by E. W. Hermon
Really the bravery of the woman is something far finer than the ordinary man’s in some stirring moment. I shall never forget the calm bravery of these women out here. It is what the parson would call ‘beautiful’. The ‘sit still & never show it’ kind, the hardest of all. Any damned fool can run along in a crowd but it’s the ‘all alone’ that wants the sticking & my very own dear I can see you have stuck more, and more bravely than ever this time my darling, & my love and admiration dearie is more than it ever was before. Goodbye my darling for the present. My love to you all & buck up the time when we meet again.
20th November 1915 – No. 130 – Hurionville
My darling old girl,
Your 210 duly to hand & your remarks re the ‘completeness’ of the family equally duly noted for future guidance.
I have got a new pair of boots sent me by Pa, they came day before yesterday. I am so glad, my darling, that you are doing so well & it has eased my mind a lot.
I enclose you Bingham’s letter. I will talk to you about it when we meet, but tho’ I wouldn’t mind going to an infantry unit out here I do not know that I very much fancy one at home tho’ I could very possibly get one. I think I shall have to stay on in that position that it has pleased Providence to call me to & await events. However, I have only myself to blame because if I had really worked & passed into the Staff College no doubt I should be far better placed than I am.
As long as I can satisfy my own conscience & know that my own show is a good one, it is something at least. I am certainly not going back to the cavalry as a captain, after having had a Majority for five years nearly & having a squadron that will hold its own with any squadron I have seen out here yet.
Best love old dear, next Saturday at this time I shall be impatiently pacing the station waiting for the train to start.
21st November 1915 – No. 131 – Hurionville
We are having a very ‘cushy’ time here at present & thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Lass darling, you are quite right we have a very great deal to be thankful for & as you say I wish we could go & say a combined ‘Thank you’. However as you say, as long as one is grateful it is the main thing & we both are that I am sure. Harry’s boots turned up at Midday today and he is awfully pleased with them.
We are just close enough to hear the guns going and since I began this they have been having a sort of birthday treat & shaking my little cottage badly. The window rattles well when the heavier ones go, but one can put up with the noise as long as one is without its usual accompaniment. I’ve liked this week’s rest very much & shall come back quite fresh which will be splendid. It’s a great thing really this holiday & does one any amount of good. I must go now old dear, as I am Orderly Officer today & must see the skins9 put to bed.
Best love to you all, my little half-dozen.
23rd November 1915 – No. 133 – Hurionville
I am suffering also from excitement & I don’t feel at all like writing. I got your 213 today.
I am glad your cow is doing Ben well. Sorry he only weighed 8 lbs when I know for certain Dick weighed 3 cwts 1 qr 27 lbs. Very poor effort indeed. I am sorry the kids don’t like Charles Henry but we will talk it over amongst the many other things that we shall probably discuss.
My love to you all.
25th November 1915 – No. 125 [sic] – Hurionville
I was rather worried when Addie said in a later letter you had had bad pain the following day but I believe our old friend Chavasse says that it is to be expected as the family increases & so I took it as normal tho’ very unpleasant for you old dear. Anyhow, the family is now complete.
I am awfully glad that Ben is so good & I like the Charles Edward very much & am quite agreeable to let it stand at that. Pity that we can’t spell Charles with a ‘K’. How would you like ‘Kenneth’, only name with a ‘K’ I can think of?10
Best love old darling.
TOWARDS THE END of 1915, the first full year of the war, the Central Powers were in the ascendancy in several theatres of war, with Serbia under Austrian and Bulgarian occupation and Belgium and Poland under German control. Evacuation of Allied troops from the Gallipoli Peninsula had begun on the 8 December. A week later, on the Western Front, the Commander of the BEF, General Sir John French, resigned because of the continuing failure of British attacks. He was replaced by Sir Douglas Haig.
With the approach of winter there was less activity on the Western Front and with ‘C’ Squadron of King Edward’s Horse in Corps Reserve, Robert felt able to go on home leave. Leave boats sailed from Le Havre to Southampton, crossing the Channel in darkness to avoid German submarines; the journey took thirty-six hours. Robert remained in England until 9th December, meeting his newborn son for the first time.
9th December 1915 – telegram sent from Southampton
GOODBYE MESSAGE OPENED ONLY ON ARRIVAL HERE TOO LATE LETTER BY THIS POST. ROBERT.
9th December 1915 – Southampton
My darling,
I have only this moment (S’hampton) opened your note. It never occurred to me what it was. Lassie mine that I should have gone & left you with that request in my pocket grieves me beyond words.
Darling mine you know that had I seen it I would have come at once. Old Bob will have told you that I put it straight into my pocket without opening it & as we had agreed as to our parting, I took it to be just a sweet message to carry with me & I dare not have opened it then. Lass dear I was sorry I was so stupid & just broke down for a minute, but I am alright now, but I couldn’t have read a message from you & then said goodbye to the kids afterwards without breaking down. You say it was hard going before, but this dearie beats anything & to think that I have left you with your request unfulfilled makes it harder still.
Lass dear, I have been treasuring that last message to read on the boat & when I realized what I had done & gone & left you like that it makes me feel an awful beast.
However darling, it is too late now. We have just got here (4.30) & I am going on board after tea.
God keep you all my darlings,
Ever your Robert.
11th December 1915, 12.30 a.m. – Hurionville
Here I am at last in our little mess & Buckin is making me a cup of cocoa before going to bed. Weary & worn & sad, inexpressibly sad, dearie mine that I didn’t see you again as you wished. I am absolutely obsessed by it & can simply think of nothing else, it grieves me beyond words. Your food stood me in good stead & had it not been for it I should have been in a bad way.
Only this short note now dear, but I simply couldn’t go to bed without writing.
There is a large aching void Lassie mine, that will take a lot of filling. My lovely time at home ending with little Ben’s nice service will last me tho’ some time.
Goodnight my own sweet darling & my love to the Chugs.
11th December 1915, 4.30 p.m. – No. 4a – Hurionville
Have just got your nice letter my darling, written on Black-Thursday morning. You dear old thing to think of it & it has cheered me up wonderfully. I loved getting it as I hoped to get a letter from you by today’s post & then realized that it was an absolute impossibility. Then coming in just now I found your No. 0 lying on the table. ‘Ken’s’ duplicate was also much appreciated! It is so like him!! I never realized how much my holiday had done for me until I got back & feel absolutely different to what I did when I left & ever, ever so much better.
I am now quite settled down old girl & you need not worry in the least about me, I am only so concerned about you my love, lest the parting has put you back at all in your recovery. They talk about parting being such ‘sweet sorrow’ but they can ‘’ave parting’ for all I care. The Chugs nearly defeated me on the doorstep by reminding me that I hadn’t said goodbye to ‘Mum’. I wish to God I had only known how true it was. It was a bit of a shock when I opened your note at S’hampton & realized what I had done, but I can’t imagine what it must have been to you dearie to hear the car drive off & your dear request so very callously disr
egarded. I only pray that old Bob saw me put it straight in my pocket & has told you so.
Give my best love to the dear little Chugs after skimming the cream for your old self. Dearie mine, I’m so ashamed of breaking down at the last & making things so much harder for you especially when you aren’t strong, but I simply couldn’t help it. I was leaving everything in the world to me, & it was so terribly, terribly hard.
Ever my love, my own.
12th December 1915 – No. 5 answering No. 1 – Hurionville
Lass darling, if you only knew the store I have set by this, how I have longed for Ben to be Ben for this one purpose; your sentence has told me the one thing I have wanted more than anything. To feel that should anything happen to me that you have a substitute that is me & of me so recently, especially when old Bob is so soon going to school, takes all the pain out of the thought & is what I have longed for, ever since this beastly war began. It is too glorious that you have said this old dear & the greatest comfort. You say you have all the comforts but I thank God that you have.
What a lovely time we did have dearie, every minute was priceless under present conditions & the memory of it all will keep me going for months.
The General came over today & is at present proposing taking Barber as Staff Captain for the 141st Infy Bde but I don’t know yet if Thwaites will approve of him. ‘Cherchez la femme.’ All this has come about because he has a pretty sister. She knows a General, gets him to write to his old pal Barter, & it all coincides with a vacancy occurring. I am going to let him go if Thwaites will take him as he has done very well indeed since I have been away, & he has had a lot of work & responsibility.
I am enclosing you 30/- to buy the Chugs some small things from Dad for Xmas & you must add something to it if it won’t go round out of my money you will get at Xmas.
My love to you my own dear Lassie.
13th December 1915 – No. 6 in answer to No. 2 – Hurionville
Darling mine,
I have quite cheered Lassie dear & am as fit & well as ever I was. What a lovely time it was. I keep thinking & thinking about it and long for the next time. You will have to be very severe next time. It was so very safe this time.
I am fearfully pleased with the ‘pres’ & it writes beautifully I think. I was afraid when I first got it that the nib was a bit too soft but having used it I like it very much indeed & I don’t think it could be improved upon. I shall treasure it like anything because like one’s watch it seems somehow to be a very near medium.
Shall be pretty busy these next few days so you will only get scrappy bits. I want a couple more pipes & some more paper & envelopes. The typewriter paper would do well.
My love to you my darling.
14th December 1915 – No. 7 in answer to No. 3 – Hurionville
In some ways I do feel that I have never been away, just as coming home again made one feel the same, but there are times when one misses something & things seem dull & blank & one gets sort of fed up & wonders how it will all end. I’m feeling a bit that way tonight.
The Balkan news is very bad according to the papers but perhaps things will cheer up later on.
It’s a great blessing being able to write like this as if it wasn’t for your letters dearie, I don’t know how much more poisonous it would be. The pen still ‘Marché bien’ & I like it most awfully – it brings one somehow nearer to you dearie than at any other time of the day & I am very lonely now. The home influence & associations haven’t worn off yet & at times I want you very badly my dear.
My love to you my darling.
ON 15 DECEMBER the squadron moved again, to Drouvin just south of Béthune, where they were forced to share billets until the 19th when they moved to nearby Vaudricourt. Here they immediately began to construct stables to provide cover for the horses for the winter months ahead, using saplings for timber and three sailcloths from the Royal Engineers for roofing.
17th December 1915 – No. 9 in answer to your No. 6 – Drouvin
Rain, rain & still more rain!! I very much doubt if it will ever be fine again. We are living an awful hole & corner existence at present, haven’t been able to unpack or settle in any way & move about 200 yards only on Sunday morning.
I am so glad that your bit of comfort still comforts. I am sorry to hear you are without light especially as I am writing by the best electric light now. Barber went & fiddled with his switch last night with the result that he put out half the lights in the house, but by the aid of pins as fuses I have been able to mend switches and restore everything tonight.
I had arranged such a nice Xmas dinner for the men in the Château here & now they are going into hovels that are nothing like so good as the hovel at home, tho’ I hope to get the school for them if I can get them all into it. We are still smiling but it is a bit of an effort at times. What price our old friend D.H. now?
18th December 1915 – No. 10 in answer to your No. 7 – Drouvin
A lovely letter from you today & a great blessing and help these times as conditions of living are pretty bad & seem worse every day, the mud & wet being beyond a joke.
I am so glad to hear that Ken & his ‘vache’ are going on so well.
How funny Effie having my man’s sister as a nurse. I would almost rather have his regard than any man in the squadron as it is worth something. There are a pair of them, MacDougal & MacLagan, known as ‘the two Macs’. They are absolutely inseparable & report has it that if by any chance they were separated they would pine & die. They run my mules & very well they do it & are worth their weight in gold. They won’t go inside & insist on bivouacking & are living out now & have never been inside since we came out. They both want to get a remount job now & become officers & I am trying to get it for them but it will be a very sad day for me if I do lose them. I should like you to see the sister.
Many thanks for the children’s letters. It was good the lectures being appreciated so much.11
My love to you all.
19th December 1915 – No. 11 – Vaudricourt
Just a few lines before I go to bed. I have moved out of my fairly decent billet & now am in only a moderate one & the men worse off than they have ever been before, but still they have got a roof over their heads.
Today has been glorious and there have been more Hun flying than I ever saw before in one day. We saw a grand fight again today but I think that the Hun got away in the end. There were four of them over us this morning flying very high.
Our hostess is grousing like anything as she wants to lock up & I must go off to my billet.
My love to you.
20th December 1915 – No. 12 in answer to your 8 & 9 – Vaudricourt
I am so glad that you have at long last got my No. 2 and that you like it. It is difficult to write you decent letters now as we have got such poor billets. I have got a very comfortable room to sleep in but it is at the other end of the village & is rather too cold for sentiment – here in our mess we are equally cold and have five or six lads chattering & the gramophone going.
I am glad you liked my reason for Ben old dear, & we will certainly hope he won’t have to stand proxy. The cow is doing really very fine work & I must congratulate her. I will try and remember 7 p.m. every Friday. I am so glad the Chugs like their money. The Xmas pudding and the cake both arrived today. Thanks.
My love & best wishes for a brighter New Year.
21st December 1915 – No. 13 – Vaudricourt
A blank day today like the day before yesterday but your two nice letters of yesterday are still sticking by me like a good fid of plum duff!
I have at last got my way & bought the trees for making horse cover & hope in a few days to have a good portion of the squadron completely covered over. I rode into Béthune today & bought some tools & hope to get a lot done tomorrow if it is fine but today it has been too wet to work but my axemen felled 30 trees before lunch so we have a good bit of stuff to start work with tomorrow.
We are starting a class of instruction fo
r young Divisional Cavalry officers & Cecil Howard, 16th Lancers, & I are to run it here. Harry Rawlinson sent for me today & I met Cecil at lunch there. I am going to spend a night with him at Cavalry Corps H.Q. next week & so should see some old faces again. It really has been a most depressing day today, rain, rain & nothing but rain, simply teemed. I expect it is something to do with the increased amount of firing. I have got a strenuous day’s work in front of me tomorrow so shall be off to bed dearie now.
Best love.
24th December 1915 – No. 16 – Vaudricourt
I have been building all day & completed another stable today for another troop. That means cover for 70 horses. It is splendid getting the stuff & by next Saturday I hope to have the whole squadron under cover. They are just Dutch barns covered by tarpaulin sheets, each 30 ft by 30 & three sheets to a shed which makes the ground covered 85 feet x 28 with two rows of horses’ heads inwards 18 on each side of the centre line of poles.
How I wish I was going to spend tomorrow with you & the Chugs & have them running in, in the morning, with their things.
Best love my own old dear & all blessings on you & the Chugs.
Christmas Day 1915 – No. 17 answering your 13 – Vaudricourt
So far as I am concerned I have not had a particularly lively Xmas. First of all I wanted to go to church and didn’t wake up in time which annoyed me muchly. Then it rained like Hades most of the day & the horses are absolutely up to their eyes in mud.
I gave the men a whole holiday from 9.30 today & at midday & evening stables the officers & Sergeants fed & watered the whole squadron & acted as ‘stable guards’ from 9.30 a.m. until 6 p.m. when the night guard mounted. We have, in consequence, had a pretty strenuous day I can tell you.