14th November 1915 We all have got quite used to the hardships Lance-Corporal Gutteridge, 8th West Kents, writing in November 1915 says: “Our regiment has been very busy. We left the rest camp on Tuesday, the 9th of November, and expect to be relieved on the 18th of November, so we will have had a pretty good time, especially when I way the weather has been against us. We have been flooded our of our dug-outs, but it makes no difference to our spirits. We all have got quite used…
Category: Extracts
More tales from the Front Line
12th November, 1915 page 2 “The Germans opposite me are starving. They shouted across for food, and sometimes they got it. It all depends what regiments are occupying the line” More notes from Lance-Corporal John Gutteridge, on life in the trenches during World War one. “A few lines from our mud camp, somewhere in Belgium. Our regiment have this time occupied the reserve trenches, which means they have been doing fatigue work for the companies in the firing line, carrying rations, timber, &co. Sounds nice but the boys would sooner…
Optimist in the Trenches
October 1915. More insight into life on the Front Line from Lance-Corporal John Gutteridge. Letter printed in the Bromley & District Times.. “A few lines showing how we spent our time in the rest camp, which lays seven miles away from the firing line. We arrived back in camp at 1.30 a.m., on the 28th October. We did not march, the best part of us rolled back, as we had had a pretty rough time of it. One can just imagine having to be on the alert for five days…
They gave us a quiet day…
October 1915. They gave us a quiet day, so we guessed they had something special for us Another account of war from the letters of Lance-Corporal John Gutteridge to the Bromley & District Times. “Our regiment started out for the trenches on Friday, October 22nd, at 4 pm, arriving in the trenches at 7 pm to an easy time, but afterwards we found that we were in for a hard time. We had only been in the trenches a short time, when the Germans started shelling us, and we at…
I was very lucky
29th October, 1915 p2Another letter from Lance-Corporal John Gutteridge, this time to Mr Will Howard his former employer. Much of the letter repeats information about the Battle of Loos. “…They (the Germans) cannot look cold steel in the face for love or money; show them cold steel and they will run for miles. After our charge we came back, bringing the wounded on our arms, smoking as we walked back, as we had not a run left in us. They shelled us all the way back with their long range…
The Germans have been rather saucy lately
Lance-Corporal Gutteridge letters THE OPTIMIST Lance-Corporal Gutteridge, of the 8th Battalion wrote: “Just a few lines from a dug out, behind the firing line. We are in the reserve trenches and having a jolly good time. Spring beds to lie on of a night, made of wire, very comfortable though, no fear of your bed made pinching the bed clothes, as we have not any. The Germans have been rather saucy lately. The have been giving us a hot time, and at the time of writing they are sending over…
Soldiers Entertained
This extract, taken from the Bromley & District Times, 6th September, 1918 [pg 5] and gives an account of an evening of entertainment in Bromley: The men of the Army Service Corps in our neighbourhood, together with their lady friends, had a capital entertainment provided for them on Wednesday evening at the Drill Hall, Bromley, which well deserved the cheers given at the close. The principle part of the entertainment was sustained by the talent found in the men themselves, and their efforts were heightened and graced by the…
I had a feeling that the Germans had no bullets made for me
15th October, 1915 In a further letter, written on the 8th of the present month, Lance-Corporal Gutteridge says:- “Our regiment has just returned from the trenches, and had a very peaceful time; a change from the bayonet scrap we had on the 26th of September, we coming our this time with a complete roll. The only danger we had was when we relieved the —, and when we were relieved by the —, as they (the Germans) have machine guns sighted on the road that we travel to the trenches…
Conscription Introduced
Conscription Introduced Within a year of Great Britain declaring war on Germany in August 1914, it had became obvious that more recruits were needed as volunteer numbers began dwindling. The government saw no alternative but to increase numbers by conscription – making active service compulsory. In January 1916 the Military Service Act was passed, imposing conscription on all men aged between 18 and 41 years old. Exemption were given to those who were medically unfit, clergymen, teachers and certain classes of industrial worker. It also included Conscientious Objectors (men who objected to…
Pantomime time in Penge
Christmas and the New Year are traditionally pantomime times. On January 5th the Penge Empire were showing Little Red Riding Hood twice nightly at 6.10 and 11.30. The following week a musical comedy from the Prince of Wales Theatre in London was to be presented. In London Peggy Kurton played Evelyn. Whether she appeared at Penge is not known. To see pictures of the Penge Empire click here >