Rev. Rupert Inglis 189 



digging out men who had fallen and were too weak to rise. 



" The Colonel of the Battalion was killed by a shell splinter 

 towards the end of the assault, and before he had the happiness 

 of knowing that his Shropshires had gained the day. The 

 officer who then took command was, he tells me, ' born in the 

 regiment,' which was commanded by his father before him in 

 years gone by. 



"It is a long way from Flanders to that little county of 

 Shropshire, where the orchards must be white with blossom now, 

 but not too far, I think, for the story I have told to thrill many 

 hearts in the old farmsteads there. The Shropshire lads have 

 done well, and England will be proud of them for that night's 

 work." 



Writing after this splendid work of the Shropshires, Mr. 

 Inglis says : 



" On Sunday I had to wake the doctor. He had been two 

 days and nights without sleep. I had the greatest difficulty in 

 waking him at all, but at last he sat up and talked to me for 

 at least twenty minutes and told me everything. 



" A few days later, when meeting the same doctor, he began 

 to tell some of his experiences all over again, not having the 

 faintest recollection of ever having mentioned the subject 

 before." 



This is by no means uncommon when individuals have 

 been through great mental strain. 



Writing of the Colonel's death he says, " I went to see 

 Luard. He was not conscious. A telegram came later to say 

 he was dead. He is to have a military funeral and I am taking 

 it to-morrow. He zvas a good chap. . . ." 



After the funeral was over he writes of it, saying, " It was 

 a beautiful day. The officers and one hundred and fifty men 

 went in lorries to the cemetery for the Colonel's funeral. It was 

 an impressive service. Our cemetery is beautifully looked 

 after, and is just a mass of daffodils now. At the end of the 

 service it has always been the custom to sound the bugles. I 

 asked that we might have the Reveille sounded after the Last 

 Post, and Murray agreed. It was suggested to me by the 

 Brigadier, and it is such a nice idea that I thought it was worth 

 adopting." 



