Letters From the Trenches: A Soldier of the Great War

by Bill Lamin

  DSO – Distinguished Service Order, a decoration for ‘meritorious or distinguished service in war’ instituted in 1886. Awarded only to officers, it ranks immediately below the VC (q.v.; the equivalent award for other ranks was the DCM, q.v.). It was generally awarded to officers of the rank of major or above, but in exceptional circumstances was occasionally won by more junior officers.

  Entrenching tool – a two-piece implement consisting of a short wooden helve and a steel head which fitted on to it. The latter had a small spade-like blade at one end and a short pickaxe head at the other. An invaluable piece of equipment for the infantryman, it was designed in 1908 and was still in service in the Second World War.

  GOC – general officer commanding; that is, the general in command of a particular formation, whether a brigade (a brigadier in the Great War was still designated brigadier-general), division, corps or army; thus at Messines in 1917 Plumer was GOC Second Army.

  ICT – inflamed connective tissue. Something of a mystery hangs over this acronym, which certainly stands for inflamed connective tissue nowadays. However, that seems to cover a number of ailments like tendonitis, whereas the war diary’s several mentions of it would point more to something like trench foot, although there has been a suggestion that it may have been some sort of stomach complaint. I have been unable to find more; perhaps a reader may be able to enlighten me?

  IEF – Italian Expeditionary Force. See BEF.

  Interior economy – From time to time during the Italian campaign, the war diary (q.v.) reports an activity known as ‘interior economy’. This was a term used for the day-today administration of the battalion in respect of the basic housekeeping of the soldiers. Equipment, clothing and weapons would be cleaned, repaired and inspected to make sure that everything was in order.

  Lewis gun – gas-operated, magazine-fed, rifle-calibre automatic weapon with a nominal rate of fire of 500–600 rounds per minute, the standard light machine gun of the British, Dominion and Imperial forces during most of the Great War. Invented by an American, Colonel Isaac Newton Lewis, in 1911, it proved accurate and reliable, and was quickly adopted by the British Army, and tens of thousands were built under licence in the UK. British-built versions were in .303-inch calibre, and US-built ones in .30-inch; there was also a lighter version of the gun, without the cooling barrel shroud, fitted to countless Allied aircraft. There were two versions of the drum magazine, one holding 47 rounds and the other 97 (the infantry tended to use the former). At 28 pounds, the weapon was light enough to be operated by a single gunner, and the folding bipod beneath the barrel added to its accuracy. Many thousand Lewises were dug out of store and refurbished for use in the Second World War, especially as a light anti-aircraft weapon.

  LG – Lewis gun (see under ‘Lewis’ above).

  LGS – Lewis-gun section.

  MC – Military Cross, a gallantry award introduced in 1914 for commissioned officers of the rank of captain and lower (extended, after the Great War, to include majors) and for warrant officers (q.v.; senior NCOs of the rank of, or equivalent to, sergeant-major). As a decoration for officers (it is nowadays awarded to all ranks) it ranked third below the VC and the DSO (qq.v.).

  Mills bomb – the standard-issue hand grenade of the British Army during most of the Great War, officially designated the No. 5 grenade. It was invented in 1915 by a William Mills, who manufactured the grenades at a munitions factory in Birmingham.

  Minenwerfer – German trench mortar (q.v.).

  MM – Military Medal, a decoration for gallantry awarded to other ranks (see OR); the equivalent for officers was the MC (q.v.).

  NCO – non-commissioned officer. In the British Army, subordinate officers, such as lance-corporals, corporals and sergeants, appointed from the ranks, rather than holding a commission from the sovereign, as an officer does, or a warrant, as a warrant officer (q.v.) does.

  OC – officer commanding – as in ‘OC B Company’.

  OR(s) – other rank(s); that is, all soldiers who are not officers, namely warrant officers (WOs), non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and privates (qq.v.).

  ‘Pals’ battalions – the name often given to certain New Army (see Bn) battalions made up from men who had enlisted together in local recruiting campaigns, and who were given a promise that they would be allowed to serve together rather than being split up and sent to already existing battalions. This meant that groups of friends, fellow workers and neighbours from the same areas were able to join up, train and fight together, and in the North Country and Midlands, especially, there was an enthusiastic response to the idea. Many famous units came to be known by their Pals designation, among them the Accrington Pals (11th East Lancashire Regiment), and the Sheffield City Battalion (12th York and Lancaster Regiment). In practice, however, the idea proved something of a disaster, for when these battalions suffered heavy casualties – as they did, notoriously, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916 – the effect upon their local communities at home was that these cities and towns suffered disproportionate losses among their young men. Once conscription was introduced in January 1916 no more Pals battalions were raised.

  Pass – a signed paper, usually issued by battalion headquarters, permitting a soldier to go on leave for a specified period of time. Should he fail to return by the due date or time, he would be ‘absent without leave’ (AWOL).

  P bomb – a smoke grenade containing a main charge of phosphorus, which gives off a dense white smoke once detonated.

  PH helmet – phenate hexamine helmet, an early type of gas mask, consisting of a cloth hood with eyepieces and a valve for exhaling; the permeable cloth was treated with chemicals to neutralize noxious gases, and was reasonably effective against phosgene, chlorine and tear gas.

  Pioneer – pioneers are soldiers employed to perform basic construction duties, such as repairs to roads or military railways, work on trenches and other defences, the establishment of barbed-wire entanglements, and so on. In the Great War they were essentially trained infantrymen, often from mining or construction backgrounds, who performed these tasks, to the extent that a number of infantry battalions were converted into Pioneer units, although later in the war specialist Pioneer units were raised.

  Pln – platoon. Infantry battalions were divided into companies (see Coy), which were sub-divided into platoons, each under a lieutenant or second lieutenant. Platoons were further sub-divided into sections, each under an NCO (q.v.); Harry, for instance, served in the Lewis-Gun Section (or Machine-Gun Section) of No. 12 Platoon, C Company, 9th (Service) Battalion, the York and Lancaster Regiment.

  Rifle bombers, rifle grenade – a rifle bomb or rifle grenade is a grenade equipped with a rod that is inserted down a rifle barrel, and then fired at the enemy using a special blank cartridge. They could travel much further than hand-thrown grenades, and were usually more accurate, so several soldiers in any infantry company would be trained in their use.

  Pte – private (soldier), the lowest rank of fully trained soldier in the British Army. Not all private soldiers are so called: thus a private in the Royal Artillery is designated Gunner; in the Royal Engineers, Sapper; in a cavalry regiment, Trooper; in a Rifle regiment, Rifleman, and so on.

  SBR – small box respirator, a type of gas mask introduced in 1916 to replace the PH helmet (q.v.). It consisted of a rubberized mask with eyepieces and a mouthpiece connected by a hose to the ‘box’ filter contained in a cloth bag worn on the soldier’s chest. More effective than the PH helmet, and easier to use because the filter was separate from the mask, it was much preferred by the soldiers.

  Semaphore – a system of signalling with flags (or, if necessary, the arms) using an alphabetic code, each letter signified by the position at which the signaller holds the flag or flags. Semaphore was a vital communication technique in the Great War, being much more reliable than the then primitive radio or field telephones.

  Specialists – soldiers who had acquired special skills, among them Lewis gunners, sign
allers, scouts and bombers (grenade teams). Specialists are referred to several times in the war diary (q.v.).

  Trench foot – also called ‘immersion foot’, a painful and, if untreated, dangerous affliction of the feet caused by long immersion in water, mud or otherwise damp conditions, and made worse by troops being unable to change socks and boots for dry ones. In extreme cases it could lead to amputation. It was extremely common among all the combatants in the Great War, and is still a threat to soldiers on active service; many British servicemen serving in the Falklands campaign of 1982 were to suffer from trench foot, partly due to poor-quality boots.

  Trench mortar – a comparatively portable short-range weapon designed to fire an explosive projectile at a high angle, the advantage being that fire then falls into an enemy’s trench or other defences. The standard British trench mortar was the 3-inch Stokes, which could fire a high-explosive bomb weighing just under 11 pounds (4.84kg) at ranges of up to 800 yards (730 metres). The German equivalent was the Minenwerfer, which was built in a number of calibres, the 77-mm (just under 3 inches) and the 170-mm (6.7-inch) weapons being the ones most commonly deployed in the trenches.

  VC – Victoria Cross, the nation’s highest decoration ‘for valour’, instituted in 1856 and awarded to ORs as well as officers.

  Very pistol – single-shot, breech-loading flare pistol issued to front-line units, used to fire signal flares, for instance to summon artillery support. The colour of the flare (red, green or white) served as a simple code, red indicating a request for help or support. It was named for its inventor, Edward W. Very, an officer of the US Navy.

  Vickers gun – tripod-mounted machine gun based on the Maxim design (Maxims were used by the German and Austro-Hungarian forces, and had originally equipped the battalions forming the BEF [q.v.] at the beginning of the war), the standard heavy machine gun of the British Army from well before the Great War until decades after it. Like the Lewis (q.v.), it was of .303-inch calibre, and fired the standard rifle round, as well as tracer, and had a nominal rate of fire of 450–600 rounds per minute. There the similarity ended, however, for as well as being water-cooled (and much heavier), the Vickers was recoil-operated and fed by a belt holding 250 rounds, rather than a magazine. Vickers guns were operated by two-man crews from companies of the Machine Gun Corps, each infantry brigade (see Bde) having such a company attached to it; as with Lewis-gun sections, the gunner and loader were protected by a small team of riflemen. It proved to be one of the most reliable automatic weapons ever made.

  War diary – a formal daily record kept by military units from battalion level (or equivalent – e.g. an artillery battery) upwards. The keeping of war diaries was mandatory, and forms were provided for the purpose. In an infantry unit, they were written up at battalion headquarters, although the exigencies of battle sometimes made it impossible for them to be added to daily. The war diaries of British battalions from the Great War, including that of the 9th York and Lancasters, are in many cases held at the National Archives, Kew (http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/).

  Warrant – i) see warrant officer; ii) ‘railway’ warrant, a paper issued to soldiers who had to travel anywhere by train, serving in place of a ticket and accepted by all the railway companies, which would then reclaim the cost of tickets from the War Office.

  Warrant officer – a non-commissioned officer ranking above an NCO (q.v.) but below a commissioned officer, and so called because of the warrant for their appointment issued to them by the War Office (nowadays by the Ministry of Defence; by contrast, a commissioned officer holds a commission from the sovereign). Abbreviated to WO, there are two grades: WOI (warrant officer class one) – regimental sergeant-majors and equivalent – and WOII – company sergeant-majors and equivalent.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  It is very difficult to complete this section. As Harry’s blog progressed and developed into this book, help has been offered from so many directions. Perhaps I can apologize now if I have omitted anyone who feels that they should be here. I know that, as soon as I have closed this section and sent it to press, I’ll realize, with horror, that I’ve left an important contributor out.

  I must thank my sister Anita, who has supported me from the start, and who has been able to fill many of the gaps and to point me in the right direction for research into the family background. ‘Willie’, my father, Bill Lamin Senior, has provided real motivation for the project.

  The Internet readers of Harry’s blog have, between them, written thousands of inspirational and supportive comments. Without those comments it would have been much more difficult to retain enthusiasm for the task. As well as support, many have provided information and guidance to make it possible for a novice researcher to make some sensible progress.

  Of those readers, Jono Wood, Bob Lembke and Rocco Chiarolanza have provided superb supportive material that has helped make sense of Harry’s experiences. John Murray took a very battered and tatty, but vitally important, photograph of Harry in uniform – the only one in existence, so far as we know – and worked his magic on it, to restore it to a presentable state.

  Especial mention must be made of Joanne Allen for providing help and support as the blog developed and transformed into the book, and to Lucy Cook for making sense of a muddled bundle of letters.

  Thanks are also due to Mark of Soverign Tours for organizing a trip that enabled me to retrace Harry’s steps through the Flanders battlefields.

  In the early days of the blog, members of the History Department at Pool Business and Enterprise College in Cornwall persuaded me that Harry’s letters were of value and well worth developing. Andie Parker-Jones, Paul Annear and Jeremy Rowe were so enthusiastic about the project that I had little choice but to proceed. Phil Jones, the Network Manager at the school, was of great help with any technical problems encountered when publishing the blog.

  The research was an interesting challenge, having little knowledge of the background to the First World War. The National Archives in Kew, formerly the Public Record Office, carries a treasure trove of material, the war diary of Harry’s battalion, in particular, proving an invaluable resource. It was especially helpful, living in West Cornwall, that much of this material was available online (http://nationalarchives.gov.uk).

  Without the resources available on the Internet, the project would have been much poorer. There is a wealth of websites containing relevant material, and I frequently consulted many of these to confirm information or to get a different view on a topic. (I should add that this is by no means an exhaustive list):

  www.1914-1918.net

  www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone

  www.gwpda.org

  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world_war_one.htm

  www.worldwar1.com

  www.channel4.com/history/microsites/F/firstworldwar

  www.greatwar.co.uk

  http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/revision/worldwari.shtml

  www.firstworldwar.com

  www.wikipedia.com

  My agent, James Wills of Watson, Little Ltd, suggested, at a very early stage, that the blog could transfer into a successful book. (I do hope he was right . . . ) I must thank him for his efforts in finding the right publisher.

  At Michael O’Mara Books, Kate Gribble was an earnest and enthusiastic champion of the project. I must recognize the efforts of my editor, Toby Buchan, with his knowledgeable, sensitive and meticulous approach to the task of sorting out this project. Grateful thanks also to Ron Callow of Design 23, and, at Michael O’Mara Books, to Judieth Palmer, Ana Bjezancevic, Anna Marx, Janine Orford, Polly Tingle and Florence Warrington.

  Finally, I would like to thank the media (and I’d guess that they don’t get this sort of a mention too often . . . ). Without the wonderful worldwide publicity for Harry’s blog through television, radio, magazines and newspapers, potential readers simply would not have known about it. Indeed, without the publicity, I doubt whether there would have been the incentive to produce this book. In parti
cular, BBC Radio Five Live’s Pods & Blogs with Chris Vallance first aired the story, following it up with several features on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday morning Broadcasting House programme. James Roberson of BBC East Midlands spotted the potential for a short TV broadcast which triggered what I can only describe as a media frenzy. I am glad, therefore, to be able to offer my warmest thanks to Chris and James, and to many other journalists or broadcasters who have expressed an interest.

  As I have said, I apologize to anyone who feels their name should be here. Any omission is by oversight, and does not in any way lessen either my appreciation, or the value of someone’s contribution.

  PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The majority of the illustrations in this book are the author’s and, with the exception of those photographs or documents that have appeared on his blog, ‘WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier’, are published here for the first time.

  Grateful thanks to Karl Noble, Collections Officer of the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, for his time and help with illustrations for this book, as well as his expert knowledge (for further information and the museum’s address: http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/info/200070/museums_and_galleries)

  Thanks are also due to Ray Mentzer of the Great War Primary Document Archive: www.gwpda.org, and to Suzy Blake of the Historic Environment Section of Staffordshire County Council.