A Warm Route March

Tuesday 21st March 1916: We have heard that the 1st/5th Battalion, stationed at Mena Camp in the shadow of the Pyramids, went on a route march yesterday towards Cairo and back. On a pleasant spring day in England that would be no chore, but they were on a road that is not far from the desert on either side. The temperature is often around 75 degrees and had get as high as 100 on exceptional occasions. Yesterday was in the low 70s, quite enough to raise a sweat in full kit.

Sources: X550/6/8

Snow Fatigue

Saturday 26th February 1916: the adjutant of the 1st Battalion tells us, rather sourly, that they are at Candas, behind the lines south-west of Doullens whither they marched yesterday, a journey of some fifteen miles. The journey was difficult with frozen, slippery roads and steep gradients and conducted in a blizzard which lasted all day. They arrived at dusk to find bad, dirty billets and not enough of them to shelter all the men. They will remain at Candas and look forward to making snowmen today – that is, they will all be on snow clearing fatigue and clearing roads when they might have had a rest.

Source: X550/2/5

Praise for the 2nd/5th Bedfords

Monday 5th April 1915: Private S. Gilbert of the 2nd/5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, has spoken to us today. “We are off today to Norwich and we have got to march it, but it will be nothing to us as we are going to take three days to do it in; it is only about 47 miles. We are all going about with pigeon chests and swelled heads today. We went to Church parade yesterday morning and while coming back we passed the Brigade Major(1) and he sent a letter which our Colonel read to us to this effect: “I watched your battalion go by this morning and it was absolutely topping to watch them, not a man out of step anywhere. You would have liked to have looked on yourself”. How’s that, Umpire? I can tell you we are all as pleased as a dog with two tails”.

Source: Bedfordshire Times 9th April 1915

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(1) A brigade’s chief of staff concerned with planning, his personal rank most often was, indeed, a major but could also be a captain.

Route Marches

Bailleul

Sunday 17th January 1915: The 1st Battalion have left the waterlogged trenches at Wulvergem and proceeded to slightly drier ground at Bailleul just over the French border. After the cold damp of the trenches the men will be warmed up by a series of route marches over the next few days.

Source: X550/2/5