ne. And I may say that I am of a very decided opinion that
_if_ it is a _complete success_ there is not a shade of doubt but that
peace will be signed in September; but unless it is a complete success
we shall have to wait for Maude and Murray in Asia Minor.... This battle
is not going to be fought just yet; we have to practise it all first!

"There is no harm in telling you that the Colonel told us that we should
remain billeted in this village for the remainder of this month at
least. And it is a delightful little village to be in. But we are an
hour and a half's march from the divisional training area where we are
now going to proceed for training every day....

"Every time June 18 comes round I cannot help thinking of the great
drama brought to a close on that day in 1815. Before many weeks have
passed I myself will probably partake in the operations of another
Waterloo fought upon the blood-stained soil of unhappy Belgium! I always
said that I would be in at the finish whether that finish happens to be
in Belgium, on the Rhine, or in Palestine, didn't I?"

Yes, It was my destiny to be "in at the finish;" but the finish was not,
as so many of our optimists then thought it would be, at Ypres in 1917!
The decisive victory was not to be ours until Foch and Sir Henry Wilson
were at the head of military affairs and D'Esperey at Cerna and Allenby
at Armageddon had won their Waterloo in the September of 1918; and when
Stockwell's Force fired the last shots at Ath in Belgium I was there!

CHAPTER VII

THE VALE OF ACQUIN

We now commenced that early rising and continuous training with which we
soon became heartily "fed up."

"June 19th.

"I rose at 3.30 this morning, made a hurried breakfast, and went on
parade at 4.15. We marched about three miles to the training area. Our
dress on this occasion was without tunics, but Sam Brown and other
articles of equipment over our shirts; shirt-sleeves rolled up. When we
reached very open country, high up on the moorland, a thunder-storm came
on and we were drenched! It was splendid. As we were wet through, we
marched back to our village again when it got fine! It was quite fine
again when we got back. It is just a little cooler now, but is quite
fine and warm.

"At 11 we had a conference at Battalion Headquarters. The Colonel
informed us that we are moving again, after all, to-morrow! We are going
to another village eighteen miles away. I expect the reason is becau