“We are all very thrilled at the prospect of going out of course, but it is jolly rotten for Mother.”
RI MS RCB/A/03
10th November 1914, to William Henry Bragg
Robert is writing to his father who is in North America on a lecture tour. He is still training with King Edward’s Horse and is making preparations for going abroad, his main concern is gathering his kit which he has been told has to be cut down. There are some familiar details: his mother suggesting buying larger boots so he can fit two pairs of socks on, but others bring home just how different life was at the start of the war. He tells his father all about his new sword which is still standard issue for battle, not just ceremonial.
It’s interesting how quickly the war changes how the fighting develops. In his letters home to his wife, William Henry Bragg thinks that the sword is a sign that Robert is bound for Egypt as cavalry is no longer being used on the Western Front. There is a sense that the regiment is close to being called into action and he is very concerned that he won’t be home in time to see Robert before he leaves for the front. In fact, King Edward’s Horse did go to the Western Front but not until April 1915 by which point Robert had transferred out to the Royal Field Artillery.
Gammon’s Farm, 10th Nov
Dear Dad
I was so glad to hear from Mum that you had crossed safely. Were there any excitements on the way. What do you think of life in America, I shall be interested to hear from you. The day after you left Mother, Aunt Jess and Bunts came down to Watford. We had lunch in the woods near Gammon’s Farm. Afterwards V & I were lucky enough to get Watford leave for the rest of the day so we went gently Into town & had tea in an hotel near the station. It was fun seeing them again, they had to leave by the 6.30 which was much too early. V & I went back to the Laytons to Supper. This was Sunday.
We have been doing a good many charges lately & yesterday were given our swords. Great joy. They are the old pattern cavalry sabre. They now make them so that you point only but with these you cut as well. We fairly swank along now feeling awful nuts. I went up to Cambridge last week end I succeeded in getting 36 hours leave. There was quite a gathering as Bill & V turned up on Sunday. The Marches were pleased. Wasn’t it luck all getting leave together. I tried to see Barnes but he was away.
We are supposed to be off very soon now. Its rather a brick, we aren’t allowed any kit bags! We have just what we stand up in & what we can carry in our haversacks So I am getting a good set of things together. I have had a pair of riding bags made for me & when I was in Cambridge last weekend I went to Faulkners & was measured for a pair of boots. They were jolly expensive but I think it was worth it. Mother insisted on their being very big so that I can get two pairs of socks on, this was a very wise precaution as I hear it is frightfully cold out there. We are all very thrilled at the prospect of going out of course, but it is jolly rotten for Mother. I don’t know where we are going but I rather hope it will be France I don’t at all like the prospect of having a knife in my back which would be the case if we went to Egypt I suppose.
Mother gave me a £5 to note to change when we go out. She also gave me another £5 to pay for the breeches & boots so I have done rather well lately. We went into the 1st General Eastern Hospital on Sunday. It is on those John’s playing fields next to Burrell’s walk. By Jove they have done the place up well it looked topping I longed to occupy a bed. They sheds are open towards the south & each bed has a table beside it covered with flowers & all sorts of books & papers. It’s the 100th day of the war tomorrow one can hardly believe that it has been going on for so long.
We are very comfortable on Gammon’s Farm now. My section has a little cottage about 100 yards from the main building its awfully nice because they often forget to call us in the morning & we steal an extra half hours sleep. It is rum how used one gets to this sort of life I have got perfectly used to getting up at a quarter to six in the darkness & don’t feel sleepy either. The 1st & 2nd troops of our squadron have gone up to town to process at the opening of Parliament. Rather swank isn’t it. V & I thought of putting our names down but it would have been rather rot being the only 2 from the 3rd troop so we didn’t.
Betty, my gee, wasn’t able to go on parade yesterday for the first time since I have had her that is barring the time when they all had strangles. She has got sort of girth galls due mainly to standing on cobbles in her stable. Its an awful bother coming just at this time. I hope its not going to be a long job because if it is she will be left behind & that would be truly tragic. Bill looked very fit & no end of a nut on Sunday. He seems to be enjoying life considerably Bill Carslake is in the firing line now. I had a letter from his sister the other day, they are very worried.
Well Good luck to you Dad. I hope the lectures etc go off well. Mother and Gwend, are both looking very fit.
Yours Bob
Photos courtesy of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. RI MS RCB/A/03
Notes and General Information
Robert has an old style sabre which was the traditional cut and thrust design, apparently not particularly good at either, the newer, 1908 pattern sword was designed only for stabbing and was considered superior. The sword had been overtaken by the gun over the last century, especially with the invention of the machine gun, however it was still standard issue for cavalry. Lances were also still issued at this time, again harking back to the nineteenth century. By the end of the war the tactics and weapons employed by both sides would have drastically changed.
Charges like this, a training run in Richmond Park, would soon become a thing of the past.
Robert also mentions visiting the 1st Eastern General Hospital. This was set up right at the beginning of the war on the site which now houses the Cambridge University Library and was so large it was referred to as a small town in its own right, it even had its own post office and cinema.
At this point his preparations are for the Western Front which was still the major theatre of war. The rival armies were attempting to outflank each other in what is known as the ‘Race to the Sea’. There were campaigns beginning elsewhere but the only action being contemplated for Gallipoli was possible naval bombardment. The Ottoman Empire had closed the Dardanelles in August but war had only just been declared on the Empire at this point. The Dardanelles, known in ancient times as the Hellespont is the narrow strait leading from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara and marks the boundary between Europe and Asia. Constantinople, now Istanbul sits at the other end of the Sea of Marmara, guarding the entrance to the Black Sea (the Bosporus). If Russia wanted its Navy in the Black Sea to be active in the war it needed to get its ships through these straits and creating this access route was part of the justification for the Gallipoli campaign.
