by Griff Hosker
We walked slowly to the Burscough family graveyard. We all stood well back from the family and the dignitaries. I could see that, not only my mother, but my father too, had been crying. Lord Burscough had been their life. My father had been his servant during the South African War. They had both spent their whole lives working for one family and now the head of that family was dead. It was the end of an era. The world was changing and would never be the same again.
Once the coffin was in the ground and the vicar had shaken hands with Major Burscough my mother and the others relaxed.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming home?”
“I only found out yesterday and I have been travelling ever since.”
“Mother, leave him alone. You have been moaning on about not seeing your bairn and now he is here you tell him off.”
The handkerchief came to her mouth, “Eeeh I am sorry our Bill. It doesn’t matter, you are home now.”
The others parted as Major Burscough came up to us. “Sorry for your loss, your Lordship.”
He took my hand, “Thank you Bill. I thought the old bugger would live forever.” He shook his head. “Congratulations on the promotion. I see you are now a lieutenant. It won’t be long before you are a captain, mark my words.”
I shook my head, “I don’t know about that, my lord.”
He turned to my father. “Did you know that your son is one of the top pilots we have in the Royal Flying Corps?”
I could see that my dad was impressed. “I think you are being too generous sir.”
“Nonsense. Major Hewitt keeps me up to speed on these things.” He leaned in, “I think the finest thing I ever did was to get you to come to France with me as my gunner.” One of his sisters tugged his arm. “Must go. How long have you got?”
“About ten more days.”
He nodded, “I shall see you before then.” He looked at my mother and father. “You two were the most prized of retainers. My father said that when they made you two they broke the mould.”
Mother curtsied but I could see that she was pleased. Alice linked my other arm and we walked down the drive. I heard my dad say, “You’re an officer now?”
“I am, Lieutenant Harsker; Flight Commander.”
“Who would have thought that a son of mine would have become an officer? Your granddad would have been right proud of you.”
My mum leaned in to me. “But we are more proud our Bill. You are a credit to the family, God Bless you son.”
And that was enough for me. My family were proud and his Lordship had praised me. You could forget being an ace or being an officer. I was truly happy as, on that saddest of days, I walked back to the cottage I called home with a huge smile on my face.
The End
Glossary
BEF- British Expeditionary Force
Beer Boys-inexperienced fliers (slang)
Blighty- Britain (slang)
Boche- German (slang)
Bowser- refuelling vehicle
Bus- aeroplane (slang)
Crossley- an early British motor car
Donkey Walloper- Horseman (slang)
Fizzer- a charge (slang)
Foot Slogger- Infantry (slang)
Google eyed booger with the tit- gas mask (slang)
Griffin- confidential information (slang)
Hun- German (slang)
Jasta- a German Squadron
Jippo- the shout that food was ready from the cooks (slang)
Lanchester- a prestigious British car with the same status as a Rolls Royce
Loot- a second lieutenant (slang)
M.C. - Military Cross (for officers only)
M.M. - Military Medal (introduced in 1915)
Nicked- stolen (slang)
Number ones- Best uniform (slang)
Parkin or Perkin is a soft cake traditionally made of oatmeal and black treacle, which originated in northern England.
Pop your clogs- die (slang)
Posser- a three legged stool attached to a long handle and used to agitate washing in the days before washing machines
Pickelhaube- German helmet with a spike on the top. Worn by German soldiers until 1916
Shufti- a quick look (slang)
Singer 10 - a British car developed by Lionel Martin who went on to make Aston Martins
Toff- aristocrat (slang)
V.C. - Victoria Cross, the highest honour in the British Army
Maps
Courtesy of Wikipaedia
This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Gsl at the English Wikipedia project. This applies worldwide.
In case this is not legally possible:
Gsl grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
Author: Whitton, F. E. (Frederick Ernest), 1872-1940
Subject: Marne, 1st Battle of the, France, 1914 Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Language: English Call number: ADU-3079 Digitizing sponsor: University of Toronto Book contributor: Robarts - University of Toronto Collection: robarts; toronto Notes: No copyright page found. 1917
Historical note
This is my first foray into what might be called modern history. The advantage of the Dark Ages is that there are few written records and the writer’s imagination can run riot- and usually does! If I have introduced a technology slightly early or moved an action it is in the interest of the story and the character. I have tried to make this story more character based as I have used the template of some real people and characters who lived at the time.
As with all my books I have used fictitious regiments and actions. The organisation of the Lancashire Yeomanry and the Cumbrian Hussars is compatible with actual regiments. Their role is exactly that of the real Yeomanry. Compared with the regular regiments and especially compared with the foot soldiers, the Yeomanry casualties were very light. The total cavalry losses for the whole war were 5,674 dead and 14,630 wounded. Compare that to the Northumberland Fusiliers who had 16000 casualties alone. The Yeomanry losses were even fewer.
The Short Magazine Lee Enfield had a ten shot magazine and enabled a rifleman to get off 20-30 shots in a minute. It was accurate at 300 yards. Both cavalry and infantry were issued with the weapon.
The First Battle of the Marne: over two million men fought in the First Battle of the Marne and approximately 500,000 were killed or wounded. French casualties totalled 250,000 men, 80,000 killed. British casualties were 13,000 men, 1,700 killed. The Germans suffered 250,000 casualties. No future battle on the Western Front would average so many casualties per day.
The Cavalry Division (1st Brigade) was made up of:
2nd Dragoon Guards
3rd Dragoon Guards
4th Dragoon Guards
5th Dragoon Guards
9th Lancers
11th Hussars
18th Hussars
1st Signal Troop
2nd Signal Troop
The hospitals mentioned both existed. Lord Derby’s was specifically for Lancashire regiments and soldiers. It had space for 3300 patients. After 1916 1000 of those beds were for mental cases. http://www.1914-1918.net/hospitals_uk.htm is a good web site and well worth visiting. When you see how many hospitals were hospitals specifically for venereal disease it makes you wonder about life out of the trenches.
The cavalry battle where Doddy was killed was the Battle of the Yser (October 1914). It ended the race to the sea
For those readers who do not come from England I have tried to write the way that people in that part of Lancashire speak. As with many northerners they say ‘owt’ for anything and ‘eeh’ is just a way of expressing surprise. As far as I know there is no Lord Burscough but I know that Lord Derby had a huge house not far away in Standish and I have based the fictitious Lord Burscough on him. The area around Burscough and Ormskirk is just north of the heavily industrialised belt which runs from Leeds, through Manchester, to Liverpool. It is a very rural area with many
market gardens. It afforded me the chance to have rural and industrial England, cheek by jowl. The food they eat is also typical of that part of Lancashire. Harsker is a name from the area apparently resulting from a party of Vikings who settled in the area some centuries earlier. Bearing in mind my Saxon and Viking books I could not resist the link albeit tenuous with my earlier books.
The flying lesson is as accurate as I can make it. I received a flying lesson for my 40th birthday and flew a little Piper. I had a superb teacher, Eric and everything that happened in the lesson, including almost stalling the aircraft, happened to me. I did not actually land it but we were just 30ft from the ground when I found out I was not to land it. My research has shown me that many of the aces in WW1 began their careers this way including Major McCudden who, at the time of his death was the most decorated pilot in the RFC, RNAS and RAF. He was even awarded an MM as an observer. I apologise for any inaccuracies concerning the actual aircraft. I have researched as much as I could but I will have made mistakes.
The rear firing Lewis gun was not standard issue and was an improvised affair. Here is a photograph of one in action.
The photograph demonstrates the observer's firing positions in the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2d. The observer's cockpit was fitted with three guns, one fixed forward-firing for the pilot to aim, one moveable forward-firing and one moveable rear-firing mounted on a pole over the upper wing. The observer had to stand on his seat in order to use the rear-firing gun.
This artistic work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain. This is because it is one of the following:
It is a photograph created by the United Kingdom Government and taken prior to 1 June 1957; or
It was commercially published prior to 1964; or
It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created by the United Kingdom Government prior to 1964. HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide.
An F.E.2 This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.
This applies to Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.
The battle of Neuve Chapelle occurred much as I described. The RFC did photograph extensively and the photographs were so detailed that they enabled the commanders on the ground to know precisely what to expect. The German air defences were destroyed first and then the RFC bombed the roads, railways and canals. There was a breakthrough but as the artillery ran out of shells and the Germans counterattacked the advantage of the first day was lost. The bombs were thrown from the aeroplanes although the use of the racks is not documented. I just can’t imagine them flying with bombs rolling around beneath their feet.
The shelling of the East Coast took place in December 1914. As I write this the last survivor of the bombing died aged 106. It was a dramatic event and was the first time civilians in England had been embroiled in war. It hardened the populace against the Germans and, as with the Blitz half a century later, made everyone more determined than ever to defeat the Germans.
Chlorine gas was first used by the Germans at the Second Battle of Ypres. It was used against the French, British and Canadians in the area around Ypres. It was not only allied troops who suffered casualties. Many Germans who released the gas also died. It was not a particularly scientific attack. Many French troops and French colonial troops fled; unfortunately the gas followed them.
There will be more books in this series. The next one will look at the dark days of 1915 when the Fokker Scourge descended upon the Western Front.
I used the following books to verify information:
World War 1- Peter Simkins
The Times Atlas of World History
The British Army in World War 1 (1)- Mike Chappell
The British Army in World War 1 (2)- Mike Chappell
The British Army 1914-18- Fosten and Marrion
British Air Forces 1914-1918- Cormack
British and Empire Aces of World War 1- Shores
A History of Aerial Warfare- John Taylor
Thanks to the following website for the slang definitions
www.ict.griffith.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_slang/index_bak.htm
Griff Hosker April 2014
Other books
by
Griff Hosker
If you enjoyed reading this book then why not read another one by the author?
The Sword of Cartimandua Series (Germania and Britannia 50A.D. – 128 A.D.)
Ulpius Felix- Roman Warrior
Book 1 The Sword of Cartimandua
Book 2 The Horse Warriors
Book 3 Invasion Caledonia
Book 4 Roman Retreat
Book 5 Revolt of the Red Witch
Book 6 Druid’s Gold
Book 7 Trajan’s Hunters
Book 8 The Last Frontier
Book 9 Hero of Rome
Book 10 Roman Hawk
Book 11Roman Treachery
They are all available in the Kindle format.
The Aelfraed Series (Britain and Byzantium 1050 A.D.- 1085 A.D.
Book 1 Housecarl*
Book 2 Outlaw*
Book 3 Varangian*
The Wolf Warrior series (Britain in the late 6th Century)
Book 1 Saxon Dawn*
Book 2 Saxon Revenge*
Book 3 Saxon England*
Book 4 Saxon Blood*
Book 5 Saxon Slayer*
Book 6 Saxon Slaughter*
Saxon Dawn is available in I-Player format at Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and the I-Store
The Lucky Jack American Civil War series
Rebel Raiders
Confederate Rangers
The Road to Gettysburg
The Napoleonic Horseman Series
Book 1 Chasseur a Cheval
Book 2 Napoleon’s Guard
Book 3 British Light Dragoon
The Dragon Heart Series
Book 1 Viking Slave
Book 2 Viking Warrior
The British Ace Series
1914
Also available in paperback and Kindle is the book aimed at 12-15 years olds, Great Granny’s Ghost
Carnage at Cannes is a modern thriller and is available in the Kindle format.
Travel
Adventure at 63-Backpacking to Istanbul
For more information on all of the books then please visit the author’s web site at http://www.griffhosker.com where there is a link to contact him.
Table of Contents
Cover photograph: 2006-11-26 23:10 Palmiped
The trainer!Avro 504
Published by Sword Books Ltd 2014Copyright © Griff Hosker First Edition
Dedication1914 V: The Soldier
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
GlossaryBEF- British Expeditionary ForceBeer Boys
Maps
Historical note
Other books
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