Back to training camp

I went back to France in about the 11th of November of ‘17. Oh, it was probably 5,000 of us went back. We were in Bramshott, all that had been wounded, you see, and we were fit then to go back. There was one incident I remembered. Bramshott, it was kind of funny. When we first were there, there was not much discipline, everybody had been wounded, but as it built up towards the summer they said, when the roll was called, instead of saying, “Here,” you had to say, “Here, sergeant!” or “Here, sir!” if it was an officer. So all went well the next morning till they came to the name of Murphy. All he got was, “Here!” So he roared, “Here what.” “Here we are again,” Murphy come back with. And poor Murphy’s name was missing for a few days from the list, but he had his laugh. The boys did some, had been docked for barrack damage and when they left some of them went a little crazy and really did make some barrack damage so when we got to France, instead of keeping us at the base camp they shipped us right up to the battalion. Of course, (inaudible), I suppose there was probably, oh, 1,500 fellows lined up there and a red tab officer come out and said our reputation had proceeded them and they was going to show us some discipline. When they said that everybody automatically sat down and looked at him, so he turned on his heel and walked away. We went back, each outfit went to your own unit. The colonel gave us a real good welcome. He said he was glad to have some good men come back to him. So we went to our various companies. But I had been in “A” Company and I had got chummy with some “B” Company men so I went to “B” Company, ended up in 8th Platoon and I stayed in 8th Platoon till the war ended. I ended up a two stripe corporal and I was more or less acting as sergeant after our sergeant got killed at the Battle of Cambrai.