The Shornecliffe Camp on the the South East Coast of England – just across the English Channel from Northern France. It is now where the chunnel to France begins. It is here that this continegent of some 40,000 Canadian soldiers will undergo more training before heading to the front lines in France.
But before the men can resume training with the other Battalions they are first placed into quarantine for a month in nearby Dibgate. This was a precaution taken to prevent the spreading of diseases that were often incurred on the trip overseas. The men spent their quarantine in tents – four to a tent in Dibgate. The quarantine also acted as some down time for the men before they entered more intense training. They were well fed and looked after. Apparently baseball was a popular pastime for the men. But given many were, like Robert , British born one has to wonder whether some of the baseball was closer to cricket in style. After quarantine the men were rewarded with some time off. It probably wasn’t enough time for Robert to go visit his family in Preston – though anything is possible. It is more likely he would have gone to London, England to enjoy himself and possibly meet friends and family there.