It was not easy: on a manual typewriter, she worked with a magnifying-glass trying to decipher Charlie’s neat but tiny handwriting, leaving only one hand free to type. Where words were unreadable she left gaps. Some names she misspelt, but Charlie was guilty of this, and she only copied him. He himself offers little help, sometimes not identifying a name or place, or using a nickname not seen before, or spelling his French mistakenly, or including a word in Maori. Or adding mysterious acronyms known only to himself. I later read Joyce’s transcripts with a fresh mind, but returned to the source in order to scrutinise them.
From a young age I had been close to Pauline and Harry, so his cousin Georgina Jay, who had inherited a quantity of personal possessions from Harry after his death in 1999, passed the suitcase to me. I inspected its contents, but their significance did not hit me until some months later. I now thank her again. With the help of my sister, Mavora Roberts, I deposited the documents at the Manchester Regimental Archives at Ashton-under-Lyne so that they could be preserved and also made available to future researchers. In 2012, the historian Anthony Fletcher suggested that I was ‘sitting on a treasure’, and that I should edit the diaries myself and have them published. I thank Anthony, and my friend Brian Harding, for their encouragement. I should also not forget Robin Cross, John Ingram, Brenda May, Colin Parr, Anthony Rudolf and Allen Steel.
I had been contacted by Adrian Bunting, a retired Army officer, and grandson of Arthur Bunting, who had seen a television drama in 2005 called The Somme which featured Charlie, and had obtained my contact details. He gave me copies of Bunting’s letters home to his wife and also those between my great-aunt, Maude May, and his grandfather. His military experience, access to further sources and hawk-eyed proof-reading of the manuscript have assisted me greatly. I also thank him for permission to include the correspondence of his grandfather.
A second retired officer and military historian, Robert Bonner of the Manchester Regiment, read the manuscript and introduced me to the Manchester Regiment Group Forum, a flourishing on-line information exchange. I have known nothing like this before and am impressed by the huge range of knowledge that its stalwarts are willing to share. This book would be nothing without Robert himself, Wendyg, Mack (Bernard McIlwaine), The Mons Star (Roy Sellstrom), Harribobs, Tim Bell, Timberman and many more. In Manchester I thank Mike Berrell for his local research. The chief archivist of the Manchester Regimental Archives at Tameside Local Studies, Larysa Bolton, and her colleagues have been extremely helpful to me in the compiling of this book, far beyond the call of duty, whether I have been present or at the end of a telephone line or email. The seven pocket books of diaries are catalogued as MR4/17/295/1/1 to 1/7. Charlie’s other writings, listed in the appendix, and photographs are catalogued as MR4/17/295/2/1, then through MR4/17/295/3/2, 3/3, 3/4 and 3/5. Copies of the diaries are also available in the Imperial War Museum, London.
I am indebted to Naomi Rudolf in Dunedin, New Zealand, for her careful research. The discovery of Susan Worledge, a remote relative, has also been extremely helpful. Susan has kindly provided letters and photographs. My second sister, Rosie Gutteridge, also supplied a family photograph. I am grateful to Anthony Richards, Head of the Documents and Sound Archive of the Imperial War Museum, and his colleague Simon Offord, who have enabled me to access the letters of Captain Alfred Bland, referenced IWM:194038. I also thank Bland’s great-grandson Daniel Mace for his permission to use these letters. For permission to use extracts from the letters of Lieutenant William Gomersall, I thank Victor Gomersall, his nephew in Australia.
The letters of Richard Tawney are deposited at the London School of Economics, where, after the First World War, Tawney became a distinguished professor. They were deposited by Major General Sir Charles Vyvyan, to whom I am grateful, and to Sue Donnelly, head of archives, and her colleagues at the library of the London School of Economics and Political Science. They are not yet fully catalogued, but are listed under TAWNEY/ADD, TAWNEY/II and TAWNEY/VYVYAN. The photograph is referenced at LSE/Tawney/27/11.
At the Library of the National Army Museum I was fascinated to learn something of the history of King Edward’s Horse and thank Kate Swann, a curator here, for her help.
There are also certain authors whose books have been useful. These are Alastair Cowan who wrote The 22nd Battalion Manchester Regiment (Fleur de Lys Publishers, 2011); Michael Stedman who gives a vivid account of the Service Battalions in Manchester Pals (Leo Cooper, 1994); Robin Cross who wrote the wider history, In Memoriam (Ebury Press, 2008); Malcolm Brown’s widely respected Book of the Somme (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1997); and Lawrence Goldman, whose impressive The Life of R. H. Tawney: Socialism and History (Bloomsbury, 2013) has been helpful in providing answers to my questions about his subject. And finally Anthony Fletcher’s Life, Death and Growing Up on the Western Front (Yale University Press, 2013).
For the use of images I am grateful to the following: Kate Murphy of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, for references O.034194 and O.011756; Emma Lefley of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, for the photograph, ref. GO1952; also Steven Bailey, Derek Taylor and the Dunedin Fire Brigade Restoration Society Inc.
For the Index of Names I am indebted to Robert Bonner, Adrian Bunting, Alastair Cowan and the Manchester Regiment Group Forum already mentioned. First World War Army Service Records are now kept at the National Archives in Kew (File Nos WO 363 and WO 364). Medal Roll Index Cards are No. WO 372. Officers’ records survived a raid in the Second World War, but bomb and water damage to a warehouse in Arnside Street in Peckham, London, in September 1940, where the MOD records of many privates and NCOs were kept, are known as ‘burnt’ documents. The records of other privates and NCOs which were being examined for Claims at the Ministry of Pensions and so survived, are known as ‘unburnt’ records. While the greatest possible care has been taken to ensure this Index is accurate, I apologise for any errors that have been made.
I should not forget my agent, Andrew Lownie, for his continued patience, and of course the very helpful team at HarperCollins, including Arabella Pike, Kate Tolley, Essie Cousins, Kate Johnson and John Gilkes, without whom you would not be reading this.
Finally I must thank Chris Primo and Sally Vince for answering my cries for help whenever I met a computer problem, Cecilia for being such unforgettable company, and Ellie, who has been sharing our household with strangers on pages who tend to become, over months and years, intensely familiar and almost alive.
Gerry Harrison, 2014
About the Editor
Gerry Harrison is the great-nephew of Charlie May. Born in India, he grew up in England where he later became an actor. Finding life behind the camera more fun, he then worked in television and film. Contacts as a politician working with the Irish community in London led him to write a history, The Scattering, published in 2004. Now living in Ireland, where he had a second-hand bookshop, he is a contributor to the Irish Times. He is completing a biography.
Copyright
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This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2014
Copyright © Gerry Harrison 2014
Foreword copyright © David Crane 2014
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Maps © John Gilkes
Cover image © IWM
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