THE
23rd (SERVICE) BATTALION
ROYAL FUSILIERS
(FIRST SPORTSMAN'S)
A RECORD OF ITS SERVICES IN THE
GREAT WAR, 1914-1919
BY
FRED. W. WARD
CAPTAIN R.E.,
FORMERLY NO. 662 FIRST SPORTSMAN'S BATTALION
LONDON
SIDGWICK & JACKSON, LTD.
1920
[v]
CONTENTS
PAGE
Forewords
1
The Sportsmen
3
From Major-General Sir C.E. Pereira, K.C.B., C.M.G.
4
THE 23rd (SERVICE) BATTALION ROYAL FUSILIERS
1
From Major-General R.O. Kellett, C.B., C.M.G.
7
Formation of the Battalion, the Honours gained, and its Record
in Brief
9
A New Type of Soldier\u2014The Cosmopolitan Composition of the
Battalion
15
Training at Home\ue000How the Finished Soldier Emerged from the
Rough Material
23
Service Overseas\ue001Heavy Fighting all along the Front, and a
Triumphal March into Germany
35
Great Work accomplished\ue002Holding up a German Advance\ue003
Silencing Snipers in a Derelict Tank\ue004And some other Things
67
Presentation of the King's Colour\ue005Major-General Sir C.E.
Pereira, K.C.B., C.M.G., and his Pride in the Battalion
73
"Good-bye and Good Luck"\ue006Brigadier-General A.E.
McNamara, C.M.G., D.S.O., and his Farewell to the 23rd Royal
Fusiliers
77
The Battle of Delville Wood\ue007An Advance in Face of Hundreds
of Machine Guns\ue008A Personal Narrative
81
Experiences as a Prisoner of War\ue009Extracts from the Diary kept
by "Mr. Brooks, the Schoolmaster"
93[vi]
The Honours' List: Names of Officers and Men awarded
Decorations and mentioned in Despatches
103
The Roll of Honour: Officers and other Ranks who died that
England might live
111
The Nominal Roll: Names and Numbers of the Original
Members of the Battalion who joined either at the Hotel Cecil,
London, or at Hornchurch, Essex
143
Editor's Note
167
[vii]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Colonel the Viscount Maitland
Frontispiece
First Inspection of Battalion: Hyde Park, October, 1914
to face p.20
Marching away from Hyde Park to entrain for Hornchurch
28
The Camp, Hornchurch
30
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers, by Fred. W. Ward.
CONTENTS
2
Interior of a Hut, Hornchurch
30
Lieutenant-Colonel H.A. Vernon, D.S.O.
42
Lieutenant-Colonel E.A. Winter, D.S.O., M.C.
50
Presentation of Colours: Niederaussem, Germany, June 24,
1919
66
Battalion Headquarters, Hornchurch
80
The Battalion Pierrot Troupe: Germany
80
FOREWORDS
[3]
THE SPORTSMENToC
Sportsmen of every kind,
God! we have paid the score
Who left green English fields behind
For the sweat and stink of war!
New to the soldier's trade,
Into the scrum we came,
But we didn't care much what game we played
So long as we played the game.
We learned in a hell-fire school
Ere many a month was gone,
But we knew beforehand the golden rule,
"Stick it, and carry on!"
And we were a cheery crew,
Wherever you find the rest,
Who did what an Englishman can do,
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers, by Fred. W. Ward.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
3
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The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's)A Record of its Services in the Great War, 1914-1919 by Ward, Fred W.
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