They besought me to send word to their relatives
that they were safe. I took the full particulars and promised to ask the
Foreign Office to forward, but could not guarantee the messages getting
through, as their government was behaving very badly over the matter.
They were all very anxious that I should be sure and say their wounds
were slight (_leicht_).
Next day came urgent orders that all wounded were to be evacuated who
could possibly be moved. So far as we had heard events seemed to be
moving fairly well at Loos, but there were some ugly rumours and the
atmosphere was one of great uneasiness. After dinner that evening the
commanding officer, Major Frankau, took me aside, and asked me not to
go to bed as they would need every available pair of hands throughout
the night.
III
_Our Share of the Fifty Thousand_
It was ten o'clock when the first cars came crunching into the station
yard, and the convoys arrived one after another until five in the
morning. Then, as we could take in no more, the stream was diverted to
the other clearing station up the road. Before the war the deep hoot of
a car always seemed to say: 'Here am I, rich and rotund, rolling
comfortably on my way; I have laid up much goods and can take mine
ease'; but after that night it had another meaning: 'Slowly, tenderly,
oh! be pitiful.
Pages:
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52