Category Archives: 1917

War Diary of 2/6th Sherwood Foresters August 1917

War Diary of 2/6th Sherwood Foresters August 1917

 

 

Place       Date    Hour                                                Summary of Events and Information

 

LE MESNIL     1/8/17                                                            Fighting Strength  Officers       14

O.35.Centeal 57c S.W.                                                                        Other Ranks  480

 

1/8/17- 24/8/17            The Battn was in Rest Camp at LE MESNIL during which time training was carried out.  Sports, Rifle Meetings & Boxing competitions were held.

1/8/17                          ”B” Coy Field Firing at LIGNY TILLOY.

2/8/17                          ”C”   do              do             do

3/8/17                          ”D”   do             do              do

11/8/17                        Div Tactical Exercise.  Trench to Trench attack on LE TRANSLOY.

15/8/17                        Practice Night Raid on Trenches at U.12.d.50.75. carried out by ”C” & ”D” Coys under Capt. F.D. Stones.

LE MESNIL   18/8/17

O.35. Central

57c S.W.                                             Brigade Tactical Exercise.   Trench to Trench attack by night at SAILLY SAILLISEL.

24th       8. am.             Battn moved by Motor Bus to LE SARS and from there by march route to MARTINSART (W.10.c.3.8 ALBERT Sheet).

31st 8 am.                     Battn marched to BEAUCOURT station & entrained for HAZEBROUKE and from thence to J.2.b.8.8. sheet 27 into XIX Corps Area.

Fighting Strength Officers      18

Other Ranks   816

Lieut. Col.  Cdg. 2/6th Bn.  Sherwood Foresters

 

September 1917

September 1917

Passchendaele

Due to the terrible weather conditions, Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), postponed further operations in Flanders on the 25th August 1917. Haig had been assured German morale was deteriorating and was therefore determined to continue the battle. He decided to place the next phase in the hands of General Sir Herbert Plumer, the commander of the Allied Army who had taken Messines Ridge in June 1917. For the first time infantry from Australia and South Africa were to play a major role at the centre of the Salient; they were joined later by New Zealanders, veterans of Messines. Plumer was directed to take the Gheluvelt Plateau, and proposed a four-phase operation, spearheaded by X and I Anzac Corps with II Anzac in reserve. The southern part of his front was entrusted to IX and VIII Corps with only three divisions between them. He had 1,295 guns to support the assault, and requested three and a half million shells. Although he had been required to take over the 5th Army’s front as far as the Ypres-Roulers railway line, he was still attacking with twice the force over half the frontage assailed on the 31st July 1917, with double the artillery support. The Battle of Menin Road Ridge developed according to plan. When the sun broke through the Royal Flying Corp (RFC) maintained constant air patrols, reporting on German movements and giving field-headquarters a clearer appreciation of the battle. The bombardment began on the 31st August 1917 and the infantry attacked at 5.40 on the morning of the 20th September 1917. They moved quickly behind the creeping barrage, and by midday the 2nd Army had reached most of its objectives on the ridge, overrunning much of the German second line. Attacking on the left, the 5th Army also made good progress.  When the German counter-attack was launched, British guns threw a curtain of fire in front of the newly captured positions and raked the German forces as they came up rendering them inefficient. The Germans came up against a defensive position already organised in depth and protected by an artillery barrage. Most remaining objectives were seized in the next few days, and Plumer’s first phase had taken much of the vital ground.

 

At Pilkem Ridge at approximately 10.30 pm on the 22nd September 1917, Harry Patch who was part of a five-man Lewis gun team was crossing open ground in single file when a shell exploded near them. Harry was hit in the stomach by a piece of flying shrapnel, but the three crew members who carried the ammunition were not so fortunate as they were killed. Harry was transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station where the shrapnel was removed and he was ordered to be returned to Britain (Blighty) to recover from his injuries. This injury was to effectively end Harry’s war. In October 1916, whilst serving as an apprentice plumber, Harry received notice that he was required for conscription into the army. He already had some idea what he would be facing as his as his brother had just been released from hospital after having been wounded. Upon entering service Harry was accepted as a member of a Lewis gun team. Having finished his training in May 1917, he embarked for France in June 1917, where he entered service with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He joined a Lewis gun crew as No. 2 gunner, and the five-man crew were ordered to the front line at Ypres. The crew served from June to September 1917 and fought at the Battle of Langemarck during the heavy rains of August 1917, and their next action was at Pilkem Ridge from mid-August to September 1917. It was this action when the shell exploded and Harry was seriously wounded. Having been told he was going home to Blighty to hospital he was taken to Rouen whence he was ferried across to Southampton, then on to a hospital in Liverpool. He was allowed home for Christmas leave but had to go back to Birmingham to convalesce. Eventually, in August 1918, he returned to the Regimental depot at Bodmin but the ligament damage he had sustained when he landed on the machine gun parts were still troubling him and he was transferred to Handsworth Hospital for treatment. On the 11th November 1918, the Armistice was signed and the war was over. When he was released from hospital he went back to his profession as a plumber. Harry died on the 25th July 2009 (aged 111 years), and his claim to fame was his long life and the fact he was the last British “Tommy” who had fought in the trenches. His front-line experience was relatively short, landing in France in June 1917 and being wounded in September 1917, but he remembered the constant danger, the rats, the lice and the fear of attacking or crawling through the mud. He stayed in touch with Bob Haynes, his No. 1 gunner, from 1918 until Bob’s death in the 1970’s although they were actually never to meet up again. Harry always saw the 22nd Sept as his Rembrance Day, not Armistace Day on the 11th November, and when he received The French Légion d’Honneur in 1999 he wore the medal as a dedication to three friends he had lost at Pilkem Ridge.  Harry didn’t speak about his experiences until he was in his 90’s then felt he should speak out to honour his fallen comrades so they would not be forgotten and that their sacrifice would be remembered.

The second phase, taken on the 26th September 1917, saw Plumer’s Australian forces take Polygon Wood while the 5th Army took Zonnebeke. These gains made it easier for British observers to see German counter-attack divisions moving up. The Germans revised their counter-attack plans, before moving more troops forward, full artillery preparation was required before any counter-attacks were despatched. The new system was put to the test when Plumer took his third phase on 4th October 1917.

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The Eastern Front

The Battle of Jugla was a defensive battle of the Russian Republic’s 23th Army from the 1st to 3rd September 1917. Jugla is a river near the Latvian town of Riga and Latvia is on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. To the north is Lithuania, to the south is Estonia and Russia is in the west. The main objective for the Russian 12th Army was to prevent the German 8th Army from crossing the Daugava River and besieging Russian troops. The battle took place at the banks of the river Jugla. One of the main units involved was a brigade of 6.000 Latvian Riflemen from the 2nd Latvian Rifles. German generals began to prepare for the battle as early as December 1916. It was decided to cross the Daugava River and quickly advance north and northwest. This had two intended purposes, to cause the surrender of the Russian 12th Army and to capture Riga. This would allow the Germans to straighten their front line and to release up a number of German divisions, which would then be deployed to France. On the morning of the 1st September 1917, after a three-hour artillery bombardment,   the Germans launched an assault and began the construction of three wooden pontoon bridges over the river Daugava. The 66 Russian artillery guns were fully suppressed by the 1159 German opposing guns, and the artillery fire forced the Russian 187th Division to withdraw from the right bank of the Daugava. This allowed the Germans to successfully cross the river. The Russian commander ordered the Russians, together with the 2nd Latvian Rifle Brigade, to counter-attack the German bridgehead. The combined Russian/Latvian force started to move against the Germans on the 1st September 1917 the 5th Zemgale Latvian Riflemen Regiment reached the fortified German positions along the Jugla river in the late afternoon. After heavy shelling at midday on the 2nd September 1917 by German artillery, the German attack against the Latvian Riflemen positions began. The Germans used aviation, flamethrowers and gas along the 14 km front line of the bridgehead. Despite all this the Latvian Riflemen managed to hold back the German advance for 26 hours. This allowed the 12th Russian Army and the 1st Latvian Rifleman Brigade to safely withdraw from Riga which was lost to the advancing Germans. In the morning of the 3rd September 1917, the Latvian units were ordered to retreat and they took up their defensive positions near Sigulda and Césis. The Battle of Jugla inflicted heavy casualties upon the Latvian riflemen units. The 5th Zemgale and the 6th Tukums regiments lost more than half of their forces. The 7th Bauska’s and 8th Valmiera regiments also suffered heavy casualties. However, an important objective had been achieved, as the Russian 12th Army had managed to withdraw intact from Riga and safely retreat to Vidzeme.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov attempted a military coup d’état against the Russian Provisional Government in August 1917. Alexander Kerensky, Russia’s Prime Minister had fallen out with Kornilov over military policy. On the 7th September, Kornilov demanded the resignation of the Cabinet and the surrender of all military and civil authority to the Commander-in-Chief. Kerensky responded by dismissing Kornilov from office and ordering him back to Petrograd, but Kornilov sent troops under the leadership of General Krymov to take control of Petrograd. Kerensky was now in danger and so he called on the Soviets and the Red Guards to protect Petrograd. The Bolsheviks, who controlled these organisations, agreed to this request, but in a speech made by their leader, Vladimir Lenin, he made it clear they would be fighting against Kornilov rather than for Kerensky. Armed recruits were enlisted to defend Petrograd, trenches were dug, the city fortified, and delegations of troops were sent to talk to the advancing Krymov soldiers. After meetings were held Kornilov’s soldiers refused to attack Petrograd. Krymilov committed suicide and Kornilov was arrested and taken into custody. Kerensky’s next move, on the 15th September 1917, was to proclaim to proclaim Russia a republic. Kerensky’s major challenge was that Russia was exhausted after three years of its participation in the Great War. The provisional government offered very little motivation for victory but would continue its obligations towards the Allies. The continued involvement in the war was not popular among the civilians and especially the soldiers. They all believed Russia would stop fighting when the Provisional Government took power, and now they felt deceived. Lenin and his Bolshevik party were promising “peace, land and bread” under a communist system. Lack of discipline in the army led to desertion in large numbers.  By autumn 1917, an estimated two million men had unofficially left the army. In the meantime, Kerensky and the other political leaders continued their obligation to Russia’s allies by the continual involvement in the war, but the arrest of Kornilov and other officers left him without strong allies against the Bolsheviks, who ended up being Kerensky’s strongest and most determined adversaries.

Operation Albion was the German land and naval operation from September to October 1917 to invade and occupy the West Estonian Archipelago, then part of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia. In the Russian Republic. At the beginning of the Great War the islands were of little importance to either Imperial Russia or Germany. After the revolutionary turmoil in Russia during 1917, the German high command believed capturing the islands would outflank Russian defences and lay St. Petersburg vulnerable to attack. After extensive German naval activity to clear the mines and subdue coastal artillery batteries, the Germans managed to land on the island of Hiiumaa on the 19th September 1917 and capture the island on the following day after two failed attempts.  The land campaign opened with landings at the coast at Tagalaht, on the island of Saaremaa on 11th October 1917, after extensive naval activity to clear mines and to subdue coastal artillery batteries. The Germans secured the island by the 18th October 1917, and the Germans claimed 20,000 prisoners and 100 guns captured during Operation Albion from the 12th October 1917. The Russian army evacuated the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu on the 18th October 1917.

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Other Fronts

Alexandre Ribot was a French politician, who held office as Prime Minister on four separate occasions. Ribot’s final premiership lasted from 20th March to 12th September 1917. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by Paul Painlevé. Ribot’s final ministry was during the most dismal part of the Great War, seeing the failure of the Nivelle Offensive and the following mutiny of the French soldiers. Following the decision to dismiss Interior Minister Louis Malvy, his government resigned office on 2nd September 1917. Ribot resigned as Prime Minister on the 12th September 1917 but accepted the position of Ministry of Foreign affairs in the Painlevé cabinet six days later. Following the violent criticism of his refusal to fall into the trap of the German peace offer, he finally resigned office on 16th October 1917.

In terms of the Great War, the name Zeppelin is more commonly known for the lighter-than-air hydrogen gas filled airships that terrorised parts of England and London from January 1915 to August 1918. However, due to increasing losses from the British homeland air defences, they were largely replaced by the Gotha IV and V bomber aircraft. There was another Zeppelin product that was to terrorise the British population from the 17th September 1917. This was the Zeppelin Staaken R.VI. “Giant” heavy bomber which joined the bombing raids on London and Southeast England. The first delivery of the R.VI. Was made in June 1917 to the Eastern Front against Russia. In September 1917, some R.VI.’s were transferred from the Eastern to the Western Front where they began operations against French and British targets. The Germans created a special bomber squadron dedicated to bombing England. In its final form the squadron flew both ‘Gotha’ and ‘Zeppelin Staaken’ (Giant) bombers in air raids. However, most of the raids were made with Gotha aircraft. The attacks using the R.VI. Against mainland Britain began in September 1917. Sorties using five aircraft were flown at night against the capital. As was the case in the Second World War, the River Thames provided an ideal navigation tool, and individual R.VI.’s were able to make their independent way to their specified targets in London.

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The Balkans

Whilst leading her Romanian Army platoon on a counter-attack, Romanian Ecaterina Teodoroiu, “The Heroine of Jiu”, was hit by machine gun fire on the 3rd September 1917. The Romanian lines had been attacked in force by the German 40th Reserve of the 115th Infantry Brigade. Some accounts state Ecaterina had been had been hit in the chest while other accounts state she had been hit in the head. Whatever version is correct, her last words before dying were supposedly: “Forward, men, don’t give up, I’m still with you”.

At the end of September 1917, after a having had a few weeks inactivity in both front line and reserve trenches, Sergeant-Major Flora Sandes, felt embedded shrapnel had moved in her body and she was forced to undergo another operation to remove it. Flora was the only English lady to serve in in the Serbian army and had been wounded by the explosion of a Bulgarian grenade in November 1916. After the operation her doctor confined her to bed, and when she requested being discharged to return to the front line, she was informed she would have to convalesce. She stated that if that was the case she might as well convalesce in England, at least she could be with her family at Christmas. After six weeks of being bedridden she was finally ready for convalescence and arrangements were made for her to return home by boat.

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The Caucasus and the Middle East

The second Battle of Ramadi was fought between the forces of the British and Ottoman Empire on 27th/28th September1917. The two sides contested the town of Ramadi in central Iraq, about 100km (62 miles) west of Baghdad on the southern bank of the Euphrates River. The first battle in July 1917 resulted in a British defeat. This was caused by a combination of factors, including extreme heat, bad weather, faulty British communications and an effective Turkish defence. The lessons learned were utilized in the second battle two months later, when Ramadi was consequently captured almost in its entirety with large amounts of ammunition and supplies. The British launched the Second Battle of Ramadi on the 27th September 1917. The Ottoman forces had been joined by German troops to form the Yilderim Army group (Thunderbolt) which had intended to march   into Iraq and Baghdad. The threat of the Yilderim Army Group spurred the British to make another attempt to take Ramadi. The British commander General Frederick Stanley Maude ordered the commander of the 15th Indian Division to undertake the operation, and join up with the 50th Indian Brigade at Fulluja.By the 20th September 1917, they were to set up forward positions just east of Ramadi at Madhij.  The Ottoman forces were dug in along a line of sand dunes known as the Muskaid Ridge, west of Madhij, with their main defensive positions just south of Ramadi itself. At 21.45 hrs on the 27th September 1917, after a series of false tactics to confuse the enemy the British infantry advance began with a march to the Muskaid Ridge. The 6th Cavalry Brigade had ridden across the desert to the south and west of Ramadi and reached the road where they dug in to block any Ottoman retreat. With artillery support, British forces advanced up two ridges to the south of Ramadi and both were taken by the early afternoon of the 28th September 1917. The garrison’s last escape route was now the Aziziya Bridge just west of Ramadi and the Ottoman infantry attempted to fight its way out of the trap and at 03.00 hrs on the 29th September 191, British machine gun and artillery fire repelled them and drove the survivors back to Ramadi. The 39th Garhwal Rifles attacked the bridge and took it by 07.30 hrs despite suffering heavy casualties. The Garhwal advance convinced the Ottoman defenders the battle was lost, and by 11.00 hrs the Ottoman commander, Ahmed Bey, and the rest of the garrison surrendered. The Ottoman surrender came just in time, as a powerful sandstorm began shortly afterwards which reduced visibility to a few metres. The garrison could easily have slipped away had the sandstorm struck earlier. There were 120 Ottoman troops killed in the battle and another 190 were wounded. British forces captured 3,456 prisoners, including 145 officers. British casualties numbered 995, although many of these had received slight wounds. A great deal of material was seized, including 13 artillery pieces, 12 machine guns and large quantities of ammunition. The town was deemed sufficiently secure that on the following day the British decided to continue their advance on towns along the Euphrates.

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THE GREAT WAR – SEPTEMBER 1917

THE GREAT WAR – SEPTEMBER 1917

 

Passchendaele

 

22nd to 26th Sept       Battle of Menin Road Ridge

22nd September         Harry Patch wounded at Pilkem Ridge

26th to 27th Sept          Battle of Polygon Wood

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Eastern Front

1st to 3rd Sept              Battle of Jugla

7th September            Russian General Kornilov’s coup fails

Sept to Oct                  Operation Albion

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Other Fronts

12th September         French Alexandre Ribot resigns as Prime Minister

17th September          Zeppelin Staaken ‘Giant’ Heavy bombers join London bombing raids

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The Balkans

3rd September           Romanian Ecaterina Teodoroiu is killed leading her platoon into battle

September                  Flora Sandes needed a further operation to remove embedded shrapnel

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The Caucasus and the Middle East

28th to 29th Sept         Battle of Ramadi

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War Diary of AA Laporte Payne August 1917

War Diary of AA Laporte Payne

 

EXTRACTED FROM.

 

Brigade Diary, Personal Diary, Operation Orders, Note Books, Memoranda

Correspondence

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August 1917

 

R.P. August 1,1917.

It has rained continuously and hard for the last thirty hours and it is still coming down in torrents. After twelve hours out in it I came back and found the camp under water, with about a foot deep in my tent.  I am now sitting on a throne of ammunition boxes in the middle of the tent writing letters.  The poor horses are having a wretched time, and the men too.  I tried hard to find a barn or other shelter for the men to dry themselves in, but I was quite unsuccessful.  They will have to remain wet until it pleases the sun to come out again.

 

We have taken I understand 3000 prisoners and a good slice of the Boche front line: then it pours with rain. Truly the stars in their courses fought against us.  It really is exasperating.  The poilu shrugs his shoulders and exclaims “C’est la guerre”.  The British tommy curses or whines dismal tunes.  The staff sit in their chateau playing cards.

 

I enclose a newspaper cutting, (July 29th)

 

We have just had another officer posted to us. It will relieve the pressure a bit.

 

Down here at the wagon line I mess with the W.L. Officer of B Battery. At the moment he is howling for me to go to dinner in a shanty made of tarred felting.  It is very shaky, draughty, and certainly not water tight, but still it serves.  So I must close.

 

August the first, 1917.

The sand here is very troublesome as it seems to pull the shoes off the horses’ feet, and the appalling mud gives them greasy heel.

 

Conditions are delightful! It has rained hard and persistently for the last thirty hours without stopping, and it still continues.  The camp is under water.  When I returned there after being out in it for twelve hours in hardly a dry condition I found a foot of water in my tent.  I am now sitting on a throne of ammunition boxes in the tent writing a few notes.  The wretched horses are having a rotten time, and the men almost as bad.  I tried hard to get a shed or barn for the drivers to make some attempt to get dry, but was quite unsuccessful.  They will have to be wet until Jupiter turns the tap off.  It always pours when we contemplate making a push.  If the stars in their courses do not fight against us the clouds dropping rain do so.  The gods must be angry with us.  It is bad luck on the men who have the weather, the staff and the Boche to contend with.  In such conditions success is hardly likely.

 

The papers will have told you what is going on. Up to the present I have heard that part of the German line with about three thousand prisoners have been taken to the south of us.  Now the weather has called a halt.  Poor old British Army!  They are always getting done down by one or all of the three elements that go to make up our atmosphere out here, staff, Boche, and rain.  But stay, I must not forget what journalists say about “tommy”, that he is never so cheerful as when everything goes wrong.  Did you ever hear such rot?  I wonder where they get their information from?  The censor, no doubt.  He ought to know, if any one did.  They live close to one another in some cosy chateau.

 

Well, well. Hay-up has just gone, so I must stop.

 

R.P. August 4, 1917.

The weather is truly fearful. We are swamped out.  We know that the floods are subsiding when we can see the tips of the horses’ ears sticking above the water.  We have no need of a dove.  Our bridge over the dyke, by which we enter the field where we live, floated away yesterday, and we had great but wet fun rescuing it.  One of the ammunition wagons completely disappeared in a bog.  I do not think I have ever experienced such a lengthy period of steady rain, certainly not in August.  Thank Jupiter it is clearing up now, so we are alright except for the MUD.

 

However the flood gave us a certain amount of amusement, but we could well do without it.

 

The new officers to replace casualties seem to be no earthly use. I do believe they do not know which end of the gun shoots out of.  I should have thought that at this stage of the war men better trained could have been sent out.  It makes it very hard for the old stagers who have to spoon feed them without being relieved of any of their duties.

 

The Boche infantry is nothing like what they used to be. The enemy seem to rely on their 5.9, in. gun and machine guns manned to the latter by picked men in strong posts.  Tanks should be our answer to the latter, and good counter-battery work to the former.  These difficulties have got to be surmounted somehow.

 

At last we are obtaining a fair allotment of leave for the men, I am glad to say. The majority of them have had no leave since they have been in France.

 

August 5, 1917.

We have been quite flooded out. We do not require a dove here.  We know when the floods are subsiding when we see the horse’s ears semaphoring above the water.

 

It was great sport fishing for floating wagons and our precious ditch bridges with drag ropes. You know the physical geography of this delightful country, so you can imagine the conditions after a sixty hour storm.

 

There is a subaltern here in the adjoining wagon-lines of our Brigade, a delightful fellow and a Scotchman, and he makes me howl with laughter at his antics and grousings. He is really most amusing.  I should fade away with melancholia if he were not here.  He is the brightest spot in the landscape.  The sight he presented when he arrived at my tent late the other night in the pouring rain was most comical.  He had waded over knee deep in water, and forgotten the water hidden ditch half way across.  His great wish now is to ride into a small town some way away where there are some English or other nurses.  He says that if he does not get a sight of an English girl soon he will languish and die.

 

The new subalterns we are getting as reinforcements to replace casualties are truly awful. They seem to be worse than useless, and do not know which end of the gun shoots out of.

 

My mare is looking very well, and appears to be thoroughly enjoying life. I have a new groom now to replace the one the Colonel robbed me of.  This fellow is quite good, and keeps my large quantity of saddlery clean.  Nothing looks so pleasing as a good horse, well groomed, and well polished leather.  But he is not so good as Scarret, my former groom.

 

Noon, and time for stables so I must go.

 

August 9, 1917.

4.45, a.m.

A line by one of the men who is going on leave to let you know we are alright….. Let me know if you get this properly stamped, for if not the fellow I give it to will be sorry for himself when he returns.

 

August 11, 1917.

Another note by a man going on leave… The fellow is in a hurry.  He has not seen his people since December 1915.

 

August 12, 1917.

Time does not hang heavily on our hands at present. But noise, rain and mud and the other usual concomitants of war in Belgium get a bit wearisome at times.  Though I must say I have never been so fit and well or eager to enjoy life as I am at present.  Just as the minor discomforts often become disproportionately momentous so with avidity we snatch at the trifling pleasures which this unnatural life sometimes offers us.  From a low view point the unevenness of existence appear unduly exalted.  Perhaps we do not things sub specie aeternitatis as we should.  The only true philosophy for the soldier is the Stoic.  I still carry Marcus Aurelius about with me.  It is curious to recollect that he wrote while on active service and at a time when the Roman Empire was just beginning to fall into decay.  I wonder whether our so-called civilization will go the same way.

 

We have been sending a lot of our men away on leave, those who have had none since they came out, poor fellows! So I am up early every morning to see that they go away properly dressed and that they leave behind their dangerous souvenirs.  Many are the precautions taken to see that the folk at home come to no harm.

 

I have just paid the battery three thousand francs, and now is tea time. After tea I am off to the gun-line.  It is delightful there now.  You cannot see the smoke or hear for the noise.  With luck I shall be back at midnight and without rain.  It will be a still greater relief if there is no traffic block on the road, and if the Boche does not take it into his head to start shelling.

 

The men are having a wretched time. I have not had the heart to damn them for not cleaning the vehicles and harness lately.  But there will come a day of reckoning.  The harness is filthy and red with rust, and there are four sheds of it, quite full.  And we are very short handed.  I am expecting a visit from the General soon, and he is a brute, who expects everything to be kept as if in barracks in peace time.  He has no experience of the conditions except for a fleeting glimpse occasionally, and no imagination sufficient for sympathetic consideration.  How a creature has the audacity to curse the infantry for being dirty or straggling after days in the line, let alone the heart to do it, beats me.  However I do not suppose he will get nearer the lines than the gate to the field, which has at least two foot of mud in the “fairway”.  He will certainly get his boots dirty if he negotiates it, and will make such a mess in his car.

 

I am enjoying myself with the horses.  I have found a broken down cottage, and in it I have stabled my own two horses, one of them the bay mare known in the Brigade as “that hot little devil”.  Room has also been found for the Major’s two horses, one of which won jumping at Aldershot, two belonging to a “wart” (subaltern), one a very good jumper, and another charger also a subaltern’s.  In all seven.  All these I ride in turn, sometimes as many as four a day.  Now they are all fit, and their coats looking fine.  They are better housed than their masters.  It is comical to see them tied up in the kitchen and best parlour, but they look all the better for being under cover and free from mud.

 

R.P. August 14, 1917.

The Sergeant-Major is posting this for me, as he is going on leave. I am fit and well, but the weather is just as bad as ever.

 

August 17, 1917.

August is now living up to its reputation. It might be April or March.

 

The team horses are not looking up to the mark. The rain and mud have spoilt their coats, and I have not enough men to groom them properly.  The gun-line have too many up there and many are on leave.

 

The attitude of people in England now is strange.  The men come back from leave with impressions they should not have.  I have asked several how they enjoyed their leave.  A typical answer I get is “Oh! Alright, sir, but everybody is fed up with the war, and grumbling”.  Now this is strange.  Surely the troops out here are the ones who might be expected to grouse immoderately, and be forgiven.  There is no comparison between the conditions.  If at times the men here do grumble, there is hardly one who wants to get out of it or finish the war until we have the Boche well beaten.  Thank heaven, there is no peace talk out here.  I have come to the conclusion that all the men who have got any spirit at all are out here.  At home you have now only physical wrecks, politicians and socialists avid for higher wages as munition workers.  If you come across any mumblers of peace tell them off on our behalf.  Out here we are quite cut off and inarticulate as the war correspondents have no time for the opinions of mere regimental officers or troops.

 

August 18, 1917.

The weather is better here, and the mud is drying up quite nicely. We shall be able to get on with the war soon.

 

There is no opportunity of leave yet……

 

I am losing my “stable companion”, the scotch subaltern, who has, alas! to go up the line. I hope I shall be going soon, too.  It is rather dull down here at times, though there is plenty to do.

 

This evening I am expecting the Major down to inspect the Wagon Line, but he has not turned up yet. Things are not as ship-shape as they might be, but what can you expect with less than half the men we ought to have?

 

August 24, 1917.

I have got a rash on my face, which is stupid of me. The doctor says that I have poisoned myself with the water I use for shaving in, which usually comes out of shell holes or ditches.  I remember cutting my face the other day.  I must try and get rid of the sores before my leave comes through.

 

It is still windy and wet. The wretched inhabitants behind the line are struggling to get the harvest in, in spite of the rain and shells.  They are extraordinary people.

 

August 27, 1917.

It takes I find five days for a letter to arrive from home.

 

It has poured for two days, and a gale so ferocious that we can hardly stand up against it, has blown for a whole day. It was really most amusing, of course; but I am like a cat and hate the wet.  All our tents were levelled on top of us last night, and to make matters worse the Boche shelled our lines and killed one of my best horses.  It was a mercy it did nothing else.  All the horses were closely packed on some slightly higher ground near my tent to escape the flood water on the rest of the field.  A really heavy shell, the first to arrive, landed right in the midst of the horses, went deep into the mud, and burst.  A splinter cut into the flank of the horse and killed it.  The crater made by the shell was literally from heel to heel of the horses on two lines.

 

When this missile arrived I was asleep in my tent. It covered the canvas with great lumps of mud.  We soon cleared out of the field with all horses, struggling through the narrow muddy exits in the darkness, and waited until the shelling stopped.  In the confusion I managed to “make” another horse which was scared and going astray.  No one has claimed it yet, so I shall stick to it and make no unnecessary enquiries.

 

You would have laughed to see me in pyjamas, a Trench coat and an old pair of gum boots with a hole in one of them.

 

It is hard to be a philosopher, even for the most philosophical, under all circumstances. And I confess that I did not see the humour of it last night.  It is, I think, easy to pose as heroic in some great thing with others watching and applauding, but not so easy in little things like this which happen suddenly in the dark when one is alone in responsibility.  I hate horses being shelled in mass, or even singly.

 

I have not read a book for sometime, and have not seen a paper for days. I shall soon be unable to read a book worth while, and shall not have the energy to learn to read again.  What a future!  But this depression is only in sympathy with the weather.

 

R.P. August 28, 1917.

August must have been a record, I should think. The weather has been truly fearful.  We are now having a gale.  Our three enemies are still as powerful as ever, the weather, the Boche, and the staff.

 

Letter to the Hammonds 29 August 1917.

Letter to the Hammonds 29 August 1917.

 

62 Benyon Road

Kingsland

London N1

29-8-17

Dear Ted & Mary

I got your P.C. just as we were leaving the house on Sat morning & received one this morning.  We had a very nice holiday the weather kept up until last Friday & then it was so windy that we could scarcely keep on our feet & it went much colder so that we felt quite ready to return to London.  I am very sorry that the weather is so bad for you.  It is brighter here today but windy.  We have had a lot of rain since Sunday.  We took our Mothers to Chingford yesterday but it was rather rough for nieces & the Vicar slipped & dislocated his shoulder so it was rather unfortunate.  I am glad to say that he is going on as well as can be expected.  I am glad to hear that Fred & George are alright.  You are not far from Neston.  What sort of place is Hoylake it was *** **** when I was at Neston.  I must close now ***.

 

Love to you & Mary also to the boys & Gladys

 

P.S. I don’t know whether Will wrote to you Kibby Walls husband joins up today.

A.A. Laporte Payne letter to Muriel 27 August 1917

A.A. Laporte Payne letter to Muriel 27 August 1917

 

B.E.F.

August 27th 1917.

 

Darlingest mine,

 

Your letter of the 22nd has just come – thank you so much for it.  It cheered me up a lot to know that someone, and that one you, still cared – everybody plus the elements seem to be against us – you and your letters are the only bits of sunshine I get now.  It has poured for two days and a gale so ferocious that we can hardly stand up has blown for a day.  It was really most amusing of course but I am like a cat and hate the wet.  All our tents were levelled on top of us last night, and to make matters worse the Boche shelled us and killed one of my best horses – it was a marvel it did nothing else – the first shell I mean as it landed right in our lines – we cleared out with all the gees and in the confusion I managed to ‘make’ another horse which was going stray and no one has claimed it yet so I shall stick to it.

 

You would have laughed to have seen me in pyjamas and a pair of old gum boots with a large hole in one of them.

 

Forgive my telling you about some of my worries but I feel sometimes I must write and tell you. It helps me a lot and you will also understand why my temper is not of the best always.  It is difficult to be a philosopher – even to the most philosophical among us – under some circumstances and I am selfish enough to want someone who is not one of us here to sympathise with me in these silly little troubles.  It is the little things which try us most isn’t it?  It is easy to pose as heroic in some great thing but very hard in the multitudinous little things of everyday – and that is where you come in for me, darling.  But don’t tell anyone else for I hate anyone else’s sympathy real of affected – and after all I should not worry other people with these silly things – not even you but I can’t help it at times.

 

So you are back at Finchley again. It is great getting home again after a long absence.  I hope you found everybody well and everything as you wished.  I don’t suppose you will get any tennis yet unless you have different weather to this.  You are not very far away you know.

 

How are you all keeping? All well and jolly I hope.  Give my love to Mr & Mrs Cross.

 

So you are doing some reading again. I have not read a book for months and have not seen a paper for days.  I shall soon be forgetting how to read, or is it one of those things you can’t forget.  I hope so.  I should never have the energy to learn to read again.

 

With all my love dearest and a long kiss

Ever your

Arch.

G. Hammond letter 26 August 1917.

G. Hammond letter 26 August 1917.

Sunday

26-8 17

My dear Mother & Father

By the time you receive this I shall most likely have had my 3rd birthday away from home.  Am I 23 or 24.  I quite forget.  Well I must be getting on in life now judging from the way my moustache flourishes.  Now I have a little surprise for you both.  I am sending your birthday present on Wednesday don’t think this is a decoy to get you to send me something.  I would much rather you gave me the money to Pa to look after for me.  He takes such good care of it.  The only difficulty is Pa sees something he likes and having no money of his own say, Oh well I will buy it out of this and to pay it back next week.  Knowing all the time it is hopeless.

Now I am sending a pipe for Pa only to be smoked on Special occasions.  The paste is to polish it with not to smoke, and for Ma there is a little silver purse.  I have already written and told Gladys it is your purse and not to be ***.  You will also find my watch inside which wants repairing immediately, cleaning, new second hand, new luminous figures & fingers & a new saddler made wrist strap.  If you can get it done within a week or 10 days send it here.  I want it as soon as possible especially as the nights are getting dark.  Glad to hear you have managed to secure good digs see & have a good time.  I expect to find ma looking very fit when I come on leave.  I had a letter from Gladys today she says Salman is going home on leave.  Well this is all at present we are working very hard 7 am until 7 pm.  I shall be fit for a Brig Gen after this – perhaps – I forgot to tell you Mr Smith*** could have given you the address of some digs in Hoylake.  Don’t forget the watch.  Had a FPC from Gus the other day.  He is OK

Fondest love

George

PS I shall send the parcel home G

 

F. Springett letter 26 August 1917.

F. Springett letter 26 August 1917.

 

FOR GOD, FOR KING & FOR COUNTRY

Y.M.C.A.

H.M. FORCES ON ACTIVE SERVICE

 

August 26th 1917

Same address

 

Sunday afternoon.

 

My Dear Brother Sid,

Just a few lines in answer to your welcome letter received a few days ago.  Glad to hear that you were quite well I am still A1.

I am sorry to hear that you haven’t much work but perhaps by now you have.  I do hope they still keep you busy at Crayford if they don’t anywhere else. Ha Ha!

Yes we keep getting a few air raids, we were up till 12.30 one night last week when the Zepps came over Yorkshire.  We had just gone to bed when the order came through, to get up and get full pack together.

You can bet there was a little cursing going on.

Of course we didn’t see anything of them.  That’s the sort of thing that ones has to put up with.

Still it makes a bit of sport as well as being a damn nuisance.

It’s quite a bit of sport when they come in the day time.  We had to run and get our gas helmets, and then bolt off to the trenches that are made for the job.  Some of the chaps get the wind up.  They never worry me very much it’s no use worrying in the Army.

We are doing a lot of trench warfare work now, practically every day we are in the trenches.

We are also finishing our bombing course shortly and also bayonet fighting.

We have just started on Lewis Machine Guns this week.

So you will see they want us to know something of anything.

Last Monday they brought two German Destroyers in “down here”.

Perhaps you have heard about it, or read it in the papers.

I have seen them today, they are painted very funny, half black and half white with big black spots.

The weather here is fairly good. Only we are on the top of a hill and the dust is something awful when it blows.  I shall be jolly glad when we get away from this place, and besides it is getting quite cold enough for canvas life.

Well, Sid I don’t think I have any more news this time, I hope you enjoyed your trip on the river.

Well Goodbye

Best Love

From Your

Affec Brother

Frank W

 

With cover to Mr S.K. Springett, 29 Bath Road Dartford Kent

Postmarked HARWICH 7.15 PM 25 AU 17.

A.A. Laporte Payne letter to Muriel 24 August 1917.

A.A. Laporte Payne letter to Muriel 24 August 1917.

 

B.E.F.

August 24th 1917

 

 

Darling,

 

Thank you very much for your letter and the photo of Mrs Lowe and the baby which is exceedingly good; but why did you not send me one of yourself instead? I am very glad you are having such a good holiday.  I hope you have recovered from your strenuous labours as a farm hand and that Mr  & Mrs Cross are keeping well and enjoying themselves.

 

I am sending this note to Benchfield as I think you are returning to Finchley to-day.

 

This is only a short note, dear, to let you know I am fairly well and thinking of you. I have got a rash like the stupid thing that I am.  The doctor says it is the water or something I have taken – at any rate it wasn’t whiskey.  I must get rid of the it before my leave mustn’t I?

 

Everything goes on as usual. It is not at all like August – much too windy and wet.

 

The wretched inhabitants are struggling hard to get the harvest in, in spite of the rain and shells. They are extraordinary people.

 

How did you find Finchley after your long absence? Much the same I suppose

 

With all my love, dearest, & kisses

Ever your

Arch.

Letter to Rev. R.M. Laporte Payne 23 August 1917

Letter to Rev. R.M. Laporte Payne 23 August 1917

 

Y.M.C.A. Headed notepaper.

 

LCpl J. Tomlinson 140310

R.E.                                                                                                                 abt 23 8/17

Fulham Military Hospital

Hammersmith

 

Dear Sir,

 

I am writing this letter to you to ask you if you can do me a favour by giving me a little advice as to the welfare of my children. My address is 56 High St. Nth Finchley.  My wife has been in Hospital 12 months suffering from Heart disease and being Paralyzed is quite helpless.  I have therefore had to rely on the kindness of neighbour’s to look after my children of which I have three the eldest one being nearly 12 years old and the youngest one 5 years.  I was able to get out of hospital yesterday and went to Finchley to see them and I am sorry to say that they are not getting the proper attention that I should like them to have.  I did not have time to call and see you which I should have liked to have done as I was advised to do so I have taken the liberty of writing to you.  What I should like to do, would be, to get them into a good home where they would get proper education and good care, so if you would be so kind to do anything for me in the matter I should be very thankful, as it is a great worry to me, I might say that a lady visitor from the Church used to call on Mrs Tomlinson while she was at home ill and offered to get them away, but Mrs Tomlinson would not hear of it then and myself being in the service I was helpless.  If you could arrange a day & time I could probably get over to Finchley to see you, that is if you think you can do anything for me.

 

Trusting that I am not imposing on you.

 

I Remain

Yours Truly

L Cpl J. Tomlinson.