The next day

Outside Dover

The Sun beamed down on Britain once again. Birds flew effortlessly through the air, singing loudly as they moved from tree to tree. Out in the many fields that surrounded Dover, horses and cows were grazing. Today, as some farmers put it, was "Another good day on God's green Earth"

On one of the many cobbled paths that led out from Dover, a group of men, dressed in light green tunics, light green trousers and black boots that were engulfed by the trousers and holding rifles on their shoulders, were marching up the path. They were in two rows numbering ten in each and both going down in single file. Another man was standing at the front right side of the group. It was Gomer. As he had said to his men yesterday in the barracks, he was taking them out on a march from Dover up to a nearby village and then back to the barracks.

So far the men were not enjoying this, apart from the scenery that was around them. Not only were they having to walk around dressed like it was winter and holding a rifle, but they were also weighed down with rations that they would get when they were at the front, a water bottle, a few clips of live rounds and also a bit of cloth to clean their boots, and all of this was in a backpack they were wearing. In this weather, it was boiling hot. Most of the men were starting to sweat a little bit.

At the front of the group, on the left row, was Wally. Next to him was another soldier called Robert, who was about Wally's height with black hair, brown eyes and was quite strong, which had come from his job as he used to help his father in their village's blacksmith. He was only seventeen as well, about three months younger than Wally.

Wally gazed at the scenery around them. He smiled. It was like being back at the farm. He sighed a little. He missed his old life back on his farm. If only he could return there, but the sad thing was those days were well and truly behind him now. He was no longer a farm worker. He was a soldier in training.

"Keep your eyes on the path ahead of you, soldier," Gomer's voice barked out at him, snapping Wally back into reality from his daydream.

"Sorry, Gofer," Wally muttered under his breath.

Gofer was a nickname the group had given to Gomer; obviously they did not call him by it. They had nicknamed him Gofer because he was a fast eater; Robert had told everyone else this when he was down in the mess hall with Gomer and said it was like he was shovelling food into his mouth, and also because he was well known for being a fast digger when he worked in the mines, which the group had found out because another person who worked with Gofer in the mines was here as well and he told them.

The group marched on down the cobbled road. Not far ahead of them was a small cobbled path that led off the road and into a field. At least there, it would be a bit cooler for the group as there was a light breeze blowing. However, they were not going there. The village they would be going to was further up the road, about another mile or so. They would be there soon.

Hal sighed in boredom. This march was not fun at all, especially with Gomer (Gofer) leading it. He was trying to think of something to pass the time. He could not talk or look around because eagle boy at the front was looking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure everyone was focused.

Then, something crept into his mind. It was a song. An American one called "Pride of Idaho", a favourite of his. He could not sing it, but he could whistle it. Gofer had not said anything against whistling whilst they were on the march.

Hal began to whistle the background music for "Pride of Idaho". Sure enough, Gomer turned to see who was whistling.

"Whoever's whistling, pack it in unless you want a boot up the backside!" he barked.

Hal ceased his whistling. Oh great, now they could not whistle as well. Wow, this was more boring than he thought. Wait, what if he hummed "Pride of Idaho"? Yes, that sounded like a better idea than whistling and there was Gomer would hear him. He began to hum the song as quietly as he could. He looked up at Gomer, who had not turned round at the sound of the humming. Hal smiled to himself. Good, he had not heard that. He could hum the song the rest of the way to the village.

He began to hum again, only this time it was suddenly louder for some reason. Gomer and a few heads turned to see who was humming. Hal looked next to him. The soldier next to him, a small blonde haired boy about sixteen who was a bit shorter than him, had decided to join in in the humming. Gomer stopped the group and walked up to them, pushing past William and another soldier who were standing in front of Hal and the soldier.

"If I hear one more noise from either of you, you'll be getting a boot up the backside!" he growled at them. "Do you hear me?"

The two nodded. Gomer walked back to his position at the front right side of the group. As Hal watched him, he saw Wally and a few other soldiers' glares follow him. They really did not like him! They were all willing to choose a different commander. Any other commander to train them would have been fine, but instead they get stuck with the one who takes the training rules far too seriously.

"Right, let's march on without any noises!" he said to the group, adding a stern tone on the word without.

The group marched on down the road. Hal sighed. He was now beginning to regret joining the army. This training was boring. It had no fun at all, not even the slightest.

At least It's only for a few months he thought hopefully as they marched on, looking down at the ground as Gomer turned to see if they were reaming focused on the march rather than daydreaming.