Letters written to Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood by Lord Liverpool, 1915-1919

Army Form A 2007.
CENTRAL REGISTRY.
Central Registry No. and Date.   

Attached Files.
SUBJECT, AND OFFICE OF ORIGIN.
Lord Liverpool
[Inward]
Referred to Date

                      22/12/15
                      22/2/16
                      28/3/16
                      21/7/16
                      7/6/17
 

Referred to
Date 

Referred to
Date

P.A.
Date

Schedule of Correspondence
Wt W3019-1684 750m. 5/15, M. & H. Ltd. (M 56242)
Forms
A. 2007.
6

3 DRG 3376
AUSTRALIAN 
WAR MEMORIAL
ITEM 21

B. 

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

22nd December, 1915.

My dear General,

Many thanks for your letter of the 29th
October.
Will you permit me to congratulate you and all
associated with you on the result of the withdrawal operations
which we have just heard have been so successfully carried out?
Our 2nd Hospital ship, the "Marama", left here on
December 5th. I do not actually know what her destination will
be : I am rather in hopes that she will fetch up somewhere in
your locality, but the Imperial Authorities have been impressing
upon me the necessity of having Hospital Ships to carry the
wounded between Suez and New Zealand and between Suez and
Australia, and she may be detailed for that work, although I
gather from what Cowans tells me that it will not debar her
from going into the Mediterranean.    After all, as one was
bound to put the Hospital Ships at the disposal of the
Imperial Government to use wherever they thought best, I did
not think it advisable to make too many stipulations, though
I have asked, if it is found possible, that the Ships should
be used as far as practicable for the benefit of New Zealanders.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,
(2).

I have also said that my Government would never agree to any
of the doctors, nurses, or personnel being taken off any of the
Ships.
I am grateful to you for your remarks about the
defects of the "Maheno".   Most of them I knew of before she
left New Zealand, but if I had rectified them then, it would
have delayed the Ship, and at that time I felt that you would
be very glad to get her at Anzac as soon as possible.
I superintended practically the whole of the fitting and equipment 
of her myself, and any mistakes which were made I am
quite prepared to take the blame for.
I think you may take it for granted that the Dominion
will certainly be able to fulfil its obligations to provide
the necessary quota of monthly reinforcements.
We have just organized a new recruiting scheme, similar to that
which has been in force in Ireland under the auspices of the
Lord Lieutenant, and I am Patron of the new scheme here.
It aims at interesting the whole community in keeping up a
constant stream of reinforcements.   It also provides that the
men required for the industries of the country are not to be
taken, and, thirdly, it arranges that men are not to leave

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,
(3).

their employment until the time arrives when they are required
to go into camp, so that as far as possible business shall
not be dislocated, especially as it is vitally important
that we should maintain our efforts in the direction of
keeping up the food supplies of the Armies of ourselves and
our Allies in Europe.
The 3rd and 4th Battalions of the New Zealand Rifle
Brigade of which I am Colonel will leave here in the course
of the next few weeks, and then you will have two New Zealand
Infantry Brigades.    Godley has chaffed me over all the "Jims"
which he thinks that as a Rifleman I shall introduce into the
Regiments. They are very harmless ones, and of course one
can hardly expect a Guardsman to have brains enough to compete
with any of the "Black Hearts"!    I think you will find,
though, that the four Battalions will do credit to the name
which their Imperial brethren bear.   They are a good, wroughty,
buggey lot, as every Rifleman should be.
With every good wish for 1916,
Yours sincerely,

Liverpool

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

Government House
WELLINGTON
"Elmwood" Christchurch, 

[*Private & Personal*]

22nd February, 1916.

Dear General,
Thanks very much for your letter of the 13th
December, which I have just received.
We have despatched the two Hospital Ships once more on
their journey and I understand that the "Marama" took a large
consignment of wounded to England, and has now left England
on the 15th February for the purpose of doing further duty
in the Mediterranean.
The "Maheno" will be arriving in a few days at Suez and
I understand that they are sending her back to New Zealand
with a full compliment of wounded from Egypt, together with
some invalids from England, which the "Marama" is dropping
for her.
I was very grateful for all your notes in respect to the
"Maheno" and as far as possible I have had all your suggestions
carried out. It has been a little difficult to make the
alterations as regards the officers' quarters. I am well
aware that sick officers do like to have privacy, but owing
to lack of space, it has been impossible for me to have separate
cabins constructed, otherwise it would have lessened the amount
of accommodation which the ship could carry. I am sure you will
appreciate my desire to meet your wishes in every respect, but
I think you will agree with me that it was best not to construct
separate cabins at the expense of the general accommodation. I
shall always be grateful if you will inform me on any point
regarding alterations to the Hospital Ships which you may think
desirable.
 As there

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

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As there was no very severe fighting taking place just
after your evacuation of Anzac, I suggested to Lord Kitchener
that if he thought it desirable, and if of any service to him,
we should be delighted if one of the Hospital Ships was sent to
the Persian Gulf as I understood that the accommodation for
the wounded in that sphere of operations was not perhaps as
good as in others. However he replied that he did not think
that the ship could be usefully employed in the Persian Gulf.
as only shallow draft steamers could be used. I am sorry that
this has not been possible because I hear that our wounded
suffered considerably after the Battle of Ctesphion, and in
the case of my own brother, he was from November 22nd to
December 5th before he got into a hospital, and I know that
the casualties were very heavy.
I have been in correspondence with Lord Hardinge and we
are now arranging to send a consignment of Red Cross goods
from here for the troops in Mesopotamia.
I am glad that we have been able to acquiese in your wishes
to form a complete New Zealand Division. It has been made
possible from the fact that you have not asked us to increase
our quota of reinforcements. One has so many things to consider here
in finding reinforcements, that I think we have arrived at
practically the limit of our power of increase. When I say this,
I wish you to remember the fact that one cannot indefinitely
denude the industries of the Dominion, because the Secretary
of State for the Colonies has impressed on us the necessity of
keeping up our full supply of wool and meat for the feeding of
the various Armies in the field. There is always a section of
the population who desire to do a little bit more than it would
be feasible
 

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

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be feasible to do, and they of course are not aware of the
secret communications which have passed between Mr Harcourt,
Mr Bonar Law, and myself, on this subject, and I feel certain
that you will agree that a certain number of men which we have
pledged ourselves to send every four weeks, as reinforcements,
is a far more valuable asset to the Empire generally, than a
doubtful increase of this number, and which might possibly
hinder the various industries to which I have referred. Although
perhaps I ought not to say so, I think that the men who are
being sent now are quite as good as any who have gone before
them, and further, I gather, although I would not say it to
anyone else but you, that their discipline, training and
behavior, are greatly in advance of our Australian brothers.
So far as the new Regiment of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade
is concerned, I think that the 4th Battalion which has lately
sailed from Auckland was the best Battalion I have seen, it is
curious that such should be the case as I passed nearly the
whole of my service in our own 4th Battalion. I am sure
whoever you appoint in command of the Brigade will be worthy
of that appointment. Braithwaite is an old friend of mine
and I went to Sandhurst at the same time, so for many reasons
I should be glad to see him in command, although he is not a
Rifleman by birth.
You are well aware that the troops, when they get to Egypt
now, are being provided with rifles supplied from Home, and I
have just suggested to the Imperial Authorities that if possible
these arms should be sent to New Zealand so that the troops
could be actually trained with them, because you well understand

how valuable
 

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

- 4 - 

how valuable it is for a man to shoot, during his training,
with his own rifle. I do not know whether this will be
possible to do.
In conclusion I desire to reciprocate your good wishes
for 1916.

Believe me,
Yours sincerely,
Liverpool

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

[Personal]

28th March, 1916.

Dear General Birdwood,
With regard to our many telegrams which
have passed between us on the question of the use of a certain
cypher, it is a curious thing that you were permitted to use
it and its use was prohibited here so far back as last December.
As soon as you told me that you were using it, I telegraphed to
the Secretary of State for War to ask if we could also use it,
because all correspondence with you has had to pass through me in
another cypher which I alone had, and all routine work of the
Defence Office so far as correspondence with you was concerned
has had to pass through my hands, which I can tell you at a time
like this, as you will well realize, was pretty "thick".
With regard to another subject which I telegraphed to you
about, I frankly do not understand the methods of censorship
which takes place in Egypt. I get personal and secret messages
from the Secretary of State for War and the Secretary of State
for the Colonies enjoining me to the utmost secrecy, and yet
code telegrams and even scarcely veiled open telegrams are
allowed to pass the Censors both in Egypt and England. I get
instructions to re-censor here, and that is all very well up to
a certain point, but it naturally means that information which
is considered most secret passes through a further number of
hands; nor is this all, because it entails an enormous amount
of work to the Censors here, (and we have none too many of them
available) whereas the whole matter could much more expeditiously
be dealt with at the office of origin.
I think it well that you should know what both myself and
my Government think of this question, because having corresponded

with you
 

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

- 2 -

with you only by cable you may have thought me somewhat fussy
on the matter and one cannot put all that one thinks into telegrams.
We are all very much pleased at the report that General
Spens has forwarded with regard to the training which has taken
place of the troops in New Zealand and which points to the
fact that you and senior officers are pleased with what has been
done in this respect in this Dominion.

Yours sincerely,
Liverpool

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

21st July 1916

Dear Sir William Birdwood
I have to thank you for your letter of
May 22nd. just received.
With regard to your question,whether I had a reply from
the Secretary of State in respect to the use of cipher "V"
I got a reply that it could be used at that time,but of course
I had previously had an order that it was not to be used.
I have very little news to give you from here,I have just
inspected the 15th Reinforcements which will leave shortly,
I hear good accounts of them from the side of discipline, but
neither they nor their predecessors the 14th have had quite
such a high musketry average as former drafts,it must not be
forgotten however that the weather at this time of year is not
of the best,and perhaps my remarks on this subject are a little
prejudiced,as you are aware we were somewhat strictly brought
up in the Rifle Brigade as to this.
I think you will probably find that the officers, who
are being sent you now,are somewhat better trained,as a longer

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

-2-    

period is required of them namely 6 months for those who have
had previous territorial training, and 11 months for those,
who have not.
Parliament is still sitting,but I hope that it will
finish shortly,as the time of Ministers is very much hindered
and this especially applies to the Minister of Defence, and
the Department generally,however on the whole all goes well,
though like everywhere else there are " disgruntles ".
I am glad to hear from Sir John Cowans that the Hospital
Ships are doing good work.
I always feel glad to send you any information to you [[Txxyxx]]
I can, as you are half a Lincolnshire man,like myself,at least
through your wife
With every good wish

Believe me
Yours sincerely
Liverpool 

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

PERSONAL AND SECRET

August 2nd, 1916.

Dear Sir William Birdwood,
I thought I would like to let
you know privately of a matter which has been brought to my
notice confidentially.
The New Zealand Government have for a considerable
time felt very strongly regarding the position of those
officers, both Imperial and New Zealand, who have been carrying
out so efficiently the training of the various Reinforcements.
The Government of this Dominion have considered it their duty
to retain the services of these officers in New Zealand in
order that the drafts may reach the highest possible efficiency
in training.   They have also considered most carefully the
possibility of employing officers who have already been abroad
and who are no longer fit for active service, but they recognise
that the work would be beyond the capabilities of such men
as a great strain is being put upon all engaged in that work.
In passing, I may remark that all these officers
have been most anxious to go out themselves, and it has been
most difficult to persuade them to recognise the fact that the
work which they are doing here is invaluable to the troops at
the front.   Such being the case, the New Zealand Government

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

- 2 -

are determined that their services shall not remain
unrecognised and so become "out of sight, out of mind".
I am very pleased to say that in the case of the Commandant,
Brigadier-General Sir Alfred Robin, and the Chief of the
General Staff, Colonel C. M. Gibbon, their services were
recognised at the King's last Birthday ; but the reason that
I am writing to you is that apparently Sir Alexander Godley
takes a totally different view.   He has written conveying the
impression that no-one who has not seen active service can
expect rewards, and while I should not like this letter quoted,
I felt that it was only right to inform you that these ideas
of his have not been favourably viewed here, more especially
as they come from a man who has received a good many "plums"
inside of two years.    I have never mentioned a word to
you before, but I cannot disguise the fact that General Godley
is looked upon as a somewhat selfish individual, nor can I
banish from my mind the fact that he is not popular amongst
New Zealand officers or men.    I have little doubt that you
have also known of this, but, like myself, have preferred to
hold your tongue.    To my mind, it is a great pity because,
unquestionably, General Godley did great service to this

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

-3-

Dominion in furthering the interests of the national service
scheme.
Personally, Sir Alexander and myself have always been
on the best of terms, and had not his views been so strongly
expressed on the subject to which I have alluded, I should
have said nothing, but should he in course of conversation
mention the matter of awards and promotions for those who
have been less fortunate than himself and who have had to
remain in New Zealand, I should be grateful ( if you agree of
course ) if you would support the views of both myself and my
Ministers.
I have taken a very strong stand on this question
because, from my personal experience in the service, I know
that a great deal of very good, and indeed invaluable, work
has not received the reward which it merited, because it did
not happen to be in the public eye, and a Rifleman has always
been brought up to help those who are not so fortunately placed
as himself.

Believe me,
Yours sincerely,
Liverpool

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

7th June, 1917.

SECRET AND PERSONAL.

Dear Sir William Birdwood,
1.    I want first of all to convey to you
my best congratulations on the Honour which His Majesty
the King has conferred upon you on the occasion of his
Birthday.
2.    Knowing the interest which you
take in everything concerning New Zealanders, and also for
obvious reasons which I shall give, I want to tell you that
there is considerable annoyance here over the raising of the
additional Fourth Brigade, a step which my Ministers never
approved of,although under certain stipulations they allowed
it to be formed, the most stringent stipulation being that
this Government would not provide any reinforcements for the
Brigade, and that the reinforcements for the New Zealand
Division must not be depleted.   The position now is, that if
any reinforcements are required for the New Zealand Division
over and above what are being now sent,the Brigade has got to
be disbanded, the reason being that the New Zealand Government
are determined to carry out the obligations which they imposed
upon themselves and which represent the maximum which they
consider they can do : they will run no risk of failing.
I tell you all this because there is a strong feeling amongst
all classes in New Zealand that Godley is responsible for
having let this Government in to acquiescing in the raising
of the Fourth Brigade, and although this has been repudiated
nothing that anyone can say will convince the people that
such is not the case.    Godley is more unpopular now

GOVERNMENT HOUSE DOMINION OF NEW ZEALAND

WELLINGTON,

- 2 -

than he has ever been before, and the question may possibly
be raised in Parliament to get the New Zealand Troops put
under your Command, as both soldiers and civilians alike
are most anxious that this shall be done.   It is for this
reason that I thought it right to tell you quite privately
about the matter : the question may indeed crop up before
this letter reaches you.
With every good wish,

Believe me,
Yours sincerely,
Liverpool