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Author Archives: Ted Berryman

1 April 1915 – Ted to Gertrude

April 1st

Just a line to say I’m all right. Sorry I have’nt written lately, but I have been very busy these last 3 days; will write a letter & try & cope with some much delayed correspondence tomorrow. Lovely weather, nice bright sunny days, & warm- Tell Ben Fred Fox may look her up, as he has gone on leave today. Love to all

Ted

 
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Posted by on 1 April, '15 in About

 

28 March 1915 – Ted to Gertrude

March 28/15

Dear Mother

Very many thanks for your letter yesterday and the cake which arrived today, & is much appreciated in the mess. We have had to shift our billets up closer to the firing line, as the General thought we were too far away; we are’nt nearly so comfy in these new billets, and my room is awful. I share it with Mr Fox, & they had one of our big 9 inch guns here the other day & every time it fired it shook most of the house down! My room happens to be in a very shaky corner, & there is’nt a pane of glass left in the windows, & a regular tornado blows all night round the room!

It is awfully cold nowadays with a bitter N. wind all day, & a little snow. It froze hard last night, & is quite fine today and this morning ours went all over the German lines and got fired at an awful lot. We have all got to go out tonight up to the Indian Corps, so I suppose that means we’ll be going up into the trenches fairly soon now.

Just finished tea; the cake you sent has nearly all gone; it was very crumbly for some reason or other & all fell to bits when we cut it, but it was very good all the same.

Please send me a refill for my torch as I have only one left now. The films rolled up all right but just then an order came out prohibiting all cameras, so I have sent the camera & films home to Jane; I hope they roll up all right, I registered them so they ought to. Can I also have 2 more khaki silk hankies please, as I have only 2 at present. Not much going on here; there was a lot of firing last night, heavy guns firing too, but I don’t think it meant much.

Did Bee Dudman ever hear from me; because I wrote her a long letter about a month ago; will you ask when you next write. Thank Ben for her letter, I will try and answer it tomorrow. Must end up now. Love to all

yr loving son

Ted

 
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Posted by on 28 March, '15 in About

 

25 March 1915 – Ted to Jane

March 25/15

Dear Jinny

All cameras are disallowed now, so I am sending mine to you to look after for me; also two packs of films, unused, which you can take pictures with. Also book of instructions. You’ll find it quite easy to work only rather tricky at first, & it’s much less bother than a roll film camera. You simply jam the film pack in the back & all is ready.

Weather’s turned for the bad today, wet & raw again & filthily muddy, I expect we shall be booted out of these billets tomorrow, & go up north a bit; see a new bit of France anyway.

I only wrote to you yesterday so I’m afraid I can’t scrape up much to tell you this time, only about the camera. You might tell Dryden to send along some cigarettes, as I’ve run out today. I really must send some money but postal orders are so hard to get hold of nowadays.

Hope the camera rolls up safely & you take some good snaps with it. I carried it all through the Neuve Chapelle show but I did’nt have a minute to spare; besides there was’nt much to take really. Send along a cake some old time; the Delaford cakes are always welcome in the mess & much liked – always thinking of our stomachs are’nt we; pigs, I call us.

So long keep smiling I’m as fit as a flea

Tons of love

Ted

 
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Posted by on 25 March, '15 in About

 

24 March 1915 – Ted to Jane

March 24/15

Dear Jinny

Very many thanks for your ripping long letter. So glad you liked my letters & I’m glad I wrote when I did because I’m blowed if I remember now what happened then, it’s all a sort of dream. We are still in these same billets, but are now called Divisional reserve, as the other 2 brigades of the [censored?] Division are in the trenches, & we are in reserve to them. I don’t suppose we shall be wanted, unless they have a “Bismarck’s Birthday Biff” on April 1st, which is the rumour at present. Anyhow I expect we’ll be going up into the trenches some time during the next week.

I’ve been into Bethune today & had a dam good lunch; it’s a great place & fairly buzzes with officers, all having lunch there. I sent you some picture postcards, awful things, but I didn’t put any stamps on, as I was told if I put F M (ss they have a “rve to them. I don’t called Divisional reserve, as the other 2 brigades of the Francaise Militaire) on them they would go free; I wonder if they ever got home; do let me know if they did, & I hope you did’nt have to pay on ‘em.

I feel much better for the change to Bethune, even though it was only for a few hours. I drove one of our interpreters in our mess cart; you know what a good driver I am, & the road was full of traffic, but I managed very well really; anyhow no accidents occurred & we got safely back which is the main thing- I also had several short drinks which helped the world go round faster & the horse fairly raced home!

Lovely weather here too, & so warm & mild, hedges all budding & birds singing etc; I shall be sending home all my warm clothes & waistcoats soon; & if they send us to Egypt I shall want only a bathing suit I should think. No more cameras are allowed now & we all had to finish off our films & send the cameras home. I flew round taking anything I could find, & wound up by taking 3 ducks on a pond, so you can imagine how I was put to it to finish ‘em off!

Pardon such a dull letter. Guy Mainwaring was hit by an empty shell case, after it exploded, like the ones I brought home; of course it laid him slap out, but he is all right I hear, in hospital at home somewhere, but is so badly bruised that he can’t lie down, & has to sit up all the time! Mankelow was only slightly wounded, & never went to hospital, but is now home on 7 days’ leave.

I’m afraid I have no more news. I may be able to get home on leave for a day or two sometime within the next month, but it’s extremely doubtful and unlikely so don’t put any faith in it as there is really practically no chance of it coming off. Tell Ben Billy came to see me the other day, & was very pleasant; his affairs don’t seem to be going very well; he is A.D.C to General Willcocks, (cmdg: the Indian Army Corps) now, so is a bit of a nut.

Fit as a fiddle I am nowadays; write again some old time, & send us a Graphic or Tatler; Tatler always welcome, I like reading “Eve”

Tons of love

from

Ted

 
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Posted by on 24 March, '15 in About

 

22 March 1915 – Ted to Gertrude

March 22/15

Dear Mother

Very many thanks for your short note and the Café au lait, much appreciated in the mess; also the chocolate which Mr Fox & I finished off today. Café au lait is always welcome as it is so easy to make & is really very nice.

Gorgeous weather here nowadays, the last 2 days have been lovely and fine and really quite hot. Beginning of spring I suppose. Anyhow all the roads are getting quite dusty now, & the motors etc kick up no end of dust whereas a week ago it was nothing but mud. So let’s hope we are in for some dryish weather at last.

Did you ever get a jacket & pair of breeches I sent home about a month ago I wonder, because you have never said anything about them. I expect I shall be sending home some more clothes as the weather gets warmer.

No news here; we are still resting but I believe move off a bit further north in a day or two. Any news of Paul? They seem to be having a lively time in the Dardanelles don’t they.

Still got a bit of cold but otherwise am quite fit, & we have all benefited by our rest I think. Send along a cake when you have time. Excuse a short scrawl. Best love to all your loving son

Ted

 
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Posted by on 22 March, '15 in About

 

16 March 1915 – Ted to Gertrude – Neuve Chapelle

March 16/15

Dear Mother,

I have just a few moments now to spare, even though it is nearly midnight, to write & tell you something about our doings of the last few days. You have of course seen in the papers about the successful “British advance” & the Indian Corps doings, but I fancy the accounts lack detail & are very general. The part we played was small of course, but may be interesting, as I saw it.

To begin with – we left our comfy billets at the farm suddenly at 6.45 p.m. on the 8th, got a wire saying move at once; so off we went & reached a little village soon afterwards, where we stayed the night. At 6 next morning I had to go up to the trenches to find out various things, not very exciting, & we stayed in this little village all the 9th, not doing very much.

At 6 o’clock on the 9th, we got orders to move at 1 o’clock that night, (it was freezing hard & very cold all this time) so off we went up to the trenches and awaited the dawn. Our orders were to attack the German trenches in the morning, after they had been heavily bombarded by artillery. Our regiment was only taking up a small front of course, & was but a tiny unit in the whole show, which took place over a very long bit of the line, the whole of the 1st Army being engaged; but you will understand how we only saw a small, but important bit of the whole thing. Divisions on our right & left were attacking as well.

As soon as it was light, the guns began, & my goodness, there never was such a row! Every conceivable gun in the Corps concentrated its fire on the front to be attacked by the Brigade, our Brigade that is, the Garhwal Bde (rather an honour to be chosen out of the whole Indian Army Corps to do the attack) and for half an hour they bombarded the German trenches. Lyddite, shrapnel, small guns, big guns, howitzers, field, horses & siege guns, all banging away as hard as they could.

We were only about 150 yards from the German trenches, so we got the double benefit of hearing the sound of the discharge, & the explosion of the shell too. Enormous shells burst in their trenches, poor devils, throwing up huge columns of yellow smoke, & heaving up trenches, dug out trees, hedges, everything that came in their way.

Precisely at a time previously settled the guns “lengthened their fuse” as the saying is, that is they fired at the trenches and houses beyond the front trenches, so as to prevent supports etc coming up. And at that same moment our men jumped out of our trenches & charged across the open. It was splendid, & the men were into the first line of trenches before you could wink. They went on and rounded up the next trench behind that, but met with some resistance here, but overcame it & captured the trench.

In all there were 4 lines of trenches, & they finally reached & captured the 4th line. In doing so they had captured 180 prisoners & 3 machine guns & we had about 100 men killed & wounded.

Alas! I was not in the charge, being Adjutant I had to keep up with the Colonel, who went up with the last line. However it was all very exciting, & a splendid sight to watch. Well having captured the 4th line of trenches, there, straight in front, was Neuve Chapelle; & nothing would stop the men, the officers there say they had the greatest difficulty stopping them, & on the whole Brigade rushed into & through Neuve Chapelle & out the other side, where they took up a line of entrenchments in front of the village.

We all hurried on, there were bullets & shells flying about, but we managed to dig ourselves in, & found a whole lot of German sandbags & entrenching tools which were very useful. Perhaps this map will help a bit.

Neuve Chapelle Map

Well we stayed there digging all day, & they fired maxims etc at us, & caused several casualties; they also shelled us a good deal, but by evening we had quite good cover.

Late that night we got orders to go down & help the right flank, but owing to the darkness & perfect maze of trenches (you must remember we were in the German lines now, at least in the lines captured from the Germans that morning, so we didn’t know our way about much) and the guide who lost his way, we were ordered back.

We spent the whole night trekking about, & then at 6 o’clock next morning got orders to be attached to another Bde to help them in an attack at 7 a.m. So off we went again, trekking off into the unknown, & finally reached our position just at dawn, with an awful prospect before us, an attack over quite 800 yards of absolutely open country.

We lay out there in readiness to move when the attack began, being fired at the whole time, & getting several men hit, but for some reason or other thank goodness the attack was postponed, & we got into some very bad trenches there with the Leicester Regt. Had we done that attack we should have been very badly mauled, as the ground was absolutely open, & the Germans were well entrenched against us.

Well all that day we lay there, tired & no food (no one knew where we had got to, in the muddle); but we got some fun watching our guns shell a wood in front of us, & by gore they did  knock it about. We saw the Germans simply scuttling for cover when our high explosive shells got on to them.

Late that night 12 midnight, we were told to go back to billets, so we marched back, very tired & hungry, & reached them at 4 a.m. At 5 we got orders to move to more billets further back at 7 a.m. So we moved off & had of course no sleep that night. Well we marched at 7, reaching billets at 12, & settled down we thought for a day or two’s rest. But at 4.30 that evening we got orders to go back at once, to stay in reserve up near the firing line. So we trekked off again, the men utterly fagged, for we had no sleep for 3 nights, but we managed to get there, & found rotten billets, & could get no food. However I got some tea off a tommy & went to bed (?) about 1 a.m. absolutely cooked.

Nothing happened and we stayed there next day till 5.pm. & then marched back to here, arriving at 11pm.; that was on the 13th as we are still here.

The Brigade did splendidly, and got no end of praise from everyone, & the regiment has received heaps of congratulations on the good work done in capturing Neuve Chapelle, or helping to do so, for really the 2/3 Gurkhas & Berkshires had a hand in it too.

Our poor 1st Bri. got a very bad time; they got off the track a bit in their attack & lost very heavily. Seven officers were killed that day & 2 wounded; only 3 of the Bgde were killed, Kenny, Welchman, & Sparrow, other Col. was wounded; the other 4 were fellows attached. In the 2nd Bri. we were very lucky, as we had no officers touched, though we had 150 men hit in the 3 days. I’m most awfully sorry, we all are, about those 3 fellows, whom one knew so well, it’s so hard to believe they are dead; & the other 4 whom I only knew really by sight, as they were only attached to fill up vacancies caused by Lumb & Lane being on the sick list. Terrible is’nt it; but they were soldiers, & it was a soldier’s death anyhow.

But our 1st Bri did wonders next day; after having all those officers killed, they were heavily attacked & shelled all day, but they never broke, though they suffered terrible losses, they fought like fiends & earned absolutely undying fame, really they did; everyone says so, & our Divisional General told us this morning that the name of [censored?] was famous for all time. Our men are really splendid, & 1st class fighters & soldiers, & I am frightfully proud of belonging to such a magnificent regiment.

And poor dear Major Mac! He’s gone too, the very nicest man that ever stepped; one of nature’s gentlemen, & a perfect example of courtliness. He went in to command the 1st Bri. on the 10th after their Colonel was wounded, & was killed on the 12th by a chance bullet. I was so fond of him, & he was always a perfect dear to me. I don’t know what the regiment will do without him, he always seemed essential to its welfare, & it is hard to imagine the 39th with no Major Mac; it has taken away a lot of the joy of victory. I would give anything to get him back.

We buried him & Kenny in a little churchyard close here; I was so glad they buried him there, & that I was able to go to his funeral; I was at least able to pay my last respects to a very dear friend. All gone now, 7 good men in the 1st Bri. & 1 in the 2nd Bri, all given their lives for their country.

Everyone has been loud in their praises of the conduct of the two battalions in the fighting, but I would rather they said nothing if only we could get those good fellows back again.

Well it can’t be helped. I have tried to describe to you this small part we took. It was all very exciting, & after it was all over we were all absolutely done, tired was’nt the word. We had been constantly on the move for three days & nights, food had been erratic, & sleep out of the question. But for all that, the men were cheery & hopeful, & you couldn’t want better soldiers. I am frightfully busy now fixing up all the muddle inevitable after a show like this, & am still very sleepy & tired, as I have’nt had much time to rest yet.

I’m afraid the casualty lists will be heavy when published. We all had narrow shaves, I had a fearfully narrow one, but must tell you about it some other time, as I’m too tired to go on writing now. Goodnight Mother & I’m as right as rain & awfully fit.

Love to all   yr loving son

Ted.


The original of this letter is in the Archive of the the Imperial War Museum: Private Papers of Lieutenant Colonel E R P Berryman DSO –  http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030021700 

The grave of Henry MacKinnon MacTier

The grave of Henry MacKinnon MacTier

War Graves Photographic Project: http://twgpp.org/information.php?id=1986474

Major Henry MacKinnon MacTier – 21/07/1866 to 12/03/1915
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/328074/MACTIER,%20HENRY%20MacKINNON

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Neuve_Chapelle

 
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Posted by on 16 March, '15 in About

 

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13 March 1915 – Ted to Gertrude – Neuve Chapelle

March 13th/15

Dear Mother

Just a line to tell you briefly of our doings the last few days. On the 9th we left our billets after a week’s rest & marched to more billets near the trenches. We spent the 9th there & on the night of the 9th marched off to the trenches- on the morning of the 10th, as you see in the papers, we advanced. You no doubt saw that Neuve Chapelle was taken; well this brigade took it & the 2/39th practically took it on their own, & we went on right beyond it. After a terrific bombardment by artillery for ½ an hour we charged the trenches, captured 180 prisoners & 3 machine guns; we lost a few men but on the whole it was very successful- We dug trenches beyond Neuve Chapelle, & stayed in them that night.

We then got orders at 12 midnight to march off and relieve our 1st Batt: in the trenches, & there remained till dawn, when we were ordered off to be attached to another brigade as they were short of troops. So off we marched again, & reached them about 7 am and stayed there or thereabouts, digging & working hard, till 12 midnight, when we were told to march off and have a rest. Well we got to our billets at 3.30 am on the 12th, & got orders at 5 am to march off that morning at 7 a.m.!

So off we went again, back to have a real rest for 2 or 3 days as the men were rather tired & knocked up after 3 hard days & nights  fighting, marching, and digging- We got to our new billets, settled down, but at 4 p.m. got orders to proceed at once up to a village near the trenches to be in readiness.

So again we marched off, although none of us had had any sleep for 3 nights & had been hard at work all the time. However we staggered off & arrived here at 9.30 pm. & after a long search for billets managed to get settled down, very tired & very hungry & we had had no decent food either for 3 days.

I got to bed about 12.30 & had a good sleep, but I could do a lot more. We are still here awaiting orders. I am afraid our 1st Battn have had a lot of casualties, 7 officers killed, including my great friend Major Mac, who had gone to command them vice their colonel who had been wounded. This war is too awful for words. This is only a scrawl, will write more when I have time. I am very fit & well, & going strong.

Love to all, your loving son Ted

(Enclosed in letter the following:
With many thanks
I hope and trust he may get through alright but it is awful – W G )


The original of this letter is in the Archive of the the Imperial War Museum: Private Papers of Lieutenant Colonel E R P Berryman DSO –  http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030021700 

In the ‘terrific bombardment by artillery’, Ted and Colonel Drake Brockman were sitting shoulder to shoulder, either side of two men who were killed outright by a shell exploding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Neuve_Chapelle

 
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Posted by on 13 March, '15 in About

 

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7 March 1915 – Ted to Jane

France.

March 7.1915-

Dear Jinny

Thanks most awfully for your topping long letter today, also the Royal and the Watch on the Rhine. Heaven knows if I’ll ever get a chance to sing it, but you never know & it would be awful fun to sing it at a Tommy’s concert if occasion offered, & it’s a sort of song that would “go down” like anything.

My dear what a rag you must have had that Sunday, I simply roared when I read your description of it; it must have been too truly funny for words; I should imagine the lawn is ruined for ever!

Ripping Dick having a nice little car, I suppose you all make yourselves awfully nice to him now. The hair wash has’nt turned up yet, but will tomorrow I expect. Many thanks anyhow. Talking of hair wash, I’m glad you liked the photographs; but like a first class fool I sent the explanation to Ben, who must be wondering what on earth it is, as I only put the numbers of the photographs & what they were. But I expect you’ve fixed it up by now & have found out what they all are. Very good I call them; I took a picture of an aeroplane right low down yesterday so I expect that’s sure to come out.

Miserable day today wet & rain, same like yesterday. Today I have been up to the trenches opposite Neuve Chapelle, mud everywhere, you wade in knee deep liquid pea soup for yards & yards, fall over, plaster your face with mud, sit in it, lie in it, wash in it, & generally live in it all round. Some bits of the trench are really quite dry & paved with boards & bricks, like a real street, but some are real jam. I wore my ‘scutum & it looks old enough now in all conscience, & keeps the wet out and the fug in, which is after all what it’s supposed to do. I am now writing this in a perishing barn which I use as an office. I believe we shift out of here tomorrow, so our little so called rest is over.

Alice is very fit, thanks, & full of life. Some former friend of hers brought her a lovely English Doll yesterday so she is fearfully pleased with life.

Why should you rag me about my letters? What’s wrong with em anyhow? I know they’re dam dull nowadays but there’s nothing much going on. I will tell you some lies if you like, just to fill up. Yesterday a German aeroplane flew down on to the road where we were standing, whisked off my hat, & flew up again. Then it looped the loop & came down, & out stepped General French, disguised as the Kaiser! He gave me back my hat, & said he was sorry, but he was just having a day off and rolling round just for fun in an aeroplane he had found lying by the roadside. He asked after you all, & said the war would be over on the 7th Sunday after Trinity & then flew away again. There, isn’t that interesting-

No rotting, yours really was a nice long interesting letter, 6 pages, & so neat & well – well, damned good all round. Well, very well thank you. Is’nt that a joke or something. The latest thing to say (I saw this in London O.) when you don’t quite catch what anybody says is “snow again sonny, I did’nt quite catch yer drift.” So I shall be always saying this now: awful won’t it be.

So you are going to sing at the white City are you; that’s good. I shall look out in the papers for an account of the concert. Your concerts are always a great success my dear; I wish I could be home to help you pull up the curtain or sell programmes or something-

By the way, talking of Cicely, what about never meeting her when I was at home, under the clock in High St a 3 o’clock on Tuesday 12 Jan 1915? Did you ever apologise & explain? Please give her my best love when you see her; I do wish I could have seen her as I hear she’s awfully sweet, & now Dick’s cutting me out.

Had a long letter from Rosamond yesterday, no, I mean today, so I have written a long one back to her. I hear she is awfully pretty nowadays, but then I always thought she was- I wrote to Ruth too a long time ago, I wonder if she ever got it, as I have never had any answer from her. I have been watching our six-inch guns shelling the German trenches today; they make a most appalling explosion & shake the whole place. There is also a 9 inch gun too somewhere, called “Mother” & that makes still more fuss. What on earth a 15 inch gun does I can’t imagine, I can quite understand the Dardanelles forts being blown to blazes by them. Long letter from Paul a day or two ago, he seems very cheery.

I must end up, dinner time & I must’nt be late.

Write again soon. Keep smiling    Love to Marj

& tons to you

fr Ted


 

Here is Dick’s nice little car.

Dick Berryman c 1915

Dick Berryman c 1915

 
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Posted by on 7 March, '15 in About

 

5 March 1915 – Ted to Gertrude

March.5th

Dear Mother

I got a cake from you a day or two ago, which was much appreciated and thanks awfully for it. I also got today 2 shirts from Percy, but the old fool has made em quite a different colour to my other ones, but perhaps he could’nt get the same stuff again; otherwise they seem all right.

Nothing much going on here, we are still in supposed rest, but don’t get much really. It is regular March weather now, windy & cold, but not much rain really now. We have had one or two really lovely days, but there is always this strong wind blowing.

I had a long letter from Paul yesterday, he did’nt seem to think much of the Gloucester as a sea boat in really dirty weather- otherwise he seemed very cheery. Ben also wrote me a long letter, you all seem to have had great times at the concert.

Any news of Jim’s or Topher’s commissions yet? I always scan the Gazettes eagerly to see if they have been appointed. I thought it took no time to get a commission nowadays.

Not much news from our part of the world, things are fairly quiet here I think, at present at anyrate; though they seem to have had some lively times up at Ypres.

Did you ever get those photographs I sent home I wonder? I think I shall enter for the Daily Mail £1000 prize, though I’m afraid none of those I sent are up to much. Still they are interesting and I must try and get some more; I hope Jane has been able to get me some films-

A dull letter, but there is nothing much to tell you I’m afraid.

Love to all

yr loving son

Ted.

 
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Posted by on 5 March, '15 in About

 

27 February 1915 – Ted to Jane

27th Feb

Dear Jinny

Very many thanks for your letter which I got yesterday. Yes please send along more hair wash, it will make my hair grow I’m sure.

It is bitterly cold nowadays, but I keep nice & warm & have heaps of warm things, thanks to your efforts; & the men have all they want so we are all quite happy; in fact we could’nt wear or carry any more in our kit even if we wanted to.

I hope your concert is a success; it’s coming off today is’nt it. Have you got when we wind up the watch on the Rhine yet. I’m sure that you appeal to tommy audiences; send me a copy when it comes out. Guy Mainwairing and I have just been bawling it out in the 1st Bn: mess (an old ruined pub!) I should think the Germans must have heard us! Yesterday afternoon they shelled us for an hour, most uncomfortable I assure you, but they did’nt do much damage. And they’ve begun again this morning & are at it now.

Yesterday was a simply gorgeous day, ripping & cold & clear. Four of our aeroplanes were up all day practically, & all the morning the Germans were firing at them & it got quite cloudy with the smoke from bursting shells up in the sky. One feller flew round & round, & each time he went over the German lines he got about 50 shells at him, to say nothing of rifles & maxims. But he was’nt hit at all, & after a bit the Germans stopped firing altogether, they either got fed up, or had no ammunition left. It was a wonderful sight. I tried to take some photographs of it but I don’t suppose they will come out. I have sent my other ones to Calais to be developed, & will send them along when they are done. By the way please send me 3 more packs of films will you, I’ll tell you the size etc etc in a minute-

It is colder than ever today, a very cold wind in addition- We are going back for a bit of a rest tomorrow, about time too as we have been in the trenches or in reserve continually since Jan 20th, & one must have a few days off occasionally. Up here one has to be either in the trenches, or just behind in constant readiness in case of necessity. I hear the Guards are relieving us, so I suppose all the Lords & Dukes will be paying us a call soon.

You seem to have had great times on your birthday- Glad Babs liked my messages, give ‘em to her again will you & I hope she’s all right again. So the Saxon story is the buzz is’nt it. I’m afraid I haven’t got any more to tell you. The Saxons are still opposite us here I think, & occasionally yell out good morning & things like that.

I am sending you a receipt for some insurance money; you might ask mother to keep it will you; thanks.

So glad you went and called on the Holdens; that ought to make the car a snip whenever you want it.

I’m sorry this is such a dull letter but there is absolutely no news to tell you. Things are fairly quiet here, bar the shelling which is very unpleasant while it lasts; they’ve stopped now, but will begin again I expect about tea time; they generally do. Tons of love

from

Ted

Drake-Brockman’s narration of where they were is a little confused at the end of February. It seems that they “occupied some houses behind [the line] in the Rue de l’Epinette as reserve for three days” but it’s not clear either which three days, probably the 25th to the 28th, or indeed which Rue de L’Epinette, I have assumed it’s the one near Festubert.


When We Wind Up The Watch On The Rhine (including links to audio):
http://www.archeophone.com/features/march_to_war/songs/cd1/23.php

Score https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/25775

 
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Posted by on 27 February, '15 in About