Soldier
the beginning.
The year was 1914 and I, Bobbie Colt, had just turned the sweet age of twenty-one. It was in this year that my life would turn upside down and I didn't even know it yet. I joined the war wondering what it would be like to die. My friends had spoken so fondly of dying for one's country that it came as a shock to me that they could know so much without any experience of the matter. Living in the city made it easy for me to be swept up in all the commotion over the imminent war and I guess that was what made everything easier when the call to arms reached my doorstep. My mother cried for hours after she'd seen my conscription letter, whereas my father smiled proudly and patted me on the back. I didn't know how to react, so I did nothing.
My mother, the sweet lady that she is, packed and organised everything I needed for the war, albeit very little. I thanked her graciously and left to join my friends to protect our country from the Germans. I didn't know any Germans, so I never really understood what all the fuss was about. But I guess it was simply a matter of honour, of keeping one's word and helping one's allies. After all, the French would do the same for us if we got invaded, or at least that's what they say. It took us several days to reach our post, we had been assigned to the trenches in the north of France, and although we travelled for a shorter time than some of our comrades it still felt like an eternity. It was an eternity of war songs and beautiful countrysides making way for the battleground. I preferred the countryside.
When we arrived we were sent to our posts by high ranked men that liked to shout. I wouldn't say they scared me as such but they did make me feel uncomfortable under their glare, we were their pawns in the field of battle. I was put in a small group along the furthest line from the base, the only people I knew in that group was James and Ben. They were the loudest of our group, it must be said, and when they heard that we were put together they rejoiced like it was already the end of the war. I never understood how they could have been so excited by war, especially one that they were fighting in. The other soldiers in our line, I learned their names later; Jack, Sebastian and Matthew, kept to themselves more so than James and Ben. Although Sebastian did join in when the two of them began to sing traditional English songs.
Jack was the next man to come around and we learned very quickly that he liked his drink and hated the French. When I commented on the irony of his situation he told me he hated the Germans more, so he could put aside his differences and fight alongside the French. Matthew, on the other hand, was a very quiet boy, barely a man. When I'd asked him how old he was he'd replied quickly that he was 18, he couldn't look me in the eyes as he'd said it. Very soon after our pleasantries we got word that our first assault was to commence the next day, Jack drunk like a fish that night and in the early hours of the morning we were awoken by our general. We were to ready our weapons and wait for the signal before climbing over the top. My heart had never beaten in my chest so rapidly.
My mother, the sweet lady that she is, packed and organised everything I needed for the war, albeit very little. I thanked her graciously and left to join my friends to protect our country from the Germans. I didn't know any Germans, so I never really understood what all the fuss was about. But I guess it was simply a matter of honour, of keeping one's word and helping one's allies. After all, the French would do the same for us if we got invaded, or at least that's what they say. It took us several days to reach our post, we had been assigned to the trenches in the north of France, and although we travelled for a shorter time than some of our comrades it still felt like an eternity. It was an eternity of war songs and beautiful countrysides making way for the battleground. I preferred the countryside.
When we arrived we were sent to our posts by high ranked men that liked to shout. I wouldn't say they scared me as such but they did make me feel uncomfortable under their glare, we were their pawns in the field of battle. I was put in a small group along the furthest line from the base, the only people I knew in that group was James and Ben. They were the loudest of our group, it must be said, and when they heard that we were put together they rejoiced like it was already the end of the war. I never understood how they could have been so excited by war, especially one that they were fighting in. The other soldiers in our line, I learned their names later; Jack, Sebastian and Matthew, kept to themselves more so than James and Ben. Although Sebastian did join in when the two of them began to sing traditional English songs.
Jack was the next man to come around and we learned very quickly that he liked his drink and hated the French. When I commented on the irony of his situation he told me he hated the Germans more, so he could put aside his differences and fight alongside the French. Matthew, on the other hand, was a very quiet boy, barely a man. When I'd asked him how old he was he'd replied quickly that he was 18, he couldn't look me in the eyes as he'd said it. Very soon after our pleasantries we got word that our first assault was to commence the next day, Jack drunk like a fish that night and in the early hours of the morning we were awoken by our general. We were to ready our weapons and wait for the signal before climbing over the top. My heart had never beaten in my chest so rapidly.
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