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Nov 15 Sunday. Hd Qrs I Cav Div
On Service
My dear wee Mus.
I have just come in & got two letters from you of Oct 24 & Nov 9. Odd isn’t it the way they sometimes get hung up & other times come through very quickly. You see last Monday was the 9th so that’s under the week. Yes! the address is quite alright. It doesn’t much matter what you put as long as you put I Cav Div. But I like having the Regt put on letters. It’s not everybody who has the honour to be in the 10th. Poor lads they’re having a hard time I’m afraid & here am I living in the lap of luxury or at least as much luxury as is possible on service.
Yes! You’re right about the General he’s a big man only like most big men he’s not loved by everybody. He is wonderfully quick to grasp a situation & makes up his mind at once & carries out what he decides to do. He never vacillates for a moment & always knows exactly what he wants. He’s a man who takes a lot of knowing as he never expands much but he’s a real good friend & in spite of all his work he has wonderful thought for others. He’s always doing nice little things for me. It’s hard to think of instances. He’s awfully good the way he works Hardress & I. If he takes one of us out with him in the morning when he’s going round, he’ll send the other one out later if there’s a message to be carried. Now this morning he took Hardress out with him & then this afternoon sent me on a message. He also has a wonderful way of inspiring on with confidence. When I’m riding about with him in unhealthy places where there are a good many shells or bullets I always feel much more confident than if I am with anybody else. He seems by sort of instinct to know the dangerous spots & just avoids them. He’s wonderfully cool & of course as brave as a lion. Yes! I admire him awfully. He’s a man & that says a lot.
Today has been rather a dull day. We went out to our little estaminet again. It was raining when we started & then turned to snow & was bitterly cold. There was a wind blowing that would cut the face off you. I sat about all morning. In fact my feet were so cold that I took my boots off & rolled them up in my British warm. My galoshes arrived to-night. Thank you ever so much for them dear wee Mus. They’ll keep my feet grand & dry. The mud & slush is awful now one is always standing in about an inch of mud & if you go to either side of the road it’s well over the tops of your boots. Good slushy mud like you’d see in Thurles on a fair day & a good wet day at that. This afternoon I had a great death ride. I was sent over to Gen Mullens with a message. I had to go I suppose about 3 miles. When I got within about ½ mile of where he was four black marias burst about 500 yds to my right, then a couple of minutes afterwards some more burst in a wood to my left front where a battery was in action. I went a little further & 4 burst on the front of the wood about 300 yds short of the allies. I was trotting up to the town I thought he was in & one burst on my left & a second afterwards 3 more came one without exaggeration was 20 yds from me. I saw it for a second when it was about 6 ft from the ground, then there was a deafening crash & I was splattered all over with bits of earth. Luckily I was just on level with it & all the concussion & shell went forwards & upwards but if I had been a few yards back it would probably have got me. I went into the house where he had been sitting but found he had been driven out of it & was sitting in a dug out under a bank. An awful cosy little place it was. Rather like the inside of a buss little seats cut down each side & tunnelled right in under a bank. I stayed there for a few minutes & then some more came over. The next salvo was very close & away went the good mare Lady B. I had left a man in a dug out close by to hold her, but she jumped & he let her go & off she went down the road. So I had to foot it off after her. She went about a mile down into a village which they have been shelling like mad & reduced to absolute ruins a most unhealthy spot & there I found the dear little thing waiting with two other horses who had joined her in the stampede. I had a few stray bullets pass over me on the way down I don’t know if it was a sniper or bullets from the trenches which were quite close. Just the other side of a small hill. It was quite an unpleasant experience.
Now for cheerier! More anon. We have just finished dinner & I’ve been round the horses. They are very comfortable in a nice stable. I’ve got mine & several others in a garage which is lit by electric light. Wonderful luxury isn’t it. My four at present are awfully fit. Diana is rather a fool but is settling down a bit. I have her out every day & make Standen ride her. He has trained a lot of Remounts in the Rgt & is quite a good horseman a bit extra as soldiers go. He is taking a lot of trouble with her & I think in time will make a good mare of her but she gets excited & silly & puts her head in the air. “Lady B” is a fizzer & a glorious ride (There goes a shell whistling over the house, they are searching for a battery that were firing at them about ½ mile off. It’s moved now I believe so they can go on wasting their shells) Well after that digression I’ll tell you about the horses. Melody is as fit as a flea & looking awfully well. I ride them all in turns now so they really aren’t getting enough work. Nutmeg is awfully well but like master is getting fat. She’s an awful character. If we get a decent day soon & I’m not busy I’ll take a photo of her.
By the way I’ve finished two rolls of films & will send them along as soon as I can. I’ll register them so as to make sure of their arriving. Will you get them developed & send me a copy of each. Give Jess the negatives to keep. If there are any that would interest Blanchie will you send her a copy. I got such a nice letter from her to-night she sent me a glorious pair of woolly cuffs. Awfully nice of her wasn’t it. I must answer her letter & will then send it to you. If I haven’t time to-night I’ll send it to you to-morrow. Such an awfully nice letter. She’s a dear little girl. I do wish you knew her better. She’s so awfully nice & natural. There goes another shell! Ames packed all my kit into the bag to-day & it holds it all beautifully. No! I’m glad it doesn’t crush down any more, that stiffness keeps things from getting badly crushed & broken.
There are a lot of changes going to take place just here so in a few days I expect I shall be writing to you from our old chateau which we were in last week. I hope we go back there again, it’s got a sort of homely feeling about it. This is awfully nice, the electric light is such a luxury. Wonderful the luxury I live in when all these poor devils are in the trenches. I feel an awful brute at times when I think of the dreadful hardships all the others have to go through. That little episode this afternoon seemed a lot to me but the poor fellows in the trenches have that going on all day. Dreadful isn’t it. I saw some of the Irish Guards to-day & they told me that Ascelin Perceval has been killed. Of course that’s not authentic as these fellows don’t know much. Barty Hewitt has been wounded. Had his arm broken I believe. If it’s not a bad break he’s lucky as it will keep him at home for some months & troop leaders really don’t stand much chance in this show. Poor George Marshall was killed last week in Ypres. I saw him that morning he was doing A.D.C. to Gen — commanding the Cavalry Corps & said that he saw so awfully little fighting & hardly ever heard a shell. Well that afternoon he motored into Ypres just for a joy ride & got struck with a shell. Romer Baggallay who is the other A.D.C. told me that he was censoring a letter which George’s servant wrote home in which he said “The Boss was blown up with a shell yesterday but I as you see am very well”. Comic isn’t it when the blighter hasn’t been within a mile of a shell for a month at least.
hat rot they are writing in the Papers about the London-Scottish. It is awfully unfair on all the other Regts who have been doing all the fighting & have done wonderful work. One has never seen a word for instance about the 4th D.G’s who have done some wonderful work. Rot I call it. All that the London & Scottish did was to advance over a shell swept area & come up into line with the other troops. They certainly advanced well but there is no reason for all that fuss to be made over them. The Oxfordshire Hussars (yeomanry) who were attached to this Div at the time did far better work & there’s no word about them. I suppose it’s done to encourage recruiting but it’s rather hard on the others.
The General said at dinner that he thinks that the Germans are preparing to go back & that they are going to leave a couple of Corps here & sacrifice them the way they did with that battalion at Sablonnieres. They said they were to wait for orders to retire & the orders never came. Of course it is only a surmise but it’s their way of fighting a rear guard action. But I doubt their sacrificing a couple of Corps. The Russians seem to be doing well. They have apparently driven back the Austrians with their backs to the Carpathians which are impossible & so have driven a wedge in between the Germans & Austrians. If both rations get pressed Germany will draw back towards Berlin & Austria towards Vienna & on their way they will lose touch. If they can only give the Austrians a knock out blow now it will leave their hands free to deal with Germany. Of course Turkey is a thorn in their side but with their masses it oughtn’t to make very much difference. I hope the Germans have to withdraw Corps from here to send over against Russia. Few people realise what we owe to Russia for sacrificing her two Corps at the beginning of the war & drawing the German Corps over there to protect Berlin. It absolutely saved us.
Yes! Geoff is rather bitter at being left. He’s always saying nasty things about the General. I’m rather disappointed with Geoff. He’s doing himself far more harm the way he’s going on than he does to the General. But it’s bad for an officer to talk the way he does. But you know he was too lazy for words. The General on several occasions has told him to do some job & he’s ridden up to me & said “Pat! the General wants you to go to so & so”. The General saw that & it annoyed him. I’m awfully fond of old Geoff but he’s been awfully spoilt by his family. Somebody said the other day that old P-H thinks he invented polo & that now Geoff is just finishing it off. And it’s rather true.
Oh! I nearly forgot. Will you send the General a tea basket with a spirit lamp & kettle & a couple of cups etc. I told him to-day that I was writing & asking you to send him one & he was awfully pleased. I can keep it in his car then on some cold night when we’re out & he’s tired I can make him a cup of tea. Quite a small basket is all I want nothing very elaborate. The matches have never arrived. I expect somebody has pinched them. Everything else has. How funny about the revolver wasn’t it. You really are wonderful wee Mus. It’s an awful nice feeling to know that you can do that sort of thing. I always feel that if I ever really wanted you I could let you know & that you would come to me or do just what I wanted. It is a wonderful feeling about that armour. I felt it awfully strongly to day when those shells were about. When I’m in nasty places I always feel that you’re there too. I don’t think about it at the time but just sort of feel it. It is awfully hard to explain but I’m sure you know what I mean. I want the revolver to put on my saddle. I’m going to cast my sword as it’s quite useless. I’d always use a revolver in a nasty place & my sword cuts a hole in my coat, it sways about. It’s grand you’ve found Clem’s address. I’ll write to him, it may cheer the poor old thing up. I’m so sorry about little Roger, it’s horrid not getting news of him. I wonder if he’s been taken prisoner. He’d surely have written if he was in a hospital as he’s been missing for ages & if he was a prisoner he wouldn’t be allowed to write. It’s now 10.30 so I’ll be off to bed. Best love to you all dear wee Mus. I’ll write to Blanchie tomorrow & will send you her letter then.
Your loving Pat
P.S. Let me know whenever my letters have postage stamps on them. I’ll explain why later.
Description: Letter from Pat Armstrong to Mrs Armstrong
Date: 15 November 1914
Source: Armstrong Collection
Identifier: P6/1209 (34)