The Value of Frogs on Active Service

[alantwo]

In the 15th Brigade RHA War Diary I came across the following anonymous, and undated, typed missive which may be of interest.

THE VALUE OF FROGS ON ACTIVE SERVICE

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In the babbling brooks at the Helles end of Gallipoli

frogs swarmed in the early days after the landing. The first

position in action of the 15^th Brigade R.H.A., was athwart one of

these a little behind hem, also in action, were two of

the French “Soixante Quinze” Batteries.

The British troops at the start had to exist on biscuits -

anathema to those equipped with unsound dentures - while their

French Allies had bread all along. Luckily the frogs above

mentioned were edible and this spelt the salvation for some of the British

Horse Artillerymen, who spent their leisure - when they had any -

on the banks of the brook digging with all sorts of implements

for the frogs, which they would barter for French bread.

Luckily the British bread issue materialised just about the time

the last of the vulgar batrachians had been sacrificed.

Edited 8 October , 2013 by alan two

[michaeldr]

Great story Alan - thanks

Apparently the frogs also attracted the attention of the RND

The Liddle Collection at the Brotherton Library, Leeds University, has a photograph in Capt E W Wetton's papers showing a successful hunter after his 'Frogging in the Nullah'

[see Len Sellers' magazine 'RND' Issue No.15, Dec 2000, page 1444]

[Stoppage Drill]

THE VALUE OF FROGS ON ACTIVE SERVICE

If it helps, this is from a 1980 US Army Soldier Combat Effectiveness study paper, tho' it's evaluating the 1870 War, not GW:

The French Army was nominally conscript but

actually consisted mainly of long-service volunteers; the ranks of the

Prussian army were filled with short-service conscripts. In general, the

French soldiers were of higher capability than the Prussians, but the Prussian

noncommissioned officers and officers were superior to the French. There

appearF to have been no assessment of the relative performance of these armies

in terms of the quality of their soldiers, or of the way in which this quality

was affected by the voluiiteer or conscript nature of the army.

[hazelclark]

We have the cutest little tree frogs here. I LIKE frogs.

H

[Sepoy]

My Great Uncle who served in the Royal Naval Divisional Engineers at Gallipoli, also took interest in finding anything to barter with the French, but not for bread. They also had coffee beans......

I even have his Turkish shell fuse which was used to grind it!

Sepoy

[Kath]

The frogs should have been kept to eat the flies!

Kath.

[CarylW]

We have the cutest little tree frogs here. I LIKE frogs.

H

I like them outside but not when they're popping out from behind my wardrobe (and other places) and scaring the wits out of me

[hazelclark]

When my boys were younger they had a habit of keeping various things in their rooms that sometimes escaped. One morning I put my foot in my slipper and came in contact with a big fat ugly TOAD!!

H