VIRGIN SOLDERS

Musing about Lord Kitchener, whose saber-rattling speeches turned into sermons that garnered rapturous applause in Whitehall and Westminster. Unfortunately, his young, inexperienced soldiers were dying at a rate of 6,000 a day. He had "avoid wine and women" printed into their guidebooks for war, referring to French prostitutes. With a life expectancy of only 17 hours, contracting a little pox would have been the least of their worries.