THE VETERAN RESERVE FROM WITHIN. [To THE EDITOR 07 THE
"SPECTATOR."] Sin,—Your readers will have seen various descriptions of last Saturday's parade of the Surrey Veteran Reserve as witnessed by onlookers from outside; perhaps a note from one who stood in the ranks may be of interest. There were certain features of the parade which possibly would escape the notice of a casual spectator. In the first place, the precision of movement of the troops was really remarkable. In companies formed up for the first time, when the men are not used to drilling with those standing near them, you would expect occasional clumsiness. I did not see a mistake in drill, and the way in which the colour-sergeants and other non-commissioned officers handled their men and got them to pick up the movements smartly was most noticeable. I was particularly struck with the movements with which the men, after standing easy, took up their places and dressing. It was very cold standing still, and when the companies were told to stand easy some of the men, catching sight of their old comrades, stepped a few paces away, and stood talking and joking—apparently inattentive and heedless of what was going on. Sud- denly, at the necessary moment, with hardly a word from the non-commissioned officers, the men had fallen again into their places and taken up their own dressing ; and when they formed fours the precision with which they moved showed that not a man had made a mistake in his place or number. Another point as regards drill was worth notice. The men had evidently only recently left the ranks of the Regular Army, or Volunteers, to whichever they happened to belong ; that is, only in the last six or seven years. You could tell that at once from the way in which they stood at ease. I did not see a man move his hands or feet in the old way, with the hands to the front and right foot to the rear. For veterans they seemed to me to be as young and fit as any body of men which could be imagined taking the field. But there was more than drill to take the eye and fire the imagination. Nothing that I saw impressed me so profoundly as the greetings exchanged among officers, non-commissioned officers, and men. Before the inspection, probably unseen by any of the officers present with Lord Roberts, there were several colonels and company officers—apparently they had come to the parade from a distance, for they were not members of the S.V.R.—who were going round the companies picking out a man here and there who had served under them, and it was pleasant to hear the inquiries after friends and comrades. But even better were the greetings exchanged among the men. Now and then, as the companies formed up in turn, or as the men looked about them, you would see a man catch sight of an old friend, possibly a few paces distant, possibly half-way across the parade ground. After a little you would hear a name called, or some old regi- mental joke, or a nickname which would make the men who knew it turn round ; then the two would catch each other's eyes. Imagination went back to the time and place when that nickname was last heard or that joke laughed over—in India, perhaps, or South Africa, or on the troop- ship steaming up the Channel. To hear those names and jokes and to look at the medals on the men's coats was to gain an added impression of comradeship and sentiment from what was, from any point of view, an extremely practical demonstration.—I am, Sir, &c., COMPANY OFFICER, S.V.R.
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