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He got extm drrills, extra guards, confined to barracks for stated per- iodls, but it did‘ no good. He was hopeless; His replies to any ques- tions put to him by’an officer were off-hand. ’He was the best example. :of anyone that I had ever come in contact with who spoke, without thinking What he was going to say, or to whom he saidl it. The Colour Sergeant will mention this to the O-flficer who will give time and place for the interview. This didn’t bother Wallace at all. Instead of sayingâ€"Excuse me, Sir, [may I do so and so, his request would] start something like this. “Can I have two shillingg extra ,pay next pay day, I wapt to go to Blackpool”. Not even saying “Sir”. It is usual; when a non-commis- sionecfl or private wishes to speak to an officer, to tell the Colour Serâ€" geant that you desire to do so. We had ’been stationed at Fleet- wood for three months- when a batch of recruits wene sent from» Preston to join us. We little dreamed! that one of their number was destined' to [be the lifeâ€"so to scp«eakâ€"~of our de- tachment. \The name of this paraâ€" gon of unconscious humour was Walâ€" lace. Straight-away he was dubbed by the remaind=er of the companyâ€" Th~e last of the Wal‘lace’s. His albsurdlities covered a long period and! many places, and he will appear again later on. I must give the [last of the Wal- lace’s a chapter all to himsehf. He was a fine young fellow, and I missed him very much. He was associated] with me in organizing: games to en’liven our otherwise dlreary existence, consisting, as‘ it did, of parades, guards, picquets. The only d‘ivnersion we got otherwise was when we went to church. The pastor might have thought that he ‘was very impressive fbut most of our faces were smiling drur- in'g his sermon. He had a habit of patting his chest and the top of his head; It was really very funny to watch him. The two we had left behind had to run to escape the incoming tide and: when they got to the gully they found that they would‘ have to swim for it. They entered‘ the water fully drressnedhas we all wereâ€"and the in»- coming tidle tossedl them here and there as they started to emss. Only one reéched the shore. The loser in the desperate struggle for life made no outcry. He just disappeared. His body was found the next day near the mouth of the river at Fleet- wood’. He was buried’ in the little military plot at the back of the huts. Wyre. 0n the far side of the gully was a huge stretch of sand and then the sea. This would‘ be the situaâ€" tion when the tide was out. The gully would' (be practically dry. When the tide came in this gully would be filrled‘, or nearly so, before the tide started across the sands. There was the situation, a situation to which Weâ€"a party of six, were entirely ignorant. We crossed the dry gullyr and‘ .set out across the sands. We wand‘ered on, and were getting close to the sea when someone shouted- “Th-e tide’s coming in”. It was. It came in like a race horse. Myself and three others set oflf in an easy double, the other two sauntering a- long as if there was no occasion for hurry. We arrived‘ back at the gully to find- it nearly full of water, 1but we got across. I give an instance. We were on t On the west side of the huts was the rifle range. In the rear of the hruts was a sandy waste then the sea. With the exception of a little military cemetery everything- was loose sand. This means that the sea was west and north of us. On the north side the coast line has a pe- culiar formation. Standing on the shore facing directly north, a deep gully would 'be noticed leading di- rectly back to the town of Fleet- wood', and! the mouth of the river Wyre. On the far side of the gully was: a huge stretch of sand and? then Blackpool is now, and has been: for years, a well known seaside re-i sort, but at the time I speak of,I there was nothing there but thel “Winter Gardens”. The back of the huts were towards the sea. Looking across the water at night we could“ see the lights from BarrwimFumess, and, if the wind was in the right direction, we could hear the sound of steam ham- mers at night time. Continuing on past Russell College we would come to Blackpool. CHAPTER 17 We had one casualty while we were stationed at Fleetwood‘. The barracks, or huts, were facing the road! leading to Russell Colllelge. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6th, 1941. Reminiscences of Army Life CHAPTER 1 8 By “Steelback” In a little while the acting Se'r-l gean-t Major came to us, called us to attention and, taking off the prisâ€"i oners hat, gave the command “Left: turn.” “Quick March”. “Left! Wheel”. Halt. “Left turn”. The' Adjutant WOUldJ have the crime sheeti and! would readI the charge against the prisoners, calling in any evi- dencqâ€"fm‘ or againstâ€"after this the; prisoners would be askedl if they had . A Conporal marched us over to the guard. room with the prisoners, two drrumk-s and Wallace. We were march-ed to the Orderly Room. Halt. Right a‘bout turn. Stand at ease. The following- morning, I, and an- other man, were detailed as escort to the prisoners, amongst them was Wallace. O'ffice hour was 10 a.m. We all hoamd: what he said. He wa-sn’t so far away. The Colour Sergeant told the orderly Sergeant to put two charges against Wallace. First, Insolence to an Officer. Sec- ond, Improper language concerning an OffiCer. As Wallace was “being; escorted to the guard room he was heard to remark “Why he couldn‘t drill a couple of ducks.” is not simple until you know how to do it, The next word of command! is “Port Arms”. To execute this move- ment the soldier seizes the small of the Ibutt (this is just under the trigâ€" ger guard‘) and brings the rifle in front of his ‘body and grasps it at the lower band, the left hand being in line with his left shoulder. He places the thumb of his right handl in the loop of the lever and' presses it down. This movement opens the [breech (this is where the cartridges lare placed] when loading the rifle) and the examining officer is able to ‘see whether the breech is clean. To say that Lieut. G was astonr is'hed' is really too mild. He was astounded. Never 'before hadl he been spoken to in that manner. For a few moments he s'took looking at Wallace (who never blinked!) then he said “(Put this man in the guard roam”. ' Any other man would have made no reply, but not so Wallace. Withâ€" out any hesitation his reply'came in a casual sort of way, “It’s your win- dow thlat's dirty.” _‘ i We now givehim a rifle. He takes it in his right hand' places the butt ion the ground with the toe of the butt (the toe of the butt is that part ’underneath the trigger guard) in line with the toe of the right foot, grasping the rifle with the right hand at the lower band, thumlb be- itween the stock and‘ the trousers. From- this position, on the command “‘1Shouldier Arms" he throws the rifle lacross his body with the right hand; and! catches the butt of the rifle in the left hand dropping the right ‘hand smartly to the side. It will lube seen by this that the movement . The next order is “Examine arms". This movement is performed by the soldier making a partial turn to the right, carryin off his right foot 3 little, at the same time bringing his right hand in line with his waist- belt and his left arm in front, and close to his ‘body, canting the rif've to a slanting position with the muz- zle of the rifle in front. This en- alblles the officer to look down the \barrel to see if the barrel is clean. On this pau‘ticular day the officer with the mionocle, Lieut. G, was in the act of looking down the barrels. He arrived in front of Wallace, took hold of the muzzle of his rifle and ipeered down the barrel with his mon‘ocled eye. He was not satisfied with his first glace, and; looked d |vn the barrel again, then he looked! at Wallace saying “My man, yourr rifle is dirty”. Lieut. G walked along the front rank, down the rear rank, then gave ithe command) “Shoulder Arms”. It 'Was the long shoulder in thos-egdays, land the of shouldering arms in one } movement requires a lot of practice ibeifore proficiency is obtained. For the benefit of the un-initiatâ€" I . . . led! an explanation IS in order. The soldier stands to attention. Heels in line and- closed. TOesi turn:- ;edl out to an angle of 45 degrees. Knees straight. Body erect. Chin slightly drawn in but without con- straint. Shoulders back, arms hangâ€" ing loosely at the side. Hands par- tially closedi. Thumlb in line with the .seam of the trousers. I i paradle one day at 11 am. The Col- our Sergeant casually looked' us over. The orderly sergeant called the roll. We were all present. The officer came along. I have spoken of him before as Lieut. G, and' that he wore a mqnocle. The company was called to attention. The Colour Sergeant salutecl and) reported all present. g_ Seven days cells. There doesn’t in appear anything of a startling naâ€" at twre in the sentence, but I will ex- mg plain What this means and let you n, ['be the judge. ' Attached to the cells is the exerâ€" cise yard. Ten feet square, with high: walls of brick around it, and a cement floor. It had no roof. In the centre ‘of the floor was a barred drain to carry off the excess water. In the Wall: is a stoutly madie door leading to the cells. On the floor, in each corner of the exercise yard, is a block of hard wood. twelve‘ inches by six inches. Each of these blocks of wood had an indentation on their upper surface, and each of these are about one inch deep and six inches across. ‘ On one of these blocks of wood reposes a twenty pound iron shot. It has a very in- offensive appearance at first sight, "but a longer acquaintance dispels idea, and believe me, any associa- tion that a soldier prisoner has with the twenty pound shot, remains long in his memory. Having excited your curiosity, I will proceed to allay it. The provost sergeant, or his assist- ant, takes the cell prisoner to the exercise yard. The prisoner is cloth- ed in fatigue dress. He gets the command “Take up the shot”. He] 1 In barracks the main guard is by the entrance gate. This is No. 1 [post If there are two sentries, there would be two posts to patrol. In this case there was only one post. Attached to the guardI room were three cells. These cells were eight feet long, four feet wide. A window, twelve inches by ten inches in the back wall, and well out of reach, gave light in the day time. This window, and the cell droor, were banr- ed‘. The bed, a wooden one, was fastened to the wall in the daytime out of the way and let down at night. There were no conveniences. The prisoner ate his meals there. The meals were not noted‘ for their extravagance. They consisted of soup, porridge (very thin) lbread‘, water, tea, coffee, potatoes, meat, sabt, pamper. These articles were given to the prisoner in as great a variety as possible. He didn’t get the same kindl of material twice in one d‘ay. The prisoner got up at reveil‘le, washed, dtreslsed, made up his bed, cleaned out his cell, then breakfast. There are no cells in camp and cells as a punishment is not award- edr. To make the punishment fit the [crime the prisoner would be sent to the detention camp. This is a Ibarlbetl wire enclosure, with sentries patrolling on the outside of the fences. There are tents for the ac- commodation of the prisoners, and every consideration is shown for his health. In all barracks, vor camps, there ‘is a. guard. In camp the various 'units take it in turn to provide the Main Guard}, and each unit provides its own regimental‘ guard. Away we went to the guard‘ room. and! we could hear the officers in the Orderly Room having their little laugh over the affaii‘. Can you imagine this? I was hiding my lips‘ to keep frOm laugh- ing, and I wasn’t the only ork. Funny? I should say it was funny. The Major sraid “Seven days cells". do you think now?" W‘alrl-ace didn’t «bat an eye. At Once came his answer. “I don’t think he could) drilxl one.” “Yes,” said; Wallace, and: quietly, when he saw the Major getting up, added’ the “Sir.” “Ah,” said the Major, “I thought that another few hours in the guard room would make you change your minud‘. You saidl that the officer couldm’t drrillu a couple of ducks. What The following morning Wallace was again. at the orderly room, he was marched: in and stood to atten- tion. The Major looked at him quiet- ly_a.nd' saidl “Well Wallace, you’ve had time to consider what you said yesterday. Have you changed) your mind The Major lost his! temper, and rising up in his chair, roared at Wallace, “Say Sir, damn you, when you speak to me.” But Wéllace‘ could not say “‘Sir”. Take him: I’M see :him Do you shill loelieve that this off- icer can’t drill a couple of ducks? “Yes,” replied Wallace Your remark “Why he couldn’t drill a couple of ducks" was an im- pudent remark and’ shouldl be class~ ed! as insub-ordination. The Major in command of the de-; tachment was a straight-forward chap. He was just in his dealings} with the men. And: he wade it his‘ business- to know his men. Lookingi at Wallace (who, by the way, was] looking at him) the Major said “You‘ know that you shouldn’t talk to anl Officer like that, or even refer to' him in the manner in which you did'. anything to say mu away, said! the Major tomorrow. THE LIBERAL, RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO The next part of the punishment is “Heavy Marching O‘l'der" minus his rifle and bayonet. This is done in the open on the barrack squire, and! usually the Provost corporal is detailed for the job of drilling, or marching, the prisoner up and down, right and left turn. Every six paces turning to the right or left. The prisoner isn’t given any time to get into a proper stride rbe- ;fore he has to turn again. Next to shot drill this is the worst pun- ishment. When in his cell he is visited every hour. After “Retreat” the sergeant of the guard! takes over the prisoners, stating, on his guardl report, that he visited the prisoners in guard room and cells every hour from retreat to reveille. ‘given. ‘and so on for one hour unless it rains. If it rains he is kept in his cell, handed a piece of tarred‘ rope aibout six inch-es long and’ two inches thick. _ This is known as oakumi when picked. The prisoner is handed this hard! piece of tarred rope and he is aliowedi to shred, or pick it. He beats the rope on the edge of his 'bed 'cot until‘he loosens the fibres. He is then able to reduce it to shreds. The finger nails are the sufferers in oakuml picking. To the next blogk mval‘Chlentario Fairs’ Associaticn, u;LA-AA‘~M\.\A vv 1-1L mu. as has been the case in previous years. John Hostrawser of Nashville was named? president of the association for the coming year, succeeding J. H. Kelluavmi, who held the position for the past two years. Mr. Kellam was appointed honorary president. ‘- Ira Ch‘avm-pline and? Ray Livingstone were voted! first and! second vice-presi- dents respectively, while L. H. Liv- imgstone will again. fill the position of secretary-treasurer. Directors elected were: Etobicoke Township, Norman Livingstone, Geo. Conlon ami Johns Feiwster; Vaughan Township, Roy Livingstone, Howard Fletcher, John Hosrtrawser; Toronto Cm‘n Tmmsihin Tra fihammlinp .Tnhn Any sun n... u» i Stoops down, and owing to the shal- ;low' depression in the top of the wood-en Mock he is albie to get the fingers of both hands underneath. He lifts the shot. He then places ihtis right hand! direcflly under the lshot, then puts hisl left hand under ‘his right. He is then commanded to place the shot in the next blockâ€" ieither to the right or left of himâ€" ten feet away. He puts dlown the shot and stands to attention. The command “Take mp the shot" is giv- en again. To the next block. “For- ward’ March”. With his hands in the same position as “before i.e., one hard under the other. he goes to the next (block, \puts down the shotJ and stands to attention. The COM? ‘ntandi “Take up the shot" is again, That was the sort of punishment This Newspaper and Your Choice ONE Other Publication at Price Listed. 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[] Screenland, 1 yr. * . H I LII'C Lang W1“ uc aux-umeu Wll. the next block mval‘Chlevntario Faucs’ As=soc1aticn, as Subscriptions Taken at; Lne Liberal nal, 1 yr.... 2.00 lly, 1 yr..... 2.00 . . . . . 2.50 ............ 2.25 ............ 2.25 3.50 Vl'........... 3.00 r............ 3.50 2.50 2.25 ........... 3.25 3.50 ............ 2.25 r............ 3.00 Wallace was a likable chap for all his peculiar ways, and I may add‘ here that he (became one of the smartest men in the company, but he couldn’t keep out of trouble. His tongue was continually giving him away. awarded Wallace for his indiffer- ence to his» company officer. It had- n't much effect on him. Associate directors were: Milton Heugil, William Host, Ross Living- ston, George Hunter, Franlk Julian. John Wilson, J-ohn Enwin, William Wilson, Arthur Weatherill, Johln Kel- llam, Fred Gaflbutt. - Auditors are Milton Heuch and Ronald Laurence. Directors elected were: ‘Etobicoke Township, Norman Livingstone, Geo. Conlon ami Johns Feiwster; Vaughan Township, Roy Livingstone, Howard Fletcher, John Hosrtrawser; Toronto Gore Township, Ira Champline, John Hooper, Henb Shraw,'Cha1‘lie London, Eldridge Kella‘m, Anthony Pender- grass. The society will again sponsorra fair and will continue its policy of past years in not holding fieldi crop competitions in connection with the annual exhibition. Since several neighboring communities held field crop competitions and“ the entry was invariany small, the officers of the society felt that the project would not be justified. The fair will be affiliated with the Fmances of the society are in sound s lape, the report of Secre- tary-Treasurer L. H. Livingston re- vealed, w1thr a cash ‘bank balance of $228.30. Receipts amounted to $921.42, and expenditures to $693.12. An active organization since 1886 the Toronto bore Agricultural Soâ€" c.ety met in annual session. at the Lialrevil‘l-e Hotel on Monday, Janu- ary 20th. 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