To Ypres in Civvies."
Pilgrimage Competition.
THE YPRES TIMES
179
that some of the men were bayoneted before the word to fire was given. Thrice
the Brown Besses spokevolleys as steady as though the regiment was firing on
inspection paradeand then the word to advance was given, and with bayonets
fixed the 33rd moved forward to take up the ground from which the other regiment
had been forced to retire. The three volleys had done their work, the ranks of
the French had crumbled away before them, and the cavalry had drawn off like a
trail of mist. The day was won.
Wellesley rode back to where on the ground, on the first line his regiment had
held, were little groups about men who had fallen. The men of the band were
already busy with their stretchers. He rode to where the right of his line had
been. There on the ground lay the pride of the rank and file, the right-hand men
of the Grenadier company. Thomas Atkins. Six foot three he stood in his
stockinged feet; twenty years he had served His Majesty the King; he could neither
read nor write; he was the best man at arms in the regiment, and one of the
stoutest hearts in the world. One of the bandsmen who stood by him had bound
up his head where a sabre had slashed him, he had a bayonet wound in the breast,
and a bullet through the lungs. He had prayed the bearers not to move him, but
to let him die in peace where he had fallen. Wellesley looked down on him, and
the man saw the sorrow in the young commander's face. It's all right, sir,"
he said, in gasps. It's all in the day's work." And then the blood gushed out
of his mouth.
The great Duke turned to the young staff officer. Thomas Atkins," he said,
shortly. The officer saluted and withdrew. As the sound of his footsteps on the
path died away the Duke turned once more to the sea.
By the late Lieut.-Col. N ewnham-Davis
Reprinted by kind permission of The Royal Society of St. George.
The competition announced in our January, 1929. issue of The Ypres Times caused immense
interest among those who had taken part in our pilgrimages, and quite a number of essays were received.
We have been pleased to award the prize of £5 to Mr. H. W. Allinson, of 139, Penrhyn Road, Sheffield, to
whom we offer our hearty congratulations. His effort entitled To Ypres in Civvies we print
below
The essay submitted by Mr. W. J. Baumgartner was very highly commended, and we have been
pleased to present him with a copy of The Battle Book of Ypres as a second prize.
IT'S a long way to Tipperary," we used to sing, but it's a far longer way to
Belgium from the industrial North in these days of work shortage, and to
the average ex-Service man Ypres is a dream of a not-too-remote past, yet
a great desire dwells in the hearts of most of us to revisit the scenes of our pain
and travail, and thanks to the organization of the Ypres League, coupled with a
little self denial on the part of the individual, it is possible for that dream to become
a reality and to once again roam through its streets, not in khaki with rifle and
pack, but just as plain Mr. Civvie."
So it came to pass that one summer morning the writer found himself, along
with many others drawn from all parts of the British Isles, at Victoria Station.
Victoria may convey nothing to the Londoner, but to the ex-Service man from
