Chapter 14: BACK TO BASE

Our French Allies did us proud and produced two first class horses for us and escorted us back to 25TH Divisional Headquarters, near a town called Ville en Tardenois. I reported to Brigade Major Macleod who was most kind. When I reached my section of the Divisional Ammunition column I learned that my Captain had listed me as "missing, believed Prisoner of War". He believed me to be with two other officers, who were known to have surrendered when the Germans cavalry descended on our badly prepared unit.

The French Authorities asked the Divisional Commander if they could award me with their Croix de Guerre - including a slightly exaggerated glowing account of my role in defense of the bridge over the River Lourc. They received permission to do so and I was honored to accept their kind offer.

I received word that my posting to "C" Battery, 112TH Brigade had now been approved and I was ordered to report to that Battery forthwith. Now I was going to be a real gunner. The atmosphere in "C" Battery was a tremendous contrast with that in the ammunition column and I felt that I had come home.

I was to replace a vacancy left by Lieutenant Stephen Williams, who had been killed in action. He was from a well to do family, and had brought with him two beautiful thoroughbred hunters, together with the "second huntsman" to be their groom. For his batman he brought a man called Critchlow who had been his valet, all of which I had now inherited. I lived the life of Riley as they waited on me hand and foot.

My first job was to write letters to the relatives of the ten or eleven who had become casualties. I handled the letters written by the men, signing my own name on each envelope, often writing letters for the ones who were illiterate. I used to let myself go a bit when asked to write to a sweetheart for them.

The Battery Commander, Major Wm. Gunn Mackay, MC was a tremendous soldier in action and sometimes known as Mad Mac for his total disregard for danger, when doing his job with the guns. He was said to lead a charmed life even though he was hit at least six times. Performing tasks along side him was a challenge that I did not always appreciate as I should because his charmed life did not always extend to those along side of him.

Early on he wished to check out some of my abilities, and took me out a hundred yards in front of our newly occupied gun positions, to give lines to the guns (laying them all parallel to the "Zero Lines"). Major Mackay seemed to be impervious to scattered shellfire but I felt twice my height of six feet tall and far too conspicuous. I never did achieve the calm demeanor of Major Mackay.