Andrew Richard Buxton. 3rd Rifle Brigade

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Tents,

6 p.m., 6-11-15.

"One of our Corporals has gone into a place for instruction in massage of feet, with a view to remedying frost-bite.

How you would enjoy to see the men sitting round big log fires among the tents, singing together splendidly. So picturesque, their faces and khaki clothes in the fire-light.

Henderson is just back from riding into the town near here, to the Casualty Clearing Station, and says they have had at that station only over 1000 cases of frost-bite the last week. This is, of course, from wet feet for several days on end."

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To D.

3rd R.B., B.E.F.

November 7, 1915.

"When will this awful War be over ? I have seen enough of horrors, but mercifully have not had the very worst one of which the terror is having to shoot a man, or men, point blank.

I cannot but believe that April or May will see the end of it - money or men must soon give way in Germany.

It did seem so really strange to be within a few yards of the Germans within 24 hours of saying farewell to you. My Platoon was right up in the front line. The trenches are now, alas, in a sorry state from the rain, and I only trust fine weather may now prevail.

I hear, whether true or not I can't say, that the Regiments on the right of where we are arranged a truce with the Germans for the purpose of re-building parapets."

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Captain Tatham, who came out with Andrew when he was first posted to the front and of whom he makes several references.

Andy

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To his Mother.

Trenches,

November 11, 1915.

"...........I looked carefully at the German lines through two or three sentries periscopes. It is hard to see very minutely, as the periscopes are the tiniest bit of glass - anything bigger being quickly shot and smashed - 2 or 3 shots at mine as I was looking. A smart sentry had spotted two or three loop-holes and pointed them out to me. This same man saw a German on their parapet last night. When we sent up a flare about 7 p.m., he told the Corporal in charge, who got him and another sentry to be ready, and then sent up another flare, when both fired at the man, who was still there and hoped by standing still not to be seen. They hit him, as he shouted out. We have lately got several by sniping........... What does one say when these things are reported ? I suppose, 'That's splendid,' but I cannot get further than 'is that so ?'......... This morning the men were all issued out the beautiful red-coloured waistcoats, no sleeves; real good leather. All frighfully pleased. So funny to see them walking about in such a clean garment !

A good deal of my time this morning, when we had ripping warm sunshine, was spent in getting them to take them off for working !"

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November 12, 1915.

"Oh ! Such a vile day, with more heavy rain in the night, and this morning everything is encouraged to fall in and the men discouraged in working. The bottom of my dug-out has filled up with water to a higher level, and the shelf where I sleep is a sort of muddy slosh, but these things do not really matter so long as the roof does not drip, which mone does not except for very occasional single drops....... It is a strange existence, but we flourish all right. The hard work and strain is not wet dug-outs or work in trenches, but consideration of whether we are all right should the Germans attack."

[marina]

What are the red leather waistcoats, Andy, do you know?

Marina

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To his Mother.

In Tents,

November 15, 1915.

"........We were relieved last night about 8.30...........Some men are in huts, some in tents. The two tents allotted to my Platoon were in an awful state - no floors to them, and odd piece of bent about corrugated sheeting covered with mud or with puddle of water in the middle. The rest a muddy 'slosh' in which was mixed up remains of biscuits, jam tins and similar mess.

If you had been putting a pig in for the night you would have said some straw was necessary, and to ask men to lie down there in the cold after about five hours with packs and equipment and seven miles march was very hard.............

One of my men got frost-bite the other night from water dripping all night on to a puttee and so into a boot. The foot apparaently got blue and he made it bad, losing all feeling, by putting it near a fire. I rubbed it well with dripping, the only available grease, and hope it is now about right."

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Hi Marina,

The only thing I can think is that they were the leather jerkins/waistcoats that a lot of the soldiers had at this time, although never heard of red ones before.

Andy

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To his Father.

In Tents, M. 5. a.

3 p.m. Tuesday, November 16, 1915.

"..........I usually find the baths [in the neighbouring village, Reninghelst] of value beyond that of washing, as they are always several Officers of various Regiments to talk to. To-day, one who was very interesting in saying what a Pole, who had deserted and come over to our lines, had said. He appears to have come over our parapet and found some difficulty in finding anyone to surrender to, ultimately finding a sentry in a communication trench whoi should have not been there ! He was very fully informed in all German methods and the conduct of that bit of line, and, to judge from some things which have proved accurate, the information given is most useful. I wish I could pass on some of the information and how we have used it, but of course cannot do so.............."

[marina]

Couldn't find anyone to surrender to! And then a sentry who shouldn't have been there... things don't change much, do they?

Marina

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In Tents,

5 p.m. Friday, November 19, 1915.

"I have just asked my servant, 'What day of the week it is ?' He said, 'I cannot say, I don't take any notice of it.'

Thus we live !"

[marina]

Frans's D Diggers thread has some good photos of an excavated trench. You can see what Andrew is describing very clearly!

Marina

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Hi Marina,

Always keep an eye on the diggers thread, some great stuff there. Liked Frans description of getting stuck in the mud, and thats without the ground having been torn up by shellfire.

Andy

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In a Farmhouse in France [at Eecke]

12 noon, Sunday, November 21, 1915.

"...........I said we were moving from the tents we were in, and now I write, having come last night after dark, i.e. starting about 4.30, about ten miles, taking five and a quarter hours to do it.

I say 'after dark,' but the most gorgeius frosty moonlight night. I was in command of the Company, so rode the Coy. horse - as far as the second holt, after which I walked, as very stiff riding all the time. Very jolly and quite hilly country, and we are verily in the country, each Company billetted in farmhouses about five hundred yards apart. With us, and I think each Company, the men are all in a barn, a rare sqaush, but they are given a good solid heap of straw........... We three Officers and the servants are in the farmhouse, with, of course, its occupants - now much talking going on with our servants, and endeavours to understand what each means ! We had to have our valises down to 35 lbs. Any surplus kit had to go on to our final destination. Our valises arrived some time after us.................

Yesterday was a pretty wearisome day; being Coy. Commander, I am receiving endless chits about arrangements for moving, the last one of the previous day beiong brought to me just before midnight altering, a l'armee, many of the previous instuctions. When you see moves like this, the wonder is how an army can ever carry on, seeing, as you do, the enormous bulk of material and stuff that accompany it............

We are still not out of sound of the guns, but soon will be. The idea was to have a three-day march to our destination, staying each night in some such place as this. To-day being Sunday arrangements have been made to stay here all day. This is the first time I have come across consideration of Sunday. We have had no services since I came back from leave, but as we now have a new Parson, do not understand why a Service was not arranged for to-day in one of the farms. I intend to have something for our Coy. this evening of a Service, and some football this afternoon.

It is extraordinary how other Regiments starve and are uncomfortable simply through muddling things. The Battalion who came into our tents before we left yesterday, had failed to bring their day's rations, hence will be living on bully-beef only to-day. It is entirely their own fault, as also the matter of provisions, vegetables, etc., which can be brought in villages or farms locally. When in the trenches, we even do ourselves so well as to get the Company's groom, who is behind with the horse, to send up with the transport each night eggs, vegetables, or such-like things as we may want them."

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Billetted in a Doctor's House [at Arneke].

6.30 p.m. Monday, November 22.

"We moved om again this morning, and are billetted in a nice little place. Most of the Coy. are in the barn of an outlying very jolly old farmhouse. My Platoon are in a loft (over some cowsheds) full of straw. I rode part and walked part of the way. I received alternate blessings and cursings from either Adjutant or Commanding Officer on the way the men were marching. The men came through most wonderfully well. It really shows most splendid stuff, with all that they carry, that they can stick it as they do.

A most perfect frosty morning for marching.........Henderson and Cartwright and the servants are in the house of Monsieur Depoers, or rather, I should say, with Madame Depoers, since she is the most irrepressible talker, and I only have just fled away from her, though the time has been decidedly amusing........She has sheets of paper on which she gets Officers to write their names who have been billetted there, and we three wrote ours............I hardly know where I am, being given a beautifully clean little room with a decent bed, washstand, and all complete, such as I have not experienced before, this side of the sea. It is really nice to find a place where the people give such a warm welcome; I only wish I could talk fluently, but I scramble along."

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At Eperlecques

6 p.m. Wednesday, 24.

"I sit in a little kitchen place in this farmhouse, with excellent stove, in which lives a fine old boy, who appears to be sole occupant of the farm. At the moment, with six other Officers, with four of "B" Coy. with their gramaphone going strong, and a rare fug on. The house is a good one, on one side of the aquare farmyard. A servant also getting supper ready at the stove. Nothing whatever of furniture in the rest of the house, but quite clean for sleeping. When we got here last night the old boy was very kind and gave us excellent pears and coffee, which are most welcome."

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Farm in France [at the village of Nordleulinghem]

November 25, 1915.

"Most of my French is expended in talking to people about their dogs. I suppose there is no licence fee for keeping them, hence everyone keeps them, and in many cases two or three, and they are most abominably thoughtless. For the most part continuously tied-up, sometimes in a little kennel, sometimes just to a wall, sometimes to a little round brick place, one such place where we were two nights ago with entrance at bottom of a slope in the yard, so that water ran down into it, and a poor little shivering dog lying in the sodden bottom of it.

It is interesting to note in different parts how the same habits prevail among the people over different things. Here everyone feeds their dogs on diluted looking milk, with just a suspicion of bread in it, and a few beans.

I found one tied to a wall, a most charmoing looking fox-terrier, but so painfully starved, and with claws quite worn down. I gave it an old box as some shelter, and let it out this afternoon, such terrific joy at getting a run round.

A brute of an old woman in a little house just by has a nice little fox-terrier, tied short to a fairly decent kennel, but so that it has three bits of heavy chain to its collar, and so that it can only just get its head into the entrance of the kennel and cannot curl itself up, or get to the back. A real terror of a woman, who says she never gives it 'promenade,' and feeds it on milk and bread. The poor little dog is frightfully starved. She would not even et me go near it ! Some say if they let their dogs out 'il partie,' which of course means that they have a tear round, and I have shown them that they do not run away."

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November 26, 1915.

"Yesterday I gave a little terrier here some dry bread, and a tiny bit of meat - all I had - and really too awful to see its intense hunger...........I may be wrong in thinking they suffer as I do, but it is very wretched to see this treatment on every hand. It puts me off my good meals badly !."

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To his Mother

In French Village [Nordleulinghem]

November 25, 1915.

"We got here, our final destination, after stopping at three places, mid-day yesterday, and all men are now fixed up - our Coy. in two farms with out Headquarters at another farm, where I also have my billet - a little room with bed leading out of the low-ceilinged kitchen (or living room). Very clean, belonging to a man who is at the Front; the wife a splendid little person who would suit you as bustling round real smartly and an excellent cook - she runs all the servants and everything else................ We are, I fear, in for a pretty strenuous time of drills and parades all the morning, and in the afternoon something of a compulsory exercise - football, running, hunting or anything that Coy. Commanders can raise. I should have liked a more peaceful time, but I suppose it is necessary for us all to be smartened up............."

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To his Father.

In a French Village [Nordleulinghem]

December 1, 1915.

"This afternoon I took the men out up hedges, etc., with two village dogs to try and get a rabbit, but no luck, though we saw two or three. A splendid lot of partridges here."

[marina]

I wonder if the locals always fed their dogs like that, or if it was because of war shortages. Shortages, I hope!

Marina

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A Farm in France,

6 p.m. Thursday, December 2, 1915.

"The walk across country this afternoon was, I think, the most peaceful I have had out here, open, undulating country, lots of partridges, a few hares, and not a sound of anything - a really big joy. I also enjoyed a bit of a walk two nights ago, the most gorgeous starlight night, as always so vast and wonderful. I wonder what the purpose of them all is, and can think of nothing except a continual revelation of God and for His praise. Stars, I found, look quite different, and awfully nice, looking at them with head back."

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Noon, Friday, December 3, 1915.

"A wettish sort of rain so far to-day, and instead of parades I have this morning given two lectures, one on First-Aid and gas helmets, and one on certain rifle matters."

5 p.m. December 3

"I have brought a fine little horn, obtained by the local post boy for me, similar to the one he has for stirring up people to open their doors. It will do well for training dogs, also in trenches for giving warning of an attack."

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In Tents in France.

8 p.m. Monday, December 6, 1915.

"..........I have to-day moved from the billets we have been in. There was a probability I knew of being sent to a certain place about five miles from where we are, where grenade, alias bomb, and other courses, are being given by the Division (trench engineering etc.)

At 10.30 last night I was warned that I had to be here with certain six N.C.O.'s and Riflemen in the Battalion at 8 a.m. This meant being up at five, and parading at six. A good deal of rain but quite a good sunrise to help us along this otherwise not very attractive two hours toddle on a muddy road. The course is, I think, five days, so I shall return on Saturday. There are fifteen other Officers from the Division also in it. We are in a sugar refinery, though no refining is now done, the place being entirely occupied by troops. The men are well off, in big buildings. We Officers are for sitting and Mess all in one room, rather small and just short of sufficient to sit on, a wonderful collection of sort of music stalls, three-legged chairs, etc. We are sleeping in tents about one hundred yards off in a muddy shrubbery, so the men, anyhow this time, score one over us. Each Officer is given a ration of straw to lie on, and the tents are also boarded............"

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Tuesday, December 7.

"This School has the feel and appearance of various 'crammer' establishments I have from time to time seen, and which I do not appraciate. It also perhaps adds to this feeling to be told that on Friday we shall have a written paper to do on the instruction given ! Yesterday morning and afternoon we had lectures by a Lieutenant who appears to do most of the instruction......."