The majority of our fellows had never been in England before, and they looked on our travels at that time as a fine lark. Everybody cheered and laughed when they dusted off one of those little toy trains and brought it up to take us away in it. After we were aboard of it we proceeded at the dizzy rate of about four miles an hour, and our regular company humorist no company complete without one— suggested that they were afraid. If they went any faster, they might run off the Island before they could stop. We were taken to Bramshott camp, in Hampshire, twelve miles from the Aldershot school of command. The next day we were given "king's leave" — eight days, with free transportation anywhere in the British Isles, the invariable custom to give this sort of leave to all colonial troops immediately upon their arrival in England. However, in our case Ireland was barred. Just at that time Ireland was no place for a newly arrived Canadian looking for sport.
After that they really began to make soldiers of us. We thought our training in Canada had amounted to something. We found out that we might as well have been playing croquet.
After that they really began to make soldiers of us. 