Chapter 23: DEMOBILIZATION

As the hot summer of 1919 in France ran its course, we were never idle. "C" Battery had shrunk to one officer and fifty men. "D" Battery still had Major D. D. Pole Evans, MC. He and I worked in a short leave to Paris just as the big wigs from all the Allies converged to work out the peace terms. We caught a glimpse of Lawrence of Arabia, who was featured in the press as one of the heroes in the War. We went to nearby Longchamps and saw the French Grand Prix, the French Derby, which impressed us very much.

One pre-demobilization requirement kept us busy. Every last item in From G 1098, the complete list of every last harness buckle, spare horse shoes, saddlery, guns and wagons, everything, to which a Field Battery is entitled had to be accounted for and replaced if worn.

Finally our guns, wagons and "impediments" were all leaded onto railway box cars. My fifty remaining men and I headed for the French port, before being transported across the English Channel to Southhampton. We headed for London to be "processed", given individual tickets to our homes, together with one month's pay. Nobody was around to roll out the carpet to the returning heroes, this was August of 1919 and first surge of welcome was now well past.

Young fellows in my age group, who had survived, came back as very different individuals. We had to grow up fast. Our outlook and attitudes towards life, our former complete respect for the wisdom of our elders and betters greatly modified. Young officers, like myself, when in combat, repeatedly had to make instant decisions and plunge ahead. Naturally, all of these may not have been the best ones. However, we survivors became more assured and prepared to live with our decisions. We found peacetime conditions in Britain a tremendous contrast - something presenting unexpected needs for adjustment.