1 In the Field 13.10.16 My Dear Mother Very many
thanks for yours of 30th ult
written from Portrush,
also for your parcels of
Home baked bread, You
should just see how it
disappears. Awful it is. I am writing you this
on this Sunday notepaper
because I think perhaps
you will like to receive
a letter from a real
live Battalion Commander
who at the same time 2
happens to be a quite
near relation of your
own. It is very
temporary of course being
only for 5 days in all,
but they are 5 days in
the trenches & it hasn't
happened accidentally, as
the real C.O.. knew of it
when he went on leave
himself & discussed it
with the Higher Powers
that be & they didn't object. It is an extraordinary
condition of affairs though
when one thinks of it. Just imagine the
thoughts & expressions
of one of the real old 3
Regular Field officers if they come to
hear of such rank madness. Why!
they wouldn't even trust me to command
one of their Companies on a Barrack
Square under close supervision, much
less fight a Battalion in the line. And
yet a lot of imitation soldiers like me
are doing a heap more responsible
work than I am & a lot of Pukka Regulars
are either at home or taking orders from
them. I have been much grieved to 4
hear of Matts condition.
If he is still alive, please
tell him I think of him
here often, If he is to go
we shall all miss him
badly in the office. Still
you know he dies quite
comfortable with his
boots off & plenty of
warning. Our
fellows don't do that here. One
is very apt to get callous
I fear. I passed a
couple of men this morning
pushing a truck. As I
approached, of course, the
truck stopped & the men
came to attention and
saluted. (All very proper &
as it should be) 5
I, giving my usual well
known imitation of dignity,
( Maynard Sinclair can
describe it, but perhaps
not to you ) returned the
salute & passed on. I did
not know or hadn't noticed
what was on the truck
until an officer who had
been walking with me
re-joined me & said - ' They
were men of - I said
who were? And he replied -
Those on the truck. It
appears there were 4 of
them. At least the person 6
buried four this afternoon. I suppose it really is
a dreadful state to get
into, but honestly I almost
touched that truck in
passing and never noticed
its load. I have just passed my
Battalion orders for issue.
Very nice it looks too, neatly
typed at the top of a sheet
of foolscap.
Battalion Orders
by
CAPT. W.A. MONTGOMERY. D.S.O.
Comdg. 9th Batt. Royal Irish Rifles Funnily enough, the men
love these decoration & are
most careful that everyone 7
knows their officers possess them, They get
most annoyed if they see a personal letter
coming to me for instance if it is improperly
addressed ! My present servant was in a
fearful state a few days ago, I understand,
because a box I had made for me did not
have the letters after my name, He told
the men who brought it that it was no
Bl-dy use to himlike that that - to take it
back & finish it. Men are children, only
more so. He has bought some white
paint, I hear , with a view to some decorating 8
on that base on his own
account. He will do it too.
Although I have expressly
forbidden him too. He
simply cant bear the sight
of it as it is. and it is
most extraordinary how
a good servant regards one's
odds & ends of things. They
really regard them as their
own personal property. My
feelings in the matter are
quite secondary. Any good
servant is or ought to be
most frightfully hurt if
his officer dares to know
where to find any of his
own things. He looks upon
it as a personal insult
of the blackest shade -
far worse than if one 9
cast hateful aspersions
on his immediate
ancestry. this redheaded
Judas I have now for
instance, has put on the
most frightful side since
we came to Batt. H.Q. I didn't see him myself
but when I arrived at
my own Coy. H.Q. this
morning, they told me that
my servant (Russell) had
been looking for me, dressed
up as an H.Q. orderly, if
you please. I hadn't told
him to come there at 10
all, much less turn
himself into an orderly.
But there you have it.
He deliberately went
to the front line from
his quite safe & quiet
place , simply to talk
down to his own pals.
He took damned good
care I didn't see him though. In some respects, mother
mine, we are worse than
women. Seniority in
a company mess of servants
is much more strictly
observed than even by the
officers. The Coy. Comdr's servant
for instance is a very important
person indeed. He doesn't
even need to go on working 11
parties. And woe betide the silly
young Coy. Sergt. Major who tries to
cross him in any way. He usually
finds himself in hot water very soon.
The servant quite casually lets him
down or give him away in some way
or other. Taking them all in all though
they are more fun that yours & of
course at least 90% would always die
for their officers. And some of the things
they do. Ye Gods! The awful things they 12
do with food, clothes &
fruitall for the best. I
would die of boredom if
they didn't keep on doing
them too. This one I have
now, for instance, is almost
too good a thief. He uses
no discrimination at all.
It is a disease with him. He has also a mistaken
idea that he is a bomb &
explosives expert. I was
awakened this morning
by a hammering noise,
and there he was with a
knife, Soldiers one busily
engaged in hammering &
prizing off the end of a
German Hand grenade in
order to get at the explosive
(T.N.T) When he got it out 13
He started digging at it
with a large spike thing
he had & then he capsized
it out on a piece of a board
on which he had laid his
lighted cigarette butt. ( We
both smoke the same cigarettes
by the way) He moved the
lighted cigarette a little to
one side & said quite
calmly - Its very like brown
sugar , Sir , soft & wet. As I
had more than a shrewd
suspicion that he was
doing all this either to get
me up quickly or to try out 14
my nerve or both, & as
I happen to know almost
as much as he thinks he
does about this particular
explosive I went one up
on him by telling him to
thrown his blasted brown
sugar on the fire & get
me some hot shaving water. This was something he
didn't know about & it
shook him up a bit, but he
quickly discovered that
if he did what he was told
& there was anything wrong
about it I would go west
too, so he just did it. If
you happen to meet any
person looking for a 15
brand new definition of faith, you may
tell him of this one. It is quite literally
true that he didn't know the stuff
makes a grand firelighter & he does know
what it makes if it is suitably detonated,
& because I told him to do it, he did it.
In any case I think even if it had been
detonated & he knew it & I knew it & told
him to put it in the fire, rather than be
caught trying it on me he would still
do it. You will understand this. So do 16
I & that is just why this
artist is my servant now. Well it is quite time I
closed now. I am not very
busy, but I am sleepy &
in this life one is unwise to
miss sleep when the mood &
the opportunity synchronize.
( Quite neat that, isn't it?) I am
getting quite literary. I think
I will write a book or
something someday. Does
one write the book first & choose
the title after or does one start
with a title & write about it? You will gather that the
truly appalling responsibility
of this Battalion Commanding
business doesn't worry me much,
no not as much as trying to
settle one little fire loss with
R.N.Kennedy used to do. This is 17
perfectly true. It is also
very interesting & becomes
more so the longer it is
considered. It is in me
somewhere., I fear. But
where it came from I don't
know. I wouldn't be a
soldier in peace however
for a considerable consideration
- no not even if I could afford
it. I don't think there ever
will be much trouble
getting in if ever there is
another war in this generation. This one ought to satisfy
this generation though. 18
19
news. I am really stopping now
Goodnight ( This word can be rather
more than a mere form here.) Your quite irresponsible but
loving Son
WM