1918
2018
FOREVER REMEMBERED QUEEN’S GATE AND THE GRE AT WAR
ROLL OF HONOUR
LEST · WE · FORGET
Lieut. JOHN S. AINSWORTH
Capt. GUY CHICHESTER
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Capt. CHAR LES J. C . BAR R ET T
2nd Lt EDWAR D H. CR A MER ROBERTS
Youngest son of Major & Mrs Barrett Husband of Lena Vaucamps · Aged 42
Elder son of Captain & Mrs Cramer Roberts · Aged 18
11� Hussars, Household Cavalry Killed in action on 14 October 1914
1� Bttn, Royal Scots Fusiliers Killed in action near Ypres on 13 November 1914
2nd Bttn, Highland Light Infantry Killed in action on 13 November 1914
3rd Bttn, The Buffs (East Kent) Regiment Killed in action in Flanders on 10 August 1915
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— Lt Cdr NIGEL K . W. BART TELOT HMS Liberty, 3� Destroyer Flotilla Killed in action off Heligoland on 28 August 1914
Son of the late Sir Walter G. Barttelot & Mrs B. Molesworth St Aubyn · Brother of Irene Barttelot
Lieut. FR ANK A . de PA SS vc 34th Poona Horse Killed in action on 25 November 1914
Second son of Mr & Mrs Eliot A. de Pass Brother of Madge de Pass
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—
Lieut. JOHN EDEN
Flt Lt MICHAEL L . BR AITHWAITE
12th Lancers, Household Cavalry Killed in action on 17 October 1914
Royal Flying Corps Killed in France on 17 May 1915
Eldest son of Sir William & Lady Eden Brother of Anthony Eden · Aged 26
Capt. R ICHAR D W. BR AITHWAITE 10� Bttn, Durham Light Infantry Killed in action on 31 July 1915
Sons of Mrs J. M. Braithwaite Brothers of Miss Lilian Braithwaite & Mrs Philip Maud
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— Col. Sir GEORGE H. FAR R AR Bt DSO South African Services Died in South-West Africa on 20 May 1915 Father of Gwendoline Farrar · Aged 56
Capt. WIL LIA M M . BURT-M AR SHA L L
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2nd Bttn, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Died of wounds in France on 17 November 1914
2nd Lt NOEL E . FOR BES
20th Bty, 9th Brigade, RFA , Meerut Division Died of wounds on 12 May 1915
Brother of Eila Burt-Marshall
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Lieut. FERGUS R . FOR BES
2nd Lt HAR RY G . BY NG
2nd Border Regiment Died of wounds in France on 18 May 1915
Royal Engineers Killed in action on 25 September 1915
Brother of Ileen Byng
Sons of Mr & Mrs E. B. Forbes Brothers of Jenny Forbes · Aged 21 & 25
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Capt. JA MES A . L . C A MPBELL
Capt. THOM A S. B. FORWOOD
Husband of Dorothy Black
Brother of Muriel Forwood · Aged 28
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Killed at Neuve-Chapelle on 22 March 1915
2nd Bttn, King’s Own Regiment Killed in action on 9 May 1915 near Ypres
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
Wartime Queen’s Gate The outbreak of war in 1914 affected the Queen’s Gate community as it did the rest of Europe. However, following founder Miss Wyatt’s sound advice, they rallied round, the girls using their knowledge and strength to help the war effort in a number of ways. Our key source of information relating to Queen’s Gate during the First World War is The Log 1914–15, which is a fascinating insight into the lives of pupils and Old Girls at this difficult time.
It is noticeable that many girls’ engagements and marriages in The Log 1914–15 are to servicemen; eight out of nine engagements and 13 out of 19 marriages in 1914 and 1915 were to Lieutenants and Captains. A notable marriage that year was between Jill Rhodes and Ian Macpherson, who at the time was MP for Ross & Cromarty and Parliamentary Secretary to the Under-Secretary of State for War. Following the war, Mr Macpherson went on to be Chief Secretary for Ireland (1919–20) and Minister for Pensions (1920–22), before being elevated to the peerage as 1st Baron Strathcarron in 1936.
Marriage of Lieutenant Alan Silverwood Cope and Elizabeth Stone
Wartime Queen’s Gate The Log 1914–15 begins with a poignant reminder of the effects that war had already had. The magazine is introduced by Miss Douglas, Principal during this testing time, who roundly condemns the course of events so far with these anguished words:
Last year! This year! — 1914–1915. It is a drama of blood and iron that intervenes between these dates, a holocaust of humanity, a mental, moral, physical overturning. Our traditions, our conclusions, our future hopes — these seem to be in the keeping of brute force. The securest foundations tremble. Man has failed man. As one sits, thinking, talking, weeping over the gigantic tragedy, it is small comfort, it is even an added grief, that we know only too well that this demon struggle of 1915 for the mastery of the world on the part of the enemy, is only another repetition of similar acts in the past. This actual war has been made more hideous than ever before, by just that extra application of knowledge gained by man, used to achieve by more diabolical methods the same old, vile aspirations. It is the satisfaction of man’s vanity — the vanity of one man, of one caste, of one directing class.
The girls of Queen’s Gate contributed to the war effort with a range of initiatives, from knitting bandages and garments to collecting Red Cross materials and nursing in hospitals. Amongst others, Madge de Pass, Irene Collins and Eileen Hall worked for the British Red Cross at an army hospital in Balham, becoming Quartermasters or ‘Jacks of all trades’. On writing to Miss Douglas in July 1915, Madge and Irene remarked: ‘I am afraid we must now confess with very many regrets that we have absolutely failed to redeem our promise of writing something of the Red Cross in The Log. But the fact is that, honestly, we have very little spare time, as we are at work from about 10 am till 8 pm here at our Divisional Head Quarters as Secretaries to the Divisional Officers, and two or three times a week also we are on night duty as part of a ‘night raid squad’.
[Our work consists of] responsib[ility] for all stores, linen, men’s clothing, etc. but actually, every sort of no man’s job fell to our lot, from cleaning windows and staining floors to riding round London on a van, lent by the local brewer, to collect beds for extra accommodation demanded at very short notice by the War Office’. Madge and Irene ended the letter by inviting Miss Douglas to come and tour the hospital, which they described as one of the best equipped and constructed of modern small hospitals. It was brand new when we took it over in November, complete in every detail, including an X-ray apparatus, pathological laboratory and beautiful operating theatre. Also I am sure the men would interest you, as they come direct from the trenches in France, Flanders and the Dardanelles, and are generally ready to relate their various interesting experiences.
Winnie and Helen Comber, 1914
Daphne and Doreen Wilson in Ireland and (inset) nursing in France
Far from the only Queen’s Gate girls to take on war work, Daphne and Doreen Wilson nursed French soldiers in Bergues-Plage and were ‘reckoned amongst the most reliable of those who minister to the wounded and dying’ (The Log 1914–15). The Thompson sisters, Emy and Zoe, also became nurses, as did Gwynneth Lewis, Dorothy Rawstorne and Winnie and Helen Comber. Muriel Collins worked in making munitions. Jenny Forbes (later to become Air Chief Commandant Dame Trefusis-Forbes, Director of the WAAF) left Queen’s Gate in 1915 and was learning to drive motors. According to Miss Douglas, she ‘will transmit her good athletics into mobile warpower of some sort. It would not surprise us indeed, if Jenny invented a special bomb to strike the foes of England exactly on the head’. Incredibly insightful words showing the character of one of World War II’s greatest women.
Old Girls also sat on significant committees during wartime, showing the strong charity ethos of the School following them through life. Clara Jameson and Moyra Marshall worked on the Committee of a home for the motherless children of soldiers and sailors, and Evelyn Ismay, Vera Grantham Hill and Muriel Farrar worked on Military Committees at the Front.
Vera Grantham Hill’s medal index card
Girls still in school spent time making, packing and sending items such as shirts, cigarettes, pipes, soap and other comforts to be sent to the front. Letters by the recipients of the girls’ good work from Privates of the 4th Dragoon Guards were written, describing their experiences of the war so far. Following the 1914–15 edition, no further copies of The Log were published until after the war in 1919, as non-essential printing was banned across the country in 1916.
Women at War
Before the outbreak of the First World War, women of all social classes played only a minor role in public life. Their economic, social and sexual dependence on men was a cornerstone of Victorian culture, and any departure from this orthodoxy had stigmas attached. In general, women from middle- and upper-class families were raised to maintain their status by adhering to Christian moral principles. Wives and daughters were barred from undertaking any form of labour outside and inside the household. At the lower end of the spectrum, the unskilled industrial work undertaken by women was paid very badly (under 60p per week, a third of the average salary of their male counterparts), and labourers were often subject to long shifts in appalling working conditions. Women of the working class were often employed in nail-making, matchboxmaking, sack-making and cardboard industries. Domestic service, dressmaking and millinery were also the domain of the female workforce. Clerical work, nursing and teaching opportunities increased during the Edwardian era, though salaries were still lower on average for women.
A famous First World War British recruiting and propaganda poster (1915)
The outbreak of war in 1914 brought about a significant shift of women’s position within society. In the years leading up to the conflict, campaigns for women’s suffrage had contributed enormously to increase awareness that women ought to have more public recognition. Also, with the increased demand of labour determined by the growing number of men recruited in the armed forces, women had the opportunity to demonstrate that their capabilities in the workplace were no less than those of men. During the war over 600,000 women took on traditionally male roles in industry and made a broad contribution working in labs, mills, factories (particularly metal working and munition factories), farming, forestry, transport and postal services.
Women of the Empire in Wartime (1916) looks at how women took over men’s roles in industry and agriculture in Canada
We cannot forget what our men have done during the war, but we must not forget either what the women have done, and we must be as ready to give them their chance as we are to help the men who come back Millicent Garrett Fawcett
For most women, war simply kindled the desire to serve their country. However, they had to fight some resistance before they could set in motion a change in society’s attitude towards them. As we read in the 1914–15 issue of the Queen’s Gate School magazine, The Log: ‘When this war began, a great many people seemed to be surprised—pleasantly so, no doubt—at the eagerness shown by girls and women to “do their bit”’. In an article written for the December 1914 issue of the Contemporary Review, Mrs Millicent Garrett Fawcett, leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), remarked that although women’s contribution to the provision of care had long been acknowledged, ‘what is comparatively new is the general recognition that war makes a call upon women … for service’.
An English First World War propaganda poster (1915–17)
Women started to display their eagerness to assist the war effort as soon as the conflict broke out. A number of non-military organisations started to flourish under the umbrella of the Voluntary Aid Detachment scheme (VAD). Women proved their versatility by serving as cooks, clerks, storekeepers, telephonists, signallers, waitresses, nurses and motor transport drivers. Following an investigation conducted by the War Office, which showed that a large proportion of non-military tasks were being fulfilled by soldiers on the Front, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), later known as the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps, was established in December 1916. By the end of the war, over 57,000 women served with this organisation and replaced male soldiers in offices, canteens, transport roles, stores and army bases. In total, over 100,000 women joined Britain’s armed forces and by the end of the war nearly 700 of them had died in the service of their country.
Front Line Medicine The development of medicine during the First World War was accelerated largely as a result of the introduction of new weapons to the battlefield. The belt-fed machine gun, for example, developed in the late 19th century, fired high-velocity rounds that caused horrific injuries as yet unseen in warfare. Gunshot wounds were joined by gangrene and poisonous gasses as deadly killers for soldiers on the battlefield that medical professionals had never been presented with before – meaning new inventions and techniques had to be rapidly established.
New treatments and technologies
British troops under heavy German fire during the Battle of the Somme, 1916
A mobile x-ray unit in Bordeaux, 1914
Between 1914 and 1918 more medical technologies were developed than in any other four year period across history. Fixes to broken legs, such as the splint (named after its inventor, Thomas Splint) became commonplace aids in helping a soldier to recover more quickly. Blood transfusions also became routine, with kits developed for frontline care and also for use by surgical staff, saving thousands of lives. In 1917 US Army Captain Oswald Robertson realised that if blood was stockpiled before the arrival of casualties, then further lives could be saved – thus creating the first blood bank. In 1904 the first fully functioning x-ray generator had been revealed to the public. Only 11 years later, though still in its infancy compared to modern machines, the x-ray machine was installed into vehicles across France, used to aid casualty clearing stations, as well as base hospitals.
A French military hospital, 1918
A Voluntary Aid Detachment recruitment poster, 1914
The role of nurses Nurses became a vital resource during the conflict. The work was difficult and sometimes deadly – it is estimated around 1,500 nurses lost their lives during World War I. The Queen Alexandra Imperial Nursing Service (QAIMNS) the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and Voluntary Aid Detachments, were just a some of the services working to care for the sick and injured during the conflict.
Voluntary Aid Detachments The Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) were country branches, who sent personnel all over the world during wartime. Consisting of both men and women, they not only covered nursing at the front, but also stretcher bearers, orderlies, transportation, and the management of auxiliary hospitals (temporary facility areas for the wounded). Famous VADs included writers Agatha Christie and Vera Brittain.
First aid for gassed soldiers
The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry behind the front line
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Corps (FANY) were often based at First Aid stations, just behind the front line, giving initial care and aid to injured soldiers. During the war, the Corps was predominantly run by Grace Ashley-Smith and Lilian Franklin, and the group’s training in motoring skills proved invaluable to the war effort. Women were able to administer aid and drive ambulances – unconventional duties at the time.
Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Established in 1902, the QAIMNS was a branch of the Army and its official nursing service. Members of the service had to be over 25 years old, of good social standing and well-educated. However, in 1914, the service was only 300 members-strong. More nurses were needed and within weeks of the beginning of the Great War, the QAIMNS Reserve and Territorial Force Nursing Service was set up, whose membership grew to c. 11,000 members during the four years of conflict, and the group served with all the expeditionary forces throughout the war.
Family Histories
Süreyya Çetin FOR M V
The Gallipoli Campaign was one of the most gruesome and bloody battles of history. It was in North-West Turkey, on the peninsula called Gallipoli. It was the Ottoman army fighting against predominantly Australian and New Zealand troops (the Anzacs). There were over one million casualties. My grandmother’s grandfather fought along with the Ottoman soldiers. His name was
Ismail Hilal He fought and worked with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the future leader of Turkey.
During the war, Ismail said there was so much blood it ran like a river, and soldiers trying to save themselves, would put blood on their forehead. Ismail remembers the bravery of Atatürk. He would fight alongside his soldiers at the front, even when they knew they could die the moment they stepped out of the trenches due to very heavy crossfire. Many officers fought behind their soldiers, or not at all. This is what made Atatürk so beloved. Ismail said he had eyes of steel.
Even though the Ottoman Empire collapsed, it still gave Ismail great pride to fight in one of the greatest battles of history, alongside Mustafa Kemal. It was the last battle the Ottoman Empire ever fought in which they won, and it made Ismail proud to have fought as an Ottoman. He remembered a very critical moment in the war, when the Anzacs had managed to land ashore finally (after many weeks of waiting) and advanced towards the Conkbayiri hills, a critical and strategic location in the Gallipoli peninsula. Most of the Ottoman soldiers, who had used all their ammunition trying to prevent the landing of the Anzac troops, were fleeing up the Conkbayiri hills, when Mustafa Kemal saw them. He knew they had run of out of ammunition, but he ordered them to lay down and point their bayonets towards the enemy. The Anzacs were perplexed and immediately stopped their advance to understand what was happening. Then came Mustafa Kemal’s order to his soldiers: ‘I am not ordering you to attack now, I am ordering all of us to die here today. By the time we die, other forces will take our places and it will give a chance to defend our motherland.’ This courageous order by Mustafa Kemal allowed the Ottoman forces to defend the Conkbayiri hills vigorously and eventually win the battle of Gallipoli.
Ismail also remembers this speech Mustafa Kemal gave after the Gallipoli battle, not only honouring fallen Ottoman troops, but Australians and New Zealanders as well: ‘Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … are now lying in the soil of a friendly county. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us, where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…. You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears: your sons are now lying in our hearts and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.’
Family Histories
Francesca Bowden Jones FOR M V
My great-grandfather
Adolfo Talucchi took part in the First World War when Italy went to war with Austria.
My great-grandfather was wounded in a motorbike accident while taking a very important message to his high command, causing damage to his leg and eye. He started as a lieutenant aged 18 and ended up as a brigadier general and was awarded many honours. The Italians wanted to push the Austrians back from the borders because they thought the land was rightfully theirs because there were many Italian speakers in the area. My great-grandfather’s job was to move the cannon up very steep and rocky mountains, occasionally having to dismantle the cannon and take each one up on ropes while under enemy fire. After years of fighting and a defeat in which hundreds of thousands of Italians died, they finally won and got the land back from the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Nina Vere FOR M V
My great-grandfather was a Scot called
Ian Royan During the First World War, he joined the army alongside his six older brothers. However, he lied about his age because he was only 17 so was not allowed in the army as he was not old enough. The army found out and sent him home. Over the next two years all of his brothers were killed in action. One of them received the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British honours system, given for bravery shown against the enemy.
In the meanwhile, my great-great-grandmother (Ian’s mother) knew that her last surviving son would need to re-join the army. She had discovered that there was a huge lack of trained drivers and thought that maybe her son might be safer and wiser being a driver, so this is what he learned how to do. Then, when he joined the army again, he transported troops to and from the front line, and took the generals to wherever they needed to be. After the war he trained to be a pilot, and in World War Two he joined the Royal Air Force, which is where he served until the end of the war in 1945.
Great War Poetry
LWEJI LOPES -PADR E
Two minutes’ silence
I heard the shouting and gunshots, Artillery shell bomb explosions drilled into my brain, And yet I still heard all the crying, And hurt soldiers lying on the soil, dying, Having served their country. I heard pencils carefully writing on paper, A million letters, flooding my ears, They spoke of snipers and shell shock, Lost limbs and lost friends, I could hear their words ask me, ‘When will this blasted war end?’ I could almost visualise the soldiers, Lying on their itchy blankets, Looking up at the ceiling, Slowly closing their weary eyes, Longing to go back to their daughters, their sons, Wanting to see their mothers and loved ones. I heard them too. I heard little Thomas ask his mother with hopeful eyes, ‘When is Daddy coming home?’ to which his mother replies, ‘Soon, Tommy,’ her voice slightly cracking, As she was willing herself not to break down crying, right in front of her son. I heard poppies gently blowing in the wind, nurtured by soldier’s blood, they had been. I heard the Last Post sounding, And spirits marching Off into the distance, never to be seen again.
Then suddenly I heard, nothing. There was only quiet. I was caught by surprise when all the sounds had just stopped. Had I been deafened by this war? Was that why everything was silent? But then I heard the echo of a gun, being dropped. I heard hands being shaken, And the sound of carols sung, By Germans, the French, And Englishmen. I heard gifts being unwrapped, And soldiers playing football. I heard, laughter. Something I didn’t think I’d hear at all. But then a sniper rifle went off, And my smile disappeared As I heard two dead bodies fall to the floor, Just like the soldiers had feared. Why did their kindness end there? Why did the war go on? The truce was a miracle, To stop that peace would be wrong. But that’s exactly what happened. The war went on With more injuries, more trauma More bombs, more tanks, and even more death, And it hurts my ears, To the point where I couldn’t take it any longer But I couldn’t make it stop. Then the reveille sounded as if to say, ‘Open your eyes, appreciate today.’ Four years’ worth of misery and violence, That’s what I heard in that two minutes’ silence.
Great War Poetry
R ACHAEL MOOR E
The pounding of the guns
Over the top Over the top We hear the orders yelled Dash sprint bound Toward the pounding of the guns Retreat Retreat We hear the orders yelled Dodge avoid skirt Away from the pounding of the guns Shoot Shoot We hear the orders yelled Target aim fire At the pounding of the guns Pray Pray We hear each other say Beg wish plead That we live through the pounding of the guns Over the top Over the top They hear the orders yelled But we won’t go We didn’t survive the pounding of the guns.
LEST · WE · FORGET
ROLL OF HONOUR
Lt Col. FREDERICK C. FRANCE-HAYHURST
Lieut. F. W. J. M ACDONA LD MIL LER
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Son of Sir William Miller & Lady Miller Brother of Cynthia Miller · Aged 22
4th Bttn, Royal Welsh Fusiliers Killed in action on 9 May 1915
A LEC M . GA SELEE
15th (The King’s) Hussars, Household Cavalry Killed in action in Flanders on 24 May 1915 Younger son of Henry Gaselee · Aged 21
— Capt. JOHN GEDDES
Killed in action near Ypres on 24 April 1915 16th Bttn, CEF, 79th Regiment, Cameron Highlanders Eldest son of Alexander Geddes Husband of Helen Tillie · Aged 37
— 2nd Lt ER IC W. GOR ST
1st Bttn, Royal Fusiliers Killed in action at Neuve-Chapelle on 25 October 1914 Eldest son of T. W. Gorst, · Brother of Beatrice Gorst · Aged 21
— 2nd Lt VER E HER BERT SMITH 3rd Bttn, Rifle Brigade Killed at Neuve-Chapelle on 21 March 1915
Son of Mr & Mrs Herbert Smith Brother of Clarice Herbert Smith · Aged 22
— Lieut. WA LTER A . LEL AND
10th Bttn, Bedfordshire Regiment Killed in action at the Dardanelles on 4 June 1915 Eldest son of Dr & Mrs Alfred Leland Brother of Dorothy Leland · Aged 22
— Maj. CHAR LES E . LUAR D DSO 1st Bttn, Norfolk Regiment Died on 15 September 1914
Son of Maj. Gen. R. E. Luard Husband of Dorothy Luard · Aged 38
— Capt. DUNC AN G . F. McBE AN 2nd Bttn, Gordon Highlanders Killed in action in France on 18 June 1915
Only son of Maj. Gen. & Mrs Forbes McBean · Aged 21
Grenadier Guards Killed in action in Belgium on 24 October 1914
— Capt. A LFR ED E . PAR KER
3rd Bttn, Black Watch Killed in action at Ploegsteert on 7 November 1914 Husband of Joan Parker (née Bowes-Lyon)
— Lieut. WILLIA M B. R HODES MOOR HOUSE VC 2nd Squadron, Nº 1 Wing, Royal Flying Corps Died of wounds on 27 April 1915
Husband of Linda Morritt Brother of Mrs Edward Ryle & Mary Moorhouse
— Lieut. R EGINA LD T. SHAW Royal Sussex Regiment Killed in action in Flanders on 9 May 1915
Elder son of Dr and Mrs Lauriston Shaw · Aged 22
— 2nd Lt DOUGL A S S. S. SMURTHWAITE Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) Killed in action on 26 October 1914 Brother of Jean Smurthwaite
— S. Lt HUBERT J. I. WHITAKER ‘Nelson’ Bttn, Royal Naval Division Killed at the Dardanelles on 3 May 1915
Only son of Mr and Mrs Joshua Whitaker Brother of Gladys Whitaker · Aged 23
— 2nd Lt MUSGR AVE C . WROUGHTON 12th Lancers, Household Cavalry Died of wounds on 31 October 1914
Only son of Mr & Mrs Musgrave Wroughton Brother of Dulcie Wroughton
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