For Love and Courage Read online

  Faversham powder factory was blown up last night & it made a fine old bang & fairly lit up the sky. I heard that several folk were killed. Suppose they were working overtime as it was about 10.30 when it happened.

  Best love dearie mine,

  Ever your Robert.

  18th August 1914 – Grove Park, Watford

  Darling mine,

  Sorry I haven’t been able to write you before but I have had too much to do.

  I got in here on Sunday night after a very successful night and am camped alongside the grand junction canal. We bivouacked instead of going into billets as it was a lovely night and all slept in the lines. Exactly at midnight a steam barge came along the canal, blew its siren & the whole of the horses cleared off again. We were all lying on the ground, every man within 4 yards of his horse & the whole squadron except one horse went, & not a soul was touched. One horse broke its neck and several were badly injured. I seem to be cursed with bad luck with the horses but perhaps now all will go well. I have got the whole squadron in farms all over the shop, & one can’t look after one’s horses personally and it is most disappointing, but perhaps it will be alright.

  These two stampedes have taken thirty horses from me & I can’t mount the men, which is a terrible handicap. The administration of the squadron under these conditions is also most difficult & valuable time is lost assembling and dispersing to say nothing of the extra trouble of sending rations to six different places.

  The C.O. saw Kitchener the other day & he told him he wanted to send 6 more divisions across but that he had fully made up his mind that no regiment should go over unless it was trained sufficiently highly to do credit to the Nation. I was awfully glad when I heard it as I was afraid we should get fired out when I knew we were not fit.

  Love to you all,

  Ever your Robert.

  THE FIRST STAMPEDE occurred in Alexandra Park. Many of these horses were hunters, unused to being picketed in the open. Unfortunately the commanding officer declined to picket them in the enclosed area of the grass tennis courts, and the racecourse had already been declared off limits. On the night of 13 August, 300 horses were involved in the stampede. All night the terrified animals tore round the park and in the morning, when they were finally brought under control, six animals were either dead or had to be destroyed and thirty more were injured.

  14th April 1915, 11.30 a.m. – Bishop’s Stortford

  My own darling,

  God knows it was hard parting when I went to the S. African war, but hard as it was then, this is infinitely harder.

  Darling mine you don’t know how you have helped me by being my own dear brave Lassie to the last. My work has been very hard these last few days and had you attempted to come to see me dearie, it would have only made it so much the harder. I must be at my very best now to get my squadron off and no personal feelings must be allowed to interfere with the work for a moment.

  May God watch over you & keep you & my little darlings till I come back again.

  Goodbye my darling love,

  Ever your Robert.

  ON THE 14TH, Robert also posted a letter to his wife marked ‘Open only when I am gone abroad’. With it he included the following poem, written by Sheila E. Braine:

  ‘Farewell’

  If, when you think of me in future years,

  It brings a pang, and on your pale sweet face

  The happy smile is lost ’mid gathering tears,

  And grief usurps its lovely dwelling-place,

  Then let me be forgot; alone, apart –

  Soldier of England, counted leal and true

  I shall sleep well ’neath alien soil, dear heart,

  Sleep well – and dream of you.

  Underneath it he wrote:

  Darling mine,

  I thought this rather nice in case of accidents.

  Ever your Robert.

  20th April 1915 – Bishop’s Stortford

  My own dear Lassie,

  Goodbye my darling & may God keep you & the dear little Chugs. Give them all a nice kiss from me & my darling I love you so for being so brave, & I wish I could write you all I have felt these last few days but somehow it doesn’t seem to come now, perhaps it will one day later & then I will try & write you a really nice letter my love & tell you why I couldn’t see you.

  I did so want to write you a letter that would be a comfort to you & it isn’t a bit.

  Lassie darling, I pray every night I may be worthy of my men & of you.

  Ever your Robert.

  ON 21 APRIL, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons embarked at Southampton in the transport ship Palm Branch. Major Hermon was ‘OC Troops’ in the ship, which was escorted by two destroyers. The journey was uneventful with a moonlit night and a glassy calm sea. No submarines were sighted. The ship arrived at 2.30 the following morning at Le Havre, where the squadrons disembarked. From here Robert was able to send a brief postcard to Ethel, which read: ‘Landed alright. Robert.’

  Robert’s squadron entrained at the Gare des Marchandises. The journey to Lillers, via Abbeville, Boulogne, Calais and Hazebrouck, took twenty-four hours, with stops to water the horses and provide coffee and brandy for the men. The men arrived to the sound of gunfire – the second Battle of Ypres was in progress. The War Diary for ‘C’ Squadron, written in Robert’s own hand, recorded:

  Arrived at LILLERS, raining hard & detrained at once. Acetylene flares of greatest assistance, which was more than RTO [Railway Transport Officer] was, who invaded the trucks with an army of ruffians & threw the saddlery all over the place & it took hours to sort it in the dark while he went off to bed.

  From Lillers, the squadron proceeded to Ecquedeques in pouring rain, arriving at 3 a.m. All ranks rested in a straw barn until daylight when the officers moved into an estaminet in the town until they found billets.

  26th April 1915 – estaminet in Ecquedeques

  My own darling,

  I got your dear letter today my own darling & I have simply loved it, both your No. 1 & 2 arrived together as my orderlies did not go in to Div. Hd Qrs until today. You can’t imagine how cheering your letters are dearie & how they have brightened the day for me, not that it wanted brightening as we are all in the very best of spirits & really thoroughly enjoying every minute of the time. You wonder where I am & at the present time I am in the big room of the ‘estaminet’ & all the others with me. I think that in a few days I shall be able to give you more news but as I am my own censor I have to be particularly careful what I say & am no doubt erring on the over-cautious side.

  Darling mine your letter hasn’t blued me a bit & I have loved it. I am glad you felt as I did about the train business. Poor old Bell,3 he shook hands with me at the train with tears running down his cheeks & his voice so broken he couldn’t speak.

  We are really doing top-hole at present, Buxton is a top-hole cook, we only want some cakes & you might send me a box of cigars (Harrods Club Stock No. 1).

  The staff of this Division are all charming & only too anxious to do anything for one. The G.O.C.4 came & had a dish of tea with us tonight & was horrified at MacDonald being left at home & has gone off to wire for him to come out to me at once. Poor old Mac he will be delighted. Will you ring him up about 8 p.m. & tell him this & that the G.O.C. told me to write to him and tell him to get his kit together at once. Tell him to bring food for himself for the voyage across as he might get on a ship that doesn’t cater for officers. Tell him to keep it dark till he gets his official orders. Also tell him that he will have to act up to the highest traditions of the British army when he does come as I told the G.O.C. that his services were indispensable & that he was the best officer I ever met.

  We move to our new billets tomorrow. I will try & send you one of my maps soon if I can & then you will be able to follow in the papers. I cannot of course tell you too much or absolutely promise the map but will do all I can. We are to be 5 days in the new billets & then move into the town to the Division.

  There has be
en a good deal of heavy gunfire today & it fairly shakes the windows of this old pub. They tell me that Mondays are always ‘lively’ as the French do not shoot much on Sundays so have a double allowance of ammun. to get through on Mondays.

  You would laugh at my efforts at French, they are decidedly crude. Those damned verbs fairly boil me. I think you might send me out my French grammar, it is in the gunroom cupboard. The men are doing really very well & I am pleased with them & don’t care who sees them now. They are as keen as mustard & working top-hole. Give my love to the family and tell them that I will write to them as soon as I can find time. I must go to bed now dearie as it is late & I have had a tiring day.

  All my love to you dearie mine & the dear little Chugs too.

  Ever your Robert.

  AFTER TWO DAYS, on 27 April, the squadron left Ecquedeques and marched to Fontinelle Farm, near Béthune. Robert’s reference to the fact that Cheviot Bell was distressed at not being fit to go to France is confirmed by a letter from Bell to Ethel Hermon on 21 April, from the New Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall:

  Dear Mrs Hermon,

  I have been staying up at Bishop’s Stortford to see something of the K.E.H. before they went & this morning saw them off on the train so I thought perhaps you might like to get news of Major Hermon. He has of course been working awfully hard ever since they got their orders & has been looking rather tired, but this morning he was as fresh as he could possibly be & of course delighted to be really off this time & he’s looking awfully fit.

  Both squadrons looked awfully well & went off without a hitch: ‘C’ really are top-hole, some of the most unlikely recruits having turned out splendid. With a squadron like that of his own making I’m perfectly convinced he’ll do something really big out at the front; I formed this opinion on my first parade under him as a trooper & I’m doubly sure of it now.

  I shall miss him dreadfully myself as he has always been so good to me, especially now when I’m stuck as I am, with the doctors telling me that if I join up & start riding I’ll probably crack up in a week & making me wait longer & longer. I’m afraid I’m a shocking bad patient but Major Hermon is always going out of his way to cheer me up.

  My brother – lucky beggar – went off also this morning with ‘B’ Sqdn. Personally I’m quite one of the most fed-up men in England at the present moment; to be forced to do nothing except loaf & idle just when loafers & idlers are the last people wanted & not to know when one will be able to get out to the front when one’s simply dying to do the latter, is simply the limit.

  Please give my kindest regards to Betsy, Mary, Meg & Bob, & whatever you do don’t worry about Major Hermon as he’ll be as safe as if he was over here for some time yet.

  Yours v. sincerely,

  Cheviot W. D. Bell

  IN FRANCE, MEANWHILE, Robert’s squadron were adjusting to life closer to the front.

  28th April 1915 – Fontinelle Farm

  Darling mine,

  Just a few lines to tell you I am still well & happy. The G.O.C. came out here this morning to inspect the squadron & seemed quite pleased with what he saw.

  I have been in to dine with him tonight. He sent his A.D.C., a gunner captain, out in a covered Daimler to fetch me into the town and sent me out again in the car afterwards. We had a top-hole dinner. Very good soup, fried sole, lamb’s fry, apricot tart, cheese & some really first class cigars at about 2/6 a time & I then took 2 frcs 50 out of them at bridge. It seemed so funny to be sitting there just having an ordinary dinner & the guns shelling away like steam just outside the town. There was some talk of a shell having fallen in the town during the day but no one seemed to be quite certain about it.

  We are to have our first go in the trenches next week which should be very interesting, a troop at a time just to get accustomed to the shelling & to learn a bit about trench warfare & how it’s done, that in case of need, we should know our way about a bit. I haven’t been out yet on the German side of the town yet but hope to have a smell round there soon. Today has been simply glorious & the aeroplanes have fairly been on the go. It was almost too hot here at times & one wished one had thin clothes. You will have to send me my thin coats soon as these I have at present will soon be too heavy tho’ one fine day don’t make a summer & I daresay I shall be glad of them yet.

  My love to you old dear.

  Ever your Robert.

  30th April 1915 – Fontinelle Farm

  Darling mine,

  I had a most interesting day yesterday as I was told to go & reconnoitre the roads & lanes up to the trenches in case of the squadron being wanted suddenly. The sergeant major & I rode off together & while watering our horses the S.S.M.’s5 horse stepped into deep water & was quite out of his depth & swam about like a dog but he made for the bank & soon swam ashore, but it was rather funny seeing him swim about. We then rode on towards the trenches passing several batteries in action, which was very interesting. We then reached the line where it was advisable to leave our horses & go on foot, so we tied them up to some trees & walked on, & saw some more guns in action. We went right on till we couldn’t go any further without unnecessary risk & sat down & listened to the snipers sniping but no bullets were coming our way & we had lots of time to look around.

  I have told you of the absolute tranquillity of the inhabitants, but even here right up within 800 yds of the trenches the ordinary agricultural work is proceeding just as tho’ nothing at all was going on. Women and children in all the cottages along the roadside and all the fields around pitted with shell holes. Yesterday the Germans were not replying to our gun fire at all & I didn’t see a single shell come over from them which was rather disappointing after a long walk. Today however Barber & Stevenson6 went over to reconnoitre & while they were having tea with one of the Regts just behind the trenches, the Germans put their shells into the next house.

  Yesterday it almost made one laugh to see in the fields so close to the trenches, notice boards saying that crops were sown & that soldiers were not to walk or ride in the field!! As I walked out the Germans were fairly letting fly with an anti-aircraft gun at an aeroplane just over my head.

  I have just taken over command for warlike purposes 180 cyclists & six officers in addition to my own commando, so in the event of a scrap I have now got quite an army!! Things have been pretty quiet in this sector of the line lately and not much doing. Today we had some field firing in a big sandpit near here & I was delighted with the way the men shot, really top-hole.

  I have had some capital letters from the Chugs & enjoyed them very much, will you please thank them & I will try & write them a letter or two soon but one is very busy these times & it is only by burning the midnight oil that one gets a chance.

  I asked yesterday how much I might tell you & they said there was no objection to saying where I was so long as I did not mention my unit or other troops in the neighbourhood. I am at present in Fontinelle Farm about 4 km outside Béthune.

  I am enclosing you the map I promised you as you can then follow what is published in the papers. Of course I cannot tell you where the trenches are exactly, tho’ really I don’t see why I shouldn’t as the Germans know that already as they are quite close together in places, some places not more than a few yards apart.

  You might arrange to send us some good strawberry jam regularly & if you will send me a monthly bill I will send you a cheque from the mess. We want cakes, soup squares, Oxo, Bovril etc., & odd delicacies of sorts. We get plenty of good meat & bread & it is oddments we want at present. Cakes twice a week if possible as they [are] most acceptable.

  We have had the most lovely weather you can possibly imagine & the lads are so overcome with the heat that they are absolutely worn out tonight. Extract from old Bob’s letter ‘Mum & I have been mending a punkture on Bettie’s bicycle. We bloo the tar up——’.

  We are going to have a turn in the trenches next week for a bit just to see how things are done. I am glad to say in our section it is impossible for either si
de to mine or sap as there is water only two feet below the surface so that is something gained.

  The country here is as flat as a looking glass & is just like the dyke country from Rye to Hythe only as you will see from the enclosed map, small cottages everywhere & willow trees. I must go to bed now dearie mine.

  My best love to you all.

  Ever your Robert.

  ALTHOUGH THERE WAS a stalemate on the Western Front in April 1915, there was continual shelling on both sides and daily incursions into no man’s land by British troops, with resulting casualties. Just as ‘C’ Squadron arrived in France the German army used chlorine gas for the first time in the conflict, against French and Canadian Divisions in the Ypres Salient. British army censorship prevented any mention of this escalation in weaponry in letters home at this stage of the war.

  During May, ‘C’ Squadron were employed digging trenches, escorting prisoners and experiencing life in the trenches for themselves. First, however, the squadron needed to clean out the farmyard at Fontinelle Farm, where they were billeted, to reduce the risk of flyborne diseases to both soldiers and horses. The regimental history records that: ‘This was at length accomplished to the great pride of the O.C. and the intense amusement of the local inhabitants.’

  Sunday 2nd May 1915 – Fontinelle Farm

  My dear old Lassie,

  I am glad you have begun to get my letters now but I had a terribly busy time getting here & not a moment for writing.

  I am taking half my army into the trenches on Wed. night & the other half relieves us after 48 hours. I don’t expect we shall do more than one turn just for experience, but I am most anxious to go, simply to see what it is like. Pretty beastly I expect.