there were not quite "Hommes 40" to a car, but it was too close to that figure for comfort, and wooden benches that were provided simply took up valuable space without making a comfortable seat. The arrival of a contingent of Australians returning from hospitals in England furnished some diversion. They greeted us enthusiastically and we found them a very jolly, likeable crowd, with methods and manners more like our own than like the English.

Finally, after dark, our train pulled out. We must have passed through Rouen around midnight and our first daylight stop was at Laigle, a little town where we had some "coffee." Laigle was only a name to us: we did not know where we were nor what we were bound for. The dearth of rumors was alarming, and it was a relief to learn at last that our destination was Guer, near which there was an artillery training camp. Guer was in Brittany, and further training seemed very desirable when we thought of various stories we had heard at Le Havre. Consequently, we were not altogether discontented, and the weather being good and the scenery interesting, we spent a very pleasant day. We passed Alencon and Laval, with their orderly rows of white stone houses, and about Ave o'clock rolled into Rennes, where the local Red Cross brought us out some very welcome hot soup.

As darkness came and the evening chill set in, we closed the side doors of the cars, and squirming into less cramped positions, slept, soothed by the steady rumble of the wheels beneath.

Itinerary Map

CONTENTS
INDEX