In England I had been accustomed to "battalion messes," but out here
such an arrangement was very rare. "Company messes" were the thing out
here. There were generally five messes in all--Headquarters and the four
companies. Major Brighten at once invited me to stay for lunch at
Headquarters and, when the meal was announced to be "served," told me to
sit next to him. I found him extremely interesting. The conversation
was most entertaining. The subject upon which his wit pivoted during a
good part of the meal was the Brigadier (always an interesting topic!),
his latest sayings and possible future career 'after the war'--a period
which Major Brighten always declared to be in the very near future. The
first thing which struck me about Major Brighten was his youth; he was
only twenty-seven. I had not been accustomed to such young senior
officers in England. In fact, youth seemed to be the foremost
characteristic of the Battalion. Nearly all the officers were extremely
young. And I learnt that Colonel Best-Dunkley himself was only
twenty-seven! It was the pride of the Battalion that it was led by
youth. If ever a proof were required of the truth of Disraeli's famous
maxim "The youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity," it is here
in the brilliant record of the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers.
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