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Page 2
From this standpoint, and as I was the General under whom the 1st Devons
served longest in South Africa, it seemed obviously my duty to attempt
the task.
The "Work of the 1st Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment" is portrayed
in these pages. It therefore only remains for me to add, for the benefit
of coming generations, what manner of men these were, who by their
dogged devotion to duty helped to overcome the Boer. Associated as one
was with many corps in the close intimacy of veldt life, it was a study
of the deepest interest to note the individuality that characterized
each, and which was often as clearly and as well defined as that of the
men with whom one daily came in contact.
During the many months of our intimate association, and in the varied
situations that presented themselves, I cannot call to mind any single
occasion on which the Devons were ever flurried or even hurried. Their
imperturbability of temper, even under the most trying conditions, could
not be surpassed.
Another characteristic of the corps was its inherent thrift. They were,
in fact, essentially a "self-help" corps. When a flood came and washed
away the bridge leading to the picket line, no sapper was required to
show them how to throw a suspension bridge above the flood from tree to
cliff. It was characteristic of the Regiment that they carried out in
war their peace training, never allowing the atmosphere of excitement to
distort their actions.
If we take Elandslaagte, Wagon Hill, or any of the hundred and one
ticklish night operations in which they took part, this trait will be
ever noteworthy, that they acted as was to be expected of them, and made
no fuss of having done so.
We have all read realistic descriptions of troops on the march in South
Africa, the writer using all his cunning to depict the war-worn dirty
condition of his heroes, seeming to glean satisfaction from their
grease-stained khaki. It must be admitted that the South African War is
responsible for a somewhat changed condition of thought as regards
cleanliness and its relation to smartness. No such abstraction disturbed
the Devons; a Devon man was always clean. Individuals of some corps
could be readily identified by their battered helmets or split boots;
not so the Devons. No helmet badge was necessary for their
identification, and the veriest tyro could not fail to recognize at any
time the crisply washed Indian helmet cover.
It may be open to question whether it is for good or for evil that we
should broaden our views of what goes to make a smart and useful
fighting man, but the regimental system of the Devons was for no
innovation of a careless go-as-you-please style. I thus lay stress on
the individuality of the Devons in South Africa, because it was this
individuality of theirs, born of their regimental system, which enabled
them to claim so full a share in the success of that long-drawn-out
campaign.
No one can quite appreciatively follow the story of the work of the
Devons, unless he realizes the intense feeling of comradeship that
animates these West-country men. To work with Devonshire men is to
realize in the flesh the intensity of the local county loyalty so
graphically depicted by Charles Kingsley in his _Westward Ho!_ and other
novels.
In conclusion, let me add, a more determined crew I never wish to see,
and a better regiment to back his orders a General can never hope to
have.
[Illustration: [Signature - Walter Kitchener]]
DALHOUSIE, _May_, 1906.
PREFACE
BY THE AUTHOR
The story as told is an everyday account and a record of the work of the
men of the 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment during the South African
War.
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