The Outpost Vol 1 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

THE OUTPOST.
167
!
Of course that is not our Battalion. Private
Bawheid loses the cork of his water-bottle out
on the moors one day. Quite a small matter,
you think. Not at all! It is a \'er\, serious
~tffair. lIe tells his Section Comman~ter, who
tells the Platoon Sergeant. The Jatter tells the
COlllpany-Sergeant-:\Iajor, who tells the ':\Iajor,
and so finally it comes to the C.O. And Private
Ha\vheid is ~at last brought before his Colonel
under escort, charged with
leading
to the Joss of government property, to wit,
" \\'ater-bottle, I914 pattern, Mark 1.*, one cork
with cap tin galv." and is astounded to learn
that the value thereof is about 6d. He
explains that the loss does not the utility
of the water-bottle as it Im;; not any value as
sHch. It has had a hole in it since he l:eceived it.
This only makes the offence more serious.
Why did lIe not return it to the C. O.-1\1.-S.
He explains he was on guard the day tlle faulty
equipment was returned, and when he (lid
return it he was told to go away somewhere and
take it with him.
At this point one particularly bright Officer
suggests a reference to the roster-book to verify
the statement that the man was really on guard,
and so the inquiry is adjourned for three weeks
while search is made for the foster.
\Vhen it is found no one can make head or tail
of it. The practice in the 7ISt Battalion is to
start a new roster on it new system every month
orso, whenever the previous one gets into a mess.
And that is why there is such a lack of system in
telling off men"for guard and other duties.
Well, the C.O. and the other Officers all read
their wee books and find no reference to corks or
anything like that, and so they refer the matter
io the \Var Office, and then the trouble really
begins. \Vhat happens then we really can't
sa\", but \ye have at least the satisfaction of
kriowing that the correspondence will last for
years and will cause endless waITV to numerous
i)epartments and Generals. ~
But Private Bawheid never gets it new cork
and never pays the cost of same. Instead he
gets a cork from the canteen which serves the
purpose of the old onc, and his \\"