Origin of the term "puttying up" used by Haig First Ypres 1914

[David_Blanchard]

I am looking for the origin of the term "puttying up" to describe the use of troops to plug the gap in frontline during First Ypres.

 

I appears to have been used in the OH by Edmonds in Vol II 1918  (1937)- (this information from a google search)

 

I wonder if anyone can tell me if the term appears in the OH Vol II 1914 (1925)?

 

Or was the term actually used more contemporaneous with the war itself? If so where?

 

David 

[TullochArd]

1 hour ago, David_Blanchard said:

I am looking for the origin of the term "puttying up" to describe the use of troops to plug the gap in frontline during First Ypres.

Seems curious now.  It may be a reference to putty (linseed oil putty) that was used to seal and secure glass panes in wooden window frames in those days. 

It is likely used here as a simile for the the deployment of troops to seal and secure.

Edited 25 February , 2023 by TullochArd

[David_Blanchard]

Just found a reference to an Article in 'The Atlantic' magazine' -'Haig of Bemersyde' by Liddell Hart from 1927 where he used the term 'puttying up' perhaps if was LH who was responsible for coining the term?

 

David 

[Bob Davies]

3 hours ago, David_Blanchard said:

I am looking for the origin of the term "puttying up" to describe the use of troops to plug the gap in frontline during First Ypres.

 

I appears to have been used in the OH by Edmonds in Vol II 1918  (1937)- (this information from a google search)

 

I wonder if anyone can tell me if the term appears in the OH Vol II 1914 (1925)?

 

Or was the term actually used more contemporaneous with the war itself? If so where?

 

David 

Published 1929. Page 279 OH 1914 vol ii     'Putty up or ‘ boucher le trou' as Foch translated it to'. I remember reading that and thinking the same as TullochArd. I always remember a verse from woodwork at school. 'In glue and sawdust I put my trust, if that won't do then putty must!' I have not heard it used in Victorian times/pre this reference Link; https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.210674/page/n343/mode/2up?q=putty

Edited 25 February , 2023 by Bob Davies

[knittinganddeath]

As a general term to mean "filling in a gap," the OED records this usage as early as 1879.

Source: OED online edition

[David_Blanchard]

Thanks Bob- actually just found it.

 

David

[Gareth Davies]

I think we did this thread some years ago. Dear old Centurion made a part of himself in it (a not unusual event).

From that thread:

The Cornhill Magazine of 1927 Haig's economic distribution of his slender strength, and his success in ' puttying up ' the strained and cracking front, ... and the sorely depleted British ranks were refilled and expanded, the Expeditionary Force was divided into two armies, and Punch in 1925 Scots Fusiliers when armed only with shovels attacked a house and took twenty prisoners, while, when he comes to such ... shooting of British regulars (in conjunction with the skill of the Higher Command in "puttying up" incipient breaks in the ...

Edited 25 February , 2023 by Gareth Davies

[David_Blanchard]

Also syndicated in ‘The Atlantic Magazine’ article by Liddell Hart. 
 

David 

[pierssc]

i'd just like to add, if I may...

Let's take a timber sash window as an example.  The sashes tend to rot from the corners.  A proper repair means carefully jointing and fitting a new piece of timber to replace a damaged rail. Or replacing the sash completely if both parts of the joint have gone.   Do that, and your sash window may be sound for another 100 years.

If you don't have the means to do that, you can simply scoop out the rotten bits, fill the void with putty, and paint it.  From a distance it will look like wood.  It will keep the water out for a bit, and give the impression of the window being sound,.  But water will get in as the putty dries, and the repair has no structural strength.  It is not a proper repair, it just disguises the fact the window is rotten.  It might fool a casual onlooker, but not a building surveyor poking it with his penknife..  A prudent householder will get it fixed properly when means allow.  

it's quite a subtle analogy when you understand the implications and think about it, as it conveys a sense of an emergency repair, disguising the rottenness and weakness of one's asset, and to some extent emphasising a lack of strength and the need to fix it properly as soon as one can.  There's also, particularly in the context giving rise to this thread, more than a whiff of subterfuge. 
 

[David_Blanchard]

you have touched on a raw nerve there! We live in house that may or may not be listed (probably is) we need to replace nearly 20 window frames that are rotting. We could use PVC at a quarter of the cost if the council agree, otherwise £20,000 or more depending if scaffolding is needed to replace with wood.

 

David

[pierssc]

1 hour ago, David_Blanchard said:

you have touched on a raw nerve there! We live in house that may or may not be listed (probably is) we need to replace nearly 20 window frames that are rotting. We could use PVC at a quarter of the cost if the council agree, otherwise £20,000 or more depending if scaffolding is needed to replace with wood.

 

David

Oh dear!  Better get the filler out meanwhile!

[Andy O]

On 06/03/2023 at 07:32, David_Blanchard said:

you have touched on a raw nerve there! We live in house that may or may not be listed (probably is) we need to replace nearly 20 window frames that are rotting. We could use PVC at a quarter of the cost if the council agree, otherwise £20,000 or more depending if scaffolding is needed to replace with wood.

 

David

Hi , im in the same boat , i live in a conservation area , i have wooden narrow 10 mm glass gap double glazing frames, they are  now bye there best , modern wooden UPVC  wood lookalikes almost undistinguishable would be my preferred option but probably not the Planning depts choice , and we go on about insulation and energy saving , *** sometimes we cant win  ,