Correspondence between Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood and Lady Janetta Birdwood, 1916 and 1918 - Part 5

men at Anzac & I have written a short introduction
for it.  Be sure to send me 3 or 4
copies of it, as I want to send them to men to men
like de Robeck & Thursby who will I know
like them.
Genl. Skene has just rejoined me & given me
latest news of you!  He says he just missed
you at the Anzac buffet, but heard you were
looking exceedingly well & gave me a most
magnificent "swop" for you!!  He heard of an
Australian who after seeing you had said "He
knew Genl B wood &liked him very much &
he was a good friend of his, but he couldn't
well forgive him for going & marrying
quite a young girl like you"!!!!
That after seeing you at the buffet! - Goodbye
my own little one &all my love.  Ever your very loving old Will.

Found at Helles on January 9th.

Come into the lighter Maude,
For the fuze has long been lit;
Quick into the lighter Maude,

And never mind your kit. 

I've waited here an hour or more,

The _^^good news that your march is o o'er,

The sea runs high, but what care I,

Its better to be sick than blown sky high: 

So jump into the lighter Maude,

The allotted time is flown;

Come into the lighter Maude,

I'm off on the launch alone,

I'm off on the launch al-one.

Lorenzo.
 

DONATED RECORDS LIST 
3376 3rd Series (19)
 

[* You could
send Irene's
present
by King's
Messenger
perhaps*]
 

[*3 DRL.  3376   (15)*]
Cairo.
3rd June 16.
 

My own darling little one.

I was so glad to get your letter of 10th & to 

know that you had got my letter about the first evacuation

all right - you will still now have got one about the second I

hope. I am so glad too that dear old Lord K & Fitz came

to see you, for I know how really rushed they are with work
every hour of the day, & I think it was  most awfully good

of them.  I am sorry Lord K. talked though about my coming home.

He told me if I wanted a rest that I was to write to him

when he would arrange & I had hoped if nothing was doing to

have been able to pop home quite quietly & without a word
to your complete surprise!!  But for the formation of this Army
I think I might have been able to manage it - & if this
should not come off I still hope I may be able to do. I
am at present awaiting to see if Australia agrees - if she
does I shan't have a single spare moment - & even then I
don't know if I'll ever be able to get through everything in
time - for there will be an appalling lot to be done - more
than twice which I had to do with the formation of
this Corps here last year.  It isn't little lamb, as I am
sure you know that I don't just long to get home & see
 

you all & I'll just rush along if it is possible.  It isn't 
that my profession comes before you all, because that isn't it 
at all. I feel I have absolutely no ambition now - any I may 
have had has been more than satisfied by winning the confidence 
of all these fine men in the field. But I do feel that once 
can have no thoughts now but the safety of the Country which is
still in such great peril, while defeat would be too awful 
to contemplate.   All we have ever lived for would be gone & England &

everyone in it would be simply trampled to pieces. Not that 
we are going to lose for a minute. But if there is any little thing 
one can do to ensure success I feel one simply has to see 
it through, & if this reorganisation is sanctioned I am vain 
enough to believe that I must be here to carry it through. It 
will require an enormous amount of work - a great deal of improvisation

& personal influence to carry it through as to some
extent it must encroach on vested interests, & I believe I 
can deal with such matters better than anyone else 
here, for they somehow seem to trust me. I was really quite 
touched yesterday when going round the ranks an old 
Anzac, New Zealander said "I hope you are coming back 
to us now Sir & will command us right through" - & when I 
said I was,  he so fervently said "Thank God. That'll do

2)

me all right". Poor fellows, they are all mad keen on 
getting over to France where as a matter of fact I expect we 
will go, but they none of them seem to realize the enormous 
casualties we are bound to have in our fighting there.
With the reputation they have made as fighters, I fancy we 
are sure to be given some real tight jobs to carry through 
& I can never dismiss from my mind, the thousands who may be 
killed. No one will realize more than you how this is makes me 
do all the little I can to  help them now, for good organization 
& training now, is what is going to pay & save lives later on.
Even dear old K. doesn't always think of such things.   He 
has never had to train troops & I doubt if he realises all it 
means - also when he saw you, he had no idea of the 
possibility of this big scheme - if it doesn't come off I 
shall still hope to be able to run home soon little one. But 
in any case I quite think we will all come over to 
France & if so I do not anticipate any difficulty in 
getting home then - &more than once. But it is of course 
too early to make such plans now.   I seem to have 
been seeing numberless men in hospital since I arrived 
here - there seems no end to them, which is depressing.
The McMahons are most awfully good & will not let 
 

me leave them as I am daily expecting orders about forming my new 
Army.  Irene is to be married on 9^th.   I am afraid you may only just have 
got my letter by then asking you to send her a wedding present, so it 
can't be in time, but I know you will send it as soon as you can.   They had

hoped to get the married daughter out for the wedding, but this order

prohibiting ladies coming here at all has stopped it, and McMahon says 
that in any case he would not have allowed it now that there are 
so many submarines about between here & Malta.   Both these would 
apply to you little one if we had decided you should come out, for 
even if you were allowed it is not a bit too safe at present, & one 
is thankful to hear of every ship arriving safely.   You mustn't worry 
about Lord K. saying I was thin. I certainly was very much so at one time 
at Anzac, but that passed off & I feel I am now getting roundly fat 
at the McMahons - it is so hard to escape lunch!   I see an account 
in a paper of your being presented with a boomerang at the Anzac 
buffet?  I expect you write & told me about it, in one of the mails that
was torpedoed. You will I hope have got my letter about our evacuation
of Helles long before now. It certainly is much to be thankful for & it is nice
of Monro to have said I was to be credited. As a matter of fact he wasn't
there at all & always held a rotten position.  It was only my representation to
Lord K which made him put him in command of the Dardanelles and
Salonika Armies - but as a matter of fact he slipped on a ship & sprained
his ankle badly while Lord K. was at Mudros & was never able to
leave his ship again till he went to Egypt 10 days before I evacuated
Helles. He only spent one day altogether visiting all three
places on the peninsula.   As a matter of fact though the real 
credit is due to the Corps Commanders and their Staffs who had to work 
 

3) out their local details & I hadn't very much to do, though of course I
had the responsibility and anxiety.  However I hope I'll never have such
another thing to carry out.  Monro who is a dear good fellow must
have been fearfully sick at being tied by the leg as he was.  I 
still chuckle to think of the disgust of the Turks at finding we
had got away from Helles with no loss.  I fancy they lost so heavily
the day before when they attacked us, that it put them off coming
on again so soon after. Tell me what Lord K. thought of Chris:  I
do hope he appeared to advantage & wasn't shy?  Nancy & Judith would
I am sure have been very much all there!  Did the latter have lots to
say?  Where he is older is in his movements which have become so much
heavier - didn't you think so?  Poor Wylly does seem to have had a
real bad time of it with those two smashes to his face, but I hope
he is right again now &if I can get him to my new Army I'll certainly
try.  You do seem to have had a real full house at Xmas at Thurlby &
I daresay you weren't sorry you had spent most of the time in London.
What a pity & mistake it seems not to send Julie to school & I wonder
Kath doesn't do it on her own & just tell Robin she finds she has
had to do so.  He surely couldn't object if he realised how necessary
it was - but I fancy she would want a long time at a good school
to get her right!  As a very small child I quite saw how easily
out of hand she would get.  I don't quite know what Col. Smith
that would be whom you met at Moreton Gardens, but rather
think he must be a capital fellow who commanded one of my
Battalions & whom I am sorry to say, I hear is not likely to return
to us at all.  I'm glad you saw Edith.  Do you know if Reggie
 

is still trying to exchange into the 4th Hussars or is he sticking 
to the 11th?  I hope so.  Did you hear that Major Price has transferred
to the Iris Welsh Guards, which I'm sure will please her very much! 
How is M^r Cliff? I saw him last at Mudros, but I fancy he must be
in Egypt now, though where I am not sure.  They should be richer
than ever as all shipping is now paying enormously. I have just
had a letter from M^rs Atkinson - what a queer creature she is !  A bit
mad?  How very nice Lady Robinson always seems to be to you & I am sure
Judith liked being at Broadstairs for Xmas.  I am rather amused at Uncle
George's present of Homer & Virgil to Chris. What did he say to it?!!  How
I should have loved to take Judith to the pantomime & I'm sure you
all enjoyed it thoroughly.  Look out for the Anzac magazine which 
will be published at home next month or March & for which I have
written an introduction - you might send me 3 or 4 copies to send
to people - some of our ships I know will like them.  All the
Xmas cards you had sent out have arrived all right & will
be much appreciated.  Goodbye my own little one.
Excuse a more than usually badly written scrawl, but
as a matter of fact I write from bed as I suddenly
found I had a temperature of 102° last night, so am
sitting tight for a day or so.  All my love to you.
Ever your very loving old, Will.
 

5 Aug 1916
Friday
My own darling girl.

I'd far rather Nancy should remain on at
Harefield & I hope she will do so quite contentedly
& happily. My reasons are - I feel that the Harefield
people & all the Australians would be really
quite hurt if she left there. I am sure they look
upon her as one of themselves by now, are very proud proud
too she is there, while any of the men here who
know about it, also appreciate it, and I am
sure that none of them would like to think she
had gone - and that too to another hospital. They
would not understand the difference in the 
different class of work she could do there &
what she now does - and while I am head
of the Australians I like to think of her being
 

there &helping our men.  Then too,  supposing the
nursing didn't suit her, or for any reason she
didn't get on with M^rs D.  she would have to leave
it & couldn't return to Harefield. And is she
strong enough to stand the really heavy strain of
nursing? Also I don't much care to be
under any sort of obligation in the matter & 
for Nancy to go there more or less "as a favour"?
If they couldn't stretch a point & take her
at first - that was an end to it - and I
don't care to think of her going now &
checking what she is doing. "Shoemaker
stick to your last",  is as true now as
ever.  I am not unmindful of little Nancy