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.