A War for King and Empire by Darrell Duthie
Author:Darrell Duthie [Duthie, Darrell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Esdorn Editions
Published: 2019-08-19T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER 19
11th of July, 1915
London, England
In a long squeal of brakes the train slowly eased to a halt and the doors to the carriage flew open. We spilled out onto the platform, a throng of khaki clad in muddy puttees and even muddier boots. The tanned and weathered faces around me appeared as taken aback by the sound of cheering as I was. A row of onlookers â women mainly, in wide-brimmed hats â stood along the length of the platform, frantically waving and shouting, excitedly ducking their heads to-and-fro in search of the familiar. At the sight of loved ones a few of the soldiers broke away, rifles in hand and arms outstretched, and rushed to join them. The weary gravity of their expressions gave way to ones of joy. I followed the others, passing a small hut underneath a sign proclaiming in large capitals, FRENCH MONEY EXCHANGED HERE. Several men peeled off to join the queue. The francs theyâd been paid would be of little use in England. I headed towards the barrier at the end of the platform.
Behind it, where the great hall of Victoria Station began, a crowd was waiting. They were cheering. Small lads in caps whistled. A gentleman stepped to one side as I approached and clapped me on the shoulder. âWell done, lad,â he enthused. Smiling I passed him by. On the station walls advertisements for Wrightâs Coal Tar Soap and Pearsâ Soap duelled for my attention, both brands unknown to me, but uncannily appropriate. The air had a strange foreign smell to it.
For all my joy at being here I felt awkward and uneasy. For most in the train this was a homecoming, and even many in the battalion had English family to visit. I didnât and I found London oddly intimidating. Which was odd after all Iâd gone through these past five months. Surrounded by millions, I was on my own in the capital of the Empire. A sudden longing for the trenches came over me.
I grinned broadly when I heard the familiar voice. Even after I recognized who it was.
âMacPhail! Is that you?â
Lieutenant Drinkwater had his cane in the air waving from ten feet away.
âBy God it is. What a coincidence,â he said. He looked at me, beaming. âYou look very sharp, indeed, Sergeant MacPhail.â
This morning, conscious of where I was headed, Iâd brushed off my uniform as best I could, thankful for the bath at Nieppe a couple of days earlier, and for the ladies whoâd steamed out the lice from my tunic seams. Last night I even made an attempt to clean my boots â something I hadnât done since Salisbury Plain under the admonitions of Sergeant-Major Atkins. It didnât hurt that the Tommies ahead of me looked like theyâd woken up in a mud bath. All the same, it was an uncharacteristic exaggeration on Drinkwaterâs part.
âThank you, sir. You look very sharp, as well.â
Which wasnât an exaggeration at all. Drinkwater didnât simply look sharp; he was immaculate. His tunic could have hung in a tailorâs shop window yesterday morning, and probably had.
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