Autumn 1915
This war has demonstrated what 'the Regiment' really is: it is the something intangible which lives, even though the men themselves are replaced time after time - as has occurred and is even now occurring in the present conflict. We saw, in a tea-party held here, a very pretty example of the truth. The children - orphan daughters of soldiers and sailors - who are the normal dwellers in these buildings, are now accommodated in the houses outside, and when the holiday season arrives go to their relatives; some, unfortunately, have none, and these must perforce remain. Friends of the school are very good, and by a series of treats try to compensate the little ones. It was thus our privilege here to entertain those left behind.
In the hospital we had patients from almost all the regiments to which the fathers of those children had belonged; and only those who are of soldier stock can appreciate the call of the blood and the strength of the unseen ties of affection which link soldiers and soldiers' children. The concert room was packed with an audience the like of which could only be gathered together in the present crisis of the Empire. Here were men representing regiments which have made our Empire what it is - and on whose colours may almost be read that Empire's history. These men's task it is to keep alive the Spirit of the Regiment; not only the defined regimental customs, but also the subtle soul which always persists and re-creates itself throughout the years, however great the changes in the ranks. Here, too, were present men from Australian and New Zealand and Canadian regiments - men whose proud position it is to create the Spirit of the Regiment and whose pluck will become their regiment's tradition.
Deeds are being done daily in this great world war which, any one of them, would have filled columns of the press during any previous campaign - and which now pass unnoticed. The men who recover in this hospital will go back, or are going back to the Front to fight again; and the serious thought often arises, when watching the patients enjoying themselves in the recreation room, that these men's children may in the future, when the building is restored to its former use, play here - as orphans. Who can tell? All we know is that, though we speak of this or that regiment being thinned to vanishing point and then incessantly replenished with its reserves, the Spirit of the Regiment, like all fine loyalties, is immortal. Its men may die, but 'the Regiment goes on.'
This war has demonstrated what 'the Regiment' really is: it is the something intangible which lives, even though the men themselves are replaced time after time - as has occurred and is even now occurring in the present conflict. We saw, in a tea-party held here, a very pretty example of the truth. The children - orphan daughters of soldiers and sailors - who are the normal dwellers in these buildings, are now accommodated in the houses outside, and when the holiday season arrives go to their relatives; some, unfortunately, have none, and these must perforce remain. Friends of the school are very good, and by a series of treats try to compensate the little ones. It was thus our privilege here to entertain those left behind.
In the hospital we had patients from almost all the regiments to which the fathers of those children had belonged; and only those who are of soldier stock can appreciate the call of the blood and the strength of the unseen ties of affection which link soldiers and soldiers' children. The concert room was packed with an audience the like of which could only be gathered together in the present crisis of the Empire. Here were men representing regiments which have made our Empire what it is - and on whose colours may almost be read that Empire's history. These men's task it is to keep alive the Spirit of the Regiment; not only the defined regimental customs, but also the subtle soul which always persists and re-creates itself throughout the years, however great the changes in the ranks. Here, too, were present men from Australian and New Zealand and Canadian regiments - men whose proud position it is to create the Spirit of the Regiment and whose pluck will become their regiment's tradition.
Deeds are being done daily in this great world war which, any one of them, would have filled columns of the press during any previous campaign - and which now pass unnoticed. The men who recover in this hospital will go back, or are going back to the Front to fight again; and the serious thought often arises, when watching the patients enjoying themselves in the recreation room, that these men's children may in the future, when the building is restored to its former use, play here - as orphans. Who can tell? All we know is that, though we speak of this or that regiment being thinned to vanishing point and then incessantly replenished with its reserves, the Spirit of the Regiment, like all fine loyalties, is immortal. Its men may die, but 'the Regiment goes on.'
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