On guard !

Another great photo courtesy of Ian Lewis. Three Askam-in-Furness "Terriers" enjoying a bit of relaxation - well out of sight of beady-eyed NCO's, no doubt. The soldier in the middle is, I believe, 1477, Private Thomas Hutchinson.

The photograph dates from the period, mid-August to late-November 1914, when the 4th Battalion was based in the south of England, engaged in guarding the Great Western Railway on the stretch of line between Paddington Station and Maidenhead. This is corroborated by the brewery name on the bottom of the bottle - Nicholsons (of Maidenhead). Brown Ale, most likely! Standards of dress do not seem to have been enforced particularly rigorously; note also the variety of footwear on display, with the man on the left wearing clogs. Definitely not Army-issue!

This period of the Battalion's activities during the Great War is only dealt with very briefly in Wadham and Crossley's history;

"The Battalion had left Ulverston on 11th August 1914 and had travelled by train to Slough. Here they were to spend three months guarding the Great Western Railway and its bridges between Paddington & Maidenhead. Accommodation along the line for both officers and men was at the station waiting rooms, without bedding, furnishings or comforts of any description. Great ingenuity was displayed by the members of several detachments to make their quarters more habitable. The Regimental history records,'The palm must be awarded to the Millom Detachment at Langley Park.’ They had scoured a lineside tip and found every conceivable type of kitchen utensil and erected an up to date kitchen. With the aid of a huge Beecham’s Pills advertising hoarding and some ‘borrowed’ waggon tarpaulines a commodious lean-to shelter was also erected. A tame fox and an Airedale terrier were frequent visitors. During this period a number of country men, not used to fast expresses, were killed and injured. Officers and N.C.O’s had an additional responsibility with discipline, as having young and inexperienced soldiers strung out over a 30 mile stretch in close proximity to London and other places of interest and pleasure had its problems. The Battalion achieved success in its spare moments at Cross Country Running and at football. At one point instructions were received to prepare part of the assembly for Egypt, but this order was countermanded, leaving the body intact. By the end of November a move had been made to Sevenoaks were they were billeted in empty houses at the St. John's end of town. Time here was spent in training and musketry practice. No Christmas leave was granted. The last week in February was spent in Margate prior to a move to Tonbridge on March 2nd 1915."

The best source of information lies in the contemporary local newspapers, which regularly printed letters and sketches illustrating what the local men were doing, official censorship permitting. My impression of this time is that they all considered it to be a great adventure, with few of them having any real appreciation of what was to come.