Post date: 17-Jul-2013 14:31:48
Second Lieutenant Cyril Rawlins, letter to mother (December, 1914)
Now, dearest mum, keep your heart up, and trust in Providence: I am sure I shall come through all right. It is a great and glorious thing to be going to fight for England in her hour of desperate need and, remember, I am going to fight for you, to keep you safe.
George Buxton, letter to brother (January, 1915)
There is no sin in volunteering. God means us to stand up for everything that's right, and if every Christian is going to stand out of the firing line because he thinks it's not for him, then what is left? It's a great mistake to say Christians shouldn't carry a rifle. I should hate to kill anybody, but then those carrying rifles are not murderers, they equally are human and don't love killing others, they do it because it's their duty. Especially in this war, where our cause is right, we didn't make the war, the blame doesn't rest on us, Germany forced it and will undoubtedly be punished by God.
Private George Morgan, Ist Bradford Pals, interviewed after the war.
We had been brought up to believe that Britain was the best country in the world and we wanted to defend her. The history taught us at school showed that we were better than other people and now all the news was that Germany was the aggressors and we wanted to show the Germans what we could do.
I thought it would be the end of the world if I didn't pass (the medical). People were being failed for all sorts of reasons. When I came to have my chest measured (I was only sixteen and rather small) I took a deep breath and puffed out my chest as far as I could and the doctor said "You've just scraped through". It was marvellous being accepted.
When I went back home and told my mother she said I was a fool and she'd give me a good hiding; but I told her, "I'm a man now, you can't hit a man".
source: αγγλικό σχολικό δίκτυο