Last thoughts before going over the top

[Cynthia]

I got an email from a friend this morning whose grandfather had run away to join the Canadian Army when he was just 14 years old, in 1916. He joined the King's Royal Rifles. After a few drinks in his older years, he would tell his grandson that before he went over the top, he would lean on the trench wall and say to himself, "I have four minutes left to live....I have three minutes left to live..."

He did survive the War, but would only talk about it after a few belts of Scotch! My friend made an interesting comment on his conversations, "We have the luxury of seeing what they did after it happened, getting the whole picture at one sitting without having to live through it." I can picture that boy of 15 counting those minutes left to live. Every day I wonder how they did it, and if I would be able to do it myself. I am sorry to say I feel I would be a dreadful coward, but hope I might have felt the cameraderie enough to go over with my mates.

Cynthia

[ianw]

I think you put your finger on it Cynthia. You do it because your mates are doing it and you don't wish to let them or yourself down. Armies are built on this principle. Similar peer group behaviour explains the most ridiculous behaviour today e.g vandalism and other "laddish" stuff - and I don't think the ladies (ladettes) are immune to this either !

[Cynthia]

Call me old fashioned, but I think the 'ladettes' are even worse than the lads today! Too bad peer pressure works both ways. Wouldn't it be nice if it was used for good causes, although then one could say, as my friend said further in his email about the Tyneside Irish, "Why didn't they simply lay down, or just turn back on July 1st?" Perhaps if they had all done that, well.... But it wasn't done then, and I suspect it would not be done now, either.

Cynthia