Angel of Mons by Robin Bennett

Author:Robin Bennett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: First world war, magic realism, bullying, time travel, ghosts, angels, angel of mons, third man theory, guardian angels, battle of mons, robin bennett
ISBN: 9780956868459
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2013
Published: 2013-04-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Extract from the journal of Corporal Sam Lyle, 4 th Middlesex Regiment.

22 nd August 1914, Mons, Belgium.

First the Indian Uprising, then three years chasing the Boers across those huge plains out there that went on to eternity; miserable, hot months, rounding up their families, burning their farms and now all this right on our doorstep. It seems like all me and Charlie have done since signing up all those years ago on the Old Kent Road just as kids really is sat on ships waiting to be taken to some foreign spot to shoot at a crowd of other human beings we’ve never met and, truth be told, don’t have anything much against. Seventeen years of service and all I’ll get is a corporal’s pension, even if I make it that far, and a hundred nasty memories I can’t stop thinking about if I tried. Not sure I can go through all this again.

We’d spent the whole of the following day after the skirmish at Casteau down by the canal, digging ourselves in. It kept our minds off all the Germans we’d seen massing up on the hill.

Our platoon have been making a sort of dugout, chipping away at the sun-hardened earth, until we had this dirty great hole with half a dozen firing posts and shelter, thanks to sandbags and shallow scrapings in the wall where a man could sleep if he had the chance. Or lie down to die.

A British soldier likes nothing more than cleaning his gun or digging an hole (so says Charlie) and he’s right - morale is high enough amongst the men but the officers appear to be out of sorts. Sergeant Trisk explained it to us as we dug that they’re not happy about having to fight here. ‘Fact is this canal is the best defence for miles but it’s pretty useless all the same. I can see half a dozen bridges just looking one way. I don’t know how we’re going to stop them getting across.’

‘Can we just blow ’em up, Sarge?’

Well, old Trisk knocked his pipe against a railway sleeper we was using as a footstep and shook his head. ‘I thought of that but the Frenchies won’t let us, it’ll destroy the canal - a lot of these bridges are attached to locks. They might need the canal later.’

‘Can’t go boating if you’re dead Sarge.’

‘True, Private, true. But ours is not to reason why and it still doesn’t change the fact we shouldn’t be fighting here. I don’t know who was more surprised - the Bosch when they bumped into the entire British army or us.’

‘How do you know they weren’t waiting for us?’ That was Sid.

The Sergeant glared a bit at him. ‘They’re professionals. If they knew we was coming we’d’ve had a bit more of a welcoming party and no time to dig ourselves in down ’ere. So make the most of it!’ he suddenly raises his voice at us, ‘and let’s get this thing finished before dark - they could come at any moment!’

And come they did .

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