FRED. W. WARD
Reading edition
CAPTAIN R.E., FORMERLY NO. 662 FIRST SPORTSMAN'S BATTALION
LONDON SIDGWICK & JACKSON, LTD. 1920
CONTENTS
PAGE
Forewords 1
The Sportsmen 3
From Major-General Sir C.E. Pereira, K.C.B., C.M.G. 4
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—The Cosmopolitan Composition of the Battalion 15
Training at Home—How the Finished Soldier Emerged from the Rough Material 23
Service Overseas—Heavy Fighting all along the Front, and a Triumphal March into Germany 35
Great Work accomplished—Holding up a German Advance— Silencing Snipers in a Derelict Tank—And some other Things 67
Presentation of the King's Colour—Major-General Sir C.E. Pereira, K.C.B., C.M.G., and his Pride in the Battalion 73
"Good-bye and Good Luck"—Brigadier-General A.E. McNamara, C.M.G., D.S.O., and his Farewell to the 23rd Royal Fusiliers 77
The Battle of Delville Wood—An Advance in Face of Hundreds of Machine Guns—A Personal Narrative 81
Experiences as a Prisoner of War—Extracts from the Diary kept by "Mr. Brooks, the Schoolmaster" 93
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
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
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