Organisations > Roll of honour of Caxton House Printing Office, Dundee

Coli?i D. Smith
folded, were disposed in readiness upon the floor, and
Colin and his pal, having selected each his conch, lay
down upon the floor to try to win an hour or two of
sleep ere the bugle should call them to the new experi-
ences awaiting them.
Reveille at 5.30 summoned the Guards to rise and
dress, and again at six o'clock to " Fall in for roll call.''
Our recruits were directed to stand aside for the
moment, then to follow the Guards to the stables, to
watch them cleaning out the stalls and watering and
feeding the horses.
At 7.30 the bugle sounded for breakfast, which was
served in the verandah at small tables, seated for three
men at each side. The meal commenced with porridge
and syrup, " but none of us could take it," Colin says,
"because we had been accustomed to milk at home!"
Tea and kippers followed the unwelcome dish, however,
and the lads took a hearty breakfast.
At ten o'clock our recruits were again sent with the
guardsmen to the stables, to receive their first lesson in
grooming the horses and in general stable work. Then
at 12.30 they sat down to the best dinner they had had
since joining the army — a stew with potatoes and
cabbage, and a custard pudding with milk and pine-
apple chunks. In the afternoon they received their new
rifles. This was a lengthy proceeding, as the rifles were
all numbered, and these numbers had to be registered
with the names of the recipients.
Next morning after roll-call parade, the recruits
were cheered with a cup of coffee and a biscuit, before
setting out to the morning's stable work. Our lad
w r as at first rather shy of touching the horses, but he
was interested to see how the guardsmen handled
them, and to observe how obedient the animals were.
After breakfast, Colin and his comrades were each
presented with a horse, and were shown how to saddle
it and how to mount it. Our cavaliers then, bolder
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