HLI Chronicle 1909 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND ,LIGHT INFANTRY CHRONICLE.Fully Fifty Yeats Ago.No. I.Ay, it's just within a wink or two of that longago time. To look forward to half a centuryseems a lifetime, and causes the thought­" Will I, or will I not 1" Strange, yet true,to look back upon it is just like the other day.You were drifting out of the teens whenyou first slipped into a red coat, and remembertl~e first time you heard the "Dress forparade" sound, and some old soldier s.a:id­" Ay, laddie, that bugle call says, ' 0 bit you'rebonnie when you're dressed for palade.' "And looking in the glass you are forced toconclude that there was truth in the remarkthat came from a group 0' sodgers' bairns oneday in the Crown Square-" Eh, oor daddy hasnae hair on the tap 0' his heid !" And youconclude that it is just the right thing for theladdies that are now doing Orderly man, orOrderly Sergeant, to tip you the homely word­" Come awa', daddy; ho(,'s a' wi' ye the day 1"That's a bit 0' cheer tae auld loons. As a rule,auld sodgers are usually meny and cheerful'that is if they are steady old files; but if theyare old boozers, they are apt to be grumphyand a wee bit cro~s-grained.But the right kind don't fly the redflag, even although they are sometimesaddressed, as one was, as fellows :-" Didyou ever travel at the public expense?"Certainly a strange question to ask, whenfishing fOl information, seeing some do travelat the public expense, and that mucha,gainst their will, while othels travel with alltheir heart in their journey. To travel underthe escort of two bobbies is the opposite ofpleasant, but to travel on military warrantis quite another thing. Hence the abovequestion was rather a staItler, and made onethink-" Which is which 1 " and, after catchingbreath, to blurt out-" Surely, sir, youdon't mean to insinua'~e--" The look onthe face, and the manner of speech, broughtforth the apologetic reply-" Certainly not;by no means; hope there is no offence. ionly meant to ask, 'Were you ever in theArmy 1 ,,, Being a patient individual, andslow to get red-headed, and, moreover, knowingthat the gentleman was above beingimpertinent, the idea of insult vanished;and a crack that lasted for a few eveningswas the outcome of the above question.Usually it is only great men that are interviewed,but sometimes small fry are honouredafter that fashion; and the following chat wasjust answering questions:­" I have often wondered," said the gentleman," what object a lad had in view when heresolved to become a soldier. There was aperiod in my life when the Army had 8. greatattraction for me, but circumstancespreventedme following out my desiles. It was the dress,and the opportunity of seeing life was in myeye."" Well, as far as the dress goes, the gilt soonwears off the button; and as for seeing life,thcre is a story in an old book about a youngchap who left home with that object in view,and he wound up with landing amongst somepigs, and had a big desire to put his nose inthe same dish with them. But to your question.I believe the attraction to most ladsis the coat; yet there are many who are likepoets-born, not made; and so it is 'withmany who have served, and are now serving,in the ranks of our Army. Thare was a periodill their life when a military geed waS planted;inclination wateled and nourished it, and,when age came, the plant bloomed. I knowone young man whose parents' ambition wasto see their son in a pulpit; however, ordination,bands, and ministerie 1 gowns had noattraction for him, and he is now serving in theArmy as a Commissioned Officer, and he rejoicesthat his life's dream has been attained.And I am intimate with another. I haveknown him since he was a bairn. To havetheir son a schoolmaster, neither trouble norexpense W8S spared by the parent~. Pipe-claywas prefelable to 9halk, and a rifle and b~yonetswamped the tawse, maps, and pomters;he, too, is commissioned in the Army. Yousee, air, these and many others wele bornwith a red coat in their htart, and t.bey onlyrested when they had the coat on their back.It is the height of folly to try and shunt such