-two tall
184
00:10:49,899 --> 00:10:52,391
and my father allowed me to go.
185
00:10:52,485 --> 00:10:55,819
So I entered my age as 19 years old,
186
00:10:55,905 --> 00:10:59,614
three years older than
what I really was.'
187
00:10:59,701 --> 00:11:03,865
'I was 15 years,
just two-and-a-half years short of 18,
188
00:11:03,955 --> 00:11:09,576
and I got before this medical officer
who said, "All right, you pass."'
189
00:11:10,712 --> 00:11:12,703
'I was just turned 17 at the time
190
00:11:12,797 --> 00:11:16,506
and I went up to Whitehall and enlisted
in the 16th Lancers.'
191
00:11:17,385 --> 00:11:22,050
'I was 15 and I thought I'd have
a better chance than when I were 14,
192
00:11:22,140 --> 00:11:27,476
so I walked into the barracks and
just said, "|'m 18," and that was it.'
193
00:11:28,646 --> 00:11:30,808
'My parents wrote to
the commanding officer
194
00:11:30,899 --> 00:11:33,357
and asked for me, as I was underage,
to be released.
195
00:11:33,443 --> 00:11:36,777
He said, "Your parents want you back.
Do you want to go?"
196
00:11:36,863 --> 00:11:38,945
I said, "No."'
197
00:11:40,491 --> 00:11:43,654
'The chaplain asked me my age
and I said I was 16.
198
00:11:43,745 --> 00:11:46,032
He said, "Much too young.
199
00:11:46,122 --> 00:11:48,284
Would you like me to pray for you?"'
200
00:11:51,669 --> 00:11:55,833
'The clothing came piecemeal
into the quartermaster's stores.'
201
00:11:58,468 --> 00:12:00,926
'One lad said,
"These boots don't fit me."
202
00:12:01,012 --> 00:12:04,880
The quartermaster said, "There isn't
such a thing as boots that don't fit,
203
00:12:04,974 --> 00:12:07,136
it's your feet,
they don't fit the boots."'
204
00:12:08,269 --> 00:12:13,059
'Some men would find a tunic to fit them
or perhaps a pair of trousers.
205
00:12:13,149 --> 00:12:18,110
And so it went on for nearly
a fortnight. Just one uniform.
206
00:12:18,196 --> 00:12:21,814
I was in the army nearly four years.
I only had one uniform.'
207
00:12:22,951 --> 00:12:25,943
'We were all issued with
these famous puttees,
208
00:12:26,037 --> 00:12:27,698
which were news to all of us
209
00:12:27,789 --> 00:12:31,908
and I personally could never quite
master the putting on of puttees.'
210
00:12:32,001 --> 00:12:35,869
'The main reason for puttees were
to support the legs in marching.'
211
00:12:35,964 --> 00:12:39,832
'I was issued with a kilt,
but nothing to wear underneath it
212
00:12:39,926 --> 00:12:42,008
and I was given a slip of paper to say,
213
00:12:42,095 --> 00:12:44,928
"This man has not been issued
with underpants."
214
00:12:45,014 --> 00:12:49,258
I was given strict instructions that
I couldn't ride on top of a tram car.
215
00:12:49,352 --> 00:12:51,013
I had to ride downstairs.'
216
00:12:52,981 --> 00:12:56,599
'Now, the pack was for
everything that you owned.
217
00:12:56,693 --> 00:13:01,062
The overcoat had to be folded
very, very neatly and tightly.
218
00:13:01,155 --> 00:13:05,865
There was a needle, thread,
spare buttons, knife, fork, spoon,
219
00:13:05,952 --> 00:13:11,789
razor, shaving brush, toothbrush,
and also a half-pint mug,
220
00:13:11,874 --> 00:13:17,495
one spare shirt and one spare
pair of socks, and that was your kit.
221
00:13:17,588 --> 00:13:21,001
The army razor with which
we were issued was absolutely useless,
222
00:13:21,092 --> 00:13:23,834
but it came in handy for cutting up meat
and so forth.
223
00:13:23,928 --> 00:13:26,761
The toothbrush,
that came in handy for cleaning buttons.
224
00:13:26,848 --> 00:13:29,761
One of the peculiarities
about the army was,
225
00:13:29,851 --> 00:13:32,138
although it was a crime
to have dirty buttons,
226
00:13:32,228 --> 00:13:36,142
you were never issued with
the materials to clean the buttons with.
227
00:13:36,232 --> 00:13:37,973
You had to buy them yourself.
228
00:13:38,067 --> 00:13:41,480
We were awakened by the bugle
which sounded Reveille.
229
00:13:41,571 --> 00:13:45,530
Wash, shave, pack your bed up
and pack your kit about half-past six
230
00:13:45,616 --> 00:13:49,029
and you would have
an hour PT before breakfast.'
231
00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:53,364
'Press-ups and physical exercises,
arms upward stretch.'
232
00:13:53,458 --> 00:13:56,667
'They knew you were fresh
and they tried to take you by stages.
233
00:13:56,753 --> 00:13:59,211
There wasn't any bullying
or anything like that.'
234
00:14:00,173 --> 00:14:03,291
'Breakfast consisted of bread,
235
00:14:03,384 --> 00:14:06,172
butter,
one rasher of Lance Corporal bacon,
236
00:14:06,262 --> 00:14:09,800
cos it was streaky bacon,
it had one stripe in it.'
237
00:14:09,891 --> 00:14:14,385
'There was jam and they seemed to make
nothing but plum and apple, you know.
238
00:14:14,479 --> 00:14:18,438
If you got any other kind,
it was a celebration event. (CHUCKLES)'
239
00:14:19,484 --> 00:14:22,727
'Well, Bruce Bairnsfather's cartoons
depicted that.
240
00:14:22,820 --> 00:14:24,902
They'd hand him
a tin of plum and apple jam.
241
00:14:24,989 --> 00:14:27,151
"When the 'ell is it
goin' to be strawberry?"
242
00:14:27,241 --> 00:14:29,107
Ooh, he was wonderful, that chap.'
243
00:14:29,202 --> 00:14:32,240
'Ticklers, the jam manufacturers,
244
00:14:32,330 --> 00:14:35,994
they must have made millions of tins
of P&A: plum and apple.
245
00:14:37,168 --> 00:14:40,752
♪ Oh, Oh, Oh, it's a lovely war
246
00:14:40,838 --> 00:14:45,833
♪ What do we want with eggs and ham
when we've got bags of Ticklers jam? ♪
247
00:14:46,969 --> 00:14:50,633
Then it would be parade time,
then the sergeant would take over
248
00:14:50,723 --> 00:14:53,715
and you would have
a whole morning of marching.
249
00:14:53,810 --> 00:14:55,926
And you would learn all commands,
250
00:14:56,020 --> 00:14:59,058
such as "About turn,"
and all that sort of thing.'
251
00:14:59,899 --> 00:15:03,142
'Having been in the Boy Scouts,
it was dead easy to me.'
252
00:15:03,236 --> 00:15:08,606
'When you get the order, "Right dress!"
you turn your head only to the right.'
253
00:15:08,699 --> 00:15:13,785
'Some of them managed to turn left,
which didn't please the drill sergeant.'
254
00:15:13,871 --> 00:15:18,490
'We were all youngsters. We'd come from
fairly sheltered lives and so forth.
255
00:15:18,584 --> 00:15:23,044
This sergeant of ours was
the loudmouth shouting-type.'
256
00:15:23,131 --> 00:15:27,796
'Corning up against military discipline
was a shock,
257
00:15:27,885 --> 00:15:32,345
being chased around from pillar to post
by disciplinarian NCOs.'
258
00:15:32,432 --> 00:15:34,639
'Some of the sergeants were shockers.
259
00:15:34,725 --> 00:15:38,184
They would cause a lot of trouble
if you were out of step,
260
00:15:38,271 --> 00:15:42,606
or if you didn't keep time, or if
you didn't handle your rifle properly.
261
00:15:42,692 --> 00:15:44,649
They were always having a go at you.'
262
00:15:44,735 --> 00:15:47,648
'Most of them were all right,
their shouting meant nothing,
263
00:15:47,738 --> 00:15:49,399
but some of them never lost it.'
264
00:15:49,490 --> 00:15:54,360
'One night I'd gone to bed and
this pot was brought round to my bed
265
00:15:54,454 --> 00:15:57,321
and they said,
"Oh, you want to do a piss,"
266
00:15:57,415 --> 00:15:59,782
so I did the business in the pot.
267
00:15:59,876 --> 00:16:05,371
They'd rested this big, huge pot
which contained gallons on the door
268
00:16:05,465 --> 00:16:10,210
and when this sergeant came along
to see that everybody was in bed,
269
00:16:10,303 --> 00:16:14,547
this thing turned up and he was drenched
from top to bottom in fluid.
270
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:15,880
(LAUGHS)'
271
00:16:16,809 --> 00:16:20,097
'First of all, I was full of enthusiasm
272
00:16:20,188 --> 00:16:23,146
but, after about the first week,
I wished I hadn't done it
273
00:16:23,232 --> 00:16:27,817
because the discipline was so strict and
I was beginning to get a bit nervous
274
00:16:27,904 --> 00:16:29,815
as to what was in store.'
275
00:16:29,906 --> 00:16:32,193
'We weren't out dancing,
anything like that.
276
00:16:32,283 --> 00:16:33,944
We were getting ready for a war.'
277
00:16:34,035 --> 00:16:38,029
'The thing was you were in the army,
you had to do as you were told,
278
00:16:38,122 --> 00:16:40,739
you had one master, or dozens,
279
00:16:40,833 --> 00:16:43,621
but you just had to get on with it
and that was it.'
280
00:16:43,711 --> 00:16:46,544
'I did find that right through the army.
281
00:16:46,631 --> 00:16:49,339
If you behaved yourself,
you'd nothing much to fear.'
282
00:16:49,425 --> 00:16:52,383
'This was quite a new world to us,
I mean, you can imagine,
283
00:16:52,470 --> 00:16:54,928
I came out of civilian life
like all the others did
284
00:16:55,014 --> 00:16:58,006
and we weren't in a position
to argue or object.
285
00:16:58,100 --> 00:17:00,888
It was just a matter of
doing what we were told.'
286
00:17:00,978 --> 00:17:04,312
'I liked it. I liked to be told
what I had to do,
287
00:17:04,398 --> 00:17:06,810
because there was a reason
for doing it.
288
00:17:06,901 --> 00:17:11,065
Later on, I realised that was
the best training you could have.'
289
00:17:11,155 --> 00:17:15,023
'The first week,
our route march would be ten miles.
290
00:17:15,117 --> 00:17:18,109
The second week, it would be 12,
and so on and so on.
291
00:17:18,204 --> 00:17:22,118
It intensified because
it's of the utmost importance
292
00:17:22,208 --> 00:17:25,917
that the infantry soldier
could march with the full kit.'
293
00:17:26,003 --> 00:17:28,870
'What you had to carry was 109 pounds.'
294
00:17:28,965 --> 00:17:31,582
'Marching was easy for me,
295
00:17:31,676 --> 00:17:36,216
but quite a lot of chaps who were
in sedentary jobs found it pretty hard.'
296
00:17:36,305 --> 00:17:41,800
'It numbed and cramped
the muscles on my thighs and calves
297
00:17:41,894 --> 00:17:44,181
until they hurt very much indeed.'
298
00:17:45,231 --> 00:17:48,189
'Oh, those army boots! I could've cried.
299
00:17:48,276 --> 00:17:53,316
My feet and ankles with those heavy
army boots, after civilian shoes...'
300
00:17:53,406 --> 00:17:56,239
'So, to get your boots made pliable,
301
00:17:56,325 --> 00:17:59,943
you used to urinate in them
and leave it overnight.'
302
00:18:00,037 --> 00:18:04,907
'Quite a lot of men were clerks
or they worked in shops
303
00:18:05,001 --> 00:18:08,710
and the very nature of their calling
didn't make for fitness.'
304
00:18:09,630 --> 00:18:13,919
'Well, they sent me to hospital and
they gave me the cure for hookworm
305
00:18:14,010 --> 00:18:17,503
and I found that
I could stand the drill after that.'
306
00:18:17,597 --> 00:18:20,510
'They used to march us
all round the West End.
307
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,557
Crowds used to foregather.
308
00:18:22,643 --> 00:18:26,557
And some of the poor, deluded ones
fell for the con trick
309
00:18:26,647 --> 00:18:29,685
and lined up behind us
and we used to march 'em all
310
00:18:29,775 --> 00:18:32,267
down to Chelsea Barracks
where they got signed up.'
311
00:18:34,697 --> 00:18:37,860
'Lunch would consist of inevitable stew.
312
00:18:37,950 --> 00:18:40,032
Now, we must remember that
313
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:43,987
the chaps in the cookhouse were
by no means experienced cooks,
314
00:18:44,081 --> 00:18:46,914
but anybody can make a stew
and that's what they did.'
315
00:18:47,001 --> 00:18:51,336
'Sometimes, we got a bit of plum duff
and milk puddings and tapioca rice.
316
00:18:51,422 --> 00:18:56,007
It was good, old-fashioned, plain stuff
that I was brought up on.
317
00:18:56,093 --> 00:18:58,801
I had no complaint about it.'
318
00:18:58,888 --> 00:19:03,883
'In the afternoon, it could be a lecture
on Vickers machine guns.'
319
00:19:03,976 --> 00:19:08,721
'You used to strip the machine gun
right down and put it together again
320
00:19:08,814 --> 00:19:12,398
and, luckily, I seemed
to cotton onto that quite quickly.'
321
00:19:12,485 --> 00:19:15,898
'We were always told
that man's best friend is his rifle
322
00:19:15,988 --> 00:19:17,649
and it was.'
323
00:19:17,740 --> 00:19:20,323
'Our rifle was a short Lee-Enfield.
324
00:19:20,409 --> 00:19:23,902
A very good rifle indeed.
A real sturdy rifle.
325
00:19:23,996 --> 00:19:27,990
You had your ammunition pouches
on both sides of the chest
326
00:19:28,084 --> 00:19:30,371
to counterbalance
the weight of the pack
327
00:19:30,461 --> 00:19:35,251
and those pouches carried
150 rounds of .303 ammunition.'
328
00:19:35,341 --> 00:19:38,254
'We were supposed to hold a rifle
with one hand,
329
00:19:38,344 --> 00:19:42,759
but I could never hold a rifle properly.
my right wrist wouldn't hold it up.'
330
00:19:42,848 --> 00:19:46,136
'I'd never fired a rifle in my life
but, on the first day,
331
00:19:46,227 --> 00:19:50,186
we went onto the rifle range and it was
amazing, the bull's-eyes I was getting.
332
00:19:50,272 --> 00:19:54,015
So, the next thing,
I was made a first-class rifleman.'
333
00:19:54,110 --> 00:19:56,442
'Above all, we learned rapid fire.
334
00:19:56,529 --> 00:20:00,193
Ten rounds, get those ten rounds
onto the target in one minute.
335
00:20:00,282 --> 00:20:02,364
It was known as "the mad minute".'
336
00:20:02,451 --> 00:20:05,819
'I'd never seen a dead man,
or anything of that kind
337
00:20:05,913 --> 00:20:08,575
and I wondered,
if it came to my shooting a man,
338
00:20:08,666 --> 00:20:10,748
whether I would be able to do this.'
339
00:20:10,835 --> 00:20:13,702
'You'd plunge the bayonet into the sack,
shout like hell.'
340
00:20:13,796 --> 00:20:16,037
'They would tell you
where to put your bayonet.
341
00:20:16,132 --> 00:20:18,590
Either into his left shoulder,
his right shoulder,
342
00:20:18,676 --> 00:20:21,008
in the chest, or in the body.'
343
00:20:21,095 --> 00:20:23,211
'We were told to make
as much noise as we could.
344
00:20:23,305 --> 00:20:25,421
I think that was to frighten the enemy.
345
00:20:25,516 --> 00:20:28,224
Didn't seem a likely thing to do,
but we used to shout.'
346
00:20:28,310 --> 00:20:31,848
'When you've trained as a division,
there's 12 battalions,
347
00:20:31,939 --> 00:20:34,772
that's roughly 12,000 men
who are on the move
348
00:20:34,859 --> 00:20:38,272
and you're a very small cog
in a big wheel.'
349
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,362
'Saturday mornings we were let off,
350
00:20:41,449 --> 00:20:43,781
but we had to do sometimes
barrack duties.
351
00:20:43,868 --> 00:20:46,405
Then, on Sundays,
we were all marched down to church.
352
00:20:46,495 --> 00:20:51,285
It didn't matter what religion you were,
you all had to go and that was it.'
353
00:20:51,375 --> 00:20:55,039
'Hardly a day passed without
the shout around the barrack room,
354
00:20:55,129 --> 00:20:57,712
"Has anybody here had
any experiences with horses?"
355
00:20:57,798 --> 00:21:00,506
"Can anybody here play
any musical instruments?"
356
00:21:00,593 --> 00:21:03,005
"Anybody had any experience at
so-and-so...?"
357
00:21:03,095 --> 00:21:07,464
So, gradually, the 1,000 men
who joined up as a motley throng,
358
00:21:07,558 --> 00:21:13,179
now became a transport man, a bandsman,
signalman, and so on.'
359
00:21:13,272 --> 00:21:15,684
'You didn't wanna mess about
at the parade ground
360
00:21:15,775 --> 00:21:17,857
with heavy packs on the route marches.
361
00:21:17,943 --> 00:21:21,902
Most of us wanted to go across
and do some scrapping.'
362
00:21:21,989 --> 00:21:24,777
'After good food, fresh air
and physical exercise,
363
00:21:24,867 --> 00:21:28,326
they'd changed so that their mothers
wouldn't have recognised them.
364
00:21:28,412 --> 00:21:31,996
They'd put on an average of one stone
in weight and one inch in height.'
365
00:21:32,082 --> 00:21:35,620
'Although we hated the sight and sound
of our disciplinary sergeants,
366
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:40,000
this reflects greatly to their credit
because they knocked us into shape
367
00:21:40,090 --> 00:21:42,206
as regards to marching and foot drills.'
368
00:21:42,301 --> 00:21:43,962
'But, far more than that,
369
00:21:44,053 --> 00:21:48,718
they were handsome, ruddy, upstanding,
square-shouldered young men
370
00:21:48,808 --> 00:21:52,267
who were afraid of nobody,
not even the sergeant major.'
371
00:21:52,353 --> 00:21:56,642
'After six weeks, we were informed
we were gonna be posted overseas.'
372
00:21:56,732 --> 00:22:00,566
'They said, "You're leaving tomorrow
morning for an unknown destination.“
373
00:22:00,653 --> 00:22:03,486
'You were never told
where you were heading for.'
374
00:22:03,572 --> 00:22:06,940
'I just wanted to fight the Germans
and, as far as that was concerned,
375
00:22:07,034 --> 00:22:09,617
it didn't matter tuppence to me
where we went.'
376
00:22:09,703 --> 00:22:11,364
'And when we pushed them through
377
00:22:11,455 --> 00:22:14,743
this crash programme of
military training,
378
00:22:14,834 --> 00:22:16,950
they were pushed off to France
in batches.'
379
00:22:17,044 --> 00:22:18,785
'Before we left, the officer said,
380
00:22:18,879 --> 00:22:21,337
"Well, you haven't had time
to be made sergeants,
381
00:22:21,423 --> 00:22:23,334
so we'll give you a couple of stripes."
382
00:22:23,425 --> 00:22:26,713
So they made us corporals and,
in less than no time,
383
00:22:26,804 --> 00:22:29,011
we were marched down to the station.'
384
00:22:29,098 --> 00:22:32,966
'In my mind, I wondered,
"Shall I ever come back?"
385
00:22:33,060 --> 00:22:35,142
I didn't think I would at the time.
386
00:22:35,229 --> 00:22:37,641
I didn't worry about it.'
387
00:22:37,731 --> 00:22:39,847
'Oh, they were all full of euphoria.
388
00:22:39,942 --> 00:22:42,730
They were all glad they were going.
Nobody was crying.'
389
00:22:42,820 --> 00:22:46,688
'I wrote a postcard when I was in
the train and chucked it out the window,
390
00:22:46,782 --> 00:22:49,240
hoping that it would be delivered
to my family.'
391
00:22:49,326 --> 00:22:51,943
'We arrived at Folkestone
in the evening.
392
00:22:52,037 --> 00:22:55,280
We embarked on one of
the old Thames pleasure boats.'
393
00:22:55,374 --> 00:22:57,035
'Well, pretty crowded.
394
00:22:57,126 --> 00:23:01,962
Well, of course, it's only 21 miles
from Dover to Calais on the boat.'
395
00:23:02,047 --> 00:23:04,414
'There were talks by officers to us
396
00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:06,715
as to how to behave ourselves
on foreign soil
397
00:23:06,802 --> 00:23:10,921
and that we'd got to respect
other people's modes of conduct.'
398
00:23:11,015 --> 00:23:14,724
'The biggest number of casualties
were NCOs
399
00:23:14,810 --> 00:23:17,222
and we weren't all too keen about this.
400
00:23:17,313 --> 00:23:21,056
So I went into the lavatory
and my stripes came off
401
00:23:21,150 --> 00:23:23,391
and they disappeared
through the porthole.
402
00:23:23,485 --> 00:23:26,978
And with that,
I went back on deck as a private.'
403
00:23:30,075 --> 00:23:33,318
'As our horses
were brought down the gangways,
404
00:23:33,412 --> 00:23:35,699
I noticed the expression
on the men's faces.
405
00:23:35,789 --> 00:23:39,828
There were no cheerful, smiling faces
coming down that gangway at all.'
406
00:23:42,421 --> 00:23:44,708
'It was beautiful weather. Very warm.
407
00:23:44,798 --> 00:23:48,257
Every village and town we went through,
people rushed out,
408
00:23:48,344 --> 00:23:51,177
bottles of wine,
yards of French bread, flowers...'
409
00:23:52,056 --> 00:23:54,468
'The land flowed in every single aspect.
410
00:23:54,558 --> 00:23:58,847
There were farmers going about their
business, the most lovely country.'
411
00:24:00,314 --> 00:24:03,432
'If we were passing a field of carrots,
we used to raid the field
412
00:24:03,525 --> 00:24:06,062
and walk along
munching the carrots and turnips.'
413
00:24:10,699 --> 00:24:14,533
'I was dead scared that the war
would be over before I got out to it.
414
00:24:14,620 --> 00:24:17,738
When I got out to France,
I was terribly pleased.
415
00:24:17,831 --> 00:24:19,913
Really keen.'
416
00:24:21,210 --> 00:24:25,329
'You just marched and marched until
roughly 20 miles from the trenches.'
417
00:24:25,422 --> 00:24:27,914
'We knew we were getting
close to the line,
418
00:24:28,008 --> 00:24:31,376
because the gunfire was becoming
more noisy.'
419
00:24:31,470 --> 00:24:33,802
'I remember the first shell,
I was delighted.'
420
00:24:36,517 --> 00:24:40,260
'We went through towns, villages,
that were absolutely derelict,
421
00:24:40,354 --> 00:24:44,018
so we never knew where we were,
except that we were in Belgium.'
422
00:24:46,193 --> 00:24:49,652
'The devastation was something
I never could have imagined.
423
00:24:49,738 --> 00:24:53,106
The whole place gave one
a most eerie sensation.'
424
00:24:56,578 --> 00:24:59,912
'There were stunted trees
torn to shreds with shellfire
425
00:24:59,999 --> 00:25:02,331
and there were shell holes
all over the place.'
426
00:25:04,169 --> 00:25:06,957
'We were relieving men of
the 28th Division
427
00:25:07,047 --> 00:25:10,540
and, as they passed us, we would say,
"What's it like up there?"
428
00:25:10,634 --> 00:25:13,968
The reply invariably came back,
"Bloody awful, mate."'
429
00:25:14,054 --> 00:25:17,217
'The old sweats coming back
had got their tails up all right,
430
00:25:17,307 --> 00:25:20,095
but I didn't know what to expect,
just hadn't a clue.'
431
00:25:21,270 --> 00:25:22,931
'It was deadly warfare.
432
00:25:23,022 --> 00:25:24,763
You were facing the Germans.'
433
00:25:26,567 --> 00:25:28,649
(DIS TA NT GUNFIRE)
434
00:25:28,736 --> 00:25:30,818
Follow me!
435
00:25:33,032 --> 00:25:34,693
'You got the order: load.
436
00:25:34,783 --> 00:25:38,367
You put nine in your magazine
and one up the spout
437
00:25:38,454 --> 00:25:40,115
and you put your safety catch on
438
00:25:40,205 --> 00:25:44,745
and you always went into the line
prepared to use your rifle immediately.'
439
00:25:44,835 --> 00:25:47,793
'That's when you got rigid orders.
440
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,622
"No talking whatsoever!
Keep your head down!
441
00:25:50,716 --> 00:25:53,208
Single file! No smoking!"
442
00:25:53,302 --> 00:25:56,420
The captain would then direct you
right to the front trenches.'
443
00:25:57,723 --> 00:25:59,384
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
444
00:25:59,475 --> 00:26:01,182
'When a man goes into the trenches,
445
00:26:01,268 --> 00:26:05,136
he usually carries a roll of barbed wire
or bag of bombs,
446
00:26:05,230 --> 00:26:06,891
beside his own equipment.
447
00:26:06,982 --> 00:26:09,815
That's the way they get the stuff
up to the front line.'
448
00:26:09,902 --> 00:26:12,234
'Now a guide would always be sent out.'
449
00:26:12,321 --> 00:26:14,608
Extend this part of the trench
over there.
450
00:26:14,698 --> 00:26:16,359
-What, that way?
-That's it.
451
00:26:16,450 --> 00:26:18,532
'The trenches in France were a maze.
452
00:26:18,619 --> 00:26:21,031
If you didn't have a guide,
you could soon get lost.'
453
00:26:21,121 --> 00:26:23,579
Smile so your mother thinks
I'm looking after you.
454
00:26:25,709 --> 00:26:28,246
Now up you go. Double up! Double up!
455
00:26:32,382 --> 00:26:35,044
'The trenches weren't in
one straight line.
456
00:26:35,135 --> 00:26:38,127
They were built on
what they call the traverse system.
457
00:26:38,222 --> 00:26:41,260
The traverse would break up
the shellfire
458
00:26:41,350 --> 00:26:44,138
and stop it spreading
right along the trench.'
459
00:26:44,228 --> 00:26:46,219
'There was a front line of trenches,
460
00:26:46,313 --> 00:26:48,600
and then there was
a second line of trenches.'
461
00:26:48,690 --> 00:26:52,558
'The support line would be about
50 yards or more behind the front line.
462
00:26:52,653 --> 00:26:55,691
In between,
there would be communication trenches
463
00:26:55,781 --> 00:26:59,695
so that they could move through
if the front line was under jeopardy.'
464
00:27:00,744 --> 00:27:03,111
'The first impression
I got of the trenches was
465
00:27:03,205 --> 00:27:05,287
they were very much lived in.'
466
00:27:05,374 --> 00:27:07,456
'We had to take 'em as we found 'em.'
467
00:27:07,543 --> 00:27:10,877
'You would see an overcoat hanging
from a wooden peg.
468
00:27:10,963 --> 00:27:14,547
You would see a mess tin
with some tea in it.
469
00:27:14,633 --> 00:27:17,796
A dugout which had
a piece of blanket in it.
470
00:27:17,886 --> 00:27:19,968
A bed made of sandbags.'
471
00:27:20,055 --> 00:27:24,970
'Our world was divided by no-man's-land,
a sort of iron curtain
472
00:27:25,060 --> 00:27:28,553
beyond which were bogeymen who would
kill you if they ever saw you.'
473
00:27:28,647 --> 00:27:30,604
'As you looked through your periscope
474
00:27:30,691 --> 00:27:33,228
all you could see were
hundreds of shell holes,
475
00:27:33,318 --> 00:27:36,856
your barbed wire
and the German barbed wire.'
476
00:27:36,947 --> 00:27:39,814
'You could see dead bodies
hanging on the barbed wire
477
00:27:39,908 --> 00:27:42,445
and they may have been there
for a long, long time.'
478
00:27:42,536 --> 00:27:46,029
'It was one of the most
desolate-looking places in the world.
479
00:27:46,123 --> 00:27:48,205
You never saw a sign of life
480
00:27:48,292 --> 00:27:51,830
and yet you knew very well that,
within shouting range,
481
00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:54,207
there were hundreds
and hundreds of men.'
482
00:27:55,007 --> 00:27:58,875
'A platoon of about 50 men would have
about 100 yards of frontline trenches,
483
00:27:58,969 --> 00:28:01,256
their responsibility.
484
00:28:01,346 --> 00:28:05,761
There were signs all over the trenches:
Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street,
485
00:28:05,851 --> 00:28:09,219
and all that sort of thing,
telling you where the water points were,
486
00:28:09,313 --> 00:28:12,772
and which was the most dangerous part
of land with regard to snipers.'
487
00:28:12,858 --> 00:28:14,974
'You had to be extremely careful because
488
00:28:15,068 --> 00:28:18,481
a bullet would go through
one layer of sandbags quite easily.'
489
00:28:18,572 --> 00:28:21,314
'I was talking to a bloke one day
and plop!
490
00:28:21,408 --> 00:28:23,490
His head was smashed in like an egg.
491
00:28:23,577 --> 00:28:27,662
He just happened to be in a place
where a sniper could get an aim on him.'
492
00:28:27,748 --> 00:28:30,661
'We used to do a four-day stint
in the line.
493
00:28:30,751 --> 00:28:35,040
We took with us sufficient food
to last the four days.'
494
00:28:35,130 --> 00:28:37,337
-Got any grog?
-See you later on.
495
00:28:37,424 --> 00:28:39,506
My best to Jerry.
496
00:28:39,593 --> 00:28:42,802
-Mind yourselves. That's it.
-'Your day would start before dawn,
497
00:28:42,888 --> 00:28:47,803
when NCOs would go round this 100 yards
to make sure everybody was alive.'
498
00:28:47,893 --> 00:28:51,136
'Of a day in the trenches,
you had two hours on, four off.'
499
00:28:51,230 --> 00:28:55,895
'A third of the people on sentry duty,
a third working and a third sleeping.'
500
00:28:55,984 --> 00:28:58,351
-Wakey-wakey!
-'We just slept where we were.
501
00:28:58,445 --> 00:29:00,607
No beds,
just flopped down on the ground.'
502
00:29:00,697 --> 00:29:02,779
You're in the pictures, mate.
503
00:29:02,866 --> 00:29:05,984
'The trench was very wet
and, wherever possible,
504
00:29:06,078 --> 00:29:08,240
we would try and get above the water.'
505
00:29:08,330 --> 00:29:10,742
'We were able to dig out
a side of the trench
506
00:29:10,832 --> 00:29:15,668
and that was when we used to steal our
sleep on the two-on four-off stretch.'
507
00:29:15,754 --> 00:29:20,248
'Then you'd have your couple of hours
on the parapet and then rest again.'
508
00:29:20,342 --> 00:29:23,585
'If nothing untoward happened,
there would be perhaps
509
00:29:23,679 --> 00:29:27,138
two or three sentry groups
in the whole company's front.'
510
00:29:32,187 --> 00:29:34,474
(EXPLOSIONS, SHELLS FIZZING)
511
00:29:39,027 --> 00:29:42,861
'It was a job to keep awake and woe
betide you if you were caught asleep.'
512
00:29:43,824 --> 00:29:46,691
'If you are so tired,
you can sleep standing up,
513
00:29:46,785 --> 00:29:48,446
which I've done many times.'
514
00:29:49,579 --> 00:29:54,824
'The first thing you did when you got
into the line was to have a brew up.'
515
00:29:54,918 --> 00:29:57,285
'There was one thing
about the Vickers gun,
516
00:29:57,379 --> 00:29:59,666
it being a water-cooled weapon,
517
00:29:59,756 --> 00:30:03,249
if you were continuously firing,
you'd find that the water'd be boiling.
518
00:30:03,343 --> 00:30:05,926
You could disconnect the tube
and make a cup of tea.'
519
00:30:06,013 --> 00:30:08,755
'The water came up in
two-gallon petrol cans.'
520
00:30:08,849 --> 00:30:10,886
'And we could taste the petrol in it,
521
00:30:10,976 --> 00:30:13,559
cos they couldn't wash it
completely out.'
522
00:30:13,645 --> 00:30:15,511
(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY)
523
00:30:16,606 --> 00:30:19,644
-'In every bay was a little fireplace.'
-Let's get this lit.
524
00:30:19,735 --> 00:30:23,353
'You used tiny slivers of wood because,
if you made smoke in the front line,
525
00:30:23,447 --> 00:30:25,529
-over would come a shell.'
-I fancy a brew.
526
00:30:25,615 --> 00:30:28,448
'You'd save a drop of that tea
to shave with.'
527
00:30:28,535 --> 00:30:31,118
'Because we had to shave
in the front line.'
528
00:30:31,204 --> 00:30:34,868
'We used to put a lot of tins out
on the parapet if it rained.
529
00:30:34,958 --> 00:30:37,450
You daren't touch any of
the other water.'
530
00:30:37,544 --> 00:30:40,002
'We were scooping water off shell holes.
531
00:30:40,088 --> 00:30:42,420
There might have been
dead bodies underneath.
532
00:30:42,507 --> 00:30:46,501
As long as we boiled it for a long time,
all the green stuff'd come off the top.'
533
00:30:46,595 --> 00:30:49,178
-Nice and gentle.
-'Anyway, we made tea with it.'
534
00:30:49,264 --> 00:30:51,551
'That's how I got my dose of dysentery.'
535
00:30:51,641 --> 00:30:55,054
'Of course,
there were no sanitary arrangements.
536
00:30:55,145 --> 00:30:57,307
They'd dig a trench
and stick a pole across.
537
00:30:57,397 --> 00:31:00,310
You'd get about seven or eight chaps
on the pole.'
538
00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,017
'God! To have a clear out was terrible.
539
00:31:03,111 --> 00:31:06,649
People used to go to the toilet
with no privacy.'
540
00:31:06,740 --> 00:31:11,405
'Being rather a shy nature, if I pissed
with somebody, I felt a bit nervous
541
00:31:11,495 --> 00:31:15,079
but, when you're in the army,
you got quite used to it.'
542
00:31:15,165 --> 00:31:18,703
'It didn't matter a damn, cos there's
no women or anything like that.'
543
00:31:18,794 --> 00:31:22,753
'The flies used to crawl all over
your bottom. Most unpleasant.'
544
00:31:22,839 --> 00:31:24,796
'We had no such thing as toilet rolls.'
545
00:31:24,883 --> 00:31:27,045
'You had to wipe your behind
with your hand.'
546
00:31:27,135 --> 00:31:30,423
'Your hands might have been in
all sorts, but you never washed.'
547
00:31:30,514 --> 00:31:33,131
-'We||, you heard a terrific shout...'
-(SNAPPING)
548
00:31:33,225 --> 00:31:35,933
-(GRUNTS) Christ!
-'..and the pole had snapped
549
00:31:36,019 --> 00:31:39,478
and the four men who were sitting
on the bar fell down in the muck.'
550
00:31:39,564 --> 00:31:42,727
'There was always
a humorous side of the war.
551
00:31:42,818 --> 00:31:44,479
(CHUCKLES)'
552
00:31:44,569 --> 00:31:47,482
'We had to put rifles down
for them to hang onto
553
00:31:47,572 --> 00:31:51,987
and they came out like slimy rabbits
and nobody wanted to go near 'em.'
554
00:31:52,077 --> 00:31:54,159
(CHUCKLES)
555
00:31:54,246 --> 00:31:56,362
'We had no spare clothes at all
556
00:31:56,456 --> 00:32:00,165
and you were living for weeks
without washing or getting a bath.'
557
00:32:00,252 --> 00:32:04,120
'And I personally became
really badly infested
558
00:32:04,214 --> 00:32:07,206
and "chatty" as we used to call it,
with these lice.'
559
00:32:07,300 --> 00:32:09,917
'Oh, lice was a dreadful problem.'
560
00:32:10,011 --> 00:32:13,504
'They were funny little things,
like little lobster sort of things
561
00:32:13,598 --> 00:32:16,590
with six legs
and they used to feed ten times a day.'
562
00:32:16,685 --> 00:32:20,428
'You had to kill the bloody things.
My favourite way was burning them.'
563
00:32:20,522 --> 00:32:23,560
'You would run the seams
over a lighted candle
564
00:32:23,650 --> 00:32:27,393
and you could hear the eggs going
pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!'
565
00:32:27,487 --> 00:32:29,649
'The sooner you got
your shirt back again,
566
00:32:29,739 --> 00:32:32,527
the heat of the body hatched the eggs
that you'd missed.'
567
00:32:33,618 --> 00:32:35,825
'We were just as lousy next day.'
568
00:32:37,289 --> 00:32:38,996
(LAUGHTER)
569
00:32:39,082 --> 00:32:42,165
-'Each man prepared his own breakfast.'
-Cheerio.
570
00:32:42,252 --> 00:32:46,621
'Bread and jam. It was about
16 men to a loaf of bread.'
571
00:32:46,715 --> 00:32:47,955
Eh?
572
00:32:48,049 --> 00:32:52,668
'There'd be a little of bacon, which
would suffice for half a dozen men.'
573
00:32:52,762 --> 00:32:55,675
'You put your rasher of bacon
in your mess tin lid,
574
00:32:55,765 --> 00:32:59,474
put a few more sticks on your fire
and you would fry your bacon...
575
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,387
...and then soak up the fat
with a piece of biscuit.
576
00:33:03,482 --> 00:33:05,348
Then there you are with a breakfast.'
577
00:33:05,442 --> 00:33:08,400
'Dinnertime was mostly
bully beef cut up and stewed
578
00:33:08,487 --> 00:33:11,354
along with
all sorts of vegetables from tins.'
579
00:33:11,448 --> 00:33:14,440
'Magonoghie's tinned stew
was mixed up with the bully beef.'
580
00:33:14,534 --> 00:33:16,866
'I've got into French dugouts
581
00:33:16,912 --> 00:33:20,746
and eaten biscuits which have been left
by the troops two years' previously
582
00:33:20,874 --> 00:33:24,708
and tasted the green mould in them,
but they didn't do me any harm.'
583
00:33:24,794 --> 00:33:28,378
'This was how it was and anything's
good, you know, when you're hungry.'
584
00:33:28,423 --> 00:33:32,883
-'And people were always hungry.'
-(LAUGHS)
585
00:33:32,969 --> 00:33:35,711
'At any given moment,
you can expect to be shelled.
586
00:33:36,806 --> 00:33:39,218
You got very little protection
against that.'
587
00:33:39,309 --> 00:33:43,428
'One would hear a mild pop as
the gun fired five miles away...'
588
00:33:43,563 --> 00:33:45,600
-Sir, here.
-Very good.
589
00:33:45,732 --> 00:33:48,474
'..And in the five or six seconds
it took for them to come,
590
00:33:48,568 --> 00:33:51,651
you can pass through quite a number of
psychological changes.'
591
00:33:55,825 --> 00:33:57,486
Steady!
592
00:33:57,577 --> 00:34:00,444
'I can't remember
anything more nerve-wracking
593
00:34:00,580 --> 00:34:04,073
than the continuous shelling,
without stop, day and night.'
594
00:34:04,125 --> 00:34:07,584
'Well, we were always told that you
never heard the shell that hit you
595
00:34:07,629 --> 00:34:10,621
because most of them
travelled faster than sound.'
596
00:34:10,757 --> 00:34:14,341
'You could literally feel your heart
pounding against the ground.
597
00:34:14,427 --> 00:34:17,590
The emotional strain was
absolutely terrific.'
598
00:34:17,639 --> 00:34:19,926
'Although a shell might burst
50 yards away,
599
00:34:19,975 --> 00:34:24,469
you might find a fragment of jagged iron
really red hot and weighing half a pound
600
00:34:24,604 --> 00:34:26,641
arriving in your trench.'
601
00:34:26,773 --> 00:34:29,310
'I mean, you'd seen people
blown to little bits.
602
00:34:29,442 --> 00:34:31,604
I've actually had to put a man
in a sandbag.'
603
00:34:31,695 --> 00:34:33,936
'Every now and again,
there would be a great roar
604
00:34:33,989 --> 00:34:36,981
-like an aeroplane coming in to land.'
-(BOOMING)
605
00:34:37,117 --> 00:34:39,984
'And, in a fifth-of-a-second,
your resolution would break
606
00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,784
and you'd throw yourself into the mud
and the other ones laugh at you.'
607
00:34:43,873 --> 00:34:46,285
'The shrapnel shell
would burst in the air
608
00:34:46,334 --> 00:34:48,450
and spray bullets
on the troops below...
609
00:34:49,879 --> 00:34:51,620
...as if they're from a shotgun.'
610
00:34:54,050 --> 00:34:57,133
'The bullets came down,
whistling like all the hobs of hell.'
611
00:35:00,682 --> 00:35:02,548
'Another one of the annoyances we had
612
00:35:02,642 --> 00:35:05,475
was that the Germans were
very active with mining.
613
00:35:07,564 --> 00:35:11,307
We crouched down underneath the front
parapet to dodge the debris falling
614
00:35:11,401 --> 00:35:13,483
and I got the men to open up rapid fire
615
00:35:13,528 --> 00:35:17,396
to prevent the Germans from getting into
that crater where they could bomb us.'
616
00:35:18,575 --> 00:35:21,363
'As the front line gets damaged,
it's got to be repaired.
617
00:35:21,494 --> 00:35:25,863
Well, the people who were in the line,
they've got to get on with it.'
618
00:35:25,999 --> 00:35:30,835
'I had in my mind that we expected big
gunfire to light amongst all us cavalry
619
00:35:30,879 --> 00:35:33,837
and absolutely swipe us off
the face of the earth.'
620
00:35:36,551 --> 00:35:38,337
'I shouted, "Gallop!" like that!'
621
00:35:38,386 --> 00:35:40,718
'And they dropped 'em
all amongst the horses.
622
00:35:42,015 --> 00:35:43,722
Ooh, a heck of a mess.
623
00:35:43,850 --> 00:35:46,933
The horses were laying down with
their intestines hanging out
624
00:35:47,020 --> 00:35:49,261
and men with matter
hanging out their heads.'
625
00:35:49,356 --> 00:35:52,849
-Regroup!
-'The boys, they said, "Bloody Germans!"
626
00:35:52,901 --> 00:35:55,518
To lose a horse
was like losing a friend.'
627
00:35:55,612 --> 00:35:58,229
-Ready!
-'The brigadier turned to our captain.
628
00:35:58,365 --> 00:36:00,902
He said, "See that the boy has
two or three days' rest.
629
00:36:01,034 --> 00:36:04,777
When a boy likes an animal like that,
there's not a lot wrong with him."'
630
00:36:04,871 --> 00:36:07,533
'Over the whole of the front line,
there was a smell.
631
00:36:07,624 --> 00:36:09,706
It wasn't a complicated smell.
632
00:36:09,793 --> 00:36:12,455
It was the smell of decaying corpses.'
633
00:36:12,545 --> 00:36:16,413
'Nasty, sickly smell.
You never forgot that smell.'
634
00:36:19,302 --> 00:36:23,296
'It was the smell of death.
If you've ever smelt a dead mouse,
635
00:36:23,390 --> 00:36:26,928
it was like that, but hundreds
and hundreds of times worse.'
636
00:36:29,104 --> 00:36:30,765
'It seemed to cling to everything.
637
00:36:30,897 --> 00:36:33,639
When you were having your food,
you could taste it.'
638
00:36:33,733 --> 00:36:38,728
'The awful stench
and bits of human bodies lying about,
639
00:36:38,780 --> 00:36:41,272
it became an everyday thing.
640
00:36:41,408 --> 00:36:45,072
You thought, "Well, it'll be
your turn next. What does it matter?“
641
00:36:45,912 --> 00:36:46,902
(FLIES BUZZING)
642
00:36:46,996 --> 00:36:50,034
'Wherever there was a grave or a body,
there were rats.'
643
00:36:50,083 --> 00:36:52,745
-(SQUEAKING)
-'They were all big, fat ones
644
00:36:52,794 --> 00:36:54,956
and we knew
where they got their fat from.'
645
00:36:55,088 --> 00:37:00,458
'Unpleasant animals, because of
the filtration into the graves.'
646
00:37:00,593 --> 00:37:03,585
'They used to feed on the dead
and come in the dugouts,
647
00:37:03,638 --> 00:37:05,504
pick up scraps in there.'
648
00:37:05,598 --> 00:37:09,683
'I woke up at the bottom of the trench
and felt something warm on my face
649
00:37:09,769 --> 00:37:12,636
and a little heart
went bang-bang-bang-bang-bang.
650
00:37:12,772 --> 00:37:16,265
The devil scratched my face with the
claws of his hind feet as he took off.'
651
00:37:16,317 --> 00:37:20,606
'We'd try and shoot them, hit them,
kill them, chase them, do anything.'
652
00:37:20,655 --> 00:37:23,192
-(GUNSHOTS)
-'Then you've got gas.'
653
00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:26,487
'We saw this green cloud
coming toward us,
654
00:37:26,619 --> 00:37:30,032
-just rolling slowly along the ground.'
-'They'd shout, "Gas!"
655
00:37:30,123 --> 00:37:34,788
And we had to take our mask out and
stick it on in two or three seconds.'
656
00:37:34,836 --> 00:37:39,000
'Yes, it was phosgene gas.
Later on, there was mustard gas.
657
00:37:39,132 --> 00:37:41,169
That was very effective.
658
00:37:41,301 --> 00:37:43,338
I never saw a "slightly gassed" man.'
659
00:37:43,470 --> 00:37:46,963
If you couldn't get your gas mask,
you were to pee on your handkerchief
660
00:37:47,056 --> 00:37:49,172
and stuff this round
your nose and mouth.'
661
00:37:49,309 --> 00:37:53,644
'I don't mind admitting I didn't think
much of urinating on handkerchiefs,
662
00:37:53,730 --> 00:37:56,347
so I went into
one of the trench latrines
663
00:37:56,483 --> 00:37:58,315
and I stuck my head in the bucket.
664
00:37:58,401 --> 00:38:01,393
I'll tell you, I couldn't hold my breath
any more, came up,
665
00:38:01,488 --> 00:38:03,855
took a good breath of air, down again.'
666
00:38:03,990 --> 00:38:07,733
'We were very soon enveloped in
this thick, yellow, filthy cloud.'
667
00:38:07,827 --> 00:38:11,991
'The more we tried to get rid of the
stinging in our eyes, the worse it got.'
668
00:38:12,081 --> 00:38:14,493
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
669
00:38:14,584 --> 00:38:18,498
'I thought deeply of what the effect
of blindness was going to be.'
670
00:38:18,546 --> 00:38:22,505
'But the extraction of clotted blood
and the injection of saline
671
00:38:22,550 --> 00:38:24,666
could alleviate a lot of the trouble
672
00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:28,053
and, as I was gassed myself,
I can speak from experience.'
673
00:38:29,933 --> 00:38:32,721
'In the wintertime,
as the weather deteriorated,
674
00:38:32,852 --> 00:38:36,516
so the trenches got
more and more sodden with water
675
00:38:36,564 --> 00:38:38,396
until they just became ditches.'
676
00:38:38,525 --> 00:38:42,439
'The water was swirling about our feet
and rising higher and higher
677
00:38:42,529 --> 00:38:44,395
until it reached our chests.
678
00:38:44,531 --> 00:38:47,068
Our difficulty was frostbite.
679
00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:49,441
Our gumboots filled with water
680
00:38:49,536 --> 00:38:52,198
and, in the mornings,
we could not strip them off,
681
00:38:52,247 --> 00:38:54,363
because they were frozen to our feet.'
682
00:38:54,415 --> 00:38:58,534
'When you're talking about trench feet,
you're talking about gangrene.
683
00:38:58,586 --> 00:39:01,954
Send him straight down the line.
Hack the legs off.'
684
00:39:03,216 --> 00:39:04,923
Give us a hand with that.
685
00:39:05,051 --> 00:39:07,543
'When the water
had soaked into the earth,
686
00:39:07,595 --> 00:39:11,884
the floors of the trenches
were just paved with liquid mud
687
00:39:11,933 --> 00:39:14,049
and that became like glue.'
688
00:39:14,102 --> 00:39:17,390
'It was a curious, sucking kind of mud.
689
00:39:17,438 --> 00:39:19,554
Very viscous indeed.
690
00:39:19,607 --> 00:39:22,395
Very tenacious. It stuck to you.'
691
00:39:22,443 --> 00:39:25,981
'If one had to go
to the rear for rations,
692
00:39:26,072 --> 00:39:29,906
well, that was just a nightmare journey,
slithering about.'
693
00:39:29,993 --> 00:39:33,452
'When it was pouring with rain,
and on slippery duckboards,
694
00:39:33,580 --> 00:39:35,912
the language was really edifying.
695
00:39:35,957 --> 00:39:38,665
You heard words
that you never dreamed existed.'
696
00:39:38,751 --> 00:39:41,493
'And, if you slipped off the duckboards,
you sank into
697
00:39:41,588 --> 00:39:47,004
the mud of decomposed bodies of humans
and mules, and that was the end of you.'
698
00:39:47,093 --> 00:39:50,836
'The boy was in the middle of
this huge sea of mud, struggling,
699
00:39:50,930 --> 00:39:52,591
and we couldn't do a thing.
700
00:39:52,682 --> 00:39:54,423
There was no hope of getting to him.
701
00:39:54,517 --> 00:39:58,636
The look on the |ad's face, and he was
only a mere boy, was really pathetic.'
702
00:39:58,771 --> 00:40:02,355
'I've seen men sinking into the mud
and dying in the slime.
703
00:40:02,442 --> 00:40:05,434
I think it absolutely finished me off.'
704
00:40:06,529 --> 00:40:10,773
'It was supposed to be quiet, then you
might get some drunken German say,
705
00:40:10,825 --> 00:40:13,692
"|'m gonna give 'em hell,"
open up with all his batteries
706
00:40:13,786 --> 00:40:15,527
and catch hundreds on the wire.
707
00:40:15,622 --> 00:40:17,784
That was what they called
"holding a line.
708
00:40:19,167 --> 00:40:23,161
'We were in conditions that isolated us
completely from civilisation.
709
00:40:23,296 --> 00:40:27,005
We got so degenerate, so isolated,
living in this mud.'
710
00:40:27,133 --> 00:40:31,172
'And you could sympathise with
how a rabbit must feel,
711
00:40:31,304 --> 00:40:34,672
because we were hunted by mankind
just the same as a rabbit.'
712
00:40:34,807 --> 00:40:37,390
'You knew your lives were in
one another's hands
713
00:40:37,477 --> 00:40:41,971
and it united you closely and you didn't
let anything interfere with that.'
714
00:40:42,023 --> 00:40:44,481
'You knew what was going on
within your vision.
715
00:40:44,525 --> 00:40:47,187
-Beyond that, you hadn't got a clue.'
-(MOUTH ORGANS PLAY)
716
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,688
'You didn't care how the war was going,
whether you were winning.
717
00:40:50,823 --> 00:40:52,689
You weren't bothered with that at all.'
718
00:40:52,825 --> 00:40:56,034
'You lived like tramps.
You didn't polish any buttons.
719
00:40:56,162 --> 00:40:59,154
You wore any uniform bits that you liked
and nobody worried.
720
00:40:59,207 --> 00:41:02,666
All they were concerned with was
that you were fit to fight.'
721
00:41:02,710 --> 00:41:05,077
'If nothing's happened,
you'd chat about life,
722
00:41:05,171 --> 00:41:07,253
where he came from,
where you came from.
723
00:41:07,340 --> 00:41:08,830
Everything was friendly.
724
00:41:08,883 --> 00:41:11,921
There was a terrific lot of kindness
in a way to each person.'
725
00:41:12,011 --> 00:41:13,843
'When the war was not very active,
726
00:41:13,930 --> 00:41:16,422
it was really rather fun
to be in the front line.
727
00:41:16,516 --> 00:41:18,177
It was not very dangerous.
728
00:41:18,267 --> 00:41:21,350
A sort of out-of-door camping holiday
with the boys
729
00:41:21,396 --> 00:41:24,354
with a slight spice of danger
to make it interesting.'
730
00:41:25,233 --> 00:41:29,192
'We used to raid the trenches
and get a prisoner if possible.'
731
00:41:29,278 --> 00:41:32,691
'On a typical trench raid,
there'd be perhaps eight in the party.'
732
00:41:34,033 --> 00:41:35,694
'If you were going to make a raid,
733
00:41:35,785 --> 00:41:38,868
somebody would cut a passage
through the wire at night.'
734
00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:42,907
'The only way to do it was silently...
735
00:41:45,253 --> 00:41:47,711
...to rush it,
and that was the arrangement.'
736
00:41:47,755 --> 00:41:51,749
'We would bayonet the Germans coming out
on their hands and knees out the dugout,
737
00:41:51,884 --> 00:41:55,093
we'd smack them over the head,
and throw in a couple of bombs.
738
00:41:59,976 --> 00:42:02,138
There were three ways of
getting rid of him.
739
00:42:02,228 --> 00:42:05,596
One was to knife him, garrotte him,
or to bayonet him.
740
00:42:05,732 --> 00:42:10,067
The quietest was a quick wrap around
the throat and a knife into the back.'
741
00:42:14,240 --> 00:42:16,481
'I threw the revolver at
poor little Rudolph.
742
00:42:16,576 --> 00:42:19,318
He was only about 18.
I hit him in the face with it.
743
00:42:19,412 --> 00:42:22,120
He screamed and came back at me
and that's when I got him.
744
00:42:22,248 --> 00:42:23,909
Got him with a Very pistol.'
745
00:42:23,958 --> 00:42:27,667
-Well done, chaps! Good raid!
-'I always had a full flask.
746
00:42:27,754 --> 00:42:30,086
I gave him a drink.
I felt very sorry for him.
747
00:42:30,173 --> 00:42:32,414
He said, "Danke schon. Das ist gut,"
748
00:42:32,467 --> 00:42:34,583
and died.'
749
00:42:34,635 --> 00:42:36,751
Pick up prisoners, lads!
750
00:42:36,804 --> 00:42:38,920
(PROJECTILE WHISTLES)
751
00:42:41,350 --> 00:42:43,933
'And it was
a very successful little raid.
752
00:42:44,020 --> 00:42:47,308
They got two prisoners,
I think, which was all they all wanted.'
753
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:50,603
'By the way, the men who were captured
on the trench raids
754
00:42:50,651 --> 00:42:53,484
were the first Germans I saw
on the Western Front.'
755
00:42:53,613 --> 00:42:55,274
Right. What else is there?
756
00:42:55,323 --> 00:42:58,532
'A lot of the German troops
were very good, very friendly.
757
00:42:58,618 --> 00:43:02,202
In fact, some of those Bavarians
were damn good, decent people.
758
00:43:02,288 --> 00:43:05,826
The snipers would fire, but not
hit anybody, know what I mean?'
759
00:43:07,627 --> 00:43:12,042
'They put up a sign: "Gott mit uns,"
in German, "God is with us."
760
00:43:12,131 --> 00:43:14,873
We put up a sign up in English,
"We've got mittens too."
761
00:43:14,967 --> 00:43:18,130
We don't know if the Germans
enjoyed that joke or not.'
762
00:43:18,179 --> 00:43:20,637
'There was a wounded German,
a Wartenberger, I think.
763
00:43:20,681 --> 00:43:24,174
We did what we could for him, we gave
him a bit of food, that sort of thing.
764
00:43:24,310 --> 00:43:26,972
He was cursing
the Prussians like anything.'
765
00:43:27,063 --> 00:43:30,306
'The Saxons were in front of us
and they gave us the warning
766
00:43:30,358 --> 00:43:32,895
that they were going to be
relieved by the Prussians.
767
00:43:34,737 --> 00:43:37,479
And they said to us, "Give 'em hell!"
768
00:43:37,532 --> 00:43:39,523
They hated the Prussians.'
769
00:43:39,659 --> 00:43:42,868
'Cos the Prussians were cruel bastards.'
770
00:43:42,995 --> 00:43:45,362
-This way.
-Schnell! Schnell!
771
00:43:45,498 --> 00:43:47,990
-Here! Watch yourself!
-Come along!
772
00:43:48,042 --> 00:43:52,502
'The Bavarians or the Saxonians
were the more civilised of the Germans.
773
00:43:52,547 --> 00:43:54,333
Part-English, if anything.'
774
00:43:57,510 --> 00:44:02,721
'After a four-day spell
in the front line, we were relieved
775
00:44:02,849 --> 00:44:06,934
and we had to march back to billet
somewhere a few miles behind the lines.'
776
00:44:07,019 --> 00:44:09,761
'We were going for
a supposed one-week's rest.'
777
00:44:09,856 --> 00:44:11,938
'Everybody was dead whacked.
778
00:44:12,024 --> 00:44:14,015
We were all pretty knocked up.'
779
00:44:14,110 --> 00:44:16,192
'We extricated ourselves from the mud
780
00:44:16,279 --> 00:44:18,771
to what was somewhat ironically
called "rest".'
781
00:44:18,865 --> 00:44:20,526
'In the front line itself,
782
00:44:20,616 --> 00:44:22,903
-you didn't criticise people.'
-(CHEERING)
783
00:44:23,035 --> 00:44:27,029
'And if you had a chap who was a bit
dicky, you would keep an eye on him.
784
00:44:27,081 --> 00:44:29,914
It was like being a family but,
when you were out of the line,
785
00:44:30,042 --> 00:44:32,374
you'd want nothing to do with
those people at all.
786
00:44:32,461 --> 00:44:35,749
You can't call it "comradeship,"
exactly, it was the way you did it.'
787
00:44:35,882 --> 00:44:37,919
-Get your mail!
-Welcome back.
788
00:44:38,050 --> 00:44:42,135
'The thing which always took me
as being absolutely stupid
789
00:44:42,221 --> 00:44:44,303
was that the next morning,
790
00:44:44,390 --> 00:44:48,930
every man had to be spick and span,
not a trace of mud on him.'
791
00:44:50,146 --> 00:44:54,231
'You'd brush your clothes
or dry them off the best way you could
792
00:44:54,317 --> 00:44:56,228
and clean your boots.
793
00:44:56,277 --> 00:44:58,484
In other words, smarten yourself up.'
794
00:44:59,071 --> 00:45:01,108
(I IT'S A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY)
795
00:45:10,917 --> 00:45:15,627
'The men would always appear the same:
cheerful under the circumstances,
796
00:45:15,755 --> 00:45:19,794
happy as they could be, and making
the best of everything, you know,
797
00:45:19,926 --> 00:45:21,758
in true British fashion.'
798
00:45:22,929 --> 00:45:25,762
-What?
-'The Cockney wit was prevalent.
799
00:45:25,848 --> 00:45:29,432
And we were all lads together, you know.
We didn't care a bugger.'
800
00:45:29,518 --> 00:45:33,102
-(LAUGHTER)
-'We'd make a fuss about nothing.
801
00:45:33,147 --> 00:45:37,607
Little things that didn't matter really,
it was something to fill the time in.'
802
00:45:37,693 --> 00:45:40,185
'We used to have to make
our own amusements.'
803
00:45:40,279 --> 00:45:41,815
Bloody bastard.
804
00:45:41,948 --> 00:45:44,280
'You laughed at the slightest things.
805
00:45:44,367 --> 00:45:47,485
I think probably it was the general
tension of the atmosphere
806
00:45:47,620 --> 00:45:50,328
that used to make us like that,
you know.'
807
00:45:51,290 --> 00:45:54,703
'My mother sent me a parcel
with a plum pudding of all things
808
00:45:54,794 --> 00:45:58,662
and I had no thought of being able to
cook it, so we used it as a rugby ball.'
809
00:45:58,798 --> 00:46:00,539
(CHEERING)
810
00:46:00,633 --> 00:46:02,965
'We had this regimental sports day
811
00:46:03,052 --> 00:46:06,511
and I won't say
I was the only sober one,
812
00:46:06,639 --> 00:46:09,131
but most of 'em were,
well, merry about it.'
813
00:46:09,225 --> 00:46:10,465
(LAUGHTER)
814
00:46:10,518 --> 00:46:12,304
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
815
00:46:12,395 --> 00:46:15,729
-Come on. Sock him one!
-(LA LIGHTER)
816
00:46:16,482 --> 00:46:18,974
-Come on, mate.
-'You took part in everything,
817
00:46:19,026 --> 00:46:24,487
because you had to fill your time in,
you know, otherwise all you did was
818
00:46:24,532 --> 00:46:26,990
-sit about and smoke.'
{CHILDREN'S LA LIGHTER)
819
00:46:27,034 --> 00:46:29,150
-Go on, lad!
-Get off!
820
00:46:29,245 --> 00:46:31,486
'The only time
we saw the artillerymen
821
00:46:31,539 --> 00:46:34,247
-was when we were out at rest.'
-Fire!
822
00:46:34,333 --> 00:46:35,994
(ORDERS ARE SHOUTED)
823
00:46:36,085 --> 00:46:39,373
'They would be, say,
two miles behind the line.'
824
00:46:39,505 --> 00:46:41,542
-...eight, two...
-Fire!
825
00:46:41,674 --> 00:46:44,166
'We wanted to neutralise
enemy batteries,
826
00:46:44,260 --> 00:46:46,922
so we were registering
our batteries on his.'
827
00:46:47,013 --> 00:46:50,176
-Fire!
-Come on!
828
00:46:50,224 --> 00:46:54,513
'We used to know the line and elevation
because it was done by aircraft.'
829
00:46:54,603 --> 00:46:58,267
-Once they're through, go again!
-'It's pretty ghastly, but the idea was
830
00:46:58,357 --> 00:46:59,847
to kill as many German gunners
831
00:46:59,900 --> 00:47:02,187
-as you could.'
-Ready!
832
00:47:03,029 --> 00:47:05,066
Fire!
833
00:47:09,785 --> 00:47:11,446
Sir.
834
00:47:11,537 --> 00:47:15,701
'There was no motorised transport then
for guns.
835
00:47:15,791 --> 00:47:18,032
The guns used to be
brought up by horses.'
836
00:47:18,085 --> 00:47:21,294
'Eight horses to each gun team.
Four horses to each wagon team.
837
00:47:21,380 --> 00:47:23,872
-About 60 horses.'
-(WHINNYING)
838
00:47:23,966 --> 00:47:26,048
'The gunners made a filthy noise,
839
00:47:26,135 --> 00:47:29,127
jingling and jingling and
the horses making noises both ends
840
00:47:29,221 --> 00:47:32,714
and it was always a great concern for
those of us who were going to battle.'
841
00:47:32,808 --> 00:47:35,971
-Heave!
-(WHINNYING)
842
00:47:36,062 --> 00:47:39,225
-Come on! That's it! Come on!
-Heave!
843
00:47:43,235 --> 00:47:45,897
'Each company officer paid
his own company.
844
00:47:45,946 --> 00:47:50,406
Now, it was generally the first morning
after we were out of the line,
845
00:47:50,451 --> 00:47:52,112
you got five francs.
846
00:47:52,244 --> 00:47:56,909
A franc was worth ten pence, so 50 pence
was your pay for a fortnight. 50 pence.
847
00:47:56,957 --> 00:47:59,073
Now, that's a week of riotous living.'
848
00:48:00,419 --> 00:48:03,787
'Every town of any size at all
had a brothel
849
00:48:03,923 --> 00:48:08,338
and that was where most of these boys
learnt a little more about life
850
00:48:08,427 --> 00:48:11,135
than they would ever have done
in normal, civil life.
851
00:48:11,263 --> 00:48:13,300
So, although they were young in years,
852
00:48:13,432 --> 00:48:16,766
it wasn't long before
they were quite worldly men.'
853
00:48:16,811 --> 00:48:20,145
'One of the lads said, "Let's go
and have a look in the White Star!
854
00:48:20,272 --> 00:48:21,762
It's like a pub."
855
00:48:21,857 --> 00:48:24,690
I'd led a very sheltered life
856
00:48:24,777 --> 00:48:27,940
and there were beautiful girls
with just a piece of lace on.
857
00:48:28,030 --> 00:48:32,194
And, ooh, my word! (LAUGHS)
I'd never seen anything like it before.'
858
00:48:32,284 --> 00:48:35,117
'There was I, a young lad,
knowing nothing about this.
859
00:48:35,204 --> 00:48:39,448
Off we go and these men were going up
regularly to see the girls.
860
00:48:39,542 --> 00:48:43,160
I was very keen. I said to one of these
fellas, "I've only got a sixpence."
861
00:48:43,295 --> 00:48:45,832
"Well, that's no good," he said,
"It's a shilling."
862
00:48:45,965 --> 00:48:48,502
That was
my first experience of a brothel.'
863
00:48:48,634 --> 00:48:51,296
'Anyway, we looked in there
for a couple of minutes,
864
00:48:51,387 --> 00:48:54,550
when four or five naked girls
came running down the corridor.
865
00:48:54,640 --> 00:48:56,802
We turned tail and ran! (LAUGHS)'
866
00:48:56,892 --> 00:48:58,633
'It was an eye-opener to me.
867
00:48:58,727 --> 00:49:02,061
There she stood, a great big woman
with this little cane in her hand
868
00:49:02,148 --> 00:49:05,482
and she belted my backside
as if I was a little schoolboy.
869
00:49:05,568 --> 00:49:08,310
"Petty sergeant this"
and "Petty sergeant the other!"
870
00:49:08,362 --> 00:49:11,195
Thump-thump-thump-thump! (LAUGHS)'
871
00:49:11,323 --> 00:49:14,907
'Ooh, gambling! Good Lord!
People were gambling all day long.
872
00:49:14,994 --> 00:49:18,828
The Canadians and Australians used
to gamble terrific amounts of money,
873
00:49:18,873 --> 00:49:20,534
more money than I'd ever seen.'
874
00:49:20,666 --> 00:49:22,498
Beer up!
875
00:49:23,669 --> 00:49:25,706
'The beer was very thin indeed.
876
00:49:25,838 --> 00:49:29,331
It was one-and-nine stuff.
One pint, nine piddles.'
877
00:49:30,509 --> 00:49:33,672
'Friday was always the issue day
for cigarettes.
878
00:49:33,721 --> 00:49:36,509
And the cigarettes were Three Witches,
879
00:49:36,557 --> 00:49:39,675
which soon became "Three Bitches",
or Red Hussars.
880
00:49:39,768 --> 00:49:42,681
I think they were made
from stable returns.
881
00:49:44,690 --> 00:49:49,856
But, generally, in good-sized villages,
you could get Woodbines and Player's
882
00:49:49,904 --> 00:49:54,193
and they were far preferable
to the issue cigarettes.'
883
00:49:54,283 --> 00:49:57,696
'Of course, we were always bartering
with the Frenchmen.
884
00:49:57,786 --> 00:50:01,370
We used to barter some of our
under-clothing and get a loaf of bread.'
885
00:50:01,415 --> 00:50:05,374
'We used to swap our British cigarettes
for their French wine.'
886
00:50:05,419 --> 00:50:07,535
'It could be just as tiring
out of the line
887
00:50:07,630 --> 00:50:10,042
as in the line
and it was sometimes worse.'
888
00:50:10,090 --> 00:50:15,381
'If you were chosen for a fatigue,
you'd have to go on the working party.'
889
00:50:15,429 --> 00:50:19,218
'You collected stores from a big dump
three or four miles back.
890
00:50:20,267 --> 00:50:24,056
Enormous bundles of sandbags,
ready made-up duckboards
891
00:50:24,146 --> 00:50:26,228
and, worst of all, barbed wire.'
892
00:50:26,315 --> 00:50:29,398
-That's that.
-'It was always hard work.
893
00:50:29,443 --> 00:50:32,435
You were a bonny, labouring boy
more than you were a fighter.'
894
00:50:32,571 --> 00:50:36,064
'All the chaps were very tired,
but it made no difference.'
895
00:50:36,116 --> 00:50:38,232
'And they were mentally tired out.
896
00:50:38,285 --> 00:50:40,276
They'd come out of a trench tour
for a rest
897
00:50:40,412 --> 00:50:42,403
and this was the rest
they were getting.'
898
00:50:42,456 --> 00:50:44,072
Tuck it down now.
899
00:50:44,166 --> 00:50:46,828
'You would be carrying stuff up
on a light railway.'
900
00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:51,083
'Yes, they laid
a narrow-gauge light railway track.'
901
00:50:52,091 --> 00:50:55,584
'It was the simplest of things,
just platforms on wheels,
902
00:50:55,636 --> 00:50:57,502
driven by light locomotives.'
903
00:51:05,688 --> 00:51:08,680
'Light railways, well, they were
always a blooming nuisance,
904
00:51:08,774 --> 00:51:11,436
because they were always
coming off the track.'
905
00:51:11,485 --> 00:51:15,774
'They lost control of this truck
going down a slight incline
906
00:51:15,823 --> 00:51:17,484
and it barged into the one in front,
907
00:51:17,616 --> 00:51:19,698
scattered duckboards
all over the place.'
908
00:51:21,954 --> 00:51:24,992
'We used to take our mess tins
up to the engine driver
909
00:51:25,124 --> 00:51:27,991
and get some boiling water
for our brew up of tea.'
910
00:51:28,127 --> 00:51:29,788
(GRUNTING)
911
00:51:29,837 --> 00:51:32,329
-Stop messing around.
-And another.
912
00:51:33,882 --> 00:51:35,543
Second line there.
913
00:51:35,634 --> 00:51:39,468
'The Germans could see the steam
and smoke from the steam engine,
914
00:51:39,555 --> 00:51:45,221
so then it was mostly petrol engines
which used to run up to the trenches.'
915
00:51:45,311 --> 00:51:47,393
(CHATTER AND LAUGHTER)
916
00:51:47,479 --> 00:51:50,642
'The light railway only went
as far as the communication trench
917
00:51:50,691 --> 00:51:53,183
and then we had to push the thing
along by hand.'
918
00:51:53,319 --> 00:51:55,356
Now, then...
919
00:51:57,156 --> 00:51:59,397
'Somebody came along and said,
"Oh, this is it!
920
00:51:59,491 --> 00:52:01,482
We're gonna be home by Christmas."
"Oh?"
921
00:52:01,577 --> 00:52:04,911
"Well, just go down the road and look
in a field there, you'll see."
922
00:52:04,997 --> 00:52:07,534
Wouldn't tell us why.
Anyway, we went down.'
923
00:52:07,666 --> 00:52:11,079
'They were on the roadside
covered with tarpaulin sheets.
924
00:52:11,170 --> 00:52:14,162
You could see nothing
except a square outline.'
925
00:52:14,214 --> 00:52:17,832
'And then the officer said,
"These are supposed to be hush-hush."'
926
00:52:17,926 --> 00:52:21,044
'When we asked what it was,
the simple reply was, "Tanks."
927
00:52:21,180 --> 00:52:24,673
Knowing the shortage of water,
we naturally assumed water tanks
928
00:52:24,725 --> 00:52:27,217
and thought we were getting
reserve supplies.
929
00:52:27,353 --> 00:52:29,219
It was one of the best-kept secrets.'
930
00:52:29,355 --> 00:52:33,098
'We were delighted as these wonderful
machines were going to win the war...
931
00:52:34,526 --> 00:52:36,563
...and soon everybody'd be home again.
932
00:52:36,695 --> 00:52:39,062
Of course, it didn't happen like that.'
933
00:52:39,198 --> 00:52:41,235
Wahey!
934
00:52:41,367 --> 00:52:45,110
'We were taken out of the line
and had intensive training.'
935
00:52:46,205 --> 00:52:49,743
'Plunge the bayonet into the sack,
shout like hell.'
936
00:52:49,875 --> 00:52:53,288
'It was to get used to plunging them
into somebody's body.'
937
00:52:53,379 --> 00:52:56,212
'Then we fired our rifles
on the rifle range.'
938
00:53:03,972 --> 00:53:07,055
'Firing rifle grenades was
a specialist job.'
939
00:53:08,227 --> 00:53:10,264
'But they were clumsy.
940
00:53:10,396 --> 00:53:12,558
I didn't like them much.'
941
00:53:15,109 --> 00:53:17,476
'Forced marching,
marching without a rest
942
00:53:17,569 --> 00:53:21,563
and also frontal attack,
right flank attack, left flank attack,
943
00:53:21,657 --> 00:53:23,489
both flanks attack, night attack
944
00:53:23,575 --> 00:53:26,408
and we wondered what the devil
all this training was for.'
945
00:53:26,495 --> 00:53:28,577
(BAGPIPES PLAY)
946
00:53:28,664 --> 00:53:32,498
'The corps commander said
that he had just received instructions
947
00:53:32,584 --> 00:53:34,450
to go ahead with an operation
948
00:53:34,586 --> 00:53:38,796
-to break through the German lines.'
-Come on, Wellington!
949
00:53:38,924 --> 00:53:42,588
'We were told to parade, full marching
order. We had to go back up the front.
950
00:53:42,636 --> 00:53:44,923
We'd only been out of the line
a couple of days.'
951
00:53:45,013 --> 00:53:47,505
'We could see streams of supplies,
952
00:53:47,599 --> 00:53:50,432
mostly ammunition columns
going up towards the front.'
953
00:53:50,477 --> 00:53:52,935
-(WHISTLING)
-'We didn't have a lot of notice,
954
00:53:53,021 --> 00:53:55,638
but we knew
there was gonna be a big advance.'
955
00:54:04,283 --> 00:54:05,773
(WHINNYING)
956
00:54:09,872 --> 00:54:11,783
'So, batteries pushed forward,
957
00:54:11,832 --> 00:54:14,199
forward positions filled up
with ammunition.'
958
00:54:14,293 --> 00:54:16,625
-Let's get these ladders up!
-Righto.
959
00:54:16,670 --> 00:54:19,879
'As our great push drew nearer,
the line livened up,
960
00:54:19,965 --> 00:54:23,174
it began to get much more dangerous
and not nearly so much fun.'
961
00:54:23,302 --> 00:54:27,796
'We learnt that a bayonet charge was
to be made on German machine guns.'
962
00:54:28,974 --> 00:54:30,840
"I wish it to be impressed on all ranks,
963
00:54:30,976 --> 00:54:34,139
the importance of the operations
about to commence.
964
00:54:34,188 --> 00:54:37,180
The Germans are now outnumbered
and outgunned
965
00:54:37,316 --> 00:54:40,024
and will soon go to pieces
if every man goes into the fight
966
00:54:40,152 --> 00:54:43,690
determined to get through whatever
the local difficulties may be.
967
00:54:43,822 --> 00:54:46,814
I am confident that
the brigade will distinguish itself
968
00:54:46,867 --> 00:54:48,403
in this, its first battle.
969
00:54:48,494 --> 00:54:51,862
Let every man remember
that all England is watching him."
970
00:54:51,997 --> 00:54:55,490
'We marched all through the night
and it got so bad
971
00:54:55,584 --> 00:54:58,542
that officers at the side
were pushing men back into line
972
00:54:58,670 --> 00:55:02,504
who were straggling out and your legs
seemed to go automatically forward.
973
00:55:02,549 --> 00:55:05,507
I had a feeling that
we were walking in our sleep.'
974
00:55:05,552 --> 00:55:10,012
'More men were brought into the line and
regiments were crowded closer together.'
975
00:55:10,057 --> 00:55:13,175
'We were filling up the trenches,
packed in like sardines.'
976
00:55:14,353 --> 00:55:18,347
'Our captain was a splendid man.
He would never bark an order at you.
977
00:55:18,440 --> 00:55:20,852
He would give an order in
a conversational way.
978
00:55:20,901 --> 00:55:25,566
"We don't know how far this trench is,
but it's between 200 and 300 yards.
979
00:55:25,697 --> 00:55:29,031
I will go over in the first wave
and you'll be in the second wave
980
00:55:29,076 --> 00:55:32,239
and as soon as the curtain fire starts,
we move.
981
00:55:32,371 --> 00:55:34,908
Now, go along
and tell your men to be ready."
982
00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:36,781
And this is the sort of order we got.'
983
00:55:37,918 --> 00:55:40,250
'Our two assaulting companies
were ignorant of
984
00:55:40,379 --> 00:55:42,962
what their conduct would be
when they got into action.
985
00:55:43,048 --> 00:55:46,712
Captain Neville thought it might be
helpful if he could furnish each platoon
986
00:55:46,802 --> 00:55:49,885
with a football and allow them
to kick it forward and follow it.
987
00:55:49,930 --> 00:55:53,594
I think myself that it did help them
enormously. Took their minds off it.'
988
00:55:53,725 --> 00:55:57,559
'We had an extra bandolier of ammunition
around our necks
989
00:55:57,646 --> 00:56:00,058
and if you didn't have a shovel,
you had a pick.'
990
00:56:00,148 --> 00:56:02,731
'We got in the trenches
and we waited for zero hour.
991
00:56:02,818 --> 00:56:04,559
All the watches are synchronised.'
992
00:56:05,612 --> 00:56:07,979
'I was what is called
a first bayonet man,
993
00:56:08,073 --> 00:56:11,737
which meant I carried the rifle with
the bayonet in the attacking position
994
00:56:11,827 --> 00:56:14,239
and the rest of the men
carried bags of bombs.'
995
00:56:16,415 --> 00:56:19,328
'And we warned to be ready
to advance at any moment.
996
00:56:19,418 --> 00:56:21,750
"Any moment" was
quite a long time coming.
997
00:56:21,795 --> 00:56:24,753
Of course, that added to
the tension that we were feeling.'
998
00:56:24,798 --> 00:56:26,630
Mind the wire!
999
00:56:26,758 --> 00:56:30,251
'My platoon had been told
to go out and test the fire.
1000
00:56:30,345 --> 00:56:33,258
We had to get out and walk
towards the enemy.
1001
00:56:33,348 --> 00:56:36,807
We went about 200 yards
and then they called us back again.'
1002
00:56:37,811 --> 00:56:41,679
'There was to be no preliminary
bombardment the days beforehand.
1003
00:56:41,773 --> 00:56:45,641
There was only one short, sharp barrage
just before the battle.'
1004
00:56:45,777 --> 00:56:47,609
Fire!
1005
00:56:47,696 --> 00:56:51,280
'You've got to have the artillery
preparation to smash their wire down.'
1006
00:56:51,325 --> 00:56:53,032
Fire!
1007
00:56:53,118 --> 00:56:57,453
'I ordered fire on possible enemy
assembly and forming-up positions.'
1008
00:56:57,497 --> 00:57:00,615
-'The bombardment started...'
-Ready! Fire!
1009
00:57:00,709 --> 00:57:03,792
-'..And the ground shook...'
-Fire!
1010
00:57:03,837 --> 00:57:08,798
'..And we could see the hundreds
and hundreds of gun flashes.'
1011
00:57:08,884 --> 00:57:11,296
Ready! Fire!
1012
00:57:11,386 --> 00:57:13,297
Fire one!
1013
00:57:13,347 --> 00:57:15,714
Fire two! Fire three!
1014
00:57:15,807 --> 00:57:17,297
Fire four!
1015
00:57:20,145 --> 00:57:24,059
'As soon as the bombardment started,
the Germans' retaliation came.
1016
00:57:27,653 --> 00:57:31,191
For four hours, we had to sit there
and take everything he slung at us.'
1017
00:57:33,492 --> 00:57:36,701
'And, first of all,
a large number of tanks went in.
1018
00:57:36,828 --> 00:57:39,365
We could hear them
rumbling and rattling.'
1019
00:57:39,498 --> 00:57:42,331
'320 tanks crawling along.'
1020
00:57:42,376 --> 00:57:45,084
'We waited for the signal to move off.
1021
00:57:45,170 --> 00:57:50,165
Already, everybody was anxious to go,
but we waited and waited.'
1022
00:57:52,177 --> 00:57:55,920
'We got no sleep that night, owing to
the noise of our artillery barrage,
1023
00:57:56,014 --> 00:57:58,221
which was continuous the whole time.'
1024
00:57:59,393 --> 00:58:03,352
'We were asked to hand over any personal
belongings to our company officer,
1025
00:58:03,438 --> 00:58:07,272
such as photographs
and letters that we valued.'
1026
00:58:07,359 --> 00:58:10,897
'I heard soft voices
talking to one another quietly
1027
00:58:11,029 --> 00:58:14,112
and I wondered how many
were going to live to see the sun rise.'
1028
00:58:14,199 --> 00:58:17,533
'In a man's pay book, there was
provision for making a valid will,
1029
00:58:17,577 --> 00:58:21,036
if they were going into action for
the first time, but I didn't bother.
1030
00:58:21,123 --> 00:58:23,205
I had nothing to leave anybody.
(LAUGHS-Y
1031
00:58:23,291 --> 00:58:26,704
'The fellow next to you, he was
your best friend. You loved him.
1032
00:58:26,753 --> 00:58:29,040
You perhaps didn't know him
the day before
1033
00:58:29,089 --> 00:58:30,705
and then an hour to go...
1034
00:58:30,757 --> 00:58:33,875
They were the longest
and the shortest hours in life.'
1035
00:58:33,927 --> 00:58:36,043
'We had unlimited time for thinking
1036
00:58:36,096 --> 00:58:39,589
and I know I found myself
thinking much more deeply
1037
00:58:39,725 --> 00:58:41,807
than I had ever thought before.'
1038
00:58:41,893 --> 00:58:44,225
'Some people might
be incapable of thinking.
1039
00:58:44,271 --> 00:58:47,229
They might have regarded
the situation as being such that
1040
00:58:47,274 --> 00:58:50,767
-they were incapable of thought.'
-'I don't think there was any fear.
1041
00:58:50,902 --> 00:58:54,315
It was just that we were doing a job
and if it came, it came.'
1042
00:58:55,157 --> 00:58:59,071
'We realised that, sooner or later,
we were going to get the chop.
1043
00:58:59,119 --> 00:59:01,827
You were either going to be killed
or wounded.'
1044
00:59:01,913 --> 00:59:04,826
'I was not in the least frightened
of being killed,
1045
00:59:04,916 --> 00:59:08,409
but I was terrified
lest I should lose an arm or a leg.'
1046
00:59:08,503 --> 00:59:12,246
'Waiting for an hour for an attack
is not a very pleasant thing.
1047
00:59:12,340 --> 00:59:16,083
We sort of chatted away,
trying to keep the spirits up, you see.
1048
00:59:16,178 --> 00:59:19,261
We told dirty stories
and made crude remarks.'
1049
00:59:20,140 --> 00:59:23,098
'We had 1,000 guns massed
on a mile front behind us.
1050
00:59:23,143 --> 00:59:25,601
Well, you imagine
all this stuff coming over you
1051
00:59:25,687 --> 00:59:27,849
with the German stuff
coming the other way.'
1052
00:59:27,939 --> 00:59:31,352
'The noise rose to a crescendo
such as I'd never heard before.'
1053
00:59:31,443 --> 00:59:33,104
'You wouldn't hear a word.'
1054
00:59:33,195 --> 00:59:37,109
'The shells were passing over you
probably three foot, four foot,
1055
00:59:37,199 --> 00:59:41,284
and the air, it was an inferno
and your mind was another inferno.
1056
00:59:41,369 --> 00:59:43,656
Reason was completely blast out of it.'
1057
00:59:43,789 --> 00:59:47,123
'The bombardment created
a sort of hysterical feeling.'
1058
00:59:47,209 --> 00:59:51,203
'All of a sudden, one of our fellas
started crying, screaming and crying.
1059
00:59:51,296 --> 00:59:53,628
The officer in charge,
telling the sergeant,
1060
00:59:53,715 --> 00:59:56,127
"Find that man and shoot him!
Shoot him!"'
1061
00:59:56,218 --> 01:00:01,179
'It's difficult to explain the reaction
of a man when he's in a bombardment.'
1062
01:00:01,306 --> 01:00:04,469
'He thought that
this man's screaming and crying
1063
01:00:04,518 --> 01:00:06,885
would be a danger
to the rest of the men.'
1064
01:00:06,978 --> 01:00:11,222
'As soon as it was light, we were given
rum, as much as you could drink.'
1065
01:00:12,400 --> 01:00:14,232
'And we got the order to fix bayonets.'
1066
01:00:14,319 --> 01:00:17,186
-Fix bayonets!
-Bayonets fixed!
1067
01:00:17,322 --> 01:00:21,486
'It was a beautiful day the way
it dawned after a rainy night.
1068
01:00:21,535 --> 01:00:23,196
A beautiful day.'
1069
01:00:23,328 --> 01:00:26,491
'Then, five minutes to go,
I remember those lads standing there.
1070
01:00:26,581 --> 01:00:28,492
Dead silent, couldn't make a noise.'
1071
01:00:28,542 --> 01:00:31,409
'I was more frightened
sitting waiting to start.
1072
01:00:31,503 --> 01:00:34,211
I was very frightened then.
Very frightened indeed.'
1073
01:00:34,339 --> 01:00:38,003
'And an officer shouted along the line,
"Is everybody ready?"
1074
01:00:38,051 --> 01:00:41,009
And I called out, "| can't get
my bayonet on my rifle, sir!"
1075
01:00:41,096 --> 01:00:43,337
He said, "Damn you, mate!
Well, hurry up!"'
1076
01:00:43,431 --> 01:00:46,924
'I sent back a message to brigade
headquarters to say we were all ready
1077
01:00:47,018 --> 01:00:49,555
but, unfortunately,
a slight mistake occurred.
1078
01:00:49,688 --> 01:00:52,851
The first thing they knew was
this terrific tremor in the ground.
1079
01:00:52,899 --> 01:00:56,517
We blew a mine which should've been
under the German trenches, but wasn't.
1080
01:00:59,906 --> 01:01:03,524
It was in no-man's-land and that gave
the Germans five minutes
1081
01:01:03,577 --> 01:01:06,069
to occupy the crater, which they did.'
1082
01:01:08,415 --> 01:01:11,123
'Sergeant Moore,
he was standing behind the trench.
1083
01:01:11,209 --> 01:01:13,200
He'd got a revolver in his hand,
he said,
1084
01:01:13,253 --> 01:01:15,460
"Anybody going back, I'll shoot 'em!"
1085
01:01:15,547 --> 01:01:18,539
So that, if we didn't go one way,
we wouldn't go the other.'
1086
01:01:18,633 --> 01:01:21,045
'There wasn't a reluctance
to go over the top,
1087
01:01:21,136 --> 01:01:22,797
not with people I was with.'
1088
01:01:22,888 --> 01:01:24,720
Fire!
1089
01:01:26,057 --> 01:01:28,924
-Fire!
-'They put a curtain of shells over you
1090
01:01:29,060 --> 01:01:30,721
and you advance.
1091
01:01:30,812 --> 01:01:34,646
-That was the theory of the thing.'
-Fire!
1092
01:01:34,733 --> 01:01:37,145
-Fire!
-'I realised that this was the moment
1093
01:01:37,235 --> 01:01:38,725
of the assault.'
1094
01:01:38,820 --> 01:01:41,812
-'And then zero hour.'
'Somebody shouted, "There they go!"
1095
01:01:41,907 --> 01:01:45,901
To the left were the London Scottish
running forward.'
1096
01:01:45,994 --> 01:01:48,736
'I gave the order of,
"Up the ladders! Over the top!"'
1097
01:01:48,830 --> 01:01:50,912
(WHISTLE BLOWING)
1098
01:01:52,083 --> 01:01:57,078
'And after this, we lived in a world of
noise. Simply noise for hours.'
1099
01:01:57,130 --> 01:01:59,246
(GUNS BOOMING)
1100
01:02:00,342 --> 01:02:02,925
'As soon as you get over the top,
fear has left you.'
1101
01:02:02,969 --> 01:02:05,927
'We didn't run.
There was no shouting, nor cheering.
1102
01:02:06,014 --> 01:02:07,925
Everybody was deadly quiet.'
1103
01:02:07,974 --> 01:02:10,261
'Just as I stepped into no-man's-land,
1104
01:02:10,352 --> 01:02:14,266
somebody was shot through the head
and his skull was splintered.
1105
01:02:14,314 --> 01:02:17,181
It wasn't a good send-off,
I can assure you.'
1106
01:02:17,275 --> 01:02:20,609
'The barrage proceeded
into the enemy lines
1107
01:02:20,695 --> 01:02:25,485
-in steps of 100 yards at a time.'
-Fire!
1108
01:02:26,826 --> 01:02:30,285
'The line of British troops, fixed
bayonets, walking quite steadily
1109
01:02:30,330 --> 01:02:31,786
behind the barrage.
1110
01:02:31,873 --> 01:02:33,614
It was a sight I shall never forget.'
1111
01:02:33,708 --> 01:02:36,450
'To start with, we'd had
the odd machine-gun firing,
1112
01:02:36,503 --> 01:02:39,962
but remarkably little, and it seemed
almost too good to be true.
1113
01:02:40,048 --> 01:02:44,212
'And we then realised the
Germans had been retaining their fire
1114
01:02:44,302 --> 01:02:47,294
until they saw how far
the attack was developing.'
1115
01:02:47,389 --> 01:02:50,507
'Unknown to us, there was
ten to 20 German machine guns.'
1116
01:02:50,642 --> 01:02:53,134
'Then all hell broke loose.'
1117
01:02:53,186 --> 01:02:56,520
'And, my God, he really opened up
and he let us have it.
1118
01:02:56,648 --> 01:02:59,015
-It just swept us.'
-(MACHINE-GUN FIRE)
1119
01:03:00,860 --> 01:03:03,147
Keep back! Keep back!
1120
01:03:03,238 --> 01:03:05,320
Keep moving, laddie!
1121
01:03:07,659 --> 01:03:10,321
(GUNFIRE CONTINUES)
1122
01:03:10,370 --> 01:03:12,156
(ARTILLERY BOOMING)
1123
01:03:15,417 --> 01:03:18,751
'Machine-gun bullets came at us
like hailstones.'
1124
01:03:18,837 --> 01:03:22,046
'I didn't realise that
the swish-swish were bullets.'
1125
01:03:22,173 --> 01:03:25,541
'I looked round
and people were dropping all round you.
1126
01:03:25,677 --> 01:03:28,669
I mean, they just faded away, you know,
on either side of you.'
1127
01:03:28,763 --> 01:03:32,097
'And I thought, "What are they
shooting at me for?" (CHUCKLES)'
1128
01:03:32,183 --> 01:03:35,346
'I hadn't gone more than a few yards
before I was shot in the thigh.'
1129
01:03:35,395 --> 01:03:38,103
'There was a captain alongside me
with his revolver out
1130
01:03:38,189 --> 01:03:39,850
and, all of a sudden, he dropped.
1131
01:03:39,941 --> 01:03:42,524
And then another chap,
he was hit in the leg,
1132
01:03:42,610 --> 01:03:45,443
but he continued with great bounds,
hopping on one leg.'
1133
01:03:45,530 --> 01:03:48,397
-(CLANKING)
-'When the bullets hit the tank,
1134
01:03:48,533 --> 01:03:52,777
the metal flakes were whirring around
like razor blades inside the tank.'
1135
01:03:52,871 --> 01:03:55,704
'You could see men dropping,
but you didn't take any notice.
1136
01:03:55,790 --> 01:03:57,701
If you didn't get hit,
you carried on.'
1137
01:03:57,751 --> 01:04:00,209
'I found myself with a terrible pain
in my left hand
1138
01:04:00,253 --> 01:04:02,870
as if somebody had caned me
and I found a big hole in it.'
1139
01:04:02,964 --> 01:04:06,707
'A man was running across the front of
me and he was shot through the body
1140
01:04:06,760 --> 01:04:09,878
because the contents of his wallet
were flung out forward of me.'
1141
01:04:10,805 --> 01:04:13,263
'I felt a terrific pain in my right arm
1142
01:04:13,391 --> 01:04:16,554
and the blood started running off
the end of my hand.'
1143
01:04:16,603 --> 01:04:20,392
'I just didn't think that this German
machine-gunner would fire at me
1144
01:04:20,440 --> 01:04:23,603
but, the next thing, I felt
a shock of quite a number of bullets
1145
01:04:23,735 --> 01:04:25,601
hitting the right side of my body.'
1146
01:04:25,737 --> 01:04:29,401
'A hare crossed my path
with eyes bulging, in fear,
1147
01:04:29,491 --> 01:04:32,904
but I felt that it couldn't have been
half as frightened as I was.'
1148
01:04:32,952 --> 01:04:35,444
'You could see your mates
going down right and left.
1149
01:04:35,580 --> 01:04:39,289
You were face-to-face with the stark
realisation that this is the end of it.'
1150
01:04:39,417 --> 01:04:43,160
'The two in front of me went down,
wounded in the head and chest.'
1151
01:04:43,254 --> 01:04:46,497
'These bloody bullets got me in the leg
and blew a great big hole at the back.
1152
01:04:46,591 --> 01:04:47,797
It didn't hurt.'
1153
01:04:47,926 --> 01:04:50,509
'Well, life was
very, very hazardous indeed
1154
01:04:50,595 --> 01:04:54,680
and we proceeded in this fashion, some
getting hit and others carrying along.'
1155
01:04:54,766 --> 01:04:57,258
'You hadn't got time to deliberate
upon things.
1156
01:04:57,352 --> 01:05:01,437
Machine-gun bullets might be coming
over, but they weren't hitting you.'
1157
01:05:01,523 --> 01:05:04,311
-(BAGPIPE PLAYS)
-'They say your past comes up
1158
01:05:04,442 --> 01:05:08,436
when you think you were gonna die,
but I hadn't got very much past at 19.
1159
01:05:08,530 --> 01:05:12,945
When I saw these bullets coming along,
all I thought was, "Am I gonna live?“
1160
01:05:12,992 --> 01:05:16,781
'Of course, if the thing hits you fair
and square and you die immediately,
1161
01:05:16,830 --> 01:05:19,618
you don't feel anything at all,
nothing to it.'
1162
01:05:19,707 --> 01:05:22,324
'The first wave were all
absolutely wiped out.
1163
01:05:22,460 --> 01:05:24,497
Everybody was either killed or wounded.'
1164
01:05:24,629 --> 01:05:28,463
'There were so many dead laying about,
it was hard to avoid treading on them.'
1165
01:05:28,508 --> 01:05:31,626
'I was trying to step over them.
The sergeant behind me said,
1166
01:05:31,678 --> 01:05:34,966
"Go on! You mustn't take
any notice of that. Keep going!"'
1167
01:05:35,056 --> 01:05:38,720
'And we were literally walking over
the dead bodies of our cobbers.
1168
01:05:38,810 --> 01:05:40,892
The carnage is just indescribable.'
1169
01:05:42,647 --> 01:05:45,890
'I had in my path about 2,000 dead,
British and German.
1170
01:05:45,984 --> 01:05:49,227
An attempt to clear any dead man
from our path was impossible
1171
01:05:49,320 --> 01:05:52,028
because of the shelling
and we ploughed over the lot.'
1172
01:05:53,241 --> 01:05:56,233
'Any shell bursting
within a few yards of the tank
1173
01:05:56,327 --> 01:05:58,568
seemed to lift it up in the air
1174
01:05:58,663 --> 01:06:00,995
and you felt a tremendous
back pressure.'
1175
01:06:02,375 --> 01:06:05,037
'The noise of the battle
when you're out in the middle of it
1176
01:06:05,170 --> 01:06:08,663
is so terrific that you don't hear
any individual shots even.'
1177
01:06:08,715 --> 01:06:11,207
'And we had to stop in front
of the German wire.'
1178
01:06:11,342 --> 01:06:13,709
'It was quite impossible to advance
any further
1179
01:06:13,845 --> 01:06:16,553
because of the barbed wire
and the machine-gun posts,
1180
01:06:16,681 --> 01:06:18,422
which were about 50 yards further on.'
1181
01:06:18,516 --> 01:06:21,224
'The wire in front of us
was quite uncut,
1182
01:06:21,352 --> 01:06:23,263
despite the intense bombardments.'
1183
01:06:23,354 --> 01:06:25,436
'You couldn't see anything
but this wire,
1184
01:06:25,523 --> 01:06:27,389
it seemed to be acres and acres of it.'
1185
01:06:27,525 --> 01:06:29,857
'It was just black with rust
1186
01:06:29,944 --> 01:06:32,686
and I don't think a rabbit
could have got through it.'
1187
01:06:32,739 --> 01:06:35,857
'Then, our own artillery started
dropping shells amongst us.'
1188
01:06:42,290 --> 01:06:45,874
'Obviously, they hadn't got the range,
or they didn't know where we were.'
1189
01:06:46,711 --> 01:06:49,419
'I heard the first shrapnel shell
burst above my head.'
1190
01:06:49,547 --> 01:06:51,879
-'There was a terrific whiz.'
-(CLANGING)
1191
01:06:51,966 --> 01:06:56,051
'That was the disappearance of my steel
helmet. I never found it again.'
1192
01:06:56,137 --> 01:06:59,880
'I got a bit off the cheek of
my backside, a piece in my hip,
1193
01:06:59,933 --> 01:07:03,096
a piece in my leg,
and a piece right through my leg.'
1194
01:07:03,228 --> 01:07:05,890
'The fellow to my left took
the full blast of the shell
1195
01:07:05,939 --> 01:07:07,600
and had half his head blown away.'
1196
01:07:07,732 --> 01:07:11,566
'Bullets were catching us and
shrapnel was coming down overhead
1197
01:07:11,653 --> 01:07:14,395
and we had all
the German artillery banging away at us
1198
01:07:14,489 --> 01:07:16,571
and our own artillery going over.'
1199
01:07:16,658 --> 01:07:19,241
'The shells were exploding
all round you
1200
01:07:19,285 --> 01:07:23,153
and it was a real, good, old battle
and it got hold of you, sort of.'
1201
01:07:23,248 --> 01:07:25,660
'One had no sanity at all
1202
01:07:25,750 --> 01:07:29,459
because the inferno was so blasting
that you had no time to think.'
1203
01:07:30,296 --> 01:07:32,628
'That din, that numbing din
1204
01:07:32,757 --> 01:07:36,091
seemed to stop one doing the things
that one would normally do,
1205
01:07:36,177 --> 01:07:38,464
no matter how well-intentioned one was.'
1206
01:07:40,473 --> 01:07:43,340
'You don't look, you see.
You don't hear, you listen.
1207
01:07:43,434 --> 01:07:47,598
You taste the top of your mouth. Your
nose is filled with fumes and death.
1208
01:07:47,689 --> 01:07:50,181
The veneer of civilisation
has dropped away.'
1209
01:07:51,526 --> 01:07:53,984
'I was literally blown about
12 or 14 yards
1210
01:07:54,112 --> 01:07:57,525
and all that I could hear was the cries
and screams from the survivors,
1211
01:07:57,615 --> 01:08:00,107
sometimes in two,
sometimes in three parts.
1212
01:08:00,159 --> 01:08:05,370
Legs, arms, all strewn over the place
and that arid smell of explosion.'
1213
01:08:05,456 --> 01:08:09,791
'Well, all my romantic ideas of war
completely vanished.'
1214
01:08:10,670 --> 01:08:13,628
'A shell had hit this man,
it knocked off his left arm,
1215
01:08:13,715 --> 01:08:17,458
knocked off his left leg,
his left eye was hanging on his cheek
1216
01:08:17,552 --> 01:08:19,338
and he's calling out for Nanny.
1217
01:08:19,470 --> 01:08:22,132
His bleeding eye was hanging on,
pulsing.
1218
01:08:24,058 --> 01:08:25,969
So I shot him.
1219
01:08:26,060 --> 01:08:28,051
I had to. I had to shoot him.
1220
01:08:28,146 --> 01:08:31,639
He'd have died in any case
and it put him out of his misery.
1221
01:08:32,734 --> 01:08:34,645
(SOBBING) And that hurt me.'
1222
01:08:36,070 --> 01:08:38,482
'I knew there was no hope
of getting any orders
1223
01:08:38,531 --> 01:08:40,317
cos there was nobody to give any.'
1224
01:08:40,408 --> 01:08:44,367
'All officers were killed and wounded
and most of the NCOs.'
1225
01:08:44,495 --> 01:08:46,327
'I jumped into this big shell hole.'
1226
01:08:46,372 --> 01:08:49,490
'You dropped down anywhere,
shell holes, anywhere at all
1227
01:08:49,584 --> 01:08:52,326
just to take cover
until the barrage lifted.'
1228
01:08:52,378 --> 01:08:55,712
'I'm not one of those heroes who want
to take the German Army on my own,
1229
01:08:55,840 --> 01:08:59,708
so I went to earth and I got down
behind the lip of a big shell hole.'
1230
01:08:59,844 --> 01:09:02,836
'Fortunately, I was able
to drop into a shell hole.'
1231
01:09:02,889 --> 01:09:06,052
'We used to call them shell-hole
droppers, they would drop down
1232
01:09:06,184 --> 01:09:09,893
into a shell hole because of the barrage
and seeing a few of the men killed.'
1233
01:09:10,021 --> 01:09:12,604
'It's a pity they didn't all drop
into shell holes.
1234
01:09:12,690 --> 01:09:15,352
Before the barrage lifted,
they were dead.'
1235
01:09:15,401 --> 01:09:19,520
'And the bullets were hitting
the back of the shell hole where I was.
1236
01:09:19,572 --> 01:09:22,781
It was raining bullets.
I don't know how I got missed.'
1237
01:09:22,867 --> 01:09:25,108
'From behind the lip
of this shell hole,
1238
01:09:25,203 --> 01:09:27,911
the dirt was spraying down
the back of my neck.'
1239
01:09:28,039 --> 01:09:30,952
'There were three chaps in
the shell hole and one of them said,
1240
01:09:31,042 --> 01:09:33,124
"They're firing
at your bloody shovel!"
1241
01:09:33,211 --> 01:09:36,044
We looked round to see a bullet
go right through his head.
1242
01:09:36,130 --> 01:09:38,622
-So that was the end of that.'
-'A sergeant came down
1243
01:09:38,716 --> 01:09:42,209
into the shell hole on top of us, he was
dead, he'd got it through the neck.
1244
01:09:42,261 --> 01:09:45,299
Anyway, he had a lovely pair of
field glasses round his neck
1245
01:09:45,390 --> 01:09:48,098
and I nabbed them,
because things were so scarce,
1246
01:09:48,226 --> 01:09:50,763
if there was anything like that,
you'd collar it.'
1247
01:09:50,895 --> 01:09:53,728
'Jerry slapped shell after shell into us
1248
01:09:53,773 --> 01:09:57,107
until one shell penetrated
the forward part of the tank.
1249
01:09:57,235 --> 01:09:59,101
What happened then,
I cannot tell you,
1250
01:09:59,237 --> 01:10:01,478
but I believe there was an explosion.'
1251
01:10:01,572 --> 01:10:04,735
'We were fully-trained soldiers,
we always had the rifles loaded,
1252
01:10:04,784 --> 01:10:09,073
but we stuck in the extra five rounds
to make it a ten for rapid-fire.'
1253
01:10:09,122 --> 01:10:12,080
'The Germans got up in
their own trenches and fired at us.
1254
01:10:12,166 --> 01:10:15,409
In my opinion, they were very brave,
very brave men indeed.'
1255
01:10:15,503 --> 01:10:19,588
'There was a German standing up
on his parapet and flinging bombs,
1256
01:10:19,674 --> 01:10:21,256
so I shot him.'
1257
01:10:21,300 --> 01:10:25,134
'The officer gave us orders,
"Open immediate rapid-fire!"
1258
01:10:25,263 --> 01:10:28,631
We all opened up as fast as we could go,
continually firing.
1259
01:10:28,766 --> 01:10:30,757
It was a real mad minute,
I'll tell you.'
1260
01:10:30,810 --> 01:10:35,020
'They stood up and I was picking
the Germans off because I was a sniper.'
1261
01:10:35,106 --> 01:10:38,644
'I was trying to pick the shot
and something hit me
1262
01:10:38,776 --> 01:10:41,268
between the eyes
like a Sledgehammer.
1263
01:10:41,362 --> 01:10:43,854
I dissolved into unconsciousness
with no pain,
1264
01:10:43,948 --> 01:10:47,612
but with millions of golden stars
in a dark-blue heaven.'
1265
01:10:47,702 --> 01:10:50,114
'After I'd used up
a whole lot of bullets,
1266
01:10:50,163 --> 01:10:52,530
I got down, I says,
"You have a go, Bill."
1267
01:10:52,623 --> 01:10:55,331
He didn't even fire a shot,
he was killed immediately.
1268
01:10:55,460 --> 01:10:57,497
That's how things were.
1269
01:10:57,628 --> 01:11:00,120
You felt grief, it was a pal of yours,
1270
01:11:00,214 --> 01:11:04,458
but you took it casually because
I suppose you become battle-hardened.'
1271
01:11:04,552 --> 01:11:07,886
'We kept up rapid-fire there
as long as our rifles would work.
1272
01:11:07,972 --> 01:11:10,714
-They got too hot to fire any more.'
-'Fat was pouring out
1273
01:11:10,808 --> 01:11:12,640
the woodwork of the rifles.
1274
01:11:12,685 --> 01:11:14,676
The muzzles were beginning to extend.'
1275
01:11:14,812 --> 01:11:16,803
'Then we got an order from the captain:
1276
01:11:16,856 --> 01:11:20,815
We must make a barricade of the dead -
the German dead and our own dead.'
1277
01:11:21,819 --> 01:11:24,902
'My captain, at that time,
was anxious to go on and keep it up,
1278
01:11:24,989 --> 01:11:26,855
but I'm afraid he died.'
1279
01:11:27,867 --> 01:11:31,485
'I had three men loading up rifle
grenades and I peppered the whole line.
1280
01:11:31,537 --> 01:11:34,655
Judging by the shouts and the screams,
I'd taken a very good toll.'
1281
01:11:34,749 --> 01:11:38,708
'There was a machine gun spraying
on the lip of our shell hole.
1282
01:11:38,836 --> 01:11:41,373
I waited until
the belt of that gun had fired
1283
01:11:41,506 --> 01:11:43,918
and immediately carried on the advance.'
1284
01:11:44,008 --> 01:11:46,716
'The sergeant, he says, "Follow me."'
1285
01:11:46,844 --> 01:11:50,553
'I had managed to crawl under the wire,
a lot of us got through in that way,
1286
01:11:50,681 --> 01:11:54,049
and gathered together
on the German side of the wire.'
1287
01:11:54,185 --> 01:11:58,019
'All the shells screamed over our heads
onto the German posts and stopped.
1288
01:11:58,105 --> 01:12:03,020
"Come on, lads, give them hell!"
And we just got up and rushed forward.'
1289
01:12:03,069 --> 01:12:05,902
'In the bayonet charge,
the majority of us always had
1290
01:12:06,030 --> 01:12:08,943
a round up the spout,
besides the magazine.'
1291
01:12:09,033 --> 01:12:12,526
'There was an exultation that with
a rifle, bayonet and Mills bombs,
1292
01:12:12,578 --> 01:12:15,195
we were going to be able
to get stuck into the bastards
1293
01:12:15,289 --> 01:12:18,623
-that had been killing our mates.'
-'And we went like hell,
1294
01:12:18,709 --> 01:12:21,701
-straight into the Germans.'
-(SCREAMING AND GUNFIRE)
1295
01:12:25,800 --> 01:12:27,711
(GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING)
1296
01:12:27,760 --> 01:12:30,218
'And we fired at anything that moved.'
1297
01:12:30,263 --> 01:12:32,254
'I dropped down to my knees
1298
01:12:32,390 --> 01:12:35,223
and the sergeant fired over my shoulder
and hit the German.
1299
01:12:35,309 --> 01:12:39,143
He was on the ground but still firing,
so he went up and killed him.'
1300
01:12:39,230 --> 01:12:41,562
'There was only one method
of bayonet fighting:
1301
01:12:41,649 --> 01:12:43,890
to shove your bayonet in
as hard as you could.'
1302
01:12:43,943 --> 01:12:46,150
'There was this German
on the floor of the trench,
1303
01:12:46,237 --> 01:12:47,773
the poor bugger was dead scared.
1304
01:12:47,905 --> 01:12:50,567
While I'm wondering
whether to stick him or shoot him,
1305
01:12:50,616 --> 01:12:54,325
a German jumped out away to my left,
another one on the right,
1306
01:12:54,412 --> 01:12:57,950
so I pinned this German down,
then shot the German on the left.
1307
01:12:58,082 --> 01:13:01,416
I put another one up the spout and
shot the German running on the right.'
1308
01:13:02,253 --> 01:13:05,917
'Quite a number of Germans came in
a rush and we shot them, one by one.
1309
01:13:06,007 --> 01:13:07,793
We probably killed the lot.'
1310
01:13:07,925 --> 01:13:10,257
'Some chap said, "Poor old Dick got it,"
1311
01:13:10,303 --> 01:13:13,921
and I looked around and saw him lying
with the top of his head off.'
1312
01:13:14,015 --> 01:13:17,804
'On our right flank came
a German with a canister on his back,
1313
01:13:17,935 --> 01:13:20,427
squirting this liquid fire
out of the hose.'
1314
01:13:20,521 --> 01:13:23,354
'I looked towards jets of flame
coming across the trench.
1315
01:13:23,441 --> 01:13:25,273
We'd never heard of flame-throwers.'
1316
01:13:25,359 --> 01:13:28,522
'Burnt 23 of our chaps to death.
I plonked one into his chest,
1317
01:13:28,613 --> 01:13:32,151
but we didn't stop him, he must have had
an armour-plated waistcoat on.'
1318
01:13:32,283 --> 01:13:35,150
'I got a bang in the arm
and found I was bleeding.
1319
01:13:35,286 --> 01:13:38,449
I could bomb pretty well with
my left arm as I could with my right.'
1320
01:13:39,290 --> 01:13:41,873
'Somebody threw a Mills bomb
and it burst behind him.
1321
01:13:41,959 --> 01:13:44,291
He wasn't armour-plated behind,
he went down.'
1322
01:13:44,378 --> 01:13:46,710
'One German came
running out of this trench,
1323
01:13:46,797 --> 01:13:49,289
screaming his head off,
he nearly knocked me over.'
1324
01:13:49,383 --> 01:13:52,546
'Three Germans came out
with their hands up
1325
01:13:52,637 --> 01:13:56,631
and they were young chaps
about our own age, about 19 or 20.'
1326
01:13:56,724 --> 01:14:00,137
'If Jerries came up with their hands up,
we just waved them on,
1327
01:14:00,186 --> 01:14:02,052
we didn't fire at them, obviously.'
1328
01:14:03,189 --> 01:14:04,850
'Prisoners were a nuisance!
1329
01:14:04,982 --> 01:14:07,474
We were shooing them back,
you know, get rid of them.'
1330
01:14:07,568 --> 01:14:11,482
'The only Germans we were really
fighting were the machine-gunners.'
1331
01:14:11,572 --> 01:14:15,190
'They were firing belt after belt at us
and they never stopped firing.
1332
01:14:15,326 --> 01:14:18,159
The bloody cartridge cases
were piled up in a heap.'
1333
01:14:18,245 --> 01:14:20,657
'They'd got all their best men
on machine guns
1334
01:14:20,706 --> 01:14:22,572
and they fought to their deaths.'
1335
01:14:22,667 --> 01:14:24,908
It popped open,
there was three Jerries there
1336
01:14:25,002 --> 01:14:28,711
in front of the machine gun
and the bloody gun was pointing at me,
1337
01:14:28,839 --> 01:14:32,207
and I just swung the Lewis gun
and I opened fire first.
1338
01:14:32,343 --> 01:14:34,505
It was split-second stuff.
1339
01:14:34,553 --> 01:14:36,669
Thankfully, I moved on.'
1340
01:14:36,722 --> 01:14:39,339
'As the war progressed,
it was inevitable that
1341
01:14:39,433 --> 01:14:42,846
we developed
the animal characteristic of killing.'
1342
01:14:42,895 --> 01:14:46,388
'Well, we'd got some young
Lincolnshire lads, the 18-year-olds.
1343
01:14:46,524 --> 01:14:48,765
Machine-gunners
were putting their hands up.
1344
01:14:48,859 --> 01:14:51,191
It didn't make a difference.
They were killed.'
1345
01:14:53,364 --> 01:14:56,072
'I'm afraid there was
a little bit of slaughter going on,
1346
01:14:56,200 --> 01:14:57,861
until we got in some sort of order.'
1347
01:14:57,910 --> 01:15:02,450
'Everybody was screaming,
laying down, moaning and groaning
1348
01:15:02,540 --> 01:15:05,373
and eventually there was silence.'
1349
01:15:05,459 --> 01:15:08,372
'I found a German officer
with his lung hanging out.
1350
01:15:08,421 --> 01:15:10,708
He was still alive,
but he wasn't conscious.
1351
01:15:10,798 --> 01:15:14,632
You could see his lung was expanding
and contracting as he was breathing.
1352
01:15:14,719 --> 01:15:17,757
It was the nearest I came to ever
shooting a man point-blank,
1353
01:15:17,888 --> 01:15:19,925
but we had to go on.'
1354
01:15:20,057 --> 01:15:22,799
'One dead German leaning
against a shell wall.
1355
01:15:22,893 --> 01:15:25,760
He was a handsome bloke,
he reminded me of my father.
1356
01:15:25,896 --> 01:15:27,933
A shell had dissected him nicely
1357
01:15:28,065 --> 01:15:32,775
and it had taken the whole of the front
of his chest down to his stomach,
1358
01:15:32,903 --> 01:15:34,564
neatly cut aside.
1359
01:15:34,655 --> 01:15:37,443
What a fantastic exhibition of anatomy.'
1360
01:15:39,618 --> 01:15:42,235
'The real shooting was over
in about ten minutes.'
1361
01:15:42,288 --> 01:15:46,031
'There was about 100 of us coming
out, instead of 600 who'd gone over,
1362
01:15:46,083 --> 01:15:48,450
and a band came to meet us.
1363
01:15:48,586 --> 01:15:50,247
It was a wonderful feeling.
1364
01:15:50,296 --> 01:15:53,880
I've been in a battle!
And I'm so very proud about it.'
1365
01:15:54,967 --> 01:15:56,628
Hang on!
1366
01:15:56,761 --> 01:15:58,377
(GRUNTING)
1367
01:15:58,429 --> 01:16:00,591
-You got it?
-Yeah.
1368
01:16:00,639 --> 01:16:04,257
'And if you'd anybody
wounded or killed,
1369
01:16:04,310 --> 01:16:07,769
if you didn't get 'em out straightaway,
1370
01:16:07,813 --> 01:16:11,477
they went down in the soil
and disappeared, it was so bad.'
1371
01:16:11,609 --> 01:16:13,316
That's it.
1372
01:16:14,445 --> 01:16:18,905
'Well, you had to ascertain
whether a man was alive or not.
1373
01:16:18,949 --> 01:16:24,240
If he was dead,
then he was no trouble, medically.'
1374
01:16:24,288 --> 01:16:27,451
-(FLIES BUZZING)
-'I can't put that any clearer.'
1375
01:16:27,500 --> 01:16:29,411
Keep him level!
1376
01:16:30,753 --> 01:16:32,414
Give us some room!
1377
01:16:32,463 --> 01:16:35,922
'I felt some pain, I suppose,
about an hour later.
1378
01:16:35,966 --> 01:16:39,630
I'd got these thigh boots on
and the bullet had gone in sideways,
1379
01:16:39,678 --> 01:16:41,965
all the way down the leg,
in, out, in, out,
1380
01:16:42,098 --> 01:16:44,965
and hit the ankle bone
and turned upside-down.'
1381
01:16:45,101 --> 01:16:47,968
-All right, sir?
-Oh, God!
1382
01:16:49,021 --> 01:16:51,979
Jesus! (GRUNTS)
1383
01:16:52,024 --> 01:16:55,187
'The sergeant major brought me
a dixie of hot tea,
1384
01:16:55,319 --> 01:16:58,186
which was just what I needed,
it went down beautifully.'
1385
01:16:59,323 --> 01:17:02,315
'And casualties started coming back,
walking casualties,
1386
01:17:02,451 --> 01:17:05,159
men with their arms smashed up,
legs trawling,
1387
01:17:05,204 --> 01:17:08,822
and they got back to different dressing
stations the best way they could.'
1388
01:17:08,874 --> 01:17:11,662
'The walking wounded,
they were coming down in droves.
1389
01:17:11,794 --> 01:17:14,832
Some were holding one another,
some were walking on their own,
1390
01:17:14,880 --> 01:17:17,372
a light wound in the hand or arm,
some were hobbling along,
1391
01:17:17,508 --> 01:17:20,842
some were looking quite cheerful
as they'd been free of something.'
1392
01:17:20,970 --> 01:17:23,007
-Hello, Mum!
-(CHUCKLES)
1393
01:17:23,139 --> 01:17:26,222
'My officer had said,
"Are you all right, Kane?"
1394
01:17:26,350 --> 01:17:28,808
And I said,
"Oh, yes, sir, I can still walk."
1395
01:17:28,853 --> 01:17:31,515
He said, "But you've been hit
in the back of the head,"
1396
01:17:31,564 --> 01:17:35,057
and he handed me quite a dose of rum.'
1397
01:17:35,192 --> 01:17:37,854
I got a whack on the tin pot.
I thought my head were coming off.
1398
01:17:37,903 --> 01:17:41,692
'The worst cases were those
who were shot through the chest.
1399
01:17:41,824 --> 01:17:44,816
Well, the difficulty of breathing,
you see,
1400
01:17:44,869 --> 01:17:48,863
you only had field dressings,
which every man carried.'
1401
01:17:48,998 --> 01:17:51,865
-Yeah, we'll have a better look at it.
-Who's waiting, boys?
1402
01:17:51,917 --> 01:17:55,205
'You got a bottle of iodine
and they'd tip it in the hole.
1403
01:17:55,337 --> 01:17:58,045
Oh, the pain was terrific.'
1404
01:17:58,090 --> 01:18:00,422
Well done.
1405
01:18:00,551 --> 01:18:02,918
How about that for luck, chum?
1406
01:18:03,053 --> 01:18:04,714
They shot right through it.
1407
01:18:08,017 --> 01:18:10,224
'I was not in very good shape at all,
1408
01:18:10,352 --> 01:18:13,515
and I was getting somewhere near
the end of my tether.
1409
01:18:13,564 --> 01:18:15,726
I don't think
I could go on much longer.
1410
01:18:15,858 --> 01:18:19,726
Every soldier, I suppose,
had this breaking strain.'
1411
01:18:22,948 --> 01:18:25,064
The medics will be waiting for you.
1412
01:18:25,117 --> 01:18:27,233
Well done, lads. Well done.
1413
01:18:27,286 --> 01:18:29,573
That's it.
1414
01:18:29,705 --> 01:18:34,745
'We had some remarkable doctors
who worked day and night
1415
01:18:34,793 --> 01:18:39,913
in various stations on the British front
looking after the wounded.'
1416
01:18:41,091 --> 01:18:43,549
-Nice cup of Rosie Lee.
-You all right, Jack?
1417
01:18:43,594 --> 01:18:46,586
'They seemed never to need any sleep
1418
01:18:46,722 --> 01:18:50,306
so, what they hadn't got in numbers,
they made up in effort.'
1419
01:18:50,434 --> 01:18:52,801
We need a shell dressing.
1420
01:18:54,104 --> 01:18:56,436
'Both my officers, all my sergeants
1421
01:18:56,482 --> 01:18:59,395
and three-quarters of my men
were killed or wounded.'
1422
01:18:59,443 --> 01:19:02,276
-Blighty wound.
-'Their ranks were made up
1423
01:19:02,404 --> 01:19:06,272
with lads of 18 from England
who'd been pushed out of factories.'
1424
01:19:06,325 --> 01:19:08,441
-Easy. That's it.
-(COUGHS)
1425
01:19:08,494 --> 01:19:10,986
(SQUAWKING)
1426
01:19:11,121 --> 01:19:14,159
Bloody birds! Get off! Go on!
1427
01:19:14,291 --> 01:19:15,952
Go on, then.
1428
01:19:16,001 --> 01:19:19,414
'My mob were helping
the battalion to bury these,
1429
01:19:19,463 --> 01:19:22,672
only little kids, they were,
17 or 18 years of age.'
1430
01:19:22,800 --> 01:19:27,089
"In sure and certain hope
of the resurrection to eternal life
1431
01:19:27,137 --> 01:19:29,344
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1432
01:19:33,269 --> 01:19:35,852
'A lot of those kids,
that was their first action
1433
01:19:35,980 --> 01:19:38,688
-and they never knew any more.'
-Bring 'em over there!
1434
01:19:38,816 --> 01:19:40,648
'So we'd wrapped 'em up in blankets,
1435
01:19:40,693 --> 01:19:44,436
dug a little shallow grave
and put them in there.'
1436
01:19:45,656 --> 01:19:49,365
'I was putting a dressing on a German,
and he was very, very shaky
1437
01:19:49,493 --> 01:19:51,825
and fearful of what
we were going to do to him.'
1438
01:19:51,870 --> 01:19:54,111
'But they were more frightened
than we were
1439
01:19:54,164 --> 01:19:56,656
and we were frightened,
I don't mind telling you.'
1440
01:19:56,709 --> 01:19:59,326
'Mostly, they were just boys,
as we were.
1441
01:19:59,378 --> 01:20:02,541
They seemed glad to be captured,
they were out of it.'
1442
01:20:02,673 --> 01:20:04,163
-Is this yours?
-Mine.
1443
01:20:04,300 --> 01:20:05,961
-This is his.
-Ah, it's yours.
1444
01:20:06,010 --> 01:20:07,717
Put it in your pocket.
1445
01:20:07,845 --> 01:20:09,552
'There was a little German fella.
1446
01:20:09,680 --> 01:20:11,967
I gave him a cigarette
and he was terrified,
1447
01:20:12,016 --> 01:20:14,348
and I was very sorry for him,
really, you know.
1448
01:20:14,393 --> 01:20:16,054
He was only about 16.
1449
01:20:16,186 --> 01:20:18,894
And we had a chinwag
and I just took his pocket watch.
1450
01:20:19,023 --> 01:20:22,015
You know, it was a normal thing.
We used to rob them, you see.'
1451
01:20:22,151 --> 01:20:24,392
Right, let's go. Pick him up!
1452
01:20:24,528 --> 01:20:28,487
'Yes, they were underfed
and they were in very poor shape.'
1453
01:20:28,532 --> 01:20:30,648
Come on now, lads. Pick him up.
Come on!
1454
01:20:30,701 --> 01:20:33,693
'And, funnily enough, five or six
German prisoners came along
1455
01:20:33,829 --> 01:20:37,197
and they helped carry me
and I got another six watches
1456
01:20:37,249 --> 01:20:39,991
because I robbed these fellas
who helped me down.'
1457
01:20:40,044 --> 01:20:42,877
'Every time we captured prisoners,
1458
01:20:42,921 --> 01:20:47,006
a number of German prisoners would
immediately take up stretcher duty.
1459
01:20:47,051 --> 01:20:50,385
Now, I'm sure the Geneva Convention
never required them to do that.'
1460
01:20:50,429 --> 01:20:52,761
-There you go, lads.
-I've got him. Steady.
1461
01:20:52,890 --> 01:20:55,348
-Feet up.
-You're all right, chum. That's it.
1462
01:20:55,392 --> 01:20:58,180
-Come.
-Keep going.
1463
01:20:58,228 --> 01:21:00,686
'I took about a dozen prisoners
back with me,
1464
01:21:00,731 --> 01:21:03,439
who were all unarmed
and I just had my old gun.'
1465
01:21:03,567 --> 01:21:06,184
'In some cases, there were
a whole lot of Germans
1466
01:21:06,236 --> 01:21:08,352
without even a Tommy with them.'
1467
01:21:08,405 --> 01:21:14,526
'Oh, they were really cowed they were,
yes, they were very subdued.'
1468
01:21:14,578 --> 01:21:16,239
Come along now!
1469
01:21:16,372 --> 01:21:20,582
'I slept next to a German man
who'd been wounded in the arm...
1470
01:21:22,378 --> 01:21:25,871
...and, to my amazement,
he started talking to me in English.
1471
01:21:25,923 --> 01:21:29,587
And he said he'd been
a waiter at the Savoy.'
1472
01:21:32,888 --> 01:21:36,301
'I mean, I don't think
the average British soldier ever had
1473
01:21:36,433 --> 01:21:39,721
any deep feelings
regarding revenge against a German.
1474
01:21:39,770 --> 01:21:41,761
He admired him and respected him.'
1475
01:21:41,814 --> 01:21:43,930
Go on, show him.
1476
01:21:43,982 --> 01:21:48,818
'As the war went on, I felt as much
sympathy for them as I did for myself.'
1477
01:21:48,946 --> 01:21:51,563
'The German, I always thought,
was a good fighter.
1478
01:21:51,615 --> 01:21:55,108
I'd sooner have him on my side
than on the opposite side.'
1479
01:21:55,160 --> 01:21:57,743
'Some of the Germans thought
we ought to be fighting
1480
01:21:57,788 --> 01:21:59,825
with them against
the French and Russians,
1481
01:21:59,957 --> 01:22:02,790
but none of them thought
we ought to be fighting each other.'
1482
01:22:02,835 --> 01:22:05,918
-Keep on moving forward!
-'You see, the German had been
1483
01:22:05,963 --> 01:22:07,829
an unknown horde
1484
01:22:07,965 --> 01:22:11,799
with their coal-scuttle helmets,
and then we met them.'
1485
01:22:11,927 --> 01:22:14,840
'Well, the German soldier,
he was a very nice fella as a rule.
1486
01:22:14,972 --> 01:22:17,760
I think he was really a barber
or a shopkeeper or something
1487
01:22:17,808 --> 01:22:19,970
and, the same as us,
he was stuck in uniform.'
1488
01:22:20,102 --> 01:22:22,343
-You're too tall.
-Get you next time, Jerry!
1489
01:22:22,479 --> 01:22:24,971
'We got on very well together, actually,
1490
01:22:25,107 --> 01:22:27,474
and they used to mix in with us.'
1491
01:22:27,609 --> 01:22:30,192
-Want your hat back?
-Give it him back!
1492
01:22:30,320 --> 01:22:33,654
-What do you reckon?
-'They were decent sort of family people
1493
01:22:33,782 --> 01:22:36,319
and thought
a great deal of their children.'
1494
01:22:36,452 --> 01:22:38,614
-Let's try yours.
-(RIPPLES OF LAUGHTER)
1495
01:22:38,662 --> 01:22:41,495
'They didn't seem to bear
any malice against us.
1496
01:22:41,623 --> 01:22:44,490
They'd had to do what they were told,
like us.'
1497
01:22:45,836 --> 01:22:48,168
Go on, go on tracking.
1498
01:22:48,213 --> 01:22:50,671
'I couldn't speak German, but some could
1499
01:22:50,799 --> 01:22:53,336
and the Germans,
some of them could speak English.
1500
01:22:53,469 --> 01:22:55,506
Anyhow, we could understand each other.'
1501
01:22:55,554 --> 01:22:58,467
'The general agreement
when we were talking to Germans
1502
01:22:58,515 --> 01:23:02,850
was how useless war was
and why did it have to happen?'
1503
01:23:02,895 --> 01:23:05,057
-Taking our photos.
-Hey! Here!
1504
01:23:05,189 --> 01:23:07,806
'When you're passing bodies
all day long,
1505
01:23:07,858 --> 01:23:10,850
it's bound to have an effect
on whoever it is, isn't it?'
1506
01:23:10,903 --> 01:23:14,146
'This big, fat German
was lying in a street, you know,
1507
01:23:14,198 --> 01:23:16,860
-his stomach was all gassed up.'
-(FLIES BUZZING)
1508
01:23:16,992 --> 01:23:19,575
'His intestines were lying out
on his belly
1509
01:23:19,703 --> 01:23:22,195
and somebody had stuck
a pipe in his mouth!
1510
01:23:22,247 --> 01:23:24,864
Yeah, we all told him to get up!
(CHUCKLES)'
1511
01:23:25,417 --> 01:23:27,328
Jerries come through this way.
1512
01:23:27,377 --> 01:23:30,870
'German troops were very brave
and very stubborn.'
1513
01:23:30,923 --> 01:23:34,587
'The Germans fought rearguard actions
almost back to the Rhine
1514
01:23:34,718 --> 01:23:38,837
and regiment after regiment
was smashed up and cut about.'
1515
01:23:38,889 --> 01:23:41,847
'We had an idea that
they were beginning to crack.'
1516
01:23:41,892 --> 01:23:45,601
-(SHOUTING IN GERMAN)
-'I'd say that they were, if anything,
1517
01:23:45,729 --> 01:23:47,060
rather despondent.
1518
01:23:47,105 --> 01:23:48,561
They knew they had lost the war.'
1519
01:23:48,690 --> 01:23:52,558
'We, as front-line soldiers,
knew they were giving up.'
1520
01:23:52,611 --> 01:23:57,230
'Quite frankly, the Germans were
fed up with the whole thing.'
1521
01:23:57,366 --> 01:24:01,030
'And, gradually, that is how
the war itself came to an end.'
1522
01:24:01,078 --> 01:24:06,198
'I got the impression that most of
the German soldiers couldn't care less
1523
01:24:06,250 --> 01:24:08,537
who won, as long as the war finished.'
1524
01:24:08,585 --> 01:24:12,749
'Of course, that's what everybody was
thinking about then. We'd had enough.'
1525
01:24:12,881 --> 01:24:15,623
'And after a time,
perhaps, nobody cared.'
1526
01:24:15,759 --> 01:24:18,251
All right, boys, here it comes.
1527
01:24:18,303 --> 01:24:21,591
-We 're in the pictures! (LAUGHS)
-Shush.
1528
01:24:21,723 --> 01:24:23,964
'There was a fella in
the war called Rumour,
1529
01:24:24,101 --> 01:24:27,059
he knows everything, you see,
and Mr Rumour told us that
1530
01:24:27,104 --> 01:24:29,971
the Germans were also
negotiating for an armistice.'
1531
01:24:30,107 --> 01:24:32,269
'There was a huge poster.
1532
01:24:32,317 --> 01:24:35,730
"Al| hostilities will cease
on the Western Front
1533
01:24:35,779 --> 01:24:40,239
at 11 o'clock on 11th November, 1918."
1534
01:24:40,284 --> 01:24:42,616
So we said to each other,
"What day is it?"
1535
01:24:42,744 --> 01:24:45,953
And somebody discovered
it was November 11th!'
1536
01:24:46,081 --> 01:24:47,287
Smile for the camera!
1537
01:24:47,416 --> 01:24:49,908
'Then we had to shine our boots
and clean our buttons.
1538
01:24:49,960 --> 01:24:52,827
-We knew the war was over then...'
-(CHEERING)
1539
01:24:52,963 --> 01:24:56,251
'..And we were quite confident that
we would be there when it ended.'
1540
01:24:56,300 --> 01:25:00,794
'This proclamation was read out,
stating that the hostilities would cease
1541
01:25:00,929 --> 01:25:05,469
from 11 that morning, and actually
there wasn't a cheer of any kind raised
1542
01:25:05,517 --> 01:25:07,178
when that was read out.'
1543
01:25:07,311 --> 01:25:11,100
'At 11 o'clock, the noise
of the gunfire just rolled away,
1544
01:25:11,148 --> 01:25:13,515
like a peal of thunder in the distance.'
1545
01:25:13,650 --> 01:25:17,143
(GUNFIRE AND SHELL FIRE FADES)
1546
01:25:21,325 --> 01:25:23,362
( INDISTINCT CHATTER)
1547
01:25:26,204 --> 01:25:29,788
'Never heard it being quiet.
Now it was dead silent.'
1548
01:25:30,709 --> 01:25:34,043
'You were so dazed that you could
stand up straight and not be shot.'
1549
01:25:34,171 --> 01:25:35,832
'It was eerie.'
1550
01:25:37,341 --> 01:25:39,708
'There was a feeling of
relief and gladness,
1551
01:25:39,843 --> 01:25:42,676
I suppose, but no celebration.'
1552
01:25:42,721 --> 01:25:45,463
'The staff officer shut his watch up
and said,
1553
01:25:45,515 --> 01:25:48,052
"I wonder what
we're all going to do next."'
1554
01:25:48,185 --> 01:25:50,677
'There was no demonstration of any kind,
1555
01:25:50,729 --> 01:25:53,847
nobody said a word,
everybody just slumped away.'
1556
01:25:54,733 --> 01:25:58,192
'The only way we could have celebrated
as regards to a liquid
1557
01:25:58,236 --> 01:26:00,147
would have been tea, that's all.'
1558
01:26:00,197 --> 01:26:03,315
'It was one of
the flattest moments of our lives.
1559
01:26:03,367 --> 01:26:05,483
We just couldn't comprehend it.'
1560
01:26:06,912 --> 01:26:10,530
'We had that sort of feeling as though
we'd been kicked out of a job.'
1561
01:26:10,666 --> 01:26:13,875
'To some of us, it was practically
the only life we'd known.
1562
01:26:14,002 --> 01:26:16,369
What was one going to do next?'
1563
01:26:16,505 --> 01:26:18,997
'It was just like being made redundant.'
1564
01:26:19,049 --> 01:26:21,882
'That was very much
the feeling of everyone.'
1565
01:26:21,927 --> 01:26:25,215
'We were thoroughly upset,
we'd all got no work to go to.
1566
01:26:25,347 --> 01:26:27,054
"| don't want to go back.“
1567
01:26:27,182 --> 01:26:32,052
'There was no cheering, no singing,
we were drained of all emotion.
1568
01:26:32,187 --> 01:26:36,522
We were too far gone,
too exhausted to enjoy it.'
1569
01:26:36,566 --> 01:26:40,434
'All things come to an end
and even a drama can go on too long.
1570
01:26:41,571 --> 01:26:44,734
It didn't end with a whimper,
but something very much like one.'
1571
01:27:00,882 --> 01:27:02,543
'I was very happy to leave.
1572
01:27:02,592 --> 01:27:04,708
I'd had enough, you know.
1573
01:27:04,761 --> 01:27:07,753
After a time, it begins to wear on one,
you know.'
1574
01:27:07,889 --> 01:27:11,098
"'Thank goodness the bloody thing
is over," that was all.'
1575
01:27:11,226 --> 01:27:15,891
'As far as I was concerned, I was out
of it and now the next step in life.'
1576
01:27:15,939 --> 01:27:18,897
'The first thing we did was write home,
say we were all right,
1577
01:27:18,942 --> 01:27:21,434
making sure we got the date
on the envelope right.'
1578
01:27:21,486 --> 01:27:24,569
'To someone like myself,
who was interested in nature,
1579
01:27:24,614 --> 01:27:27,276
after the horrors
that man had made of the battlefront,
1580
01:27:27,409 --> 01:27:30,401
I was immensely delighted to find
shell holes in which I picked
1581
01:27:30,454 --> 01:27:32,570
lilies of the valley and larkspur.
1582
01:27:32,622 --> 01:27:36,115
And I pursued Camberwell Beauties
and swallowtail butterflies
1583
01:27:36,168 --> 01:27:38,079
along the banks of the Aisne River.'
1584
01:27:38,128 --> 01:27:40,290
'We went to Boulogne.
1585
01:27:40,338 --> 01:27:42,420
By the way, we came home with full pack.
1586
01:27:42,466 --> 01:27:46,460
The only thing we left behind was
the bullets, we had to discard those,
1587
01:27:46,511 --> 01:27:48,673
but we still kept our rifle.
1588
01:27:48,805 --> 01:27:50,842
We went over to Folkestone,
1589
01:27:50,974 --> 01:27:56,094
and there were long trestle tables
with very kind ladies.
1590
01:27:56,146 --> 01:28:01,266
They gave you a sausage roll, or a bun,
and a cup of tea and that was welcome.'
1591
01:28:01,318 --> 01:28:05,653
'We entrained to Victoria
and there we broke up.'
1592
01:28:05,781 --> 01:28:08,819
'We went to the barracks
and we just dumped rifles,
1593
01:28:08,867 --> 01:28:14,112
bayonets and everything and there were
a lot of suits on display, hats, shoes.
1594
01:28:14,164 --> 01:28:18,658
You could tell her which one you wanted,
style and colour and they measured you.'
1595
01:28:19,836 --> 01:28:23,329
'I was horrified by what I saw
when I came back here
1596
01:28:23,465 --> 01:28:25,502
and when one tried to get a job.'
1597
01:28:25,634 --> 01:28:29,002
'There was mass unemployment.
I thought, "This isn't much of a life."'
1598
01:28:29,137 --> 01:28:32,175
'It was a difficult thing to realise
you're of no commercial value.'
1599
01:28:32,307 --> 01:28:36,392
'It was a shame, the way ex-servicemen
were treated. You weren't wanted.
1600
01:28:36,520 --> 01:28:39,808
Some places said,
"No ex-servicemen need apply,"
1601
01:28:39,856 --> 01:28:42,848
and that was the sort of attitude
you were up against.'
1602
01:28:42,984 --> 01:28:46,022
'One of my pals was killed
and, when I went home,
1603
01:28:46,154 --> 01:28:48,486
the first thing that I did
was go to his mother,
1604
01:28:48,532 --> 01:28:51,741
who, if she'd had a frying pan,
she'd have hit me.
1605
01:28:51,868 --> 01:28:54,326
Her son had been killed
and I'd come back alive.
1606
01:28:54,371 --> 01:28:56,032
She was very bitter.'
1607
01:28:56,164 --> 01:28:57,825
'The first night I came home,
1608
01:28:57,874 --> 01:29:02,539
I got into my old bed, the first bed
I'd laid in since I joined the army.
1609
01:29:02,671 --> 01:29:05,254
When Mother brought my cup
of tea up in the morning,
1610
01:29:05,382 --> 01:29:07,248
she found me fast asleep on the floor.'
1611
01:29:07,384 --> 01:29:09,170
'People never talked about the war.
1612
01:29:09,219 --> 01:29:12,052
It was a thing that had
no conversational value at all.
1613
01:29:12,180 --> 01:29:14,888
Most people were
absolutely disinterested.'
1614
01:29:14,933 --> 01:29:19,598
'When I got home, my father and
my mother didn't seem interested.
1615
01:29:19,729 --> 01:29:22,517
They hadn't any conception
of what it was like.'
1616
01:29:22,566 --> 01:29:26,400
'And there was no reason why any one of
us millions should have been favoured
1617
01:29:26,528 --> 01:29:29,520
with a "thank you very much"
for having got a little bit muddy
1618
01:29:29,573 --> 01:29:31,439
and out of touch with good manners.'
1619
01:29:31,575 --> 01:29:36,741
'And on occasions when I did talk about
it, my father would argue points of fact
1620
01:29:36,788 --> 01:29:39,951
that he couldn't have known about,
because he wasn't there.'
1621
01:29:40,083 --> 01:29:43,075
'Every soldier I've spoken to
experienced the same thing.
1622
01:29:43,128 --> 01:29:45,916
We were a race apart from the civilians,
1623
01:29:46,047 --> 01:29:49,290
and you could speak to your comrades,
and they understood
1624
01:29:49,426 --> 01:29:52,293
but, the civilians,
it was just a waste of time.'
1625
01:29:52,429 --> 01:29:55,717
'However nice and sympathetic they were,
1626
01:29:55,765 --> 01:29:58,553
attempts of well-meaning people
to sympathise
1627
01:29:58,602 --> 01:30:03,096
reflected the fact that
they didn't really understand at all.'
1628
01:30:03,148 --> 01:30:06,766
'I think the magnitude
was just beyond their comprehension.
1629
01:30:06,902 --> 01:30:10,270
They didn't understand
that people that you'd known
1630
01:30:10,405 --> 01:30:13,989
and played football with
were just killed beside you.
1631
01:30:14,117 --> 01:30:19,487
My friend who enlisted with me lay there
like a sack of rags until he went black
1632
01:30:19,623 --> 01:30:21,785
before anybody troubled to bury him.'
1633
01:30:21,917 --> 01:30:25,285
'They knew that people came back
covered with mud and lice,
1634
01:30:25,420 --> 01:30:28,458
but they'd no idea of
the strain of sitting in a trench
1635
01:30:28,506 --> 01:30:30,964
and waiting for something
to drop on one's head.'
1636
01:30:31,092 --> 01:30:34,630
'You couldn't convey
the awful state of things,
1637
01:30:34,763 --> 01:30:37,846
the way you lived like animals
and behaved like animals.
1638
01:30:37,974 --> 01:30:42,810
People didn't seem to realise
what a terrible thing war was.'
1639
01:30:42,854 --> 01:30:47,473
'I think they felt that the war
was one continual cavalry charge.
1640
01:30:47,609 --> 01:30:50,146
They hadn't any conception.
And how could they?'
1641
01:30:50,195 --> 01:30:52,983
'Well, it started off
in a reasonable manner,
1642
01:30:53,031 --> 01:30:55,614
it was people fighting
on horseback with swords,
1643
01:30:55,659 --> 01:30:57,821
but it developed
into something ghastly.
1644
01:30:57,953 --> 01:31:00,820
People don't realise
the potential of military equipment.
1645
01:31:00,956 --> 01:31:04,039
A man's life wasn't worth
anything at the end of the war.'
1646
01:31:04,167 --> 01:31:06,283
'We were none of us heroes, you know.
1647
01:31:06,336 --> 01:31:09,328
We didn't like this business
of being killed at all.'
1648
01:31:09,381 --> 01:31:12,169
'When we were talking among ourselves,
we used to say,
1649
01:31:12,217 --> 01:31:14,709
"Christ! They won't have
any more wars like this!"'
1650
01:31:14,844 --> 01:31:19,179
'How did we endure it? The answer
must be partly the fear of fear,
1651
01:31:19,307 --> 01:31:21,344
the fear of being found afraid.
1652
01:31:21,476 --> 01:31:24,138
Another is belief in human beings,
your colleague,
1653
01:31:24,187 --> 01:31:26,019
and there's no letting him down.'
1654
01:31:26,064 --> 01:31:30,524
'There may be right on both sides,
but I think war is horrible.
1655
01:31:30,568 --> 01:31:33,356
Everything should be done to avoid war.'
1656
01:31:34,364 --> 01:31:37,072
'I still can't see
the justification for it.
1657
01:31:37,200 --> 01:31:39,237
It was all really rather horrible.
1658
01:31:39,369 --> 01:31:43,988
I think history will decide, in the end,
that it was not worthwhile.'
1659
01:31:46,543 --> 01:31:50,377
'The only thing that really did annoy me
was, when I went back to work
1660
01:31:50,505 --> 01:31:53,338
after I'd got demobilised,
I went down the stores,
1661
01:31:53,383 --> 01:31:56,671
and the bloke behind the counter
was a bloke who I knew.
1662
01:31:56,720 --> 01:31:59,883
He said, "Where have you been?
On nights?“
1663
01:32:44,309 --> 01:32:47,973
(MAN WHISTLING
MADEMOISELLE FROM ARMENTIERES)
1664
01:33:00,950 --> 01:33:02,987
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1665
01:33:03,119 --> 01:33:05,110
♪ Parlez-vous
1666
01:33:05,163 --> 01:33:07,120
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1667
01:33:07,248 --> 01:33:09,114
♪ Parlez-vous
1668
01:33:09,167 --> 01:33:11,249
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1669
01:33:11,294 --> 01:33:13,331
♪ She hasn't been kissed in 40 years
1670
01:33:13,463 --> 01:33:15,830
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1671
01:33:17,467 --> 01:33:19,583
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1672
01:33:19,636 --> 01:33:21,297
♪ Parlez-vous
1673
01:33:21,429 --> 01:33:23,670
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1674
01:33:23,807 --> 01:33:25,468
♪ Parlez-vous
1675
01:33:25,600 --> 01:33:27,637
♪ Our top kick in Armentiéres
1676
01:33:27,685 --> 01:33:29,801
♪ Broke the spell of 40 years
1677
01:33:29,938 --> 01:33:32,646
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1678
01:33:33,858 --> 01:33:36,099
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1679
01:33:36,152 --> 01:33:38,018
♪ Parlez-vous
1680
01:33:38,154 --> 01:33:40,145
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1681
01:33:40,281 --> 01:33:42,022
♪ Parlez-vous
1682
01:33:42,158 --> 01:33:44,115
♪ You didn't have to know her long
1683
01:33:44,160 --> 01:33:46,447
♪ To know the reason men go wrong
1684
01:33:46,496 --> 01:33:48,988
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1685
01:33:50,500 --> 01:33:52,616
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1686
01:33:52,669 --> 01:33:54,501
♪ Parlez-vous
1687
01:33:54,629 --> 01:33:56,711
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1688
01:33:56,840 --> 01:33:58,501
♪ Parlez-vous
1689
01:33:58,633 --> 01:34:00,795
♪ She's the hardest working girl in town
1690
01:34:00,844 --> 01:34:02,835
♪ She makes her living upside-down
1691
01:34:02,971 --> 01:34:05,383
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1692
01:34:11,187 --> 01:34:13,224
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1693
01:34:13,356 --> 01:34:15,063
♪ Parlez-vous
1694
01:34:15,191 --> 01:34:17,353
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1695
01:34:17,485 --> 01:34:19,146
♪ Parlez-vous
1696
01:34:19,195 --> 01:34:21,527
♪ She sold her kisses
for ten francs each
1697
01:34:21,573 --> 01:34:23,564
♪ Soft and juicy, as sweet as a peach
1698
01:34:23,700 --> 01:34:26,158
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1699
01:34:27,704 --> 01:34:29,820
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1700
01:34:29,873 --> 01:34:31,864
♪ Parlez-vous
1701
01:34:31,916 --> 01:34:33,998
1702
01:34:34,043 --> 01:34:35,704
1703
01:34:35,753 --> 01:34:38,040
♪ Madame, you've got a daughter fair
1704
01:34:38,089 --> 01:34:40,080
♪ To wash a soldier's underwear
1705
01:34:40,216 --> 01:34:42,548
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1706
01:34:44,345 --> 01:34:46,382
♪ I didn't care what came of me
1707
01:34:46,431 --> 01:34:48,217
♪ Parlez-vous
1708
01:34:48,266 --> 01:34:50,507
1709
01:34:50,560 --> 01:34:52,267
1710
01:34:52,395 --> 01:34:54,511
♪ I didn't care what came of me
1711
01:34:54,564 --> 01:34:56,680
♪ So I went and joined the infantry
1712
01:34:56,733 --> 01:34:59,225
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1713
01:35:33,811 --> 01:35:35,927
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1714
01:35:35,980 --> 01:35:37,891
♪ Parlez-vous
1715
01:35:37,941 --> 01:35:39,978
1716
01:35:40,109 --> 01:35:41,941
♪ Parlez-vous
1717
01:35:41,986 --> 01:35:44,102
♪ Went in her bed, she sure was fun
1718
01:35:44,155 --> 01:35:46,112
♪ Working her arse like a Maxim gun
1719
01:35:46,157 --> 01:35:48,774
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1720
01:35:50,286 --> 01:35:52,323
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1721
01:35:52,455 --> 01:35:54,287
♪ Parlez-vous
1722
01:35:54,415 --> 01:35:56,452
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1723
01:35:56,501 --> 01:35:58,287
♪ Parlez-vous
1724
01:35:58,419 --> 01:36:00,456
♪ I had more fun than I could tell
1725
01:36:00,505 --> 01:36:02,621
♪ Beneath the sheets with
Mademoiselle
1726
01:36:02,674 --> 01:36:05,132
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1727
01:36:06,803 --> 01:36:08,840
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1728
01:36:08,972 --> 01:36:10,804
♪ Parlez-vous
1729
01:36:10,932 --> 01:36:12,969
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1730
01:36:13,017 --> 01:36:14,803
♪ Parlez-vous
1731
01:36:14,852 --> 01:36:16,968
♪ She'd give a wink and cry, "Oui, oui!
1732
01:36:17,021 --> 01:36:18,978
♪ Let's see what you can do with me!"
1733
01:36:19,107 --> 01:36:21,599
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1734
01:36:23,027 --> 01:36:25,314
♪ They say they mechanised the war
1735
01:36:25,446 --> 01:36:26,936
♪ Parlez-vous
1736
01:36:26,990 --> 01:36:29,322
♪ They say they mechanised the war
1737
01:36:29,450 --> 01:36:31,157
♪ Parlez-vous
1738
01:36:31,286 --> 01:36:33,323
♪ They say they mechanised the war
1739
01:36:33,371 --> 01:36:35,453
♪ So what the hell are we marching for?
1740
01:36:35,498 --> 01:36:38,160
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1741
01:36:56,185 --> 01:36:58,222
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1742
01:36:58,354 --> 01:37:00,186
♪ Parlez-vous
1743
01:37:00,231 --> 01:37:02,347
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1744
01:37:02,483 --> 01:37:04,019
♪ Parlez-vous
1745
01:37:04,068 --> 01:37:06,355
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1746
01:37:06,404 --> 01:37:08,361
♪ She hasn't been kissed for 40 years
1747
01:37:08,489 --> 01:37:11,026
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1748
01:37:12,535 --> 01:37:14,742
♪ The officers get all the steak
1749
01:37:14,871 --> 01:37:16,407
♪ Parlez-vous
1750
01:37:16,539 --> 01:37:18,701
♪ The officers get all the steak
1751
01:37:18,750 --> 01:37:20,366
♪ Parlez-vous
1752
01:37:20,501 --> 01:37:22,538
♪ The officers get all the steak
1753
01:37:22,670 --> 01:37:24,877
♪ And all we get is a belly ache
1754
01:37:24,922 --> 01:37:27,414
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1755
01:37:29,052 --> 01:37:31,168
♪ You might forget the gas and shells
1756
01:37:31,220 --> 01:37:32,881
♪ Parlez-vous
1757
01:37:33,014 --> 01:37:35,255
♪ You might forget the gas and shells
1758
01:37:35,391 --> 01:37:36,927
♪ Parlez-vous
1759
01:37:37,060 --> 01:37:39,267
♪ You might forget the groans and yells
1760
01:37:39,395 --> 01:37:41,557
♪ But you never forget the mademoiselles
1761
01:37:41,606 --> 01:37:44,064
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1762
01:38:02,126 --> 01:38:04,117
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1763
01:38:04,253 --> 01:38:06,210
♪ Parlez-vous
1764
01:38:06,255 --> 01:38:08,292
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1765
01:38:08,424 --> 01:38:10,290
♪ Parlez-vous
1766
01:38:10,426 --> 01:38:12,383
♪ Many and many a married man
1767
01:38:12,428 --> 01:38:14,419
♪ Wants to go back to France again
1768
01:38:14,472 --> 01:38:16,964
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1769
01:38:18,601 --> 01:38:20,808
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1770
01:38:20,937 --> 01:38:22,268
♪ Parlez-vous
1771
01:38:22,397 --> 01:38:24,764
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1772
01:38:24,899 --> 01:38:26,606
♪ Parlez-vous
1773
01:38:26,734 --> 01:38:28,896
♪ Just blow your nose and dry your tears
1774
01:38:28,945 --> 01:38:30,902
♪ We'll all be back in a few short years
1775
01:38:30,947 --> 01:38:33,484
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1776
01:38:35,118 --> 01:38:37,109
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1777
01:38:37,245 --> 01:38:38,610
♪ Parlez-vous
1778
01:38:38,746 --> 01:38:41,158
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1779
01:38:41,290 --> 01:38:42,906
♪ Parlez-vous
1780
01:38:42,959 --> 01:38:45,121
♪ I fell in love with her at sight
1781
01:38:45,253 --> 01:38:47,290
♪ And wet myself for half the night
1782
01:38:47,338 --> 01:38:49,796
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1783
01:38:51,509 --> 01:38:53,591
♪ Mademoiselle from Armentieres
1784
01:38:53,636 --> 01:38:55,297
♪ Parlez-vous
1785
01:38:55,346 --> 01:38:57,804
1786
01:38:57,849 --> 01:38:59,635
1787
01:38:59,684 --> 01:39:01,766
♪ You might forget the gas and shell
1788
01:39:01,811 --> 01:39:03,677
♪ You never forget the mademoiselle
1789
01:39:03,813 --> 01:39:06,305
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous
1790
01:39:07,817 --> 01:39:09,808
♪ You might forget the gas and shell
1791
01:39:09,944 --> 01:39:11,981
♪ You'll never forget the mademoiselle
1792
01:39:12,113 --> 01:39:14,605
♪ Hinky dinky, parlez-vous ♪