LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
NATIONAL RESERVE: THE WEST RIDING RE VIEW.
L-To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Knowing the interest that you take in the National Reserve you must have been very pleased when reading the account of the magnificent response of the men in Yorkshire on the occasion of the King's visit to Wentworth. The parade was a revelation to the people in this district. Whoever originated the idea of the men being inspected by his Majesty on the occasion of his visit to Yorkshire has struck a cord which will vibrate in the interests of the country. Although only a few days' notice was given (far too short to make all the necessary arrangements, and to let the scheme be generally known) even the most sanguine were impressed by the possibilities of the future. The men came up in the height of good spirits, and were delighted to meet old comrades and to feel themselves once more in military formation, and it was really touching in the extreme to see old men straightening themselves out and broadening their chests, and stepping with a feeling of pride that they were still able to take part in a patriotic display, and to know that they were still able to be of some use to their country. The marching of the men was in some instances perfect. The huge battalion from Leeds consisting of something like 1,200 men came up behind their band with a swing and smartness which is rarely seen even at Aldershot, and it was almost impossible to believe that these men had not moved in military formation, some of them, for ten or fifteen years. What was most striking amongst these men, as you have already pointed out in the cases of the parades in Surrey and in Hyde Park, was that a large proportion of the men were young and in the prime of life and vigour, and material of the finest quality. The way the various battalions from York, Leeds, Sheffield, and Barnsley, and so on, formed up in brigade left nothing to be desired. It certainly speaks well for our organization that these men should be collected and brought by train from long distances, and concentrated at Wentworth with practically no hitch in the arrangement. The arrangements were most creditable. The King himself was greatly impressed, although from his former inspections in the South he must have known what to expect ; but it is evident that he was deeply impressed by the amount of splendid material which passed in front of him.
I hope, now things have gone so far, that the War Office and County Associations will lose no time in appointing officers and organizing the various units, so that officers and men may get to know each other, and that the various units may have that feeling of esprit de corps that is essential if really solid work is to be done. At present we are groping very much in the dark as to what we are allowed to do and what we are not allowed -to do, and gatherings and parades
of the same kind as that on Monday last should take place not less than once a year, and smaller meetings of companies and detachments rather oftener. I believe that if this can . only be carried out the men will thoroughly enjoy meeting old comrades, but it must not be overdone.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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