Lives of the First World War

We spent our Christmastide in Lille with the realisation commanded the 8th Company and Captain Keiller also went forward into Germany. Both these officers unfortunately died whilst serving there – taken off I believe with pneumonia. We were all very sorry to lose these fine officers; we all felt what a pity and irony of fate it was that after successfully passing through all the perils and vicissitudes of active war operations, they should have succumbed to illness in this manner after the cessation of the fighting. This was another hard, severe winter; the frost was so keen that even the exposed bolt heads on the interior of the railway vans in which we were living, were frequently glistened with frost; on awakening in the mornings I often found a pad of ice on my blanket where the moisture from my breath had frozen in the night. So far as I can recollect it was during this period that the serious epidemic of influenza was so prevalent on the Continent and British Isles with fatal results to many persons. Fortunately we escaped this scourge in our camp, but I often thought the severe winters I had experienced whilst on active service in Flanders had permanently affected my bronchial tubes and seriously aggravated the bronchial catarrh which became a chronic complaint with me. Our main task whilst we were stationed at Lesquin was to take full particulars of all the new railways, sidings etc. which had been constructed by ourselves and the Germans and plot this data on our maps, so far as our own particular sector was concerned. In performance of these duties we covered a wide range of country and visited many interesting places in France and Belgium. As a contrast to the devastated areas which had been under the enemy heel in France, I particularly noticed that the main part of Belgium, which had been in German occupation, was in a fairly high state of cultivation. From this I came to the conclusion that the Germans, expecting to win the war, had, as a matter of policy, done what they could to foster the agriculture and other industries in Belgium. 1919 On February 10th I left Lesquin and proceeded on 14 days’ leave to Cleobury Mortimer, returning to France on the 25th. Excepting for a few officers who were attached to us temporarily for brief periods, our staff now consisted of Major Shaw, Captain Ball, Lieutenants T T Mead, V Tuley, our medical officer Eadie, who in civil life was a London Specialist, and myself. We all got on very well together and generally had as good a time as is possible under our particular circumstances. We became friendly with our local “Town Major” Hickman. He was a London barrister in civil life, residing at Rickmansworth, and he was a son of Sir Alfred Hickman, the well known Ironmaster of the Spring Vale furnaces, Bilston, Wolverhampton. We had enjoyable games of bridge with him on several occasions, both at our camp and at his quarters at the house of the local brewer, where he invariably produced some fine fruity port wine specially imported from England. Another officer I well recollect was Lane-Fox. In civil life he was sheep farming in New Zealand; he told me his normal flock numbered about 20000 sheep. It was very interesting to me to listen to his descriptions of New Zealand and his experience of life in that most English of our Dominions. Among the many places we visited whilst we were located at Lesquin were:- St. Amand, where I specially noticed the ruined Abbey which contained some of the most florid, ornate architecture I have ever seen; the fortress town of Douai; Valenciennes and the adjacent little ancient walled and ramparted town of Conde. At Valenciennes I was interested in several houses and other buildings built during the Spanish occupation of Flanders, in their style of architecture, with a distinct Moorish influence. At this town I also saw some women making some of their famous lace, a sample of which I purchased for Annie. Arras was another town containing many features of interest including more Spanish architecture; this fine town however, had been badly damaged during the War. Roubaix, Tourooing and Courtrai (textile towns) and Tourmai with its fine churches. Historical Mons and the surrounding colliery district bringing its memories of the battles fought in 1914 by our Old Contemtibles.

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