WAR IS DIFFERENT NOW
This five page
article can be introduced with the passage on the first page. “Now that war has lost its glamour, largely because
we are fighting a humourless foe, it is interesting to recall days when it was still a gentleman’s game. Of all men who had little reason to laugh,
the company holding Rorke’s Drift against swarms of
Zulus had least. But laugh they
did. As the troops, thirsty, weary,
sweating, fought off their foes, Parson Smith, the regimental chaplain, his
great red beard making him conspicuous, marched up and down roaring, “Don’t
swear at ‘em, my lads – shoot the b------s”. Johns recites the following incident from the
Battle of Waterloo. “Lord Uxbridge had a
leg knocked off by a cannon ball. As he
was being carried to the rear he called to the Duke, “Lost a leg, by God!” Replied the Duke, “Have
you, by God?” That was all”. Talking about the Peninsular War, Johns says “Invariably
they helped each other to carry the wounded to safety. You won’t find this practice recommended in Mein Kampf”. “War is certainly different now!”
And for the sake of completeness, I
reproduce below the letter that refers to Captain Johns that appeared in the
correspondence pages in this issue.