Warwickshire Hunt

On Friday they met at North End. Found their first fox in the New Covert on Burton Dassett hills and they sent him away at once and dipped down into the vale and pushed him on a right handed circle to Elkingtons Spinney and killed him in 15 minutes. They next pushed up a brace in Mr Tom Readings Gorse and quickly chopping one, ran the other to ground at Farnborough. Several declared themselves at the Fish Ponds at Farnborough and settling down to a line of one of them, hounds ran him sharply in a big ring to Mr Nicholls’s farm, where he got to ground but was dug out and killed. George Turner was hunting the Bitch pack, Mr Joshua Fielden the joint master, having unfortunately being tossed by a bull, but his injuries are not so serious as to prevent him again appearing in the saddle this week.

Banbury Guardian December 3^rd

Extract of a letter from the front line

Just a few lines to let you know how I am going on. We had three days in billets and the men have all had a bath and change of clothes. We return to the trenches tomorrow night. The trenches that our company were in were 40 yards from the Germans so you can imagine the state of tension…

They talk about the superiority of German artillery but our arms can drop three out of seven right into their trenches whereas their shells at the same point drop about 50 yards behind us.

I have just been reading an article in the Daily Telegraph for November 23^rd on the state of affairs in Germany (by an American) and I should like to criticise one or two things. He says our estimate of their losses is exaggerated. Well, I can only speak of what I have seen but if their losses in all their attacks have been the same as on our immediate fronts, as I think they have, their losses must be quite 2,000,000.

Ban  Guardian 3 Dec

Sutton Coalfield 23/11/1914

Seven weeks ago today we came here to commence our training in a spirit of confident anticipation determined to do great things. We were enthusiastic, light hearted, on the surface like boys off for a holiday. We.., we know now what we only dimly dreamed of then, that the work is hard and sometimes monotonous; but that grand spirit has not departed from among us-rather has it developed and expanded. We are boys still, ready for fun when work is over, bubbling over with joking and laughter, singing and shouting songs and greetings as we march and march and march. Work is never shirked; when grumbling occurs it is usually when some officer is slack, or because we are about waiting orders. Any really serious grind is tackled with grit: not the slightest difficulty is experienced in getting the men to put their backs in to the job.

Practically everyone now knows Squad Drill and Company Drill inside out, so we only occasionally have these, the major portion of the time being spent in Field Operations. We practice various forms of Attack and of Defence; we fight Advance Guard and rear Guard Actions; we are familiar with Outpost work and with the difficulties of finding the way through wooded country. We know how to use ground in attacking, how to take ‘cover’ – how, for example, to hide behind a cabbage or tuft of grass. We are learning to use our eyes and ears at night, finding out how to see without being seen, and, in general, becoming efficient soldiers, surely and steadily.

We now have a bugle band in the Battallion and this provides additional stimulation on our route marches. I say ‘additional’ stimulation because we previously had, and still have, one great stimulus to marching in the shape of marching songs. These are numerous and (to be polite) varied. The is a sad ditty about two grass-hoppers who sat upon two other grass-hoppers backs; there’s the charming refrain about:-

Mrs Porter

And her lovely daughter

Who washed her neck in soda-water

And so she ought-ter

Tipperary of course we have, and Fall in and Follow in. Also, The Soldiers of the King and We all Come Marching Home Again. Then there’s the swinging chorus about ‘Otto’

The girls call me Otto

What oh!

They know that my heart never closes

If you think you’d like a pot-oh

Put a penny in the slot-oh!

Use the motto of Otto

Of Roses

In addition to these songs some Sections have adopted different cries which they use on every possible occasion. One section, for example, has adopted the call: “Zara-a. Zar-a, fiddly on pom” Brainy isn’t it? But it keeps the step going anyhow. My section has adopted the sneeze as its very own! At a given signal each chap shouts several times one or other of words like “Rasher”, “Rusher”, “Risher”, “Roosher”, etc. This gives the effect of a terrific sneeze.

In talking about route marches (rout is the Army pronunciation) I may mention one or two little incidents which may interest. In passing one house we were several times greeted by a lady who stood on her doorstep and waved her handkerchief while the whole line of us passed. Soon we got to look out for her when we went that way, and now every time we pass we sing “Here we are, here we are, here we are again”, and all wave our handkerchiefs. It is quite a sight to see a forest of handkerchiefs waving at once. The lady now has a flag in one hand and her handkerchief in the other!

On our route marches we frequently meet members of the second battalion and greet them as2Jolly Old Seconds”, their invariable reply “Jolly Old Firsts”. These greetings are indicative of the excellent spirits prevailing between the rival Battalions. They will be heard yet on battlefields.

I personally enjoy the route marches very much and can do the whole distance of 10 miles without feeling even tired. The other night I di my firing on the miniature range after a 10 mile route march, and got on the target with every shot. I have now fired three ‘rounds’ of five shots each, have hit the target every time and scored out of a possible 25 points 18 the first time, 19 the second time and 20 the third time.

A slight change has recently been made in my Section, Jack Reeves being replaced by 798, Lance-Corporal Taylor. Jack Reeves has been put in charge of Section of PAltoon 13 though he is still a Lance-Corporal. Lance-Corporal Ward is in his section while Lance-Corporal Bacon has charge of Section 4 of the same platoon. So that we four friends are still together in the same platoon- THE PLATOON, No.13.

Private papers of Captain A G Osborn 1914

Recording his experiences as a private during the formation and initial training of the 14^th (1st Birmingham) Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

November 22^nd

I have just been out here one month today I have seen a few letters in a newspaper one fellow says he has been in the trenches 5 days and nights without being relieved, he was lucky, my company has been in 30 days and nights during that time we have had all kinds of weather, sometimes the water was up to our ankles, the last 7 days we have had snow and sharp frosts, we got relieved last night 21^st November, we didn’t have such a bad time during that month, although there were a few attacks by the enemy which were repulsed every time, we lost 108 wounded and 16 killed, we had lots of chicken until they set fire to the farms around us…

…I am officers servant so I cook for him as well as myself one day they were sending shells over at the rate of 2 per minute I had chicken on a stove I had made out of a biscuit tin that day and I was very much afraid they would knock the lot over as the shells were knocking the top off my trench.

Diary of Private W Tapp, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, November 1914- January 1915

Imperial war Museum Archives

On 25th August 1914 Walter George Cooper, a groom, aged 20 enlists with The Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Walter is the son of George Cooper, a carter of Avon Dassett, and Emma his wife.