“The 12th Div I hear are going now. The 13th went & then us. We expect to move off about Sunday week.”
RI MS RCB/A/04
3rd June 1915, to William Henry Bragg
Robert is now part of the 58th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery and training with them at Milford Camp in Surrey. He travelled up to London on 25th November 1914 to apply for a commission to the R.F.A. and transferred out of King Edward’s Horse.
They are assigned to the 11th Division and are about to be on the move but not as quickly as Robert thinks, they don’t get their orders until 29th June to proceed to the port of embarkation.
Milford Camp
3.6.15
Dear Dad
We havent been doing much this week, all the men being on leave etc. On Monday we had a big inspection by the King. It was a fine sight. The whole division was drawn up in line on Thursley Common; about 1 ½ miles long & 300 yds deep. The Artillery had the place of honour and our battery the place of honour amongst the Artillery as we were the senior battery of the senior brigade.
Major Crozier was acting colonel Ellison away so I did Battery Commander! Some nut. We were the first lot of troops to march past the King. I did feel a knut giving the eyes left. I wish you could have seen it; it was a fine sight. On Tuesday we did nothing. On Wednesday we started off in the morning & slept the night out.
The 12th Div I hear are going now. The 13th went & then us. We expect to move off about Sunday week. In fact I hear that another division takes over this camp on the 18th so we must be clear befor[e] that date. I think I must get a second saddle good & strong to take large saddle bags. I bought some more undercloth[e]s yesterday or rather the day befor[e].
4.6.15
I went fast to sleep over this letter last night so I must finish it now. I am still having exciting times with my horses. I was riding one on manoeuvres, a new one & a jolly good one to except that he wont leave other horses. But this I think can be cured. My mare is well again or fairly so; but I am in terror that she will go lame again. I believe I can ring you up from the exchange here. I will when we get our orders.
Cheer Oh. The compass has aroused much envy & admiration.
Bob.
Photos courtesy of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. RI MS RCB/A/04
Notes and General Information
We don’t have the letters in our collection to explain why Robert decided to apply for a commission or why he chose the Royal Field Artillery. It may be that the prospect of working with machinery was interesting to him, especially as before he started university in 1913 he had spent a month over the summer at an engineering firm.
This new division was part of ‘Kitchener’s New Army’ which had been recruited on the orders of the new Minister for War, Field Marshal Earl Kitchener, whose image is seen here. The existing British army of professional soldiers was comparatively small compared to the other European powers and as soon as the war started there was a strong push to recruit a much larger force.
This new army was made up mainly of raw recruits with some older, experienced men and officers. Many units were rushed to the front lines after only a few months training to fill holes in the ranks.
Having been a cadet and soldier in a reserve unit, Robert would have had a better idea than most about what army life entailed but he had still never seen actual combat.
By this point the campaign in Gallipoli was into its second month. After the initial bloody fighting of the first few days, both sides had begun to dig trenches and fortify their positions, creating a similar situation to the other fronts of the war. The Allied soldiers hadn’t managed to push far inland and were occupying only a narrow strip along the coast. There had been some reinforcements sent over but the commander, General Sir Ian Hamilton, was planning on landing a second wave of troops to try and break the stalemate. I don’t know how much of this Robert was aware of or whether the brigade knew what its ultimate destination would be at this time.
