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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Amateur Army, by Patrick MacGill This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Amateur Army
Author: Patrick MacGill
Release Date: June 16, 2005 [EBook #16078]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE AMATEUR ARMY
BY PATRICK MACGILL
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
CHILDREN OF THE DEAD END
THE RAT-PIT
[Illustration: RIFLEMAN PATRICK MACGILL]
HERBERT JENKINS LIMITED ARUNDEL PLACE HAYMARKET LONDON S.W. MCMXV
Wyman & Sons Ltd., Printers, London and Reading.
PREFACE
I am one of the million or more male residents of the United Kingdom, who a year ago had no special yearning towards military life, but who joined the army after war was declared. At Chelsea I found myself a unit of the 2nd London Irish Battalion, afterwards I was drilled into shape at the White City and training was concluded at St. Albans, where I was drafted into the 1st Battalion. In my spare time I wrote several articles dealing with the life of the soldier from the stage of raw "rooky" to that of finished fighter. These I now pub