France
6/1/17
Dear Everybody.
Again I have sufficient breathing space to enable me to take up the pencil again, & give you a few hints as to our doings. Since writing last on the 17th December, & I might say I was astounded when I looked up my note book & found it was so long, I have received an N.Z. mail containing letters of the 29 Oct. & 6th Nov. There-in I was pleased to find that all was going so well at home, it is always good news to us, & letters we look for most, those conveying to us the doings & welfare of those at home. It is good cheer to get letters from ones friends, but unless there are some home letters amongst them, there is still an unsatisfied feeling, & one is always more discontented until the home mail arrives. My immediate surroundings are vastly different to those in which I wrote the last letters. At present we are in the lands of the Monks Priests etc. For the moment I can’t remember whether I gave you any indication in my last letter that I was to attend this course or not. It runs in my mind that at time of writing you last, I did not know myself. Well, in the 2nd Army, the Army
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to which we are at present attached, I mean the N.Z. Division, there is what is known as a 2nd Army Central School of instruction. The aims of the school are to convey advanced instruction to Company Commanders, & intending Company Commanders, hence my presence here. I think I told you before, that I have had to take over the 4th Coy. & at that time I thought temporily, now however, unless some unforseen senior reinforcement officer turns up; the Col. informed me that he wished me to consider myself permanently in charge of said Company. Well of course, it is all very nice & I am pleased at getting such an opportunity, but, up to the present my training has been of a different nature, & obviously, some of it does not quite fit infantry tactics. However, the internal working is practically the same, & although the tactical handling of a company is slightly different to that of a squadron it is infinitely more simple. I do not hesitate to say that I feel greatly the responsibility I have had to shoulder so suddenly, but as Col Charters expressed himself as being confident in my ability to see the matter through successfully,
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I feel I can not loose any opportunity in learning all there is to learn about the task in front of me, & whole heartedly welcomed the opportunity of getting to this school. Getting here in itself is a great opportunity, for this is considered the finest school of its kind in France at the present time, & that is saying a good deal. Well I was going on to say, that we were in the land of Monks Priests etc, it comes about in this way. The school is situated pretty neatly due south of the position we held in the line, & a good many miles behind said line, right out of sound of the guns except perhaps on a particularly clear day. The school is in an old Monastery, beautifully situated, overlooking as it does the beautiful rolling country, & the town from which we are some 3 1/2 miles distant. The Monastery is one of the number that was suppressed as such, some few years ago by the French Government. It is a fine old building & accommodates the 150 officers their batman, some N.C.O.s. on the training staff, as well as providing mess room ante-room lecture halls, offices & O.M. stores, with considerable ease. As befits a Monastery however, it is
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cold & draughty. Nevertheless the authorities have done a good deal to make it as comfortable as possible, & under the circumstances we get along very well. As I said before we do not get much time to feel the cold. From a quarter to nine in the morning we are kept going steadily until 1 o’clock, with only a 20 minute break. We get an hour for dinner, but by the time one rushes up to his room has a wash etc, then has lunch it is pretty nearly time to get on parade again at two. From two we run on till 4; very often without a break at all. Here we have a two hours break during which we are expected to have tea, change etc & be in Y.M.C.A. room for lecture at 6. Lectures usuall run on till 7.30 at which time we go in for dinner, being such a large mess this invariably lasts till a quarter to nine. Now you can see that our time is pretty well occupied. Three nights this week we have had to attend lectures commencing & 1/4 to nine as well as the one at 6. However we do not mind for they are the finest course of lectures I have ever heard in
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in my life, dealing as they do, with subjects of the greatest importance at the present stage of operations. The following is a complete list of those delivered up to date. Field Sketching & Map reading; by Col Leggitt. D.S.O & Commandant of the school. Esprit de Corps & confidential information on British organisation since out break of war: by Sir Lieut General C.H. Harrington. D.S.O. General Staff 2nd Army. Bayonet fighting: By Major R.J. Campbelt of the Gordon Highlanders. To you perhaps, a subject that does not impress you greately, yet one that is of the utmost importance to every one of us, & can assure you he made it intensely interesting, bringing out many incidents that happened on the Somme to illustrate his point. He is also the chief bayonet instructor of the British Army. Corporation between Artillery & Infantry: by Commandant Artillery School of instruction. The Balkan Tangle: by Professor Adkins of Cambridge University, & Prof. of History therein. On this subject he gave us two lectures & up to the present they have been the most interesting, & needless to say a burning subject, magnificently handled. Technical handling of Lewis Machine Guns: by Major Darwall. Stratergy of General Joffre: by Capt Betts. Staff 2nd Anzac Corps. Russia: Prof. Green. Cambridge University
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The German Challenge to the British Navy for supremacy of the sea: Capt Rev Stanely Bishop. The above lectures have all been delivered & the day following we always get a typewriter copy. There are still a number to be delivered before the course is finished. Another very interesting feature of the course is the meeting of so many officers from the many different regiments of the Home army. One certainly has many opportunities of making many friends. I have had several conversations with an officer who was in charge of one of the first tanks to cross the Bosche lines in September, his experiences were most interesting I can assure you. I have made particular friends with a young Aust officer, he is a 2nd Lt in the 3rd Aust. Division not long arrived in France. He is writing on the opposite side of the table from me just now, & has been reading me abstracts from some of his letters, much to the amusement of both of us. I was telling him that I wish I had some of the childrens letters for him to read, he was doting on some of his little brothers & sisters letters. He & I are contemplating going to Calais next week end just to have a look around & as a diversion from school life, it is not many miles from here, & we will have about 26 hours in which to look around. Now for your letters, I will try & reply to pieces of them. In that of October 29th
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I was pleased to see the success of the stables in the Gore meeting & hope it will be followed up by a few more during the course of the present season. I am rather surprised over the turn Chisholm’s affair took. In your letter Ruth you said you had met Sister Pryce, well the brother she spoke to you about is back with the Batt & is now a Sgt in the 8th Southland Coy. I have had some conversation with him. On my way up to the trenches the last time I met Freddie Wilson he is a Coy Sgt Maj in the Pioneer Batt. & is I believe getting a commission shortly. Jack McIlwrick I see occassionally, he too is very fit & enjoying lifes as all soldiers are in France. Hugh Crawford is a Sgt in one of the Artillery batteries & doing exceptionally well, much liked by the men, & altogether an admiral fellow. Maj Hargest told me just a few days ago that he, Crawford, had refused the offer of a commission in the infantry. Why he did so, he does not know himself now. I have not seen him myself lately but hope to do so when I get back to the Batt. There are quite a number of our old O.M.R boys knocking around, & where even one hears of them they are very well spoken of, so much for the old O.M R. it was a good Regt once.
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I am pleased to hear that you are getting on so well with the Irish neighbours. The Peters social affair I should think is about the limit. I too hope that they get along all-right in their new venture. Poor little beggar he deserves to get a better spin than he had up there. According to your letter the Marama had arrived all-right. I wonder if you will see Sister Patrick. Lottie & Jack of course have been fortunate enough for that, without a doubt she was a sincere friend to Kate, & in her letters Kate never fails to mention how she misses her. I received your very nice little book of verses Lottie, & many thanks indeed. We have had some discussions in our room whilst going to bed, as to the truth & wisdom of the thoughts & ideas contained therein. We have a great collection of officers in our room, 6 in all, they are from the following regiments, & really it is great sport at times when they get going. 16th Royal Scots, Irish Regt. from south of Ireland, Royal Irish Rifles, from Ulster, these two are as funny as a bit of string, then we have one from the Kings Own Rifles, a Capt from a Pioneer Batt, the Aust & myself, not a bad mixture is it. The two from Ireland, gives us an idea of what the
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real feeling between the two parties is like. I am afraid it is a gulf that is not going to be bridged for many many years to come. In that direction we can confidentially say that the present war is a God-send, for without a doubt blood would have been shed & instead of a settlement being come too a greater barrier than were would have been placed in the path of peace. The fellow from the South of Ireland is not in favour of Home Rule but just will not put up with Ulster’s view of the matter. He also expresses himself very freely on the attitude of the South of Ireland, on the recruiting question, & is whole heartedly in favour of conscription being enforced. I was telling the Aust. officer of Rollie’s venture in the fishing line. It was rather a good result for such a modern invention, however I should say he will need to take care that there are no Rangers about, should he attempt the same procedure in the future. According to your letter Mary, George Wilson is enjoying his camp life all right. I wonder to goodness if I will ever drop across him
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out here. The Mail has just come in & there is only one letter for me from Capt. McCurdy. He is still on the staff, & according to his letter getting along very well. He was telling me that there has been another move in the old O.M.R. again, but whether it is of a permanent nature or not he does not know. Some time ago the Aust Col. that was in charge of the 2nd Aust Regt to which the O.M.R squdn is attached was relieved of his command, & Col Grigor again in command, temporarily at least. On top of this, Maj Jenkins has received orders to report for duty to N.Z. Military H.Q. in England. The latter part I can see the handiwork of Col Grigor again. More than ever I am pleased to be away from the mob. The Aust. Col. lost command on account of too high living etc, a good thing for the Regt that he is off. I am half expecting to get 10 days leave to Blighty some time in Feb, that is always of course, that leave is not stopped in the mean time, one never knows when that is going to happen. Well now I think I have got to the end of my string, so will say Au Rêvoir for the present. Convey kindest regards to any who may inquire for me. Affect. Brother E.S. McI
