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LANSDOWNE,
GARHWAL,
U.P.

August 23. 1916.

Dear Mother

Very many thanks for your letter last mail. Terribly sad about poor Wiggs, I do hope old Ben is getting along all right: poor girl, I am most frightfully sorry, but words are useless to express what I really feel. I am glad she had a good friend like Dolly Darwen close at hand to go to; I can quite imagine she was most awfully kind to her. I know she will be brave, but it’s a terrible blow for her. The Queen’s seem to have done awfully well, as far as one can gather from the meagre mention that is made of regiments in the papers, but at what a cost! Fancy only 200 men coming out of the fight.

Still, we seem to be pushing on slowly, and on all fronts, which must tell eventually, & the news from Salonika today seems to indicate great happenings there in the near future. I hope Jack Houghton is all right; what a nasty wound he got, but at least he is alive. Hope Paul’s all right, I see the German fleet put its nose out again but retired hurriedly & we lost two cruisers, but is not it ripping to think the crews were practically all saved. I imagine we can spare the ships, it’s the trained crews that matter most.

Alix has I believe arrived in India; I saw her name down in a list of passengers arriving at Bombay yesterday. I must see if I can manage to go & see them in Simla if I can wangle the leave.

I am sending you a book of photographs taken in Egypt, of the trenches we made at Ayun Musa, & various other pictures of Port Said etc during the war. I sent Nell a similar book, and now I hear hers has reached her safely, I will send one along to you. Lovely weather lately, very little rain & nice & cool, & some lovely views of the hills. We get a mail on Friday I believe, in 2 days’ time, quite nice & early this week.

No more for the present

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Ted

It’s not clear what else is “terribly sad about poor Wiggs” other than that he died. Wiggs’s body wasn’t identified until the 1930s, so Ted may be referring to the fact that he had no known grave at that time. Or perhaps he had originally been posted as missing and was now confirmed dead. 

It’s satisfying that we still have this album. Here are some of the best photographs from it.

Ayun Musa 1916

Ayun Musa 1915

Ayun Musa 1915

LANSDOWNE,
GARHWAL,
U.P.

Aug 17/16

Dear Mother

A very belated mail reached us on Monday, & I don’t think it was even then complete. I got a letter from you dated July 19, & Nell’s last was on the 16^th, so I expect some is hung up somewhere. Many thanks for your letter. Yes rather, we have read Jellicoe’s despatch now and I think I told you I had a long letter from Paul all about the show. So he’s gone off again has he, but I’m afraid he and his pals did too much damage last time to actually encourage the Germans to come out again. However one never knows of course. The news continues to be good, especially from the Russian front, and what tremendous efforts we are making in the ammunition and gun line, our present output must be enormous & almost incredible.

Quite fine days here now, though a day or two ago I was tempted to pitch my tents in the garden in the sun, to air them a bit, but like an ass I left them up at night & it began to rain about 3 am & went on nearly all next day! However  today has been fine and warm again so I have managed to dry them and put them away.

Glad Ruth’s pleased to have got what she wanted; I expect I shall hear next mail what it is. So glad Jim is in such good form, & is so important; I suppose they are keeping him at home to run courses of bombing and such little things.

Fancy Nance getting a little two seater; hardly war economy, but I don’t think that matters much. Nell seems very fit & flourishing, & very hard at work as the hospital is very full just now of course. Our 1^st Bn: is off to Quetta shortly, as a sort of garrison for the place I suppose, & also probably to make room for the 3^rd Bn: here. No more news about the raising of it yet, but I suppose we shall get some shortly.

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Ted.

Did I tell you I had moved out of Dolly Lyell’s bungalow as he is replastering it & generally repairs etc. I am living in 2 tiny little rooms ordinarily reserved for the Brigade clerks in peace time but now empty.

I saw one of the Lloyds’ photographs in the paper the other day, engaged to some man, I forget who or what, but I saw the name Lloyd of Hartford House Winchfield

“Nance” may have been Nancy Swan who would become engaged to Paul in 19017, but she was  only 20 or 21 at the time and it seems rather fast and rather extravagant for a woman that young to have got a car. 

Gladys Mary Lloyd

http://www.mundia.com/in/Person/52038937/13291503293

Her first husband, Major Geoffrey Lee Compton Smith, was captured by the IRA and executed on the 30th April 1921. It is an extraordinary story and his letter to his wife displays the British upper lip at its stiffest. He leaves his watch “to the officer who is executing me because I believe him to be a gentleman and to mark the fact that I bear him no malice for carrying out what he sincerely believes to be his duty”.

http://www.cairogang.com/soldiers-killed/compton-smith/compton-smith.html

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1924/may/19/major-g-l-compton-smith-murder

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2743800/COMPTON-SMITH,%20GEOFFREY%20LEE

http://historicgraves.com/story/major-geoffrey-lee-compton-smith

http://irishvolunteers.org/2012/04/frank-busteed-cork-ira-no-1-brigade/

Her brother Wynell Hastings Lloyd was also murdered, in his case he was shot in his trench by one of his platoon in 1918

http://www.woodyatt.bravehost.com/cradley/pafg24.htm

Karachi.

August 15.

My dear Mother

Many thanks for your letter & the D.M.  Surely I asked you to send the D.M. or Daily Sketch & at the same time mentioned to you I saw the other papers at the Club if I wanted to.

Harold has not arrived yet, but I daresay the 2 parcels will roll up in time. I sent a cable too for my dress clothes, we may wear mufti again! And I’ve just bought some new uniforms. I am glad you remembered Harold’s book, how did you find it.

You did have a big house party last weekend, it must have been difficult to find food for them all but you generally come up to the scratch.

How awful for Cis Morse getting run into like that. She never married did she, funny as she was such a nice girl. I once met a great friend of hers coming out to India. An elderly man, a Capt Mac       , he was a bit dotty I fancy! & his wife & Cis were apparently great friends.

That’s quite new that search light near Guildford.

Funny Topher seeing Geoffrey by the side of the road.

Missed last mail, imagining it went later, but there’s a scheme by which you wire to the G.P.O. Bombay & they post the wire. I hope you’ll get it all right.

I played cricket last Sat with more or less success. Made 24 runs & caught a very difficult catch indeed.

Today I cadged a ride before breakfast on someone else’s pony. We have 2 dogs here now, a little Dachsund who is quite nice although an objectional breed, but of course he’s quite innocent. June & he fairly rag about.

Get Ben to send me June’s pedigree sometime when she can copy it out.

Must just write a line to Ted, I have’nt heard from him for a long time.

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Richard

Richard apparently had considerable charm. He must have needed it to overcome the ruthless selfishness which means he can ask his grief-stricken sister one month after her fiance’s death to write out his dog’s pedigree “when she can”. Sometimes it is very hard to like Richard, and this is one of those times. 

LANSDOWNE,
GARHWAL,
U.P.

Aug 10/16

Dear Mother

No mail in this week, it’s very late arriving in Bombay for some reason & does’nt get in till tomorrow morning (Friday) so it won’t probably be up here till Sunday or Monday; it’s a nuisance when it’s as late as that.

Nothing much doing up here. We have just got orders to raise a third battalion of Garhwalis, I suppose they have done so well that they want to make more use of them. We, both the 1st & 2nd Battns:, are giving some men each to form a nucleous, but no officers have been appointed yet, & the thing is very much in the embryo stage at present. I don’t quite know if it will be permanent, or only a temporary war measure, but I fancy they’d have some difficulty in recruiting in peace time sufficiently to keep 3 battalions going.

We’ve had a tremendous lot of rain lately, very heavy indeed, & one gets a good many duckings during the week, merely incidental on going out, as one can’t stay indoors all day, & as it’s nearly always raining you simply must get wet.

I have changed my quarters, & am now domiciled in two tiny rooms which were originally built for the Brigade Head quarters office clerks to be in; but during the war Bde H.Q. have been done away with, so these quarters are empty. They are small but quite allright, for after all it matters little where one lives nowadays, so long as you have a roof  over your head.

I get the Spectator & pink paper regularly; very many thanks for them

I’ve been thinking a lot of poor Ben this week; I do hope she’s all right; I know she’ll be brave, but there is so little to be said or done is’nt there; if sympathy of family friends is any comfort she must indeed find plenty; for no one who knows Ben – however slightly – could help being more than anxious to share her sorrow.

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Ted

Karachi.

August 4.

My dear Mother.

Many thanks for your letter & the photograph of me, most amusing & I’m so glad you’ve sent it. I expect Harold & the clothes’ll arrive later. Many thanks for the D.M. too.

How dreadfully sorry I am to see poor Wiggs is killed. Poor Ben, I am sorry for her. Ted sent me a wire asking if I had seen it, as we don’t see the papers till a day after he does. The initial was J instead of I, but it must have been the same.

I will see if I can write to Ruth, not this mail as I shan’t have time.

I am sending you some photographs, some for my album. These of the bungalow. Not very good I’m afraid. I am glad Voules send that 10/- back, £1 was quite enough don’t you think?

Many thanks for sending that photograph to Evelyn, thank Rosamond too.

Many thanks for tidying Harold up.

I am much better again now, as last week I’m sure I was getting low fever, never very bad, but never feeling well enough to do much.

It’s still very hot. Ted has lent me a most interesting letter of Paul’s to read, all about the Jutland fight.

Must end. It’s so hot & I want to catch the mail.

Best love to all

Yr loving son

Richard.