Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 19 November, 1916 Letters 1916-1923 William Alexander Montgomery

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Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh (1856-1933). Montgomery thanks his father for food that he sent. This letter provides details of his time as second in command and the prospect of his becoming a lieutenant colonel. He gives a detailed account of his position in the army and his achievements.The Montgomery family lived in Malone Park, one of the wealthiest suburbs of Belfast city. This letter is part of a large collection that their son, William, a Captain with the 9th Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, wrote to his parents, Harford Hugh and Sara Montgomery, throughout the war. His first letter is dated 3 December 1914. Captain Montgomery was a decorated soldier. He was awarded both the Victoria and the 15 Star medals and was promoted to the rank of Major. His father owned a fire assessor business.

 Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Papers of the Montgomery Family, D2794/1/1/19 https://letters1916.ie/item/679 English William Alexander Montgomery 1916-11-19 Harford Hugh Montgomery Messrs Wm Montgomery & son, 2 Wellington House, Belfast, Ireland Male World War I (1914-1918) World War I (1914-1918)

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 Replied 26 Octr 1916 In the Field 19.11.16 My Dear Father/ I have to acknowledge your very interesting letter of 11th inst also to convey my thanks for the bread and two pots of lemon cheese which did turn up quite all right. A little more stale than you would touch at home, but one afternoon tea just absolutely finished the whole bag of tricks almost including the paper wrappings. Yes. I would love that salvage amusement. I fear for a year or two after this thing finishes I shall miss the movement and excitement of it terribly No sign of Horace yet. There would appear to be some considerable delay in the arrival of his relief where he is now. We are all at a loss to understand what has caused this delay as almost a month ago we got official information to the effect that he would be with us quite soon. Today, like other days, I of course expect Horace to arrive & I go back to command my Coy. but instead I find myself in command of the Battalion. About 4oc.p.m. the C.O. got a wire telling him to take over command of a Brigade. He didn't know where it was, who they are, or anything but he left here to take them over at 5.35p.m. Mother would think it a frightful rush. Some career in this war he has already had. Captain to Temporary Brigadier General in two years & a month. He told me before he left that he would send for me just as soon as he finds a good job for me - preferably a staff job. Our Adjutant has also had a career in this war - Thro' Mons as a Corporal in the Grenadier Guards, also Aisne on the Marne wounded, got his Commission posted 2nd Lieut East Lancs. attached to us as 21st & Adjutant promoted Lieut then Captain & Adjutant & now he will probably follow the C.O. as brigade Major. Before this thing finishes there will be some extraordinary records of service. For instance, my own in its way is odd enough I have been wearing a major's crown for about a week now, because I have been performing the duties of 2nd in Command of a Batt for upwards of 30 days. I will also continue to draw pay as such until some one senior to me joins when I revert to my rank as Captain. Again, if by any chance, I am left in command of the Batt. for 30 days I will be given permission to put up a star in addition & become for all practical purposes a Lieut. Colonel. Extraordinary when one thinks of it? The responsibility is, of course, heavy but I am glad to say it does not now & never has worried me in the very slightest. Settling a £50 loss has often caused me a lot more worry & I didn't do it as well. Some little time ago I was officially approached to see if I would take a permanent commission, but I said most definitely & finally - NO I would hate it in peace time anyway apart altogether from all the other impossibilities. If by any chance I happened to get knocked out whilst I wear the crown as Major Montgomery (as I just now find myself) Emmie would draw a Major's pension. It is a great war & as my old namesake foreman used to say 'You never know the minute'. Please don't address my letters as 'Major'. It is quite correct to do so& all that & I sign my name as such but I don't care about it until such time as it may in the future appear in the Gazette. The much more gratifying part of the business to both you & me is undoubtedly the fact that a very pukka regular Brigadier is satisfied to leave me responsible for a Battalion front in the line. It all goes down on an official document known as my record of service & I don't lose by it in the end, even if I do revert to Captain again for a bit. From what Brigadier General F.P. Crozier said to me just before he left, it won't be for long if he can help it. I have some good friends at court here apart altogether from my late C.O. No more Coy. cmdg. for me if I can possibly avoid it. I have 13 months of it to my credit & I like my present temporary job - no, my this morning's temporary job much better. I also have a great curiosity to do a bit of the staff end of the game. In fact if it lasts as long as I think it will the sooner I start the Staff side the better for me. Don't bother about a fountain pen nib for me thanks I rather fancy a pal of mine in town intends to send me a whole complete pen. This game presents extraordinary contrasts conditions & circumstances. I was just thinking of this tonight at dinner & comparing our present circumstances with those which prevailed with us last winter. As I sit commanding a Batt in the line tonight I am not at all certain that I am not quite as comfortable as you are. Counting a Doctor, a Chaplain & an Artillery Liason Officer we set down 11 to dinner - my H.Q. mess. We had excellent soup. Beautiful Fresh sole, very good roast beef & Yorkshire pudding, , stewed figs & custard, Coffee. Savories we cut out some ten days ago because we could only manage 4 kinds & we are tired of those for a bit. To drink we have a coice of anyhting one likes. The only thing there is any difficulty about is liqueurs. I Personally drink the best of good Guinness Stout & every now & then I get a few of the best cigars, either given me or bought by me when I dine out in style. You will think it ridiculous, I know, but nevertheless the men love their officers to have good sticks & whips & spurs & kit & to smoke good stuff. Do you remember those spurs you were good enough to send me. Wel l the first day I wore them, one of my sergeants, accompanied by a sergeant of another unit came to my temporary home & asked me to settle a bet. It appeared he had bet the other fellow they were silver. I was sorry to disappoint him, but that is the point & the spirit. And no one can even dimly estimate its value when it comes to leading & obedience in face of the last thing in grim hellishness. No one knows just what little thing one does or says to a man or men which makes them yours in all things when the big times come. I know of several cases where this has undoubtedly been so. Our men are also just as comfortable as constant thought & unremitting labour can make them. It is however necessary that officers are maintained very comfortable in order that they can be at their best to do the best either for their men or in the use of them. The old 'share the hardships of their men idea' which is so truly British is still with us but modified. The Bosch started this war so very much more scientifically than we did & this was one of his great points. I dont suppose you get time for much reading, but if you do & you care to read a really human readable history of this war get the Strand Magazine. It is excellent & your son knows almost every little rise & fall of ground & line of much of the line that is there written of. It will give you a faint impression of what our original Expeditionary Force did & was. No one can really know just what it was except those who were through the first 6 months of it. But perhaps with your old Puritan Blood you wont care about it. Still as effort alone it stands as colossal. I am convinced now that the end is certain & that we will be the senior survivors. If it is protracted as long as I think it will be, the expression 'WIN' will not be accurately applicable in its popular sense. I forgot in describing our mess to mention that some of my young officers are now playing Ping pong whilst one with whom we dined is prowling about NO MANS LAND on patrol & others are inspecting the line & sentries & guns etc etc etc & so it goes on. The really awful part of the thing is that this time 2 years ago I was junior 2nd Lieut on a month's probation in the Battalion I tonight command & am the only officer with it tonight who have served in France etc right thro' with it. It is one of the most decorated if not the most decorated Battalion in our Corps. It is by far the most decorated Batt. in our Division & that is a very special honour to begin with. The awful pity of it is that more of our home birds arnt coming out to us. I would rather have them than any others in all the world. Well this all seems to be about me, but there is so little else I am permitted to write about that you will please accept this fact as my excuse. I am well & in the very best of form & very much looking forward to my next leave which I hope to have in the forepart of next month. All my love to mother Your affectionate son WM 26 October 1916 Harford H. Montgomery Esq c/o Messrs Wm Montgomery & Son 2 Wellington Place Belfast PASSED FIELD CENSOR 2188 WA Montgomery William Alexander Montgomery Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 26 October, 1916Letter from William Montgomery to his mother, Sara Montgomery, 13 October, 1916Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 19 November, 1916Letter from William Montgomery to his parents, Harford and Sara Montgomery, 30 October, 1916Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 29 September, 1915Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 16 November, 1916Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 13 December, 1915Letter from William Montgomery to his parents, Harford and Sara Montgomery, 18 November, 1915Letter from William Montgomery to his parents, Harford and Sara Montgomery, 29 December, 1915Letter from William Montgomery to his mother, Sara Montgomery, 23 December, 1915 Messrs Wm Montgomery & son, 2 Wellington House, Belfast, Ireland Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 19 November, 1916Letter from William Montgomery to his father, Harford Hugh Montgomery, 16 November, 1916