Correspondence between Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood and Lady Janetta Birdwood, 1915 - Part 23

torpedoed & sunk between Egypt & here about a month ago
& goodness knows what it contained! 1900 mail bags of sorts!
If my letter which must now have gone astray was about money
matters - & if you have not already done so - will you be
sure to let me know if a sum of about £50 or 52 was credited
to our account in 1st N. Bank of India at least 3 or 4 months
ago. It was for lodging allowance in Egypt & I particularly
want to know about it - as if it hasn't been so credited I
must see about it and get it this done as soon as possible.
I expect though before this reaches you, you will already have
written to tell me about it. I can't remember what all the
other items were about, but I hope that in any case you will have
had answers about them by other letters, as I have now mentioned
them so often!!
I hope Major Storr will have sent you that New Zealand greenstone
"Tiki" which Sir H. Meux sent me. Will you please send me
back the typed description (or ^ better still a copy of it) which I want to
show to some of the  Maoris here, as I am told they can tell
me a lot of most interesting history about it, if I ever show
them this, while the "tiki" itself, they say would be at once
recognised! A New Zealander to whom I was talking
about it a few days ago, told me he had had to pay
£40 a short time ago for a quite inferior one about 50
years old & that this, would be valued out there at
quite a high figure - in fact he said at it was
almost priceless.
I am glad to say my men are getting well over the effects

 

2) of that blizzard, though  the numbers I had to send away were

awful & I shall never forget, the misery of seeing wretched fellows

hobbling along with their feet wrapped up in sacking & every

step being agony. Too many of them for all to be carried, so all

but bad cases had to hobble to the beach to be taken off to the

hospital   have been seeing a good deal of the French troops lately - they are such a contrast to ours, especially in their native troops. The Senegalese are huge great niggers & just as black as the blackest of boots! Absolutely like tar right to the inside of their lips! They absolutely curl up with the cold, so we are arranging to
send them all off from here & they will be replaced by French
men. Then they have West Indians too from Guadalupe &
Martinique - smaller & brown men - a great many half caste
French I fancy. They are French Citizens & Christians. Being
citizens they are conscripted & have all the privileges of a
Frenchman, & consequently are absolutely mixed up with
them in every company - got the same food, clothes etc - & live
entirely with the Europeans. To us after the Indian Army this
seems so strange. The Senegalese are mostly Muhammadans
but some are heathens & idol worshippers. Hardly any of the
French officers can talk to them in their own language, but
most of them have learnt a certain amount of French - half
their N.C.O's are French. Do you remember Major Pollok in the Black Watch? He was A.D.C to old Sir. A. Reid & was asking after

you & your Father when I saw him the other day
 

at Helles. I think he was then, or became afterwards Pollok-

Moins, but has now become Pollok-McCall - money I suppose

is commanding a Territorial Brigade. Quite a nice fellow, &

was very anxious about being remembered to you both.

You have never in any of your letters told me anything
about [[Wylley?]] - beyond the fact that he was wounded long
ago. Is he quite all right again now & back with his Brigade?
I heard from some Tasmanians who were writing to me about
a son of theirs here, that he had been staying at Thurlby
to convalesce & wanted to know how he was - I could only
say I didn't know he had been there, but thought he was right
again now.
I am hoping to get Wagstaff as my A.M.S. He is really much too
good for it & will lose a lot of pay in by coming, so it is only
with reluctance for his sake that I haven't quite liked taking him,
but he has been so very nice in insisting on his keenness of
coming with me in any capacity that I have asked for him, & will
naturally be delighted to have him with me. In fact I have
been so very touched, by all my old Staff, Coming up one after the
other & imploring me to have them on my Army Staff - this I can
not well do, as naturally Godley can not spare them all
nor have I places for them all here. I am so glad he has
succeeded me in the Army Corps, as he is such a real good
fellow, who has worked for me most loyally in Command of the
New Zealanders ever since we started in Egypt a year ago.
I am sending some rather nice snapshots which were taken at
different times when Lord K was here. Goodbye my own little

wife - I am having a very difficult & most trying time of it with many

Dardanelles Army
19 Dec 15
18
My own darling girl.
I've just been so glad to get your letter of 30th
Nov. by King's Messenger and sent on by Sir Ian- I fancy
if you send these to Fitz or Major Storr direct to the War
Office & they will always send them on, without your having to
bother Sir Ian. Talking of Maj. Storr, have you got the
N. Zealand "tiki" I sent home to you by him?
That nice Capt. Lloyd has just come back & tells me you
saw them later - you never told me about it, isn't he a
nice fellow? Apparently his wife sees a good deal of
Queen Alexandra to whom she was a Maid of Honour. He was
telling me that when he was at home now, dear old Sir
Dighton was holding forth so much about me, that eventually
the old Queen broke out with "Is there no one else in the
world but Genl. B, that you can talk of no one else" - or
something of that sort! I still haven't got any of your
back letters which have missed, so I haven't an idea
yet if you have yet got my replies to all the questions
you wanted- I do hope so?
What does Chris mean in his letter by saying "Nanny
will be a load off your mind"? Has she left you
or what has happened? You have never mentioned any

thing about her - but I see you talk of a Mademoiselle
 

with Judith. Have you taken her on regularly in Nanny's
place? I do feel so sorry for the latter as it seems so hard
to know what to do for her or with her. What is Mabel doing?
Has she come back to your Father?
N The two plum cakes have arrived all right & have been very
welcome in the mess where we of course share everything & all
your tinned fruit etc are sent there. I see you mention milk
too - have you sent any? For none has ever arrived here - but
in any case little one, (if you haven't already done so) have
these things stopped now as we do not want them here.
Things can be got at the canteen, so do not order anything
from Fortnum & Mason - or if you have ordered anything, countermand it. Where I shall be 10 days hence I have no idea, but
when & if I can only complete this terrible evacuation, successfully, I shall not be at all surprised if I am not
ordered to take my whole Army down to Egypt where we may
come in for some big fighting a short time hence.
Here I have a nice- little wooden hut to sleep in
which was built for Sir Ian - I am so glad Genl. Monro
did not decide to come here, but he has remained at

Mudros. Today I have been over at Suvla seeing Genl.
Byng & seeing to things there for the last time.
Tonight I spend on a Destroyer off the Coast
watching to see if anything happens during the
 

2) penultimate night of our departure. Tomorrow I go to
Anzac for a final look round of the position & trenches of
which I have been so proud & for which I have so much
lived during all these last months- I really feel like
abandoning a child in leaving there & it makes me nearly
cry! You can't believe what really wonderful work has
been put into that place - almost an underground city
in which my men could hold out against anything &
defy the world!  But the same does not apply everywhere &
in Suvla (where the ground is very different) could not hold
out against the heavy Austrian & German Artillery which
we have every reason to suppose will shortly be brought
against it, then the Germans could bring guns into
the rear of Anzac & cut us off from the sea. However
it is all very sad & it seems such irony that I am
to be that man to carry it out. After the day at Anzac
I shall be spending the night on the cruiser "Chatham" - for
that is going to be the real time of anxiety. We
may have an awful time of it - as bad as any army
has ever had. For we shall be carrying out one of the
most difficult operations in warfare - Sir John Moore
at Corunna over again, And a far bigger job

than he ever had to tackle. But I am confident

 

that things will go well. Providence has helped us so
far & I have every trust that we shall be helped to the end.
Tonight is calm. If it will remain so till Monday morning
we shall all be off & any anxieties over. A big blow
between now & then, & I shudder to contemplate the possibilities.
We have got to work hard too those two nights to get off
20,000 men each night as we must do - remember no harbour
or proper liners - just the little things we have been able
to rig up ourselves, alongside which big ships can not
of course go anywhere near. When it is all over, I feel
I shall have a momentary collapse - but for not more than
5 minutes as there will still be lots more to be done.
I will still have a Corps at Helles & I may have to
stop & look after it, but I rather think I'll have
to get off at once to Egypt & organize the defence there.
I'm so glad Lady Robinson is so nice to you, little
one, as she seems such a very nice woman. I didn't
know they were not Australians & I then wonder how
he became. A.G. for Queensland. I expect he has
been a big contractor who has dealt largely
with the Colony (possibly in xxxxx meat) & they
have taken him on look after their interests.
 

3) As a contractor he has probably made piles.
I wonder what happens to the Reids? To my great regret
he ceases to be H.C. for Australia in January. I wrote to the
Governor General asking if he couldn't be kept on till the
end of the war, but they wouldn't have it & he has to go.
All these things are very political in Australia & I fancy
the present Premier wanted the billet & some one she wanted
to be Premier, so Sir George had to move on, on finishing
his extended time. He is not a rich man & I suppose
may have to return to Australia to the Bar, but he is
getting old now & one feels sorry for him having to do
so. He offered to stay on with out pay if they would
keep him - at present I think he gets £5000 a year.
 Tell M^rs. Moncrieff  & Lady H. when you next see them that
I still have their nephew young McGrigor as A.D.C in place 
of de Crespigny who has been sick now in Egypt for over
2 months. I took McGrigor over from Sir Ian. I find him
such a vy nice young fellow, who looks after me so

capitally & runs our mess for us splendidly. He was
out in Calcutta in the Muirs firm when this broke
out - but went home & then came out here in the
Gloucester Yeomanry. I fear I shan't be able to
keep him after de Crespigny rejoins but I'll be

 

very sorry to lose him.
I was very glad to see your Australian Card, which is
I think excellent - I can't say though that I think very
much of my signature on it!! I always write with a

broad pen & never put a little wiggling line under
my name, but a good bold stroke!! I enclose one
I have just scribbled off! Not that  you are likely to
want it again. I'm so glad too you have fixed up

something for the N.Z's - it would never have done to
 leave them out, but £30 seems an enormous sum to pay for
such a thing, doesn't it. The original card is however
too Australian to do for both, though if you'd only thought
of it in time, it would have been ever so much nicer
in every way to have had the one card for both. It
would have wanted the N.Z. fern leaves on the
outside curve - the first 3 messages are all
right as they stand - you'd have had to get one
from the N.Z Defence Minister to correspond to
Pearce's message & you'd have had to get Sir Ian to
 

4) include N.Z's in his message - and to have
had a second picture included - or N.Z shown
as well as Australia with a girl on each! However
it is too late for that & I hope. M^rs Mackenzie will have
been able to fix up something for you all right.
What a little monkey Judith must be getting & how
I'd just love to see you & her again- But I don't see when it is
going to be - this is going to drag on for a long time yet &
we have to go on with it whatever happens until the
Germans are absolutely beat - it is the only thing to do & I
trust I may keep fit - I'm extraordinary so trim- to see it
through to the end. Can't Chris get on a bit with his French
with Madamoiselle during the holidays? I do wish he
could do a bit every day, for I saw his last report was very
thin as regards French & it is so important. Judith really
should get a decent start at her age & I hope may learn
to talk well. I'm so sorry poor Kath still has indy, as
I thought she had quite got over it. Robin is I suppose still
at Bushire - I wrote him a long letter from Egypt soon
after Nancy left them but have never had a line from him
& only heard he was in Persia quite by chance. I daresay
he thinks I should have brought him out on my staff & I should
much have liked to do so, but it wasn't possible.
I'm glad you have seen something of M^rs Cliff as though I know