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Letter from Bernard King to Harry & Ethel King dated 17th September 1916.

113rd Siege Battery R.G.A.

France 17th Sept 1916

Sunday

My Dear Harry & Ethel,

            I yesterday received your letters dated the 10th instant – last Sunday – and am very much obliged to you both.

            I am now having the time of my life as I am with our Ammunition Column and enjoying a good rest.  It is splendid here: we are camped in a field some miles from the firing line and can only just hear our own guns.  Everything is nice and clean and there are no shell holes about, the war except for the traffic up and down the roads has not made any mark just in the immediate neighbourhood, but the one time villages which are scattered about are very battered.  It is glorious to be living in a roomy tent after having been confined to pokey little dugouts.  I have had several runs on the motor lorries and it is wonderfully interesting behind the lines: one sees more of the War behind the lines in a couple of days than up in the lines during a couple of months.

            I saw yesterday’s “Continental Daily Mail” & was glad to see the War News continues very good.  Up to the present Alan has not been in this district & I hope he will not have to come here – it is not over healthy for any one.  Our Battery are having a busy time once again six words blue pencilled out. I wonder if you have seen the picture “The Battle of the Somme”: I notice that one house refused to show it as it was a place of amusement & not a chamber of horrors.  It is glorious weather and in the field we are in French women are gathering in the crops – after three months of guns, shells you cannot imagine how delightful it is.

            Yours with best love,

                        Bernard.

In On Active Service envelope addressed to Mr & Mrs Harry R King, Esq., Glen Hilda, Park Avenue, Worcester, England.

Ansd 24/9/16

Postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE R.5.  18 SP 16.  Hexagonal PASSED FIELD CENSOR 3624.  Signed F.L.K. Fletcher.

Maj Scovell

Bonham says that he put Col Kentish’s tie pin in to a small glass bottle in his dressing case – which contained studs etc.

W.S.L.

11/4/16

Room 51,

Headquarters,

Northern Command,

York.

12th April, 1916.

My dear R.J.K.

I cannot quite make out yet whether you are a Brigadier General or not, so forgive me if I am addressing this letter wrongly, but think it would be unlucky for you if I were to anticipate things.

As regards your Pin, Bonham says he put it into a small glass bottle in your dressing case, which holds studs etc.  I hope it is there all right.  Let me know if it isn’t.  Thank you very much for your paper re Sniping.  I conclude it came from you.  Also please send me more documents of the kind which you may have.  They are very useful, and we get devilish little out of the War Office.

Yours ever

Lieut Col R.J. Kentish, D.S.O.

c/o General Staff

Headquarters

3rd Army

France.

I gave the N.C.O’s 50 minutes on morale etc to-night & rubbed it in well.  I will continue.

G.J.S.

Letter to Rev Walters from A W Hanson

Postcard to Rev Walters from A W Hanson 2 Nov 15

Revd Sir,

            Pte Gibbins has had his marriage certificate forwarded to him, it was found in Leicester.

            Sorry to trouble you.

            Kind regards

            Will

Postcard addressed to Revd T.W. Walters, The Vicarage, Whitwick, Nr Leicester.  Angleterre.

Card postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 138.  2 NO 15.

PASSED BY CENSOR 405 in triangular cachet in red.

Letter to Rev Walters from C Priest

Pte C Priest 10080 A Compy 6 Batt Leics Regt British Expeditionary Force.

Sir I just write these few lines to you hoping to find you quite well as I am in the trenches and we have has a lot of rain and we was up shoes tops and it was very coald here and I was sorry to here about my pals Pte Rabbits and Pte unwood as I was olly taking to them the night befor they got killed and I have been to Pte unwood graive and it look very nice and the people don’t realize what this war is but we do what are out here and I hope all the single chaps will do there best and come and help us for we need all of them and I very often sing on the resserection morning body and of will live no more this is my favourite hymn and it makes us think about the others and my god give me strength to come back to my wife and childing and may god look over us all so I think this is all this time from yours truly Mr C Priest from Whitwick.

In envelope addressed to The Vicarage, Leicester Road, Whitwick, Nr Coalville, Leicestershire.  England.  On back COALVILLE LEICESTER 4 NO 15.

Letter postmarked FIELD POST OFFICE 110.  2 NO 15.

PASSED BY CENSOR 1948 in triangular cachet in red.

Tyneside Scottish Brigade Orders.

BRIGADE ORDERS.

BY BRIGADIER-GENERAL TREVOR TERNAN, C.M.G., D.S.O.,

COMMANDING 102nd (TYNESIDE SCOTTISH) BRIGADE.

HEADQUARTERS, ALNWICK,

7th July, 1915.

477 – District Court-Martial –

            The detail of Officers as mentioned in Brigade Order No. 470 of 5th July, 1915, will re-assemble at the Court- Martial Room, The Havens, North Demesne, Alnwick, on Thursday, 8th July, 1915, at 10 a.m., for the purpose of trying by District Court-Martial the accused person named in the margin:-

The accused will be warned, and all witnesses duly required to attend.

The proceedings will be forwarded to the G.O.C., 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade, “Alnbank” Alnwick.

In the margin.  No. 1305 Pte. J. Nicholson, 21st (S.) Bttn, Northumberland Fusiliers (2nd Tyneside Scottish).

478 – Paper on Training Areas –

            Officers Commanding Units will take immediate steps to warn their men not to leave paper lying about the Training Areas, as apart from being extremely untidy, it is injurious to stock.

479 – Command Orders – Attention called to –

            The attention of Officers Commanding Units is called to Northern Command Orders 1193 and 1194 of 5th July, 1915.

T.L.B. SOUTRY, Captain,

Brigade-Major, 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade.