Author Archives: Richard Berryman

Bournemouth.

Wednesday.

My dear Mother. I expect you’ve heard of Ted’s & my trip to see Mrs Hughes Hewett. We enjoyed it awfully & it was a pity Ted had to come away so soon. He missed so much of the motor part. It was so nice seeing Blanche again, & Diana is a dear little girl.

I motored back here & found nothing doing. No wounded & the place empty. I wonder whatever they will do with us. I must try & get up to see you all again soon. I miss Ben, she has not written yet, but I suspect she is busy with her new job. Please tell her I have been to Swanage today. Quite a nice little place & such a good tea. Honey – cream – lovely bread & butter & gorgeous cakes! I took Miss Twining.

I am wiring to Jim tonight to get him over for a dance tomorrow. He’s been here on Sunday. Lovely weather nowadays. I bathed today and enjoyed it.

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Richard.

Another letter from Richard that’s almost impossible to date, though it’s after Ben gets the job mentioned by Paul on the 10th August. 

Here they are straight out of Betjeman, motoring to Swanage, awfully enjoying trips to see Mrs Hughes Hewett, and having honey still for tea. When I posted this as a sample letter, I was contacted as follows:

Mrs Hughes Hewitt was Louisa (nee Whitmore) Mrs Stanley Hughes Hewitt. Blanche (nee Quentin) was her daughter in law, wife to Frederick Whitmore Hewitt and Diana was their daughter who was born in 1912 so was probably a delightful toddler at the time!

The connection to your family is likely to be through Frederick. He was “clerk in holy orders” in 1911, and was later an army chaplain. He died at Vermelle on 27 September 1915, aged 35.

Frederick Hewett was indeed the connection and Paul mentions his death to Gertrude on the 9th October. Originally, I thought that Richard and Ted may have been paying their condolences to the young widow on the 13th October. However the mention of Jim’s dance and bathing in “lovely weather” suggests it was earlier. I’ve therefore moved it to the 25th August based on the date of Jim’s dance, the mention of Ben’s job and the weather that month.

It’s interesting that the Indian Hospital in the Mont Dore at Bournemouth was almost empty at the end of August 1915, though Richard mentions it being empty in his other letter from this summer, which I have tentatively scheduled on the 3rd July.

Weather on the South Coast, Wednesday 25th Aug 1915

Notes on weather about Tuesday 24th Aug 1915

Weather map, 7am Wednesday 25th Aug 1915

Saturday.

Indian Medical Service

My dear Mother.

Many thanks for your letter which has just arrived. What a krewst all those gold hats arriving, & what a good thing Ted was there. I am sure it would be a good thing if you went to Pitney as it’s quite time you had a rest, and I could get over to see you I daresay.

I went through Langport the other day when I went to Plymouth. Jim came to the dance & we all enjoyed it awfully, tell Ben Vinny nearly killed himself going there. Went at 60 mph down the hill from the triangle & of course came off. Bust the bike & ought to have been killed.

Jim is over again today, I must try and get Topher somehow. Fancy Ben & Dreda sleeping in the garden. Mad I suppose. Ben hasn’t got a job yet then. Yes it is nice having the car again. I never knew I owed Specs 50. I will see if I can’t pay him. He lent it then, did he?

The hospital is empty now except for about 1 man. Bournemouth is frightfully full now, everyone on holiday I suppose. Please tell Jane I’ve absolutely cleaned the bath now with Zoy & Brookses & I also washed Susan today in Lux

Many thanks for the slacks. Ask Ted if he can send the derzi 10/-

Best love to all. Yr loving son

Richard

It’s difficult to tell when this was written. Richard  says “it’s nice having the car again” and Paul mentions an accident in his letter of the 30th June in reply to a letter from Gertrude, so I have posted this on the first Saturday after then, the 3rd July.

Richard wrote this before Ben got a job in August, but in weather good enough for Ben and Dreda to sleep outside and for Bournemouth to be full of people on holiday. Ted was with Gertrude when she was visited by senior officers (“Gold Hats”), so it was after he was wounded in May but before he was declared fit for service which in August. On 24 August, Paul mentions Dick and Jim looking for dress suits, but they presumably went to more than one dance.  

When I first read this, I wondered who or what was Susan that she could be washed in soap? A dog? A bicycle? We do eventually find out….

HOTEL METROPOLE
BOURNEMOUTH

Jan 27th 1915

My dear mother.

Another man & myself are getting a house here. Do you think it will do. We are to pay £2.5.0 a week, 4 bedrooms a bathroom, & 2 sitting rooms. A fortnight’s notice on either side & I fancy Gas. I’m trying to work it out.

Rent…………………………….£2/5/0
Servant Wge………………….10/-
Charwoman if necessary……3/6 per week
Coal……………………………7/6
Garage for car………………..5/-

Then there’s the food to be bought & I’ve no idea what that is likely to cost, anyhow I don’t fancy it can cost either of us more than 3 guineas a week. Do you think so?

Write & say what you think as you must have had some experience.

If we take it we shall move in on Monday I fancy.

Many thanks for your letter at the Hospital. I always think old Hill is an old fool, however I will go & see him. Many thanks for the handkerchiefs. I haven’t seen Mrs Rayner yet. It’s quite cold here, in spite of saying Bournemouth is so warm.

Well good bye for the present.

Your loving son

Richard

It’s hard comparing money then and now because we can’t compare like for like in terms of skills, manufactured goods or commodities. For example the range of values given on http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/ for the £2/5/- rent varies from £157 to £891 if it’s something a private person is buying or even as much as £1211 if it’s income, wealth or investment costs.

This range almost makes these comparisons meaningless, but for interest’s sake this table shows the Real Prices (based on Retail Prices) and the Labour Cost (which uses “the relative wage a worker would use to buy the commodity using one of the wage indexes”). And at least it’s easier to compare the sums against each other when you see them in decimalised currency rather than guineas, pounds, shillings and pence.

Whatever the actual sums, I am astonished at how much he’s spending relatively on rent and on coal. He must be joking about the 3 guineas on food: Richard has a dry sense of humour and it’s sometimes hard to tell when he’s joking but he’s certainly teasing his mother when he says “you must have had some experience”. She’d been a single parent of ten children, after all.

With those caveats, here is how Richard’s budget might look in 2014 money using the calculator at http://www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/ 

Here is Richard in his car in the summer of 1915. I am curious to know if he’d already got one so soon after arriving in England or whether the five bob a week for a garage was planning ahead for when the weather was warmer.

27 Jan 1915
Bournemouth

Je suis arrive. But address The Mont Doré

How Bournemouth cared for sick soldiers during the First World War

The Mount Dore Hospital cared for Indian troops though it is nowhere near as well known as the hospital for Indian troops in the Brighton Pavillion.

How Bournemouth cared for sick soldiers during the First World War

ROYAL YORK HOTEL
BRIGHTON

Jan 20^th 1915.

Dear Mother,

Many thanks for keys etc. I’ve written to George. I am sorry about Charlie. I must write to Chubbie.

I hear we are to go to Bournemouth. I shall be sorry to leave Brighton. It’s nice.

I’ve been singing Sister June till I’m hoarse. We go to the Pantomime every night.

Best love to all,

Yr loving son

Richard

Avonmouth, Bristol 10^th

Dear Mother.

I’ve just wired you to say I have arrived safe in England. Arrived today after an awful voyage in the Bay. The Dilwara was with us, tell Ben the way she rolled was awful, I hope Ben had a better time than that.

I’ve just been to see Kathleen, so nice being in England again & seeing someone I knew, talk about Jane & everyone. Tomorrow we go on to Brighton I believe, where we are to have our hospital & I’ll let you know about things.

So nice being home again in spite of all this awful war. I’ve seen no casualty lists lately & I hope everyone is safe. I’ll try & post this here tomorrow.

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Richard.

You might write to me

Richard. C.P. Berryman Esq
E.M.S.
No 8A Indian General Hospital c/o Post Office
Brighton.

Richard’s destination is the famous Indian Military Hospital at Brighton.