Month: Nov 2022

…if needs be to stop there for good.

My thanks go to Lucy London (of the excellent Forgotten Poets of the First World War site) for sending on this poem, and details of its author, written in 1915.

A Candid Opinion

Do we want to back to the trenches?
To get biscuits and bully to eat
To get caught by a sniper’s chance bullet
Or crippled with frost bitten feet.  

There are some say they’re anxious to get back
There are others who say they are not.
It is not that they care for the danger
Or are frightened that they will get shot. 

It’s the awful conditions you live in,
Midst the rain and the mud and the dirt.
Where you’d give a month’s pay for a square meal,
And twice that amount for a shirt.

No, I’m not at all anxious to go back,
But I’ll have to go that’s understood
So I’m willing and ready to go there
And if needs be to stop there for good. 

The poem’s author was William Fox Ritchie, born on 15th June 1887 in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland. William joined Princess Louise’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in April 1909 and served in Malta and India. With the outbreak of war he served in Flanders where he suffered from frostbite and, in 1915, was invalided home.

Perhaps as his poem suggests, William felt compelled to return to active service. In 1917 he volunteered and joined 12th Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in Salonika.  Serjeant William F. Ritchie was killed in action at the Grand Couronne, Salonika on 12th September 1918.  He is buried at Doiran Military Cemetery where his inscription reads, Until the day break and the shadows flee away.

Source: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3753074

A Date With Destiny …

Whilst looking through ‘The Mosquito’ – an excellent resource and good value, too! – I came across a recipe for a date and walnut cake from June 1939 (No. 46, page 49). I’m no baker, but I do like pottering in the kitchen. Admittedly it’s mainly to listen to history podcasts, but I can turn out a reasonable tea loaf, so thought this would be within my capabilities. The opportunity came when we were given a bag of fresh walnuts so, with just some stoned dates to buy, I was off!

I know the recipe says ‘Walnut and Date Cake’ but I think ‘Date and Walnut’ trips off the tongue more readily!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb stoned dates;
  • 2 ozs walnuts – I put in 3 ozs as I had them and 2 ozs didn’t look much next to a pound of dates!
  • 2 teacups of boiling water (bare measure) – I have no idea what this means but two measures of one of our posh teacups did the trick!
  • 1½ teacups of sugar – I don’t have a very sweet tooth and given that a pound of dates is rather sweet I put in a little under a teacup of Demerara, which was fine;
  • 4 teacups of plain flour – I ended up shaking in a bit more because the mixture looked rather gloopy!
  • 2 teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda;
  • 2 beaten eggs;
  • ½ teaspoon of salt.

Method

  • Chop dates and walnuts – I went quite small; this was the most tedious part of the operation but, with a good podcast to listen to, the job was soon done;
  • place the dates and walnuts in a bowl and add salt, bicarbonate of soda, then boiling water;
  • allow to stand for two minutes;
  • add sugar, flour and the beaten eggs – stirring thoroughly;
  • ‘Will make two cakes or loaves’ – not very precise guidance from the recipe so I got out a selection of baking tins and guessed how far the mixture would go – greasing them with butter and lining with greaseproof paper before pouring in the mixture; these are the sizes I ended up with …

Pip, Squeak and Wilfred!

  • ‘Bake in moderate oven for 1 to 1½ hours’ – our fan oven did them in about 45 minutes at 180℃; I checked they were done by poking with a skewer to see if there was any uncooked mixture lurking (thanks for the tip, Mrs B!).

I have to say they were a great success and there is very little left after a week. I shall definitely be making this again.

So, thanks to the Salonika Reunion Association and, especially, Aileen H. Moore (late of QAIMNS (R)) for a super little recipe shared in the ‘Women’s Pages’ of ‘The Mosquito’ over 70 years ago!

They shall grow not old …

Pillar Hill Cemetery, Doiran Front, Salonika. © IWM Q 64343

Allied war cemeteries at Monastir, the cemetery in the foreground is French, 17 January 1917. © IWM Q 78321

An Austro-Hungarian mule train passing by a monument to German and Bulgarian dead. The inscription reads “Our Heroes” in German and Cyrillic alphabet. © IWM Q 86225

A German military cemetery near Cericani, Bosnia and Hercegovina, 1917. The nearest grave belongs to Oberjager F. K. Muller of the 3rd Company, Guard-Schutzen Battalion, died on 22 July 1917. © IWM Q 86565

A military cemetery of Austro-Hungarian prisoners near Uskub (Skopje), 1917. Note a cross with a word “Swabia”, frequently written on other crosses. © IWM Q 86467

… we will remember them!

Remembrance

With Bonfire Night a rather damp memory we are now very firmly in the season of remembrance, although for our Society remembrance of the achievements, suffering and sacrifice of the British Salonika Force – and associated organisations, individuals and even animals in the campaign – is ongoing and not restricted to a specific time of year. Even so, members and friends will be gathering at war memorials across the country and at CWGC cemeteries further afield in the coming week.

I’ve long been fascinated by war memorials, which come in different shapes and styles: the one where I grew up (Barnet) has a splendid ‘winged victory’, but as she’s topless it was a bit embarrassing!; my local one (Dereham, Norfolk) is a sober Cenotaph lookalike; Bishop’s Stortford memorial once caught my eye because it has items of soldiers’ kit carved in stone; I rather like the one in Cambridge, showing a fully equipped ‘Tommy’ swinging along in fine style with victors’ laurels slung on his rifle. I think, though, that my favourite is in Rawtenstall, Lancashire.

I have mentioned it before, but make no excuse for including it again. What makes it so interesting is that it isn’t just about the army, or even the wider armed services in the First World War, nor is it dedicated to ‘The Glorious Dead’ alone, but has a much wider dedication. Entitled Tribute of Honour, it reads as follows:

To the men who made the supreme sacrifice, to the men who came back and to those who worked at home to win safety for the Empire. 1914-1918.

No mention of women specifically in the dedication, but they certainly feature in the friezes around the base of the memorial, which I shared with you on an International Women’s Day. For this remembrance season here are all the friezes, showing many aspects of the war effort at home and overseas.

We will remember them all.

Directory of WW1 Websites


Canada’s contribution to the First World War cannot be underestimated. More than 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the war with 66,000 killed and over 172,000 wounded. Such was the contribution, Canada had its own signature on the Treaty of Versailles. In Salonika, Canadian medical services provided care at Nos. 4 and 5 General Hospitals, and Nos. 1 and 3 Stationary Hospitals (see this earlier post).  It’s of no surprise therefore that Canadians continue to research this significant period of their history.

One such research group is the CEF Study Group – an Internet discussion forum for the study, sharing of information and discussion related to the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in the Great War.

The CEF Study Group has just published its 2022 ‘List of Recommended Great War Websites’. Our own site is included among a directory of 2000+ websites, grouped into 31 logical sections. We are described thus: “This very detailed and multi-layered Blog site has numerous theme ‘buttons’ which take the reader deeper into the topic. Site is mature and very well organized.” (A recognition of former editor Robin Braysher’s work, I should add).

Readers may well find this a useful resource for research. The directory can be downloaded here.