by E. W. Hermon
You wonder when this war will end, well you needn’t fuss yourself about it ending for another 15 months at the very earliest I am afraid old dear. If it does it’s so much to the good, but you must make up your dear old mind to that, I am afraid. It is not a bright prospect and it is eating into some of the best years of our lives but it can’t be helped. There is no doubt that the armies of both sides are now so equal that it will be very difficult for either side to do much against the other for some time. However if the folk at home will really back the army & not go on strike & holidays & generally play the ass, it will help a lot.
My love to you old dear.
Ever your Robert.
1 General Sir Charles Barter, the divisional commander. In September 1916 Barter was dismissed at an hour’s notice for the huge loss of life at High Wood. Although there was never an official inquiry, he was largely exonerated.
2 In 1916 Queen Mary had expressed concern for disabled servicemen returning from the battlefields and instructed the British Red Cross Society to find a suitable home for them. The society subsequently purchased the Star and Garter Hotel in Richmond as a residential home.
3 Divisional Mounted Troops.
4 An underground bomb or mine.
5 General Sir Charles Monro had been given command of the First Army in France in January 1916 after executing the successful withdrawal of Allied troops from Gallipoli, and was confused by Major Hermon with the Charles Munro he had known in South Africa.
6 Parsons.
7 The Easter Rising of Irish Nationalists.
8 Royal Army Medical Corps.
9 Principal Medical Officer.
10 General Sir Charles Townshend.
11 Edward Impey, his housemaster at Eton.
12 Major James, senior major in the regiment.
13 A reference to Major James’s ‘mistress’.
14 Feilding.
15 Hardelot-Plage, just south of Boulogne.
16 Lieutenant Syme.
17 Poor Bloody Yeomanry.
18 The Regimental History sums up this exercise with the comment: ‘It can only be said that from the point of view of instruction the period with the 1st Cavalry Division was a waste of time; as a holiday it was a pleasant break from line warfare.’
19 A training exercise.
20 Royal Horse Artillery.
21 Major James.
22 The comment in the Regimental History says ‘some of it highly instructive, some intensely comic’.
REASSEMBLY OF THE REGIMENT
ON 1 JUNE 1916 the British and German navies engaged in the only set-piece naval battle of the First World War, the Battle of Jutland. Tremendous losses of ships and men were suffered, though neither side could claim outright victory. The experience, however, deterred Germany from any further naval battles and thereafter the enemy preferred to use the hit-and-run tactic of the U-boat instead. The death of Lord Kitchener on 5 June was seen by the Allies as another blow, but on the Eastern Front General Brusilov occupied Czernowitz, taking thousands of Austrian prisoners, giving the Allies some solace.
June 1916 also saw the continuation of the Battle of Verdun. In spite of losing Fort Vaux, the French maintained their grip on Verdun itself. At the end of the month, on the 25th, the preliminary bombardment, which would herald the major Franco-British offensive, the Battle of the Somme, began. The barrage was so intense that it was heard on Hampstead Heath.
With the reassembly of squadrons ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ in late May, Robert was given temporary command of King Edward’s Horse. However, the regiment was still denied an active role and Robert began to experience considerable frustration at being ordered to take part in seemingly pointless cavalry exercises, while men were fighting and dying on the Somme.
31st May 1916 – No. 162 answering 168 & 169 – Valhoun
My darling,
Well here I am, with my regiment collected around me & I only hope I shall remain in command. We marched in here half way between Pernes & St Pol, today at 11.30 a.m., ‘A’ & ‘C’ squadrons, and found ‘B’ already here, as it had been for some days.
You ask what I want & I should prefer to remain in command of the Regt to going on the staff. I have made Steve acting adjutant & explained to him that he is merely keeping the seat warm for ‘Mac’ provided you can repair him in time. I will give you two months to do it in. If he is passed fit by July 31st he can have the job so long as it lies in my power to do it, but of course I couldn’t answer for what Jimmy does if he comes out.
We had a very good march back here. I had a bad night last night, as two dogs made such an awful din under my window. At length I got up and by a fine flow of language drove them from the yard. In half an hour they were back & at it worse than ever. I was determined to stop them & had no other weapon than a half full & very large china ‘Jane’1 & as they passed under my window I let the lot go. It fell on a stone pavement right between them & burst like a shell. I don’t know where those dogs are now, but they left the yard at a terrific speed & never uttered again for the rest of the night! The worst of it was, I shook so with laughter that I was nearly sick & sleep out of the question, but the effect was splendid & it only cost me 2 francs!! Tell Betsy she must be mistaken, as Dad has no naughty words ‘on him’.
The Division is out of the line now & H.Q. quite close by so I hope to see them very shortly again. I wish I was at home to talk over things with you old dear, but I am at present out to command the Regiment & it will be a bitter blow if I don’t get it. If I don’t get it, I shall have a shot at a staff job. It will probably be at least a month before anything is settled.
My love to you old dear,
Ever your Robert.
3rd June 1916 – No. 165 answering 172 – Valhoun
Well I went over to see the Corps today & there the official application was made out for me to get command of the Regiment and I suppose will be signed by Sir Henry tomorrow and sent on. The only thing was that I had to be loyal to old James & as I had his letter telling me to apply to the Corps for him and H.Q. to come out, I insisted that his letter should be pinned to my application so that the Corps Commander could decide between us as to which he wanted. I shall know in a day or two what has been done & will of course let you know at once. I lunched with the Corps Commander & rode some of the way home with him as he was going to an inspection.
I heard about the Naval battle there. Perhaps it will help the nation to realize that there is a war on and that if they mean winning they have got to take it seriously. I have just been looking through the weekly illustrated papers. Makes one think a bit when you are close behind the Vimy Ridge, tho’ a long way back & personally quite safe, nevertheless I have been talking today to fellows who were there & it wasn’t all jam while it lasted.
Such a nice lad I knew well is missing & I fear done for tho’ he may have been taken prisoner. He was with me the last time I was in the front line & in the very part the Huns took from us. Tell Mac they came across with their right on Tanchot, took Gobron & Erzatz and stretched away about 1000 yards further south. They had a hundred batteries concentrated on this piece by way of preparation and simply flattened everything. Tell him we now hold the 3rd line on the ridge & are still east of Zouane valley. Tell him that they put a lot of shells into the place I lived at after he was hit & so it had to be evacuated!!!
I called in & saw the old Div. on my way back & they were wonderfully cheery & pleased to see one & I have had a very pleasant day altogether. We are a very long way back I am sorry to say tho’ perhaps it is as well. It would take me 2¼ or 2½ hours to ride comfortably to my old Div. H.Q. You say I am probably back again in sound of the guns & I just am, but that is all.
The Corps didn’t take very kindly to my suggestion that I should keep the Adj. open for Mac, as once he is in England he is off the strength of the Regt out here & one is not allowed to ask for folk by name from England. I haven’t given up hope so far & you can tell him he can rely on my doing my best. What
is so annoying is that if it hadn’t been for me sending him off on that job I should have him now which, tho’ quite unavoidable, is very bad luck.
6th June 1916 – No. 168 – Valhoun
Many thanks for the gooseberries! We had some at Carly but these were most acceptable but they weren’t quite cooked enough in the tart we had tonight & having a large helping I am feeling symptoms of a painful & sleepless night!!
I am very optimistic tonight. I feel that these attacks of the Hun2 are the attacks of desperation & I believe he is on his last legs. It may not be that we shall have him beat until next year, but I am sure that he’s out for something desperate. If he fails everywhere as I am sure he will, even tho’ he drives us back as much as a mile or two in places, I believe he will bust up. However, mere speculation is not worth much.
I shall want my typewriter out & will let you know later how to send it. Perhaps you had better pack it at once and send it by M.F.O. See that it is properly screwed down to its board and if it is at present loose from the board, take out the screws from its rubber feet and you will find in a pigeonhole in my desk longer screws to go through the board which hold it down. Don’t take off the rubber, just change the screws. Please also send me four packets of good typewriting paper from Harrods and a packet of carbon papers foolscap size.
My love to you all my dears.
7th June 1916 – No. 169 answering 175 – Valhoun
Today I assumed the rank of Lieut. Colonel! (Temporary Rank). Nearly all ranks are Temporary out here now. What it means is, that while I actually command the Regt they give one the Rank & pay. Now that the Regt is vacant by Sandy3 having gone, I want to know if they are going to pass me over James, or not. If they do, I get the substantive rank almost at once and that is for good. I’m going to have a good try for it. As it is, if we fight, I believe I command a Cyclist Battalion & a battery of machine guns too. I believe I get this command administratively too, almost at once.
What a real tragedy K of K’s death4 is – it is almost unbelievable. However even the best have substitutes somewhere. One of the compensations of life. My dear old girl, there’s no more chance of the war being over in a year than of my being selected to fill K’s place.
I didn’t know Ralph Juckes had got the Military Cross. Do tell him how very pleased I am. I am sure it’s wrong to have a piece of shell in so mobile a part as a man’s arm & I long to hear that Mac has had it out. I am so glad to hear he is so much better in himself & I long to have him back again.
My love to you my darling.
9th June 1916 – No. 171 – Valhoun
Today has been a slack one rather as the men have been to the baths and as usual handed in good shirts and drawn out lousy ones! It’s scandalous that they can’t get things done better than they do. I should have thought it would have been possible to set up steam laundries & have the things well done. However, ours is not really a very brainy or business-like army & one must gloss over its shortcomings.
The Remount man came & took off eleven horses that I wanted to dispose of & was glad to see the last of. Otherwise the day has been without incident. The rain seems to have gone for the present & good riddance to it too.
11th June 1916 – No. 173 answering 179 – Valhoun
Tell old Mac that I in no way despair of his getting the Adjutantcy as I have sent his name in, in writing & so far they haven’t sent it back & that is some days ago. If I have to appoint Steve he says he will certainly resign when Mac comes, but I shall probably want a staff officer for the whole show & Mac should get that if the other were to fail.
Russell & I rode over & had tea with the Div. today & passed the time of day with them. They all seemed very cheery & well. I am inspecting all the squadrons this week just to see how they compare & it then gives one a better idea of how one stands.
Mimi sent me a couple of photos of old Bobbo with his rabbit! Please thank old Bet for the tobacco pouch which was very welcome as I bust little Mairky’s Xmas present & my old one was full of holes. My love to you all my darlings.
12th June 1916 – No. 174 answering 180 & 181 – Valhoun
First & foremost I am more than relieved to hear that old Mac’s operation has gone so well & I only hope that now he will go right ahead & get well quickly. He amused me very much referring to his efforts at thanks by saying that ‘you could squash even better than I could’. The cake turned up alright & in good condition. White House pack theirs so badly they are always broken when they fetch up.
I don’t know how any sane person can say the war will be over in a month – it is absolute rot, because they hold us everywhere, on every front & so far show no signs of weakening anywhere. If it ended in a month it would be a disaster of the first magnitude, an inconclusive peace with the power of Germany uncrushed. The one thing that we are fighting for is at least to stop a recurrence of such a thing in our or our children’s lifetimes & that is certainly not done yet. God forbid that it should end in a month! Much as I want to be home again & shut of wars.
The Army Commander inspects us this week.
My love to you my own old dear.
13th June 1916 – No. 175 answering 178 & 182 – Valhoun
We had our field day today, in the most awful downpour of rain you ever saw. Really the last ten days have been worse than we have had since Christmas and it still shows no sign of clearing. How on earth we shall turn out tomorrow goodness only knows!
My dear old girl, it will be a blow if I don’t get the Regt after all but life is full of little disappointments. I am delighted to hear so good a report of old Mac again. Tell Mac that I consider him quite unfit to be Adj. even of a fire brigade. He has no right to ‘twit’ his C.O. and when he comes out he will have to pay for it as I have sent his name in on paper & now Jimmy will strafe him well & serve him right!!
My love to you my darling, & let us hope for the best.
15th June 1916 – No. 177 – Valhoun
I have had to pay for getting two lovely letters from you yesterday, by going without today. However I am still bearing up in spite of the fact that I have just started Barber off to home sweet home. He is going to ring you up and is also going to try and motor over and see you, which I hope he will manage.
One of the officers of another squadron told me tonight that there isn’t an officer or man who isn’t desperately keen that I should have the Regiment which pleased me very much. I do want it so badly that I shall be fearfully disappointed if I don’t get it but after Stamfordham’s letter it is going to take me all my time to pull through.
Ever, my lassie, your Robert.
16th June 1916 – No. 178 answering 184 & 5 – Valhoun
I’m a little light-headed tonight so excuse this if it wanders all over the shop. Today the whole of the Corps Mounted Troops have been placed under my command and tomorrow the rest of them arrive in the next village. Bell5 is acting as sort of Staff Captain for the present & I believe should do the job well as I have a very high opinion of his qualities.
These folk only march in tomorrow and I have got to have a Field Day on Monday with the lot, for the benefit of the Corps Commander, & what is worse it has got to start with a lecture by E.W.H. on the method of handling the Corps Mounted Troops also before the Corps Commander who is himself a lecturer of the very first quality!!
I must answer your letter tomorrow dearie. I started at 9 a.m. by inspecting ‘B’ Sqn, got back to the office at 12 & was there until 1.15, passed 5 young officers out in the mechanism of the Hotchkiss Gun 2–2.30, at 2.30 motored to 1st Army Training area, got back at 7 was in the office until 7.45 p.m. Had dinner, returned to the office at 8.45 and left it 10.30 p.m. all for 25/-.
My love darling mine.
17th June 1916 – No. 179 answering 184, 185 & 186 – Valhoun
I see I got my ‘Mention’ at last, tho’ I must say it has given me really very little pleasure. Had it been in the last Dispatches it would have given me very great pleasure because I knew I had done work
that well deserved a ‘Mention’ but coming so late, it isn’t quite the same. However one must be thankful for small mercies and if it has given you any pleasure, my darling, I am amply repaid.
I have been most fearfully busy today old dear, what with one thing and another. My command having suddenly leapt from 400 to a 1000 officers & men to say nothing of the beastly horses, motor cars & what not, keeps one fairly occupied.
Many thanks for doing all my shopping. The paper hasn’t arrived yet but I expect it will tomorrow. While I am on the question of papers will you write & tell the Times & D.M. [Daily Mail] to change the address of my papers to K.E.H., IV Corps Cavalry ‘B.E.F.’.
18th June 1916 – No. 180 – Valhoun
Only a short letter tonight as I am about to have my monthly bath. Things seem to be straightening themselves out alright now & after two very heavy days I think we have fairly broken the back of the heavy work.
I have been fairly sweating up my lecture for tomorrow as I feel that the day will decide my fate as I can’t help thinking that the Corps Commander is coming with the idea of seeing what he thinks of one, prior to writing in his views as to who is to command. I’m going to have a damned good try to put up a decent show.
My love my darling.
19th June 1916 – Valhoun
I didn’t get a letter from you last night but funnily enough I said to Steve ‘I’m sure that it is in connection with the command of the Regiment that the Corps Commander wants to hear me give a lecture and also see me run the whole force.’ We started with a lecture at 8.30 a.m. for 45 minutes & then we started on the field day.