had taken away the only jobs it could do. Yet, not long before, the First Division had turned out at Aldershot with over five thousand horses, over seven hundred horse-drawn vehicles and even the old horse ambulances of the Boer War.
‘An aeroplane or a few civilians with machine guns could have mopped them up without difficulty,’ Leduc said.
It was clear to anyone with an ounce of brains that the army thinking was wrong and that a lot of the training they pursued was pure myth. Wireless, caterpillar tracks and armour seemed to be the keypoints of the new conception of war and the best anti-tank weapon seemed to be another tank, yet little was being produced that seemed worth while.
‘The trouble,’ Leduc said, ‘is that the British army spends so much of its time putting down riots in the colonies they can only design fast, cheap, lightly-armed vehicles, which, while fine for deflecting low velocity bullets fired by tribesmen with old guns, would be useless on a European battlefield.’
Though the Government didn’t seem to know where it was going, however, a few others did and Chloe had never made any bones about her intentions. She didn’t have Ailsa’s dislike of the idea of motherhood and the first arrival was a signal for drinks in the mess between Josh and a rueful Toby Reeves.
‘Extraordinary little thing,’ Ailsa wrote enthusiastically. ‘Fingers and toes, just like a normal human being.’
With a civil war flaring up in Spain and the Germans and Italians sending troops to gain experience, it seemed to Josh hardly an opportune time to bring a child into the world, and Ailsa agreed.
‘Catch me doing it,’ she said. ‘On the other hand, I’m not against the fun that precedes such an event. It’s something you have to give your mind to. A girl doesn’t like to go into that sort of thing half-heartedly and I like to be worked up to full revs.’
If nothing else, she was rarely downhearted and had a great zest for life. Yet Josh knew she had men friends, though he was certain it was nothing more than her warm gregarious nature. The younger subalterns adored her and more than one of them was suffering from a severe case of crush. On the other hand, she loved London almost too much and whenever she could she was there doing the shows because Josh was too busy to be with her.
The Regiment still had horses and took part in the musical ride at the Royal Tournament where trick riders picked up handkerchieves at a stretch gallop for the crowd’s amusement. Because he was an expert horseman, Josh won the Military Steeplechase at Meath and the Heythrop Point-to-Point, then fell heavily in the 19th Lancers’ Challenge Cup on a horse owned by Toby Reeves. A corporal called Winder yanked him to his feet and felt him all over for broken bones.
‘I’m fine,’ Josh said. ‘If you don’t rattle when you get up there’s nothing to worry about.’
Ailsa complained that she never saw him. He didn’t take her complaints too seriously, however. She was a self-contained individual, perfectly happy so long as she was not deprived of the things she enjoyed doing.
‘So don’t start getting broody,’ she warned. ‘I don’t want babies. The world’s too bloody uncertain to bring children into it.’
As it happened, there was little time to become broody about anything because orders arrived that the transformation to vehicles was finally to take place, but in the end it happened so gradually they barely noticed it. Nevertheless, the business of transferring the men’s affection from horses to internal combustion engines started at once. B Squadron was the first to lose its mounts and started training under a squad of instructors from the Tank Corps. C Squadron followed soon afterwards and eventually the others, so that finally there wasn’t a horse to be seen in the cavalry lines. Stables were now garages and instead of the old familiar smell of ammonia, there was the reek of oil, petrol and the
‘An aeroplane or a few civilians with machine guns could have mopped them up without difficulty,’ Leduc said.
It was clear to anyone with an ounce of brains that the army thinking was wrong and that a lot of the training they pursued was pure myth. Wireless, caterpillar tracks and armour seemed to be the keypoints of the new conception of war and the best anti-tank weapon seemed to be another tank, yet little was being produced that seemed worth while.
‘The trouble,’ Leduc said, ‘is that the British army spends so much of its time putting down riots in the colonies they can only design fast, cheap, lightly-armed vehicles, which, while fine for deflecting low velocity bullets fired by tribesmen with old guns, would be useless on a European battlefield.’
Though the Government didn’t seem to know where it was going, however, a few others did and Chloe had never made any bones about her intentions. She didn’t have Ailsa’s dislike of the idea of motherhood and the first arrival was a signal for drinks in the mess between Josh and a rueful Toby Reeves.
‘Extraordinary little thing,’ Ailsa wrote enthusiastically. ‘Fingers and toes, just like a normal human being.’
With a civil war flaring up in Spain and the Germans and Italians sending troops to gain experience, it seemed to Josh hardly an opportune time to bring a child into the world, and Ailsa agreed.
‘Catch me doing it,’ she said. ‘On the other hand, I’m not against the fun that precedes such an event. It’s something you have to give your mind to. A girl doesn’t like to go into that sort of thing half-heartedly and I like to be worked up to full revs.’
If nothing else, she was rarely downhearted and had a great zest for life. Yet Josh knew she had men friends, though he was certain it was nothing more than her warm gregarious nature. The younger subalterns adored her and more than one of them was suffering from a severe case of crush. On the other hand, she loved London almost too much and whenever she could she was there doing the shows because Josh was too busy to be with her.
The Regiment still had horses and took part in the musical ride at the Royal Tournament where trick riders picked up handkerchieves at a stretch gallop for the crowd’s amusement. Because he was an expert horseman, Josh won the Military Steeplechase at Meath and the Heythrop Point-to-Point, then fell heavily in the 19th Lancers’ Challenge Cup on a horse owned by Toby Reeves. A corporal called Winder yanked him to his feet and felt him all over for broken bones.
‘I’m fine,’ Josh said. ‘If you don’t rattle when you get up there’s nothing to worry about.’
Ailsa complained that she never saw him. He didn’t take her complaints too seriously, however. She was a self-contained individual, perfectly happy so long as she was not deprived of the things she enjoyed doing.
‘So don’t start getting broody,’ she warned. ‘I don’t want babies. The world’s too bloody uncertain to bring children into it.’
As it happened, there was little time to become broody about anything because orders arrived that the transformation to vehicles was finally to take place, but in the end it happened so gradually they barely noticed it. Nevertheless, the business of transferring the men’s affection from horses to internal combustion engines started at once. B Squadron was the first to lose its mounts and started training under a squad of instructors from the Tank Corps. C Squadron followed soon afterwards and eventually the others, so that finally there wasn’t a horse to be seen in the cavalry lines. Stables were now garages and instead of the old familiar smell of ammonia, there was the reek of oil, petrol and the
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