Correspondence between Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood and Lady Janetta Birdwood, 1915 - Part 18

of which I have always heard well spoken of, & 

I fancy it is very nice country all round there

& very healthy, so let us hope poor Georgie will do

well there. I fear she must be very unsettled 

with Percy gone off. I am thankful he has not

come over here with his Regt, as all the Officers

of those Regts seem to get killed here! The numbers I

have lost from both the New Army & Territorial

Divisions is really awful - and there seems to be no

replacing them. I have some Regts with only 3 or 4

Officers in them & possibly useless ones at that!

Percy I fancy may have been in all this recent

hard fighting in France & I do hope he may have

come through it safely. I fancy re-employment

must have been a tremendous joy to him, after

so many idle months with no object in

life.

I have just been on board the hospital ship

"Rewa". The old Captain was awfully nice & 

asked after you so kindly, remembering

you well from having travelled on her.

2) I was on her before about six weeks ago, &

you will be glad to hear that the Doctor in 

charge told me he wouldn't have known me for

the same man - that I was then a scare-crow about

whom they were all very anxious, and that I had

since put on at least 1½ stone in weight. While

some big London Doctor who was on board told

de Crespigny as we were leaving that I "was

the first General he had met out here who didn't

seem to have one foot in the grave"!! So you

see little one, you needn't worry very much

about my health now!!

Chris hasn't yet sent me - nor have I seen - the

pictures you tell me of in the Daily Mail,

Union etc - & which I fear sound terribly

ridiculous & inclined to make me feel such

a fool. Do you remember Capt. Aspinall in

Simla? He is now here on the Staff and

recently got a Brevet. These wretched

papers had a picture of his wife with two

or three small children underneath "all

very pleased at Daddy's Brevet"!! Poor

Aspinall has never heard the end of it.

I have at last been able to get some small amount

of information for  poor Punch which I enclose.

These two papers should at all events be sufficient

to enable her to claim any pension to which she

may be entitled & I do hope she may be able to

settle things up all right - and I trust to get

to some a pension which may be of some use to

her.

Frank Birdwood told me to you had been writing to

him about some rent for Dalkeith House & I am

so glad to think that we have at all events got

something - for I really never expected to get

anything! Once the tenant has paid off what he

expended on repairs, you will get more rent.

Will you please look up your pass book & see

if I have been credited with about £ 50

from the India Office - for It is for some allowances

which I should have got in Egypt, but

3)   which have only recently arrived & the pay

people tell me have been credited to my acc. at

home instead of here, so be sure to tell me if this

is the case.

I told you I think that poor Skeen had been invalided

with enteric - he is at Malta & I hear going on quite

favourably, but apparently it is certain that he

will have to go home, so will probably not rejoin me

for months to come. I have been very lucky in getting

such a really nice fellow in a Col. White to 

succeed him - he is an Australian & an exceptional

one - As nice & able a fellow as I have ever met

& it is a real pleasure having him on my Staff.

Genl. Williams has now left me on promotion to

Engineer in Chief on Sir Ian's Staff and I

have got Col Lesslie in his place. He is such

a dear fellow - always so hard working, keen

and faithful, and I am so glad that this

means a good step up for him. But

who is to succeed him I do not quite

know. I shall ask for Walter Norman, but

fear there is little chance of getting him.

Lord K's speech in the House of Lords was

certainly very nice & I am only afraid that the

troops will be getting a bit jealous of my

Australians, though the latter really are so

very good indeed that, as far as we are

concerned here, they do stand out & certainly

did so in the actions Lord K spoke about. I

have had his speech published in orders for

their information.

That Primitive Gas Co: notice probably means

that no dividends will be paid on ordinary

shares, but I fancy they will be so on preference

ones, which draw less dividends ordinarily

but go on being paid irrespective of anything

else if the Company can pay. I forget how many

of each I have - in any case there is nothing

to be done about it.

All Chelien dividends are paid into the

Alliance Bank & I have asked Sir A. Ken

4)    to invest any balance we may have

there.  I don't fancy it can be much after

paying rent of Somerleyton & sums remitted home

by the Bank after they ceased to draw my

pay in Dec, January & February - though Bob has

paid in ₨ 2000 odd as part of poor Dick's

estate.

Frank told me a certain amount about the Zeppelin

raid in London. He is employed in connection with

the Anti air Craft guns at the Admiralty. It

seems extraordinary that our aeroplanes should not be

able to deal with these ships. I am sure that

ere long we shall be able to do so. I am rather

a believer in Sir Percy Scott & I hope he will

be able to arrange for some real surprise for

them.

Goodbye my own little lamb & all my love

to you - Ever your very loving old

Will 

 

 

DONATED RECORDS LIST

3376

(15)

3rd Series

 

3 DRL. 3376 (15)

[* Address

my letters

in future

Head Quarters

M.E.F.*]

 

H.M.S. Lord Nelson

12 Oct 15

 

My own darling Jenny Jane.

Here I am at Mudros with dear old Lord K who I was

delighted to see again & who was I think really pleased to see me. I

have never seen him so gentle, soft & kind in his manner - the way he

took hold of my arm & at once walked me off up the deck when he

came on board was quite unlike his old rather abrupt, shy way

with people. We seem to have at once dropped into all our old

friendship & knowing each other, and I can see he is quite glad 

to have me to talk to & has naturally been most interesting

telling me about so much that has been going on in the Cabinet

at home all this time. He is of course longing for the war to be

over & to get away from it all - but there seems little chance

of this for a long time yet.

I am glad to say he has agreed to what I asked him to do -

viz to leave Genl. Monro in command of this force - as I told

him I was quite prepared to undertake the responsibility - but

for his sake & Monro's I felt it would be an enormous

mistake if Monro was removed.  It would only cause

unnecessary & very undesirable comment - he would be

 

 

accused of making changes without reason & not knowing

his own mind which could not help creating a bad impression

in this country & throughout the service - but it would be very hard

lines on Monro who had been taken from a big Army Command in

France for this. I had as I think I told you, received a

wire from the Prime Minister after K. left home definitely

appointing me as Chief here, but this I suppressed, so it

has never been given out officially given out & consequently

there is no trouble. Monro will now command the whole force,

though at present things are rather difficult, as we are both

here & K. will insist on treating me as Chief & referring to me

about everything, while Monro looks on! It is most uncomfortable 
& I always have to try & refer to Monro, who fortunately

seems an exceedingly nice fellow (he is 5 & might well be

10 years older than me from his appearance) & does not take

the offence some men might do. When K. has gone things

will settle down a lot in this respect & I am sure he

will bear no malice - indeed he should be & I believe

is very grateful to me for what I have done for him. I 

found as I expected that K. had been so annoyed at

his proposals regarding the force here, that he had there 

& then moved him on to something else & put me in

 

2) command. Nothing whatever is yet settled as to the future.

We are having constant correspondence with the Prime Minister

on the subject & much is being discussed, but it is impossible

to say as yet what will happen & I can not go into our plans.

I am not too happy about them, but the whole question is

most extraordinary & complex, for military & political considerations 
are to some extent antagonistic to each other. Whatever

it is, it is bound to be a very hard & difficult job, & I am so

glad to know that I shall be with my men for this to see them

through it, rather than away & out of danger as I should have been

at Head Quarters on an Island as Chief. I go back to Anzac

directly Lord K. leaves.

I have just got your letters of 14th & 19th Oct. Many thanks

little one, for ordering the parafin stove for me & I am sure & 

hope they will arrive all right & will be most useful, as

during the winter, the difficulty of getting ones clothes dry

will be one of our greatest. That & keeping warm on

cold, wet days - however we will get on all right.

I think everything you have sent out has arrived all 

right (except the shortbread, though that may have turned

up while I was have been away from Anzac) & I expect that before

now you will have got my letters telling you so, for

 

 

I have written this more than once - and please little one,

only send the one tin of fruit in future, as I honestly can't

get through nearly all you have already sent - there was

terrible tribulation on Anzac when they thought I might be

leaving them altogether & I think they are all pleased I am not

now to do so. I took Lord K. ashore there yesterday - he was dead

keen on seeing the men & I think much impressed by what he

saw for he has wired home saying he had no idea we had

captured such an exceedingly difficult position as it is, &

which has to be seen to be realised. I took him right up to

a front trench within 25 yards of the Turk trenches, but in

perfect safety. I was only anxious about him the whole

time we were outside the trenches, for you can never tell

when shelling may not start & they can come anywhere:

indeed I was almost most nervous about him when disembarking 

for they often fire at destroyers - however I made

our boat stand well out for the picket boat to come

out to - it was a bit rough too & I was very glad he had

to see some of our difficulties in that way. If we

should ever have to leave, Sir John Moore's retreat at

Corunna would be absolute child's play to the difficulties

we will have to meet of embarking from an open beach