Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III BILLETS A the time of my arrival the Regiment had just sent up a large working party to the neighbourhood of Loos. This party had taken away from the Squadroon more than half its effective strength. The result was that we found ourselves in the situation most distressing to the cavalryman, of having only one man to every four or even five horses; and consequently of having the whole of our time taken up with the monotonous routine of watering, feeding, grooming and exercising this large number of animals with a so small proportion of men. Exercise was held before breakfast; and, to ease things as much as possible by getting all the horses exercised in one party, every officer turned out, riding one of his own chargers and leading the other two. In this way both first and second servants were set free to lend a much-needed hand in their own Troops. Theoretically, this exercise was a fruitful period of instruction. A great deal was said and written about it by the Higher Command. It provided a providential outlet for the literary activities of an energetic but out-of-work Staff. A continual stream of paper concerning it flowed steadily down the properchannels to the Troop and Section Leaders, gathering volume in its course from the suggestions and remarks of the offices through which it passed. A time like this, the pamphlets ran, when, owing to the absence of the working party, we were entirely relieved of Regimental, Brigade and Higher Training, was exceptionally favourable to the training of the individual. While out at exercise, it was ordained, Squadron Leaders would propound tactical problems to their subalterns; subalterns would in turn pass these on to their Section Leaders; Section Leaders would instil them into the bony heads of their men. Map reading ...