The Outpost Vol 1 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

162 THE OUTPOST.
EDITORIaL.
......,.
WENSLEY. JULY, 1915.
The spirit that only wants to be doing something is not a disciplined spirit: it is a veryul1disciplinecl spirit.
We ought all to be ready to do anything; but we ought also to be ready to do lIothing.--G. K. CHESTF.RTO~.
THIS, our sixth issue, completes the first
volume of The Outpost. In the production
of the July number we have just been
beginning to feel the inconveniences and
difficulties of publishing a .Magazine under active
service conditions. These circumstances are
not at all conducive to the concentration of
thought necessary for the production of literary
and artistic material of the high standard set by
our previous issues. In spite of the lack of
facilities, however, we anticipate no rlisappointment
on the part of our readers, for number six
is just as bright and interesting as any of its predecessors.
\Ve appreciate the patience and
self-denial which our contributors have put into
their work. Removed from the comparative
peace and quiet of billets and huddled now into
the small space of the regulation Army Bell
Tent, with noisy and perhaps unsympathetic
comrades, they have shown their perseverance
and ingenuity in turning out the very excellent
matter which composes this number. They
have thus assisted us to fulfil our object~" to
record, month by month, the various activities
of our life in the Army," for no better chronicle
of our doings could be produced than the
articles, poems, photographs and sketches that
appear on these pages, "mingling the serious
with the humorous in a happy-go-lucky,
indiscriminate way."
In our moves from station to station The
Outpost has gathered a lot of friends, and we
are proud to say we have been widening the
circle of our subscribers. So much is this the
case that" publishing day" is quite as much
looked forward to in Gailes, Troon, Prees,
,,7hitchurch and Market Dray'ion as it is in
Glasgow, and by the merits of this issue we
hope to add Leyburn and Middleham to that list.
Surprise will no doubt be felt by many, and
has, as a matter of fact, been expressed by some,
that we are still in a position to publish our
Magazine from a home station. This is quite
excusable, as in the early days of our training
we all fully expected to have taken a much more
prominent part in the hostilities long ere this.
\Ve realised later, however, that, having just
missed (by days, perhaps) inclusion in the first
few hundred thousands of the New Armies (for
so many units were receiving official recognition
at the one time), our entry to the actual field of
operations would naturally be p:>stponed for an
indefinite period. This fact was mainly respo::lsible
for the inauguration of The Outpost,
though it was not until February that we
persuaded ourselves that" this type of Magazine
could not merely exist on paying lines, but could
be made quite a literary success."
The Magazine has helped to sho\" the spirit
in which the members of the Battalion h.'we
taken the trials and tribulations of the arduous
months of training. The patriotism which
induced them to answer their CountrY's call for
men so promptly, has not dwindled,' and they
still have the same zeal for service which thev
felt when they were sworn in at the Technical
College soon 'after the outbreak of war. We
have declared on a former occasion that" we
try to collect and dispense as much as we can
of the lighter side of Army life," and it is a matter
for self congratulation to the member;; of the
Battalion that their Magazine is still able to
show to their friends the cheerful and goodspirited
manner in which they pursue their
present duties, which, to men of their character
and c01l1merci~.d training, must prove at times
irksome and monotonous. "Ve are still able
to embody in these pages all our comradeship,
cheerfulness and jollity of which we are so
justly proud.