Summer Times, November 2004 - Old Scarborians

26thrown hand‐grenades. Battalion Headquarterswas situated in a deep gully in asemi‐cave, which was crowded, with theColonel, the Intelligence Officer, two wirelessoperators and me. The doctor had asmaller cave at the other side of the gully.He could do little more than apply first‐aidto the casualties and send them back, ifnecessary, on stretchers, to the nearestcasualty clearing station, a few miles to therear.We had a new commanding officer, reducedin rank from a full colonel in theWar Office to a lieutenant colonel in thefield. He said he did not mind, as hewould be certain to be awarded a DSO,which would further his career in the armywhen the war was over. He seemed capableenough, and showed lots of courage invisiting his companies every night, butwhen I told him, one day, that the Brigadehad authorised the issue of a rum rationfor the whole Battalion, I found that hehad secretly drunk the lot!After a few weeks, I got a message fromBrigade that the Battalion had beenawarded a DSO, four Military Crosses,four Military Medals and an MBE, so theColonel got his DSO after what must havebeen the shortest active service ever!(Only Lieutenant Colonels and above wereeligible for this award). He asked me towhom he should award the MCs. I suggestedthree of the company commanderswho had held the post for some years, thefourth having only just been posted to us.‘What about the other one?’ he asked.‘Who’s had the longest service?’ When Itold him I had, he said that I must haveone then. I told him that I could hardlyaward a medal to myself. It would be obviousthat I had done so, because he wasso new to the Battalion. The award thereforewent to the fourth company commander,who had, in his favour, done activeservice before he joined us. Then Ihad to invent feats of gallantry for eachone of them and transmit them to Brigade!The four MMs were awarded, one percompany, on the recommendation of thecompany commanders, and the LieutenantQuarter Master got the MBE. It was thefirst time I realised that medals came upwith the rations!The Colonel was not the only regular officerto keep a sharp eye on the main chanceof furthering his career. Until the ArmyList arrived by post, I was asked by at leastone of the regular company commandersby wireless every day whether it hadcome. When it did, they had a conferencewith the Colonel, at which they studied itas if their lives depended upon it…’So andso’s dead…and so and so…and that makes12. Whoopee! I’ve gone up 12 places inthe list’ was the gist of the conversation, asthey congratulated each other. Promotionby seniority always seemed to me to be thenegation of efficiency.The adjutant’s job with this Colonel wassimply to receive and convey messages, atype of secretary concerned with details. Iremember once, in the middle of a bombardment,trying to work out a rota for ourmen to crawl out of their trenches, one pertrench, one every ten minutes, to run twomiles behind the lines to have a shower,and, as soon as they returned, the othermen to go. Then there were arrangementsfor men to go on leave and even on