The Batle of the Somme — Part 2
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Sometime in late 1914 the four boys from Trinity College embarked on a ship to Britain. We do not know how supportive the families of Albert Halangode, Frank Drieberg, Ajit ‘Jick’ Rudra and Richard Aluwihare were of their intention to fight for King and Country. But they must not have totally opposed it as the four were soon a ship bound for Marseille, France, though possibly on the pretence that they were going to university. Much of what we do know about their adventures are taken from the book Major-General A.A. Rudra[i], Uncle Jick’s biography, authored General Palit an Indian military historian. In common with the majority of veterans my grandfather (Richard) would rarely talk about his experiences. The depth of the friendship that existed between Jick and Richard was palpable though, and the book supplied me with many details that I did not know.
A long journey
The ship for the first leg of the journey departed Colombo unescorted bound for Aden, the entrance to the Suez Canal. At the time the SMS Emden, a German battle-cruiser, was attacking shipping in the Indian Ocean and this must have preyed on the minds of those on board, as Rudra makes a mention of it. The Emden became a local legend and even entered the language as ඇම්ඩන් (amden) Ceylonese slang for an unexpected threat.
At the time much of the Middle East was part of the Turkish Empire but the conflict there (made famous by the exploits of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ about a year later) had not yet got serious. So far, all the action had been far to the west at Gallipoli. The Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean must have been calm, and not too hot either as it was winter.
The journey to Marseilles would have taken at least two months, probably longer. Once there the boys had to board a train to Calais, France. The war was contained on the eastern side of France and life in the west must have been almost normal, though Calais would have been busy with troop transports across the English…
