The Outpost Vol 1 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

34 THE OUTPOST.
\
EDITORI~L . ....,.
Why did we Join the H.L.l..
Why did we join the Army,
Why did we come to Troon at all ;
Because we're jolly-well barmy!
THIS is ': question that we of the 17th
Battahon often ask ourselves, usuallv
more in joke than in earnest. It is seldom use~I
as a complaint, even when we are out in a heavv
snowstorm, or digging trenches in wet antI
stony ground when all good folks are in bed.
At times, however, we feel constrained to ask
in all seriousness if it was not in a fit of foolish
enthusiasm that we gave in our names at the
Merchants' House, and later were examined,
attested, and passed into the ranks of the 3rd
Glasgow. These heart-searchings are usually
occasioned by seeing or hearing of the many
who have not yet enlisted, and who have
evidently no intention of taking an active part
in the Great War.
One funny thing that has struck us about
these people, is the ready manner in which they
hasten to give all their excuses to any man iit
uniform, even when the soldier makes no
reference to their non-conformity: they seem
to feel that the uniform is a rebuke in itself.
NO\~, we have always deprecated anything
sllmlar to a white feather crusade on these
individuals, for we feel that it is a case of everv
man for himself: it is for each man to settle
which way his course shall lie and no one has
any right to attempt to interfere. But what
we do object to, from the people who ate not in
the army, is the attitude that they are" not
such bally fools as to join." In other words,
our old chorus. the truth of which none of us
believed. is being thrust down our throats :~­
" Because we're jolly-well barmy! ..
There is, first of all, the case of the young
fellow who sees some recruits at drill, and is put
off, either by their uniform. or by the drudgery
of squad drill. He says :-" If they hadn't
these ill-fitting blue jackets and that convict
appearance . . . If your caps had coloured
dice round the edge . '. ." Pah! We do
r:.ot say we look well in the garb, but we FEEL
welt We didn't think of the uniform ~hen we
joined; our minds were occupied with greater
issues. Again :-" I cannot be bothered with
all) the amount of drilling they give you
chaps. If I could get straight out to the front
Yes, we thought that too at first, but
our sojourn in the Army has taught us many
things. among others. the truth of the old
maxim: "Nihil sine labore."
Another case-is that of the man whose firm is
doing Government work. We have not the
same quarrel with him, for his products are
necessary to our success. But how many of
those men took the O.H.M.S. badge with a sigh
of relief and hastened to shield themselves
behind it! We, too, are O.H.M.S., but WE
had to swear allegiance to his Majesty, and if
we turn traitor we are liable to be shot. Some
people " are not such fools," and prefer to take
advantage of the country's needs to strike for
more pay. What does it matter to them that
their honour is being maintained and paid for
by the blood of men in France getting seven
shillings a week, and that their homes are being
guarded and their positions held secure by men
on sea and land whose reward is an office boy's
salary. "\Ve aren't getting our share," they
say. \Vhat share are the poor fellows in the
trenches getting, who suffer hardships innumerable,
whose meals are irregular and often frugal,
but who " Greet the unseen with a cheer"?
What share has the look-out man on a torpedoboat
destroyer in the North Sea, standing in
glistening oilskins on a slippery deck awash
with water, buffeted by wind and spray, the
cold numbing his hands and feet, and alf!1ost
even his senses, and on whose alertness our
safety depends? What share have the soldiers
at certain war stations, sleeping on concrete
floors, in draughty mills or barns, or splashing
over acres of mud daily for King and Country's
sake? The answer is, " Seven Bob I "
However, they have the satisfaction that they
are Playing the Game, which the strikers, however
good their reasons, can never hope to have.
\Vhatever it was that made them join, it
certainly was not that they were" jolly-well
barmy...•