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This is a 'bright picture compared to some. In some stations the ac- commodation for married people would ‘be limited. This was so in Ireland, so they were placed in barâ€" rack rooms. These rooms held‘ 24 men. In this small space they put ‘four families, making a passageway down the middle ‘by hanging blank- ets on some ‘1'ope. The blankets came to the floor. The space left would then be divided into four, each part being occupied 'by a soldier and his wife. If he had any children he occupied two parts. These were furn- ished] the same as the single rooms. 'It is hard to imagine what the feel- ings of these people were who occu- pied these places, but they endured it. It couldn’t 'be helped so what was the use of grousing about it. Even this, bad as it was, was an improvement on conditions before 1882. When I left the army years later a married’ soldier was as well off as most working men at that time â€" better than many in some cases. Marriages in the army were not encouraged‘. A corporal, or private, 'was not allowed to marry umleSS he had seven years service. Had taken on to complete 12 years with the colours, and had some money in the Bank, and not even then unless there was a vacancy. A sergeant ‘was allowed to marry but had to Two years in one station was the general rule, and when moving, ac- commodation for their baggage was limited, and anything in eXCess had‘ to :be left lbehind‘. Old boxes, a little cretonne, and a resourceful woman Worked wonders. His rationsâ€"1 Ivb. bread and 3/4 lbs, of meat. Thisvwas' issued twice weekly, and there was no allowance for the wife. Everything else that was needed for their comfort they purchased themselves. They did not buy furniture or a lot of utensils. It was not adrvisable'to do this. The furniture. Two kitchen chairs, one stool, one shovel, one poker, one tub for carrying coal, one fender, one candlestick, one four foot table, and‘ two iron trestles, two plates, two Jbasins, one three gallon can, one rbarraok room dish. All this would be in a room about 12 feet by 8 feet. To this elaborate outfit a soldier brought his bride. These were the conditions when I married. A married soldier received all‘ his pay with the exception of barrack damages. A sergeant would‘ have to pay ninepence Monthlty Sergeants Mess subscription in addition to the barrack damages. This varied in aâ€" mount and there was no escape from it. The living conditions of a soldier and his wife, whether sergeant, cor- poral, or private, were, with the ex- ception of pay, the same. The quar- tersâ€"or roomsâ€"assigned to them on their marriage, if any were availâ€" able, were fumished alike. Two single bed cotsâ€"ironâ€"as used in the barrack roomsâ€"side ‘by side. Two single pallias'sesl filvlew with straw, and two pillow ‘slips stuffedJ with the same kind of feathers. Two hos- pital sheets, and four full-sized brow-n blankets. This made up the full sized rbed. Married life in the army from a civilian’s point of view was not, for the girl immediately concerned, con- sidered a very rosy existence when the writer was allowed to marry. What; do they care about hard- ships. They have married the man they wanted, so nothing else mat- ters. These are the kind of women that marry soldiers. That accompany them from one place to another. That lbear them sons, some of whom, as they attain to m'anhood‘, follow in the footsteps of their fathers. These are the women who help to make history. The hardships met with were home with a fortitude that is little known and less understood. CHAPTER 15 A Military Interlude Picture to yourself a regiment composed of stalwart young- men, with a sprinkling of veterans giving, dignity to the occasion \by a disrpLayl of medals, in their bright uniforms and polished’ accoutrements, march-l ing through a town. Colours un-‘l cased. The band- playing a spirited march as they swing along, bring-l ing to doorway and window, matron and maid, the latter with» heaving bosoms and sparkling eyes â€" some: perhaps, dimmed with tears, not: with grief, 'but with enthusiasm, looking upon these marching men.I They wave their hands, and words. of farewell are Ibandied back and forth. There is nothing more apt to stir up the feelings of a maid than a military display. THURSDAY, JANUARY 23rd, 1941. Reminiscences of Army Life By “Steelback” I The government did not allow any ‘rations for the wife of a soldier no [matter what his rank. His marriage {was recognized by allowing him quarters, if available, if not, he would i’be placed on the lodging list and' ,Wouldl live out of barracks. He }Would then !be entitled to an allow- ance to provide fuel and light. Any gsoldie‘r coulldv marry without getting .per-misnsion, but he got no privileges, 'except that, if of good' character, "he would [be granted a. sleeping out pass when not on duty. ’ In this case he would have to re- port to the orderly sergealnt of his company every morning at reveille, 'and must not leave his lodgings af- l‘ter ~10 .p.m. unless he- had a pass. The targets were made of iron. For 800 yards range they would! be six feet square with a three foot centre, a two foot bul‘ls‘ eye, and: the remainder of the target being an outer. The scores would be four for a bull, three for a centre, and two for an outer. There would be two such targets separated: 'by about ten yards, and) there would be a stone but for each target to shelter the markers. In front of these shelters. but well above them, would be the dummy targets. These are made of canvas; and! on the face is shown a white fbulls eye and’ White centre ma rfi Just across the road‘ from» the Huts: was the rifle range. The rifle in use was the Martini Henri. The cartridge for this rifle was made of thin tbrass, an iron base, and centre fire. The bullet was- of soft lead and weighed one ounce. The rifle was sighted for twelve hundred yards but we never went beyond! the eight hundred firing point. Can you imagine this [bullet srtriking your shoulder, and the wound resulting from the impact? The bullet would expand and‘ make a terrible mess. The kick of the rifle was very great and many a recruit would pad his shoulder with his towel until he got the knack of holding the rifle firmly into the right shoulder. On the arrival at Fleet-wood of the detachment, the company to which I belonged was quartered in the “Hutment Barracks" outside the town, the other company being quar- tered in the town. We found life at the “I-Iutm-en.ts” anything but merry. There was a theatre in the town but it was seldom opened. Our greatest excitement, now I come to think about it, was chasing rats and devising means to catch them. They came in their hundreds from the sea shore which was about 800 yards away. They were ferocious looking animals and: invaded the barrack room at night seeking food, fighting and squealing among themselves if they found a {bone or a piece of bread. Boots would! fly from all directions but there were never any casualties. The only result from their invasion would .be the sorting of boots the next morning. Relatives of some of the men were on hand to meet them. Em- braces, kis‘sies, tearsi, handclasps and boisterous laughter h-eld srway for Quite a while. At last a lbugle callâ€" the Fall in, by companies. Working parties are told off, and soon the baggage is {being transferred to lug- gage cars all lialbellled' showing their (lestinations. Some are manked' Pres- ton. This was to be the Headquart- ers of the battalion. Others marked Isle of Man, and others Fleetwood. At length the job was finished. We put_on our aocoutrem-ents, and the order “Fall in” was given. We were told off to our destinations. Two companies to Fleetwood. One to the Isle of Man. The the remainder of Pre'sxt-on. At last the final bump. Hawsers were made fast to the bollards, gangplanks were ,put in place, and the order “All ash-ore”~ was given. CHAPTER 16 ' We were gradually drawing near to the shores of England), from which so many of the regiment had been absent for years. They felt like strangers, but with boyish eager- ness they awaited the tying up of the 01d troops‘hip to the docks at Liverpool. When the regiment left to go to some other station, his wife, unless he provided! the means of transpor- tation for her, would! *be left behind. These cases are frequent enough, too frequent in fact. Welb, it seems to me, that I ought to get: back to Her Majesty’s Troop- s‘h‘ip Assistance. get permission from the Officer Commanding thle‘regiment, and his intended wife had to have 3. refer- enoe from the minisfoer of the par- ish: in which she resided. ‘k. The marks made on the tar- Band, Drums and the battalion to The mishap ? cost Donovan one shihldng, andw later on he cut it twice more, and with his last shot of the ten rounds he hit the target at the bottomâ€"making an outer â€"â€" scoring It was decided by the Captain that Donovan should go through a very extensive course of recruits mus- ketry training. N. Clarke Wallace L.O.L. 28 WoOd- (bridge, this week sent a cheque for $100 to the Toronto “War Victims Fund'”, the sum representing pro- ceedis from the benefit darnce staged last Friday, January 10th in the Or- ange Hall. All expenses in connec- tion with the affair were 00vered by donations. It seems‘ strange, but three weeks- afterwards we had‘ a day at jud'ging distance. This, I may say, is to give a man some idea of how far any object, animate, or otherwise, is from him. Richmond Hill ei'ytime. Captain D was in charge, but the lieut., a Mr. G, was asking; the questions. and putting down the answers. Mr. G wore a glass, or monocle, to one eye. He had exhaust- ed, with one exception, all visible injects, so he :gave us this one for the last question. He said to the con‘prany, “See that cow over there” â€"judlge distance on that. “We gave our answers, and while this was beE ing done the cow took a notion to quietly slip through a nearby hedge. Lieut. G, fixed up the range finder onto its spindly legs and started to get the three objects in line but he could» only see two olbjects and they were the two points of the stediom- eter, or rangeâ€"finder. Suddenly he booked up, and stared‘ around\, but he couldn’t: see the cow. He remark- ed) to Capt. D, “I say D, the cow has moved.” It’s very evident that. Donovan was scared: of his rifle, but he mas»- teredi it. Donovan was uneducated. He couldn’t read or write. His sig- nature was an X. There were large numbers orf men like him, but laCk of education diidn’t interfere with their soldierly qualities. Donovan hadI ten rounds of |ball cartridge in‘ his pouch the same as the others. This! is what he did with it. He lay down full length, loaded his rifle, came to the “Present” and with a sigh, pulled the trigger. The captain of the company was sitting on the grass beside Donovan and was watching the target through his field glasses. When a bullet hits the target we, at the firing point, can hear a metallic ring, but on this occasion there was no ring, but we saw something, and what we saw was the dummy target fading from sight the other side of the mark- ers shelter. Up went the red flag. The cease fire sounded. The mark- ers came out of their shelters and repaired the damage. Yesâ€"you‘ve guessed it. Donovan couldn’t hit a six foot target at 800 yard's' but he could] sever a piece of rope half an inch thick. On this day, with one exception, hve swept the board. His answers were correct, or nearly correct, ev- We had- our laugh later on. We weren’t allowed any mirth in those days. The moral to this story is (Don’t judge distance on animated objects unless they are tied up). These dummysv are held in posi- tion by haltf inch rope tied to iron pegs driven in the ground. At some celebrations parading the streets will be seen, very otften, a large banner with some device on its face being borne aloft by two men with a pole each. Four other men are holding on to guy ropes. There you have the idea of a dummy target. Look- ing: up the range from 800 yards, it is not possible to see the ropes of the dummy target lbetween the mark- ers shelter and‘ the iron target. This explanation is given so that the reader can form his or her opinion as to the marksmanship of Donovan. It also shows the method adopted: by the military authorities in teach»- ing' the soldier to shoot. get, where the bullet has struck it, are shown by the marker. He has a round d‘isc, about 12 inches in dia- meter, fastened on the end of a long pole. He places this disc on the face of the dummy target. If a budfl’s eye is seen on the target the black side of the disc is seen by the firer covering the white bumsâ€"eye on the dummy. 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