1914, war has been declared and thousands of men all over the world are preparing to fight for King and Country on the front line in France.
Jerry Banes, a 19 year old boy who lives with his father and younger sister is one of these men, called upon in Britain's hour of need. Jerry was a rather normal boy, he had high hopes for his future and his dark hair and strong figure was to help him get there. He was a very intelligent boy with good brains and anybody who knew him would never have imagined him ever willing to join the army. But he did.
It was a dull morning, no sun in the sky, no birds in the trees, simply silence. All was quiet in the city because the first train to France was about to depart the station, jam-packed with men and boys all believing they'll be home for tea.
A young boy, not much younger than Jerry sat staring out the window throughout the entire journey, shaking like a leaf and muttering to himself. He was a rather strange boy, he looked like he'd never had a proper meal in his life and all his flaming red hair was sticking out at all angles making him look even worse for wear. He didn't say a word until the train pulled into the station and only then did he say no more than four words.
"We're going to die". Jerry was slightly put out by the sudden outburst from the boy and wasn't sure how to respond, instead he settled with simply a nod.
Most of the men looked almost as terrified as the boy on the train, their white faces staring blankly appearing not to be taking in their surroundings. The boy on the train turned out to be in the same dugout as Jerry. After a short time Jerry and the boy began talking and Jerry discovered his name was Tim. Tim had a very keen knowledge of animals and his dream was to be a vet, working in the centre of London; he was supposed to be studying at Cambridge University but was forced to join the army meanwhile.
The two boys had a lot in common and soon became good friends; they went on watch together in the evenings and stood beside one another when they made almost fatal mistakes: the two boys were inseparable.
"Gather round men! You have been here for 3 months now and we are allowing you a day in the local town to freshen your minds ready for the big push next week...now you will need to stay in pairs at all times as it is uncertain if any of those swines will be there... be sure not to give any information away that may be used against us... other than that, enjoy yourselves." The sergeant departed followed by a line of men in pairs and headed for a dusty road leading to the local town and a sense of freedom for all of the men.
