The
Great War
From the Thomas McCutchen Journals
By D R Hann
PDH Publishing
Copyrights and Notices
Copyright © 2014 by D.R. Hann
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored
in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the
author, me, D.R. Hann.
Names, some characters, places
and or incidents are fictitious and are of the author’s imagination.
Other books by D R Hann
Satan’s Authorized Biography
My Interviews with Famous Dead
People
Dead Presidents, America’s Government on Trial
Journal of the Man from Doomsday
J.B. Madison
Elkosh
Titanic uncovered; From the
Thomas McCutchen Journals
Introduction
This is the continuing life and journal of
Thomas McCutchen.
After going to America and uncovering the
true facts as to why and how the Titanic sank, he and his two American Sioux
Indian brides headed back to Thomas’ country of England, back to his family,
back to his home in Ipswich, where he spent his early years growing up.
Once a rising detective for Scotland Yard,
and then a detective who leaves no stone uncovered to find the truth for the
Pinkerton detective agency, Thomas finds himself as a reporter for the Ipswich
Express, but only momentarily as he has been called up for God, King and
country to fight against Germany’s Kaiser’s armies who have started an assault
upon Europe.
Now thirty years of age, his duty is as a
lieutenant with the 3rd division, which is part of the II Corp.
Thomas will tell his story through his
almost daily journal, about the Great War, and about his two wives, children,
and his family.
I would like to thank Google Search,
Wikipedia, and my wife Phyllis. Without
her hard and diligent work, this book would not have been possible.
October 10th 1914 the Great War PJ
Once more I find
myself writing a journal of what will transpire in my daily life. Damn, when life is sweet, gentle and moving
nicely, it is as nice as a summer Sunday, and then comes foul weather to
intervene with my peace, my tranquility.
War, damn bloody
war, just what the world needs. This I know
the empire of Great Britain and its allies will not let this war continue very
long. I should say right here in my
journal this war will end by Christmas and the world will go back to really
living life.
What right does
Germany’s Kaiser have to set upon the world a war?
If it is war he
wants, then he should have his old fat ass out in the front of his armies
leading the charge.
A world war, wait
till the yanks become involved, with their six shooters and boldness, why I
would dare to say this war will be over in less than a week.
October 11th 1914 the Great War PJ
Tomorrow, I will
leave for officer training school in Staffordshire for a period of nine months.
No home leave for
the first month. I shall miss my wives
and babies.
So far my brothers
have found themselves very lucky and have not been called up yet. Brother John
has very poor sight so I would seriously doubt that he will see any action, and
Albert has a poor leg from a childhood accident, along with the fact that they
are thirty four and thirty two years old respectively. Well, at least they will be home, keeping the
home fires burning.
First day away from home.
Train ride was
uneventful. When we arrived, we were
greeted by a Scottish Sergeant named Alastair Montgomery, a mean bastard; every
other word he speaks is a profane curse. Such as the way he greeted us. “Okay, okay you pieces of shit get the fuck
off the train and get your asses into this building, hurry up, hurry up, if
this was a battle you would all be fucking killed.”
Then he made us
stand in a building for a good hour, and when he came back he went off on
another rant. He told, or should I say
yelled a profane rant at us, about how he would push us till we either died or
became efficient in combat, and worth leading real soldiers into battle, as he
would have us die here rather than have us go into combat and die in a foreign
land.
He went on to say
that we would either learn or he would beat the hell out of us till we did, and
with that he grabbed this man, who I guess was home sick and thinking about
home, and had tears in his eyes, and Sergeant Montgomery starts to beat the
hell out of him saying that this man was not fit to lead anyone into battle.
I am sure that this
will not be the last poor bastard who is beat by mad man Montgomery.
October 13th 1914 the Great War PJ
Bastard Montgomery is pushing us to the
breaking point, and another man lost to bastard Montgomery. We were marching, and about fifteen minutes
into the march, one man sat down and would not move, not a very good idea,
especially with Bastard Montgomery in charge. Bastard Montgomery told the man that he had
two seconds to get off the ground, and when the man refused to move, bastard
Montgomery started to kick the man, and I mean sound kicks. It is a sight that I will never forget. After Bastard Montgomery rendered the man
unconscious, he ordered two men to run back to our billets, fetch a blanket,
and then carry the man to the infirmary.
Not sure how this
man, bastard Montgomery, can be in charge of men, especially those who will
become officers in King George’s army.
How I miss my
wives, my children and my family. I
wrote to Able Acorn, she knows to read the love parts to Abundant Cloud, as she
knows to read the general items to the family. As I receive more time for
myself, I will write each and every one of my family.
I think of father often and hope and pray he
has a miracle set upon him and becomes well again but, realistically, I know
and fear where this will end. I know he
is receiving the best of care from mother and Abundant Cloud.
The lights are about to go out so I will close
for now. Sweet dreams family, sweet
dreams.
October 14th 1914 the Great War PJ
Today was a crap
storm, Sergeant Montgomery, or should I write Bastard Shit Commander, found my
journal. I surely thought he would have
destroyed it and beat the hell out of me but, instead, he has ordered me that
when referring to him I should call him Bastard Shit Commander and that I must
let him read my journal after each entry.
He has also placed a great burden upon my
shoulders as he has made me a squad leader so every time someone screws up,
Bastard Shit Commander will take his wrath out on me.
This arrangement is
a sort of double blackmail. I must
protect him before his superiors if they ever question him about his treatment
of the men and, in return, he will stay mum on me having two wives. Yes, Bastard Shit Commander you are.
Yes, it is indeed time to write a letter to
my wife.
To Able Acorn
1411 Anglesea Rd.
Ispwich, England
To my beloved wife,
Able Acorn and Abundant Cloud,
How I miss you so. I hope that Thomas and Anna are behaving
properly.
It is more pressure
than I had imagined, but I will adjust as time and training continues.
It seems as I had imagined it, I am the old
man of this outfit. A lot of young men;
really they are boys in this unit, boys who are training to lead others into
battle. I sure hope and pray this whole
damn mess is over before we are finished training. It would be such wastes to have the empire
lose so many fine young gentlemen before they have had a chance to live.
I try not to think of you and your love too
much, as it would send me into tears, which would cause my Sergeant, who I must
call, Bastard Shit Commander, to give me a proper trashing.
No, I will see this
training, and if I must this war, through till the end, stiff upper lip you know.
It seems like so much time has passed since I
left you, if this is just three days, then what will four weeks be like till I
really do see and hold you again.
Please give my regards to family, and tell
them I will write to each and every one as time permits.
Please hug and kiss the children, tell them
father misses them.
Abundant Cloud,
please keep father as fit as possible, I believe you are the only one who seems
to know his inner self.
The lights are dimming so I must go.
Your loving husband, Englishman,
who is really a Sioux,
Thomas
October 17th 1914 the Great War PJ
No entries for the
past 2 days. Training is intense and not
even time to write to my wives or family.
I now know why
Bastard Shit Commander is pressing us so hard. Seems he proudly served in the second Boer
war, the whole bloody war, two years, seven months, and six days. He saw good men, godly men, die; killed
because they did not do what they were trained to do and because of that, they
were killed. He saw leaders, commanders,
lead men, who did not know how to make good decisions, good battle decisions,
which is a recipe for death.
He has sworn upon
his soul to take men that he will train first, to break those men down and then
build them up into the best possible leaders and commanders.
His own words, “If
I can kick your asses until you are molded into the best battlefield commanders
then, just maybe, I will have saved many a good Englishmen.”
October 20th 1914 the Great War PJ
With hardly any
time for myself or even to write my wives or family, I will try to keep my
journal alive.
Not sure if I have
turned the corner and am finally getting this training thing, but training has
become smoother, although for some of the men it must be hell, for two chaps
went over the wall in the past two nights, but as Bastard Shit Commander says,
“Better these men leave now than in the heat of battle.”
I have asked what
happens to those who go over the wall. Bastard
Shit Commander says he is asked by command if he would like these men back, to
continue their training, which he always replies he would, and after they are
returned to him, he quickly kicks their asses and then says they are not worth
a shit and should not be officers but would be more suited to be infantry personnel.
Then they are sent to infantry training
and then sent out to the front.
If these same men go over the wall again, they
will be locked into a military prison and made to do hard labor, but they do
receive a visitor once a week, Bastard Shit Commander, who gets a complete
delight of kicking their asses each and every week.
I believe our unit
is coming together as one and Bastard Shit Commander has eased off a bit, or I
have become used to his hardened military ways.
To Bastard Shit Commander,
I would now like to address you by your proper name.
October 21st 1914 the Great War PJ
Bastard Shit Commander has told me if my unit
scores are at least ninety percent on our next training drill then, and only
then, may I address him by his proper name; Sergeant Montgomery. I must make this happen as having him known
in my journal as Bastard Shit Commander is very rude and makes for poor
reading.
No letters from
home yet. Knowing you, Bastard Shit Commander,
you have probably read them and tossed them in the trash.
I have received
enough time for myself tonight to have been able to write each and every family
member, and each of my wives.
Damn, the lights grow dim and Bastard Shit Commander
orders us to rest.
October 22nd 1914 the Great War PJ
Bastard Shit Commander
came to me today saying he would never interfere with a man’s money, his meal
or letters from home. So where the hell
are my letters from home? Why haven’t I
received any letters as of yet? This is
not like my family, I pray and hope all is well, and hope it is not father with
his sickness, which may have caused my family to interrupt any possible letter
writing to me, but if not them, then why has Able Acorn or Abundant Cloud not
written? I am homesick and some letters
would help immensely.
Tomorrow my unit
will be tested in the taking of order drills, if they score at least a ninety,
I may finally write Bastard Shit Commander’s proper name. I believe the men are fully ready and they
will score at least a ninety.
I should mention
something about the twelve true and good men in my unit. First there is Alastair Smith, a teacher from
London, next there is Barnaby Williams, an accountant, also from London, then
there is Callum Davies, a bobby from Nottingham, and Crispin Thomas, a
supervisor of the railroad, from Hull. Then
there is Duncan Taylor, a supervisor from the central library, also from
London, but the three chaps from London are not acquainted with each other. Then there is the comedian of the group, who
is a farmer, but maybe the smartest men out of this bunch is Finlay Lerwick,
from Manchester.
Finlay, a graduate
from Oxford, started his post graduate life as a politician; I remember his
name Finlay Lerwick, a young and upcoming political star. His name was even mentioned as a possible
future prime minster of the empire. I
had, at times, wondered what became of Finlay. One day he left parliament, no explanation, no
scandal, just left and became a farmer.
The serious chap of
this bunch is Hamish Walker, a historian from Liverpool, too serious, much too
serious.
Next there is
another bobby, Harvey Newcastle, from Manchester, who grew up with Finlay.
Then there is
Lachlan Huddersfield, a teacher from Southampton, and another accountant, Lewis
Clark, from Exeter. A government
supervisor, not sure what he does, Nye Walsall, from Norwich, and finally Piers
Baker, a barrister. I wonder if he knows
Peter J. Holmes, who married Emily?
As I get to know
these men, I will write about them.
Now I see why the
military establishment has chosen us
men to be officers, we are already leaders of men.
October 23rd 1914 the Great War PJ
Well, looks like I
will still have to call Sergeant Montgomery, Bastard Shit Commander, as my unit
only scored an eighty seven in the duty order test. Surely disappointed as I was sure we would
have scored higher than a ninety.
As I am trying to
be a good leader, I have kept my men after training today to work on the duty
order test, which seems to have rubbed some of the men sorely. Some take this
as a challenge, or as Finlay has said, are we a bunch of old women or fit
soldiers of the king, whose main goal is to kick the crap out of the Kaiser’s
army.
I truly believe,
given the time, Finlay will be running this army, and damn well he should.
Letters, yes letters from my wives, mother,
sister and brothers. Seems they had
addressed my letters to the wrong unit, and who do I have to thank for getting
this shit storm cleared up? Yes, and I still cannot believe it, Bastard Shit
Commander. Thank you Bastard Shit
Commander.
October 26th 1914 the Great War PJ
My morale is very
low, I no longer feel like writing in my journal so this may be my last entry.
Homesick, training
sick, sick of the whole damn world, and their damn war.
Damn bloody war,
men ripped away from their families and homes, and for what? Men sent to fight the battles for a select few
men in power; to go to some foreign land to die alone.
The truth, the damn
bloody truth, is that so far the bloody war is not going well. If the Kaiser wants France, then let’s give
him France. Let us negotiate a peace with the damn Kaiser, he can have France
and any other country he would like in return for leaving Britain alone, yes,
let’s do that and end this insanity. The
war is over, all armies return to their homeland.
Germany seems to be
taking it straight on to us, and the French cannot win a battle, why in the
first month of the war, the bloody French lost, I believe, over 200,000 men. The western front seems to be even worse for
the Czar, for the battle at Tennenberg, the Russians lost 250,000 men.
Last month, the
battle at La Marne seems to have temporarily stopped the Kaiser’s war machine,
but for how long? How many good and
Godly men of England will fight and die, only to have a peace treaty next year
where the Kaiser gets what he wants anyway.
This damn bloody
war, all because some Yugoslav nut shoots and kills one man, an Archduke, and
future king of Austria – Hungary. The
men in power decide that this calls for a war and the whole world falls apart,
bad form, very bad form.
Thinking the yanks
would help end this matter, only to have President Wilson’s sediment to keep
the yanks out of this bloody war.
I have a cold, raw
feeling that by next year this time I shall no longer be with the living, but
instead be fertilizer for a patch of wild flowers somewhere in France.
October 27th 1914 the Great War PJ
A good talk with Sergeant
Montgomery, yes, he has approved of me using his God given name.
After reading my
journal, which I knew he would do, he had one of those father son talks.
He said if it was
anyone else he would have given them a good thrashing and kicked their ass out
of the officer’s services but, he, being a good soldier, with good instincts
about good battlefield commanders, knows once I am over this rough patch that I
shall make a good battlefield commander.
The good Sergeant has
said that after several days of thinking on this matter, if I still feel the
way I do now then he will write to the army command to have me removed from the
officer’s services.
Sergeant Montgomery
told me about a young Scottish soldier, during the second Boer war, who was
very homesick and who also just wanted to quit. In fact, it had gotten so bad for this soldier
he wanted to go over the wall. On or
about the tenth of November in 1898, at the start of the war, this young
Scottish soldier received a letter from home stating that his wife, who was
eight months pregnant, lost their child, and a fine boy he would have grown to
be. Two weeks later he received a letter
from his mum stating that his wife had also passed. Nothing made sense to this lad, he hated
everything and everyone. Bloody hell he
said of the world, and if they wanted to kill each other then so be it as he
would sit this war out. Get
court-martialed or shot, this young lad did not care.
When I asked Sergeant
Montgomery what happened to the young lad, he replied, “It was an officer,
about the same age as you, who said, “Bloody
hell, I’m not fighting for these people in power who start these damn wars, I’m
fighting in this damn war to help my brothers, to help as many of these men to
go home alive and in one piece.”
Then Sergeant
Montgomery turned to me and said, “I think that is the only reason why I would
ever fight in a war.”
I did ask whatever
became of that young Scottish lad, to which Sergeant Montgomery replied, “That
Scottish lad decided to stay in the army and fight in every war Great Britain
has had or will have until his dying breath. Just knowing if I can be the difference
between men coming home or not, is all the motivation I need to get up each
morning, and if you ever breathe a word of this I will kick your ass until you
are senseless.”
Do not worry good Sergeant
your secret is safe and sound with me and my journal.
This gives me good
reason if I decide to stay and fight in this damn war.
October 30th 1914 the Great War PJ
After three days of
thinking about my future or non-future in this army, and in this war, I have
decided to stay, keep the course and stay to help my British brothers come home
alive from this bloody war.
The good Sergeant
Montgomery has promised me that he will no longer read my journal, although
that never deterred me from writing the truth.
Since the Sergeant
thinks I may be a fit battlefield commander then I must prove he is correct. Push my unit when I must, straddle a fine line
between tyrant and friend until this unit is polished, fit, and ready for
anything thrown our way.
I have decided to
make Finlay my second in command, although at times I believe I should be his
second in command.
There are those men
I see who will be good and sound battlefield commanders as there are those men
who will not be good battlefield commanders. Secretly, my hope is that Ham, which is Hamish
Walker, washes out. I believe that man
will send men into battle without a clear battle plan. His thinking, let’s take the objective, even
if it means men will die.
Then there is Al,
Alastair Smith, who is too forgetful, I am sure once into battle he will forget
the plan or where his men are positioned. I believe once in battle, he and his
men will be captured within days by the Kaiser’s army.
Lach, Lachlan
Huddersfield, another teacher, will be the type of commander where he will let
his men decide for him what to do. I
shall say, after the first bullet flies in battle, his men will decide home is
a safer place to be.
Finally, the banker,
Piers Baker, too long in making a decision and if the Kaiser’s army sets its
sights on his unit, should well overrun it before Piers makes a decision.
I must stay firm
and fair, for if I can keep my unit going well for just two more weeks, we will
be granted a home leave.
November 1st 1914 the Great War PJ
Things are going very well, and since this is
Sunday, and my unit did quite well, we get time to ourselves; time to write
home, time to relax, time to stand down.
Finlay has asked if
I would be interested in playing a football match against Robert Miller’s unit.
I should say, even though I am not much
of a footballer, it would not please me more than to give that Miller’s unit a
good thrashing as they are the top unit and have shown us up at every turn.
First, quick letters
home to my wives and mother.
To my dear wives,
How much I love you
both, and if things keep going well, I shall have a home leave starting on the
13th of November until the 16th of November.
I cannot wait until
I can kiss and hold you both, and the children.
My unit is doing
well and they are all good and sound men, although I had to take Dun, who is
Duncan Taylor, to task as he seems to have two left feet when it comes to
marching. I have assigned Finlay to work
with him, which is helping a great deal.
Finlay is a right
chap, and a great battlefield commander he will make. At times, he seems to do a better job at
command than I and, at times, wished he was in charge.
I am counting the days until I will be with
you both, even though it will be far shorter than I desire, at least we will be
together. This is what I need so very
much now, and will help me carry on until my next home leave.
Please kiss and hug
the children for me.
Your husband,
Thomas
A quick note off to
Mum, and it’s a good thrashing to Miller.
November 2nd 1914 the Great War PJ
I realized I may
have placed letters in the wrong envelopes, which would mean mother receives my
letter meant for the twins and I would be exposed. Poor mother, how would she react knowing her
son has two wives? What if mother falls
apart and tells my brothers and sister, what if this story spreads through
town? This could mean the end of my army career, the end of any chance of ever
getting a job in England or Europe. By
the time the newspapers are finished writing the story, the whole world will
know. Why even Pine Ridge would not want
us anymore. We would have to take to the
mountains and wilds of Canada, resign myself to eking out a living eating
rodents and insects, digging for roots and picking berries.
November 3rd 1914 the Great War PJ
It was a great bloody day. My unit did damn well, and I am very proud of
each and every man. We went against the
other seven units and topped them all in order callings. As a unit, I believe we can obtain whatever
the goal may be. It is a glowing feeling that my men are willing to follow me,
and my command.
Tomorrow we start
our weapons training, and I think this unit is far ahead of the other units as
only seven of the twelve men have not had any weapon knowledge or training. For this, I will place in charge, “Call,”
Callum Davies, the Bobby from Nottingham, who has extensive weapons knowledge.
With just nine days
before home leave, our morale is very high. Now is the time we must dig deep and make the
home leave a certainty.
November 4th 1914 the Great War PJ
Crack shots, yes we
are a unit of crack shots, far above the other units. As a unit, we scored a seventy eight percent,
with the next highest unit scoring only a forty nine percent.
There is only one weak link, that being
Piers, ever the Librarian. Duncan did
well, scoring a nice seventy percent. I,
myself, shot a very sound ninety percent.
I would venture to say, give us weapons and
ammunition, send us to the front, and in a matter of days, we would have the
Kaiser’s army on the run.
A very perfect way
to end a good day; a letter from home, three in fact; one from the wives, from
mum and one from sister, Mary.
Seems the children are becoming very mobile. By the time I get home, I would say they will
be chasing down rabbits just like their mothers.
November 6th 1914 the Great War PJ
Just when things
are going well, the short comings will surely come along.
“Lach,” Lachlan
Huddersfield is missing. It is bad
enough that we are now down a man, but now this will very well jeopardize this
unit from going on home leave. This was
a very surprising thing for Lach to just up and leave. He was not disgruntled
and was getting along well with the other men. When we awoke this morning, Lach was gone. Wondering what would happen to Lach when he is
found, I asked Sergeant Montgomery, who replied, “When Huddersfield is
apprehended, he will certainly be greeted with a good thrashing, and then spend
time in the military penal camp, then onto infantry training, then onto the
front wherever he will be needed and finally certain to never be an officer in
the kings army.”
And what of our
home leave? Sergeant Montgomery replied,
“The powers to be have not made a decision yet, but it is for certain it would
affect our home leave.” Damn bloody
hell, damn bloody hell.
November 8th 1914 the Great War PJ
So, the powers to
be have decided to delay our unit’s home leave until Huddersfield is
apprehended. I hope and pray
Huddersfield is quickly apprehended.
Huddersfield’s
replacement is a chap by the name of Rupert Cheddar, who goes by the nickname
of Cheese. A crack shot, great motivator,
good sound soldier from unit B. He is also
a royal joker, which may be a problem and his profession a puzzle; an
entertainer, a singer, dancer and comedian. When I asked Sergeant Montgomery why the army
would choose an entertainer to be an officer, he told me the man seems to be a
genius and was able to finish his IQ test in record time. Upon further investigation, he also knows
military history and tactics.
From an original
nine units, there are only eight units left. As Sergeant, Montgomery has said it is
expected out of 118 officers who start training, only 75 will complete it. As of now, our numbers are 104.
November 11th 1914 the Great War PJ
Letters from home,
precious letters from home, and no Lach, the bastard. Now it looks like we will never go on home
leave, that is, until Lach is apprehended or we finish training, which will not
be until sometime in March.
Today was supposed to be the day we left for
home.
Seems Able Acorn
wants to start school. Why isn’t taking care of Thomas junior enough?
No, this has to be out of the question, and why would she want
to go to school?
With me leaving
home, has every form of discipline broken down? Now, more than ever, I want to go home, and so
I hope and pray Lach does the right thing and turns himself in. Yes, be a right chap and turn yourself in.
I fear with me not being home, Able and
Abundant may even decide to return to Pine Ridge. Maybe I should write a hardship letter to the
powers to be stating that I need my home leave.
To Sergeant Montgomery, if you are still
reading my journal, please help me in my endeavor to gain my home leave.
Cheese, Lach’s
replacement is a right good soldier, and an entertaining soul. Too bad we did not start training with Cheese.
If we had, we would be headed home today
and I may have been writing this at home.
November 12th 1914 the Great War PJ
A stroke of good fortune this afternoon; the
good Sergeant Montgomery informed us that Mr. Lachlan Huddersfield was
apprehended in Shrewsbury applying for a teaching position. The tip off, he had
no civilian clothes with him.
Lach said he had washed out of the Officer’s Corp. An alert local constable started placing the
pieces together and contacted the office of the Officers Corp. Now we have gained our home leave. Each of the four days at home will be very
precious, and I know that Sunday will be a very depressing time.
As I write this, I
am on a homebound train, the men are singing songs, playing cards, drinking
brandy, smoking cigars, and basically acting as we are footballers who have
just won a championship.
The sun is starting
to set; only four more hours to go then I will be with my loved ones.
As I have already written to them the bad news
that there most likely will not be a home leave, they will not expect my home
coming, which I estimate to be about seven p.m., just in time for a late
supper, fun with the children, and then alone time with the wives.
Tomorrow will be a
very busy day as it will be a time with mother and father. Saturday, the whole family will gather at father’s.
It will be as Christmas, Boxing Day or
New Year’s celebration parents, brothers, sister, spouses, and many children. A good day will be had by all.
A final thought,
now I will be able to deal with the school nonsense which Able Acorn has
started.
Update: I am home and it is eleven twenty p.m. What a home coming it was, Able was so excited
that she spoke Sioux and English, Abundant fell to her knees, wailed, and sang
a Sioux song of joy. I believe the words
were about a warrior who has returned home from battle.
The children were
so very clingy, which made me weep.
After an hour of
hugs and kisses, and a very good meal, my joy turned to frustration. Able would only speak of school, and Abundant
said she is too lonely without me and I must either take her with me when I
return to training or send her back to Pine Ridge.
Along with this
mess, mother received my letter to the twins and questioned Able about it, to
which she replied, “As a good wife I must not speak of this, it must be words
from my husband, your son.”
Maybe it would have
been better for old Lach not to have been apprehended.
To top all of these
mini crises, the wives are with what Able and Abundant call trouble every moon.
November 13th 1914 the Great War PJ
It was a good day,
but with sadness, as father had a hard time even recognizing me. In just the one month I have been away from
home, father’s mental capacity has diminished. Father does seem to remember Abundant, and
says, “Here is my little Indian daughter,” and then lets out a very good Sioux
whoop.
Mother waited until we were alone to confront
me about Able and Abundant. At first I
kept trying to change the conversation, but to no avail. Finally, I confessed and threw myself at the
mercy of mother.
Although understanding, I can tell this is
most troublesome to mother. Mother told
me that she would not reveal this secret to the rest of the family. She said she cannot live my life for me, but had
that disapproving look she always gave me when I had done something wrong. And with that, it is as if a great stone has
been lifted from my shoulders.
A private toilet,
what joy, although with two woman who absolutely love the toilet from the first
time they used one, it is more semi private than private. The twins even have a name for it, which is O,
from the Sioux word oigluja ja
November 14th 1914 the Great War PJ
Sensual day with
the family, brothers, sister, spouses, and five children; this brought joy to
mother, but sadly father seemed unaware of who was visiting and the children
gave him fits and not the joy it should have brought to a grandfather. Maybe it is time mother should
institutionalize father, no, bad move, as mother would never hear of it, as her
own mother worked at Bethlem Royal Hospital in southern London. I remember grand mama always saying even
though she worked there, and it seemed nice, no family member should ever be
placed there.
Onto the family;
sister, Mary does not even look pregnant, still the most cheery one of the
family and always has some nice stories to tell. Edward must be doing quite
well for he has purchased a brand new Crossley 15, a convertible at that, I
think I’m envious.
Little Edward III,
all sixteen months of him, is quite a hand full, but so is Thomas Jr.
Older brother Albert
is well as is his wife, Gracie, who looks like she may never last until
December to have this child, and yes they still fight like cats and dogs. Rather funny when Abundant told them both to
shut up as she was getting a head wound, this is actually a headache, and
Abundant brought peace to the table for a while.
Older brother,
John, the old boy seems to be gaining a few pounds; maybe he is playing Saint
Nick this Christmas. Wife, Libby, never
changes, always the quiet one as are their daughters, Annabel and Gwendolyn.
The supper was good
and plentiful, and I dare not say anything about Abundant’s use of her hands
during supper, fearing mother’s wrath.
I know the war was
on everyone’s mind but I guess out of respect for me said nothing. So as to break the ice I said I believe this
war would not last long, and everyone’s thinking because I was in the military that
I had some secret King George information.
They started asking me what information I had acquired, and I told them
I believe you receive more war news than I.
The conversation
moved quickly to Germany’s Zeppelins and it is only a matter of time that
Britain will be bombed. Britain has what
the newspapers are calling Zepplinitis.
November 23rd 1914 the Great War PJ
A forgotten journal;
all due to the chaos, which surrounded me last Sunday, November 15th
as I prepared to return to training.
Able insisted on
starting school, even going as far as bringing mother on her side. Abundant wanted to return with me to training
or to return to Pine Ridge. I just wanted
to relax, enjoy a cup of tea, and have my family close.
How I do love the
twins but, at times like this, I wish I would have just said no to marry them?
Damn well better just
set my mind into accepting Able will attend school. Not sure why I am worried as she will probably
wash out shortly after starting.
As far as Abundant wanting to be with me or
returning to Pine Ridge, this is a bit trickier, something that weighs much
more on my mind.
At this point, I
can only say a prayer that family matters will stick together until my next
home leave, which will take place from December 24th until December
31st. Not sure why they have
us returning New Year’s Eve as a holiday is the very next day.
If anyone decides
to go over the wall this time, I will ask Sergeant Montgomery if I can take my
unit, find him, and give him a good trashing. No, I must make sure no one goes over the wall.
Training is down to
business again, and my group is still excelling, top notch. How top notch? The military executives are taking men from my
unit to lead the other seven units. Finlay
is now leading the B unit, and Callum Davies is leading the E unit.
We are now called
the Dashing D unit by the other jealous units; good ribbing, a very good
ribbing.
Sergeant Montgomery
has told me there will be no more replacements so we, as a unit, must do more
with less.
We may have been thrashed
seven to one in a football match two weeks ago against Robert Miller’s A unit,
but as far as soldiering, my unit has caught up to them and surpassed them. I believe now is the time for a football
rematch.
November 25th 1914 the Great War PJ
Our rematch against the Miller unit still got
thrashed but losing closer 6 to 3. Maybe
by the time training is almost completed, we will finally have an opportunity
to thrash those Miller bastards.
Training is just a
little bit foggy; I believe the men now think of Christmas and another home
leave, must be steady, must bring the men back to reality, forward march and
back to training, hard forward training.
A bit of sad news;
as a Jimmy Doyle of the B unit was slightly injured, due to a mishap with one
of those Mark 1’s, which is a type of grenade.
It looks like he will miss too much training, and will now miss
finishing training with our group.
A bit more about
the Mark 1 grenade; when everything goes as planned, it is a wonder of a weapon
but it has one big drawback, which is it may go off upon release, which is what
happened to Jimmy. Burnt his hand and
gave him a concussion, but the chap still pulled through. He must have had some angels sitting near.
Jimmy is a right
soul; I guess that is why he was lucky. A
good and sound soldier, he will be missed by the B unit.
Update from the
home front: Able will be starting school
in the New Year. Damn blasted, before
you know it, women will be ruling the world.
November 29th 1914 the Great War PJ
I was called before Sergeant Montgomery today
and given some rather bad and disturbing news.
Unit D, my unit, was being disbanded. Disbanded? Why? Why
would those in charge disband the best unit, I inquired. Simple fact he told me. Simple fact, I replied? Yes, a very simple fact Sergeant Montgomery
said, all the while with a grin on his face. At this point, I’m thinking this man has just
given me a bit of bad news and he stands there grinning like a cat that had
just swallowed a bird. Bad form, really
bad I thought. Then he gave me some news
which set me back, and made me damn proud. Those powers in charge were disbanding unit D
as they were taking every last of my men and placing them in charge, or placing
them second in command of the rest of the units.
What of me I asked;
now thinking this might be bad for me. But Sergeant replied, “Sir Sergeant
Montgomery reporting for duty,” then saluting me. My mind still rather foggy from this news, I
asked what is this all about Sergeant? Sergeant
Montgomery’s reply set me back. He told
me every class, after six weeks of training has a commander and a second in
charge, chosen by the executives of the training base, and those powers to be
had chosen me, which will place me in charge of seven units.
I believe I have a
right to be proud, but as Sergeant Montgomery reminded me, “Sir, do not be too
proud or happy as this will guarantee that you will most likely be the first
officer from this training group that will see war, the fighting, men wounded
and dying first hand.”
Sergeant Montgomery
asked who I would choose to be my second in command and I promptly replied
without hesitation, “Finlay, of course.”
Finlay came to me
thanking me for even considering him for the post, but asked if he may decline
my request as he would like to give it a go at being first command of the E
unit.
When leaving he
said, “Sir, they chose the right man for commanding this group. I will do my most to make you look good.” He saluted me and left.
Now the only man
who comes to mind is Cheese, but he was assigned liaison to headquarters for
the training group.
I have called upon Sergeant
Montgomery to find out if I may be able to obtain Cheddar.
It will take me
getting used to having Sergeant Montgomery take orders and saluting me. Sergeant Montgomery is very valuable to me as
he is well seasoned and has the knowledge I need.
A list of my men
and their promotions:
Smith; second in command, A unit,
Williams, second in command, B unit,
Davies, first in command, C unit,
Finlay, first in command, E unit,
Taylor, second in command, E unit,
Walker, second in command, F unit,
Newcastle, second in command, G unit,
Clark, first in command, H unit,
Walsal, second in command, H unit,
Baker, assigned second liaison to headquarters for our
training group
The good Sergeant
has asked what the duty will be for the rest of the day, and I told him
cleaning and getting ready for a field excise. I believe it is time we should be tested in
simulated battlefield conditions.
The Sergeant says
it will be done sir, salutes, and is ready to leave, when I stopped him and said,
“Sergeant, you know the game, you have seen war, I am counting on you to teach
me, I am grateful to have you Sergeant.”
He replied, “Sir, I
will do my best to teach you and to help bring honor to this group. Sir, they chose the right man.”
So much to think
about, so much responsibility and I must think things out, don’t want to look
like one of those nincompoops you would read about in a war novel.
I am now writing a
request to headquarters to have “Cheese,” Rupert Cheddar assigned as my second,
as Sergeant Montgomery has informed me this is what I must do.
Wakeup will be
early, 4 a.m. We will march to the mock
front, no time for tea, or biscuits. I
believe this will give the men a taste of battlefield conditions.
December 6th 1914 the Great War PJ
I held the men in the
field for a week, some did not like this. What do they think; they will be able to go
home at night when they are up at the actual front? And have tea and crumpets in the morning?
Although most men
took this field exercise serious, all in all, I believe this field exercise was
a success, but the executive officers of training will have the final call on
that. Thank God for the first in command
of the units and Mont, which I now call Sergeant Montgomery, for keeping it
together.
Maybe I was a bit
too lax in my command? Mont says it is a fine line, which divides a good
commander from a bad commander.
When asking Mont
did he think I was too lax, he replied, “Sir, in battlefield conditions, I
believe firm, but fair, is the route to take.”
“Then a day off is in order,” I said.
“Yes Sir and good form Sir,” Mont replied.
Letters from home: Able is all excited about
starting school in January; damn, she was accepted at the
University of Leeds. Now, how will she
do this? I believe Leeds must be about
250 kilometers from home. What of our
son? What of our home? What of being a
good wife, waiting for her man to return? Well, I believe within two weeks this school
nonsense will be too much of a burden for her and that will finish this school
rubbish.
Damn, isn’t there
any good news? Abundant wanting to
either come to training to be with me or return to Pine Ridge. At times like this, I would surely be the
first to volunteer for the front.
December 7th 1914 the Great War PJ
I received the
report of the units’ battlefield exercise; it went just okay, deficiencies were
as follows:
1- Men
were too lax.
2- Not
prepared at all times for battle.
3- Men
sleeping while at their guard post.
4- Too
much talking and noise.
5- Weapons
left unattended.
6- Not
keeping the trenches clean.
7- Men
were more like a bunch of rag tag civilians than an army unit.
Strengths:
1 – Leadership of units was sound, but should have a tighter control of the men.
Please work on these deficiencies as
there will be another battlefield exercise on December 16th.
After a meeting with Mont, he suggested a meeting of all unit leaders
with second in command present. We must
hold the men to a higher standard.
I believe the proper route to take would be to have the unit commanders
return to the men, receive their input, and have all men involved in making our
group as sound as possible. Mont has
given me his full approval.
What has happened
to my request for Rupert Cheddar? Knowing the army, it would not surprise me if
I would receive a shipment of cheddar cheese. I will write my second request for him.
A day off, let’s see
if my decision was correct. Maybe I
should have waited until I received the field report before giving a day off.
Next time that is what I will do.
A letter from
mother about father, he is much worse, seems that it may become inevitable to
place him in a facility. Mother asking
my permission, along with John Jr., Albert and sister, Mary, as mother would
like this to be a family decision. I say
we hold out until the last
possible moment to have father placed in a facility; for I
believe that would most likely bring the end to father and when the end is near
we bring father home.
A little more than
two weeks and I shall be home, but I pray there will be no drama, as I really
want to relax, have tea and crumpets in the morning, read the damn newspaper until
noon, if I desire, go to bed and rise when I want, and take a shit alone to be
by myself and my thoughts.
December 9th 1914 the Great War PJ
Seems my decision
to give the men a day off has paid off; morale seems sky high, which should be
good for training. I must keep the men
focused on training and less about going on home leave.
The men will be
tested in battlefield conditions for five days on the 16th. I’m sure if the men do as poorly as they did
this last time, I will be relieved of my command and rightfully so.
My request for Cheese
has finally been addressed. Now I must
go before executive officers to plead my case for Cheese. I will take Mont and Finlay, as they will make
a good showing. We must shine ourselves
top to bottom, want to show the executives we are the best and should be given
what we need to continue being the best.
December 11th 1914 the Great War PJ
Today was a rousing
success and I guess our showing before the executive officers was a good one as
Cheese has been released to my command and will now be my second.
A meeting today with all unit leaders to push
and keep their men focused on the upcoming battlefield exercise; let it be a good
one then we may all relax, stand down, and ready ourselves for the home leave.
Note: A battlefield exercise meeting with all unit
leaders is in order every day. Go over
all deficiencies, making sure each unit leader understands and makes
corrections where necessary.
We must have a good
showing, we must be successful.
December 13th 1914 the Great War PJ
The men are working well together, although,
on the deficiency side, one man, William McFarland, of the C unit has broken
down not wanting to continue with training, but go home and quit the Army. I have assigned Mont to speak to this man, not
as the son of a bitch Mont way but in a way where we need each and every man in
this Army, if we are to win this damn bloody war.
December 14th 1914 the Great War PJ
Mont suggested that we give this man a day
off so he may decide what he really wants to do. As Mont has said, there is absolutely
no sense of having a weak link, which may cause the whole group to fail at
whatever it does.
December 15th 1914 the Great War PJ
Tomorrow we head to
the battlefield exercises. I believe we
have fine-tuned the men for success, and whatever problems they may face. If success is not to be, by God, I should be
relieved of command and Finlay should be chosen for this command.
Maybe this was my
fate all along, being a second rate officer, or maybe I am not even worthy of
being an officer. Maybe I would be a
better fit being just a soldier, so much simpler. Taking orders from a good soldier like Monty,
“Yes Sergeant, no Sergeant,” yes, much simpler.
Rather bad news;
McFarland is still requesting a separation from the army. He is sound on his decision and will not budge;
even Finlay has spoken to him. Now I
must, once more, write a letter to the executive officers explaining, in fine
details, why McFarland would like to quit; just cannot write this man is broken
and no longer wishes to continue with training, wants out of this fucking Army.
No, I must write, why, how, where, and
what did I do to prevent this, what did I do when this situation came to
light.
Every time there
seems to be smooth sailing, another problem pops up, like pests in a garden,
you know they are there and there is no way to get rid of them completely. Now it will be a complete success or complete
failure.
December 16th 1914 the Great War PJ
As I am busy with all aspects of the
battlefield exercises, I will hold off anymore entries into my journal.
On a sad note, we
left McFarland behind; he will most likely be either reassigned or drummed out
of the army.
December 21st 1914 the Great War PJ
We returned from
the exercise. I believe it went well,
Mont believes it went well, and Cheese believes it went well. Now it is all about how well the executives
thought we did.
The men acted
appropriately and were ready for battle. I believe if this was real war we could have
stomped the Kaiser’s army all the way back to Berlin.
I thought it only
fitting that the men should receive another day off, but that shall have to be
put off until after home leave as the powers to be canceled all time off
because they felt it too close to home leave. I wish they would let me do the commanding and
take their heads out of the sand. That
is it, a nickname for the executive officers, Ostriches, yes, they are all Ostriches.
McFarland was
drummed out of the Army, maybe he is the smart one, maybe he saw all the wrong
decisions being made by the executives, and decided if this is how the powers
to be execute this war then I do not have much of a chance of surviving.
December 22nd 1914 the Great War PJ
The report is in
and although a decent report, it is, to me, a bit of a disappointment.
The report is as
follows; good sound battlefield commanding of all units. The men were ready in most cases, although, at
times, the men seemed a bit lacking and unaware of some battlefield conditions,
mainly, when the gas was used, there seemed to be too much confusion which, in
our opinions, may have led to a 50% casualty rate.
The use of weapons
was, for the most part, sound, but more training is necessary.
Battlefield tactics
was the strong point for the group.
Following of orders
was sound and another strong point for the group.
The total score for
this group, for battlefield exercise number 2, is a score of 87%.
Monty says that if
we continue to work, and drill the men, he would not be surprised if this group
could pull off a 95%, which has never been done before. The highest mark so far was a 92% from the
group who had graduated a week before our group had started training. The executives thought the 92% was grand and
that group leader, just as I was, was promptly promoted to captain.
When I tell Mont my
nickname for the executives, he gave it a thumbs up, along with a rousing
laugh, which catches me completely off guard, because I did not know the man
was capable of laughter, a good showing Mont.
Mont says, “It
really does not matter what the executive officers think or how they grade you,
for the real test will come when the battle begins, and you score success or
failure not by numbers but by how many men are lost.”
A sobering thought Mont, a sobering
thought.
December 23rd 1914 the Great War PJ
I did not want to
write this entry as this has been a terrible dark day for my good friend,
Finlay, Finlay Lerwick, is gone. Finlay
died today, died in a training exercise.
Yes, men die in war every day; this is expected but, at home, during
training? No, this should have never
happened. The damn Mark I Grenade. If the powers to be keep this menace, I would
venture to say it will kill more of our fine soldiers than that of the enemy. A tossed Mark I hits a light post and
explodes, it should have given more time before exploding.
Not thinking of
himself, or even his family, Finlay, only thinking of his men, shielded his men
and took the brunt of the explosion. Because of Finlay, ten men will live; ten
men will be able to see their families again.
Now I must write a
letter requesting to the executive officers that Finlay Lerwick be given full
military honors and burial, just as those who have been killed in this bloody
war.
This will not be a
happy home leave, a Merry Christmas or a Happy New Year.
To soften this loss, Mont has relayed this
story, which happened to him during the second Boer war. On the 17th of September, nineteen
hundred and 0, once during the battle of Blood River Port, shortly after
receiving his Sergeant rank, with Major Hubert Gough, the same commander
Gough who now commands the 3rd
Cavalry Brigade, was the officer in charge, he made a dreadful decision which
lead to a great trashing by the Boer. Mont’s
first and second officers were immediately killed so the battlefield decisions fell
to him. Mont, himself, made a dreadful
decision and, because of this, eight good and Godly men fell that day. The remaining five men were captured and, as
was the custom by the Boars, were stripped of their weapons, gear, and even
their clothes and told to walk to the nearest British post.
There is not a day
that goes by that Mont does not think of each and every man. He knows their names, birthdays, where they
were from, and who their mothers, fathers, spouses and children are. At that time, Mont wished he had been one of the
eight and then one day it hit him that each of those eight men, who lost their
lives, would not want him to feel sorry for himself. No, they would want him to live his life to
the fullest and, if possible, make a difference in this world and that is why
Mont pushes the men so hard, because of that.
It means just one more man comes home from this bloody war and that
those eight men will not have died in vein.
May you rest in God’s arms Finlay.
December 24th 1914 the Great War PJ
I am home but the loss of Finlay prays on my
mind. Excitement around me, but it is as
if I am not even here.
Just this morning,
before leaving for home, my reply from the executive officers about Finlay came
back with an approval, but with the stipulation that I must carry out all
details on my own, on behalf of training Officer Lerwick. I want this to be carried out as soon as the
men return on January 1st, with a secure date of January 3rd for
Finlay’s funeral.
I must now travel
from Ipswhich to Finlay’s home in Manchester as I feel just a letter from the
training executive officers would be in bad form. Mont and Cheese have volunteered to travel
with me on the 25th of December, meeting me in London, to hand over
the official letter and Finlay’s personal belongings to Finlay’s wife and his
three children. Since Cheese has a large
family, and this may well be his last Christmas at home, I have ordered Cheese
to stay home. It is a whole day trip by
train to Manchester and we should arrive late in the evening on Christmas day.
Even though I feel
my obligation is to be home, especially at Christmas time, I feel more
compelled to do this.
Tomorrow, at this
time, our mission will be complete.
December 25th 1914 the Great War PJ
As I write this, I
am at a local Pub, half intoxicated from another round for my dear friend, Fin,
having given Mrs. Finlay Lerwick and their three children the very bad news.
It did not go well;
Marie broke down and nearly fainted. Heart
breaking it was, three children crying that will never see their father ever
again. Marie has decided to have Finlay
interned at the training camp.
Finlay had told me
on numerous occasions that he knew he would return from war as God would
protect him because of his children. So
many times he spoke of his family and I never fully paid attention. Sometimes in life, we should listen, we should
pay attention.
As we left the Finlay’s home, Mont suggested
we stay at the local pub, drinking good, and plenty, for Finlay and his soul, and
then travel tomorrow, December 26th, back
Home, a very good suggestion Sergeant Alastair Montgomery.
Here’s another good
round to you my very good friend, Finlay.
December 26th 1914 the Great War PJ
As I write this, a
light snow is falling and the crackling fire from the hearth warms and lights
the room for me.
Home, my dear
lovely family, sleeping, tucked into their warm beds, hopefully, with only
pleasant dreams.
I was back home by late
afternoon, and to my surprise, the whole family, well not the whole family, was
at the train station to greet me. My
brother, Albert, and his wife, Gracie, were not present. With much joy, I write Gracie has made me an
uncle once more. A beautiful baby girl,
whom they have named after Gracie’s grandmother, Tillie, a fine name, and a
fine baby girl, a most fitting family
Christmas it is.
This gives me a lift in my spirit. Seems
they have held off Christmas till Boxing Day so it will be two holidays
combined into one. What a wonderful day,
my family, and all the children, which does give a special meaning to
Christmas, this Christmas.
The food, so tasty,
so much, no finer a meal I have ever had. A fine large goose and turkey from Edward’s
shop, why I believe it was the best in all of England. My thoughts turn to this Christmas, which may be
my last at home. After seeing what
happened to Finlay, it makes my mortality even more real than ever.
Reports from the
front for December 24th and the 25th are very strange as
all fighting has ceased, the guns have gone silent; men on both sides
celebrating Christmas together, singing, drinking, even exchanging gifts. Maybe this is the break which is needed to end
this bloody war. Silent night, holy night,
and good will towards all men.
December 27th 1914 the Great War PJ
Now that Christmas,
Boxing Day and Finlay’s mission are complete, I was hoping to find a little bit
of peace for myself, but that would be denied, as Able Acorn will attended
school this January at the University of Leeds, which is 265 kilometers away
from home. She will be away Sunday night
till Thursday night, which leaves me with my only question to her, who will
take care of Thomas Jr.? Why did I even
ask? It seems the women of this family
have conspired against me and have me at a disadvantage. Of course, it will be Abundant, mother, and
sister, Mary, who is with her second child.
Able is so
passionate about this school business that it seems she has lost the passion
for me, and then there is Abundant who seems never to lose her passion for me,
maybe a little too passionate at times.
She is as when we first got married, and still wanting to come back to
training with me, still saying that I either take her with me
or she will return to Pine Ridge, which I now believe is her bluff. At least for the time, I have an excuse for
her not to do either, as who would look after our children?
Hoping and praying
this war ends and I will come home and calm the waters of discord.
The letters from home stating father’s
condition is not the same reality as seeing him with my own eyes; I must now
prepare myself for the inevitable end, which, most likely, will be soon. As always, Abundant seems to be able to
communicate with father, even speaking Lakota to him, and father seemingly
understands. This is what is known as
the harsh realities of winter.
December 29th 1914 the Great War PJ
Wishing to see my brother, Albert and Gracie
with their newborn, Tillie, but it will not be, maybe next time I am on a home
leave.
I worry about Mother’s condition, her face;
you can see the strain of father’s condition on it. It has aged her so in just
the few months that I have been gone from home.
Mother speaks to me
about father and the fact that she has already accepted that soon he will be
gone. Seems I was the lone holdout in
placing father into a facility, if needed. As I am no longer home, I reluctantly give in
and tell mother that I will go along with whatever she wants.
It was very nice of
mother to include all of her children, including the spouses of her children,
but that has always been the way mother thinks, once you marry into the family,
you are family.
With the New Year
looming, I hope and pray that 1915 will be a much better year.
December 31st 1914 the Great War P J
I left today to
return to training camp.
Even with all of the upheaval, I miss my family so.
As I write, I am on a train from London to
Staffordshire, along with many New Year revelers. I believe all are hoping and praying this New
Year of 1915 brings peace.
I hope and pray for peace so that I may return
home and that somehow the upheaval with Able and Abundant will disappear, that
father has no pain, and if he shall fail and is in great pain, he passes in his
sleep.
Now, with regrets,
I must look forward to Finlay’s funeral. I have written an outline of who will be
meeting me tomorrow at training to set my plans into motion.
Mrs. Lerwick has
already given the okay for the date of January 3rd. Mont will be escorting her and the children to
training camp. She will arrive on the
second. I must make sure everything is
ready, that everything goes smoothly, no hitches, no hitches.
January 1st 1915 the Great War P J
Time is short and we
must be ready.
Fortunately, as I know the men, I believe everything will go
off well.
With the men
returning tomorrow, we will have a late evening practice. On the 3rd, we will have an early
morning practice and then at noon it will be a go.
To my surprise, all
group leaders have returned early so they may be briefed and will be in step
with what must take place.
Mrs. Lerwick and
children will arrive tomorrow and her quarters are in order.
Thinking back to
last New Year it was all about the family; as to whom in the family will give
birth to the next child, maybe father will recuperate, should I try for a
position at ‘The Evening News’ in London, and will our garden be a success this
year.
So much has changed
in just one year, too much has changed.
January 3rd 1915 the Great War P J
Finlay’s funeral is
complete and everyone went above and beyond my expectations.
Now with Finlay’s funeral complete, we must get back to the
business of training.
Time is getting short and in just a few months
many of us may be in a real fight, fighting for our lives, making decisions
which will cause men to live and men to die.
Since training is
so important and I need Mont, I will send two men from the A unit to escort
Mrs. Lerwick and children back home.
With royal honors,
Finlay Lerwick now lays at rest, along with many other patriotic men from the
Empire.
Rest in peace my
friend, Finlay, rest in peace.
January 7th 1915 the Great War P J
Very busy, almost
to the point of being in charge of training is over whelming.
Looking at an over view of my duties, I must
be a father, brother, a good confession listener, a teacher, coach, and a good
reverend.
At times, I wish I
would have never accepted the training commander position. Thank God for Mont, for without his expertise,
this would have been as a pig stuck in mud.
Bad news on the
home front, father has declined further. I know it is only a matter of time before
father must be placed into a facility.
January 9th 1915 the Great War P J
Another battlefield
training exercise next week and this one will last two weeks.
Now the powers to
be have a push on to have us well prepared for battle. Too many lost battles, England must turn this
tide, and where are the damn yanks? By
now I thought they would have joined with us to turn the tide of the Kaiser’s
war machine.
I must place all emphasis
on having the men prepared and well drilled. I must turn up the training another notch, I
must turn Mont loose to correct every deficiency.
I do not think if
we were to go against the Kaiser’s army we would be successful at this point.
I must press the
men, I must press the men.
January 11th
1915 the Great War P J
The push is on and
I suspect many of the men dislike this, even dislike me, but I must do what I
must do.
I believe when the
heat of battle begins and these leaders, these officers, know what to do and do
it well they will then know why I have pushed them so hard and, in a passing
thought, thank me.
A letter from the twins; Able starts school
this week and, for the time being, Abundant is satisfied with her situation as
being the care taker of the children.
Able writes for
Abundant stating she feels father may soon move into the spirit world mentally,
but not physically. So Abundant will
contact the good spirits, Chief Red Cloud and the great medicine man, Sitting
Bull, to help take care of father until he completely passes over to the spirit
world.
Abundant is most
depressed as each day father is more of a challenge than the last, but she
promises that she will continue to work with father.
January 27th 1915 the Great War P J
January 15th 1915 the Great War P J
I write this by the
glow of a candle as we are now in the field, training in battlefield
conditions.
Training was to
commence on the 16th but the executive officers have decided to
surprise us, this was to test our readiness. As I have been informed, this will now be the
operating procedure. I will not have the
luxury of knowing when the field training will begin or end. So I do not know when we will return to base,
when we will receive mail, or even when our next meal will be.
January 16th 1915 the Great War P J
Second day of
battlefield training; men’s actions are correct, very proud of them.
Officers are
thinking before and beyond, and not reacting to the conditions.
An example of this
is when they started to expose us to tear gas, not an order was given, and yet
all of the men realized what must be done, and so the masks were placed, not
even one man missed this.
I realize this is
not real war but if it were, I believe we could very well hold our own.
Mont suggested if
we attack on three sides tomorrow we may catch the enemy off guard so at dawn
it shall be.
January 17th 1915 the Great War P J
Not a good day, for
damn sure, as the men were attacking on all three sides. Some ass on the other side set off one of
those fake explosives. Damn, it was not
very fake; it injured two of my men, thank God only slightly. James Adkins was
wounded in the hand, and William Deas took some particles to his eye, but they
should both be fit in three days.
For the time being,
training has been halted until this whole bloody mess can be sorted out.
Sort it out? Find the
idiot who set the explosive and send them to the front.
Up until the time
of the explosion, the men were advancing smoothly and were set to overrun the
enemy’s positions.
As an army, we are
spot on, ready for almost
anything.
If the Kaiser
thinks he has the upper hand now, he will be thinking differently when we take
to the battlefield.
January 19th 1915 the Great War P J
The war comes to
England. As I write this, we could be
fighting Kaiser’s army at any moment, and on our own soil of England.
We are now on full
alert as a short time ago one of the Kaiser’s giant zeppelins silently moved
across the sky. Once again, the men
acted promptly and correctly, dousing all lights and quickly becoming silent. With this sighting of the zeppelin, it may be
possible that the Kaiser’s army has already landed.
We await orders and are now being issued real
ammunition. Whatever our orders may be,
we are ready. Whether to march forward
and engage the enemy, or to hold our position we will not fail.
As this peace maybe
short, I will write a quick letter home.
To my darling wives Able and Abundant,
Not knowing what
the future may hold, I just wanted to let you know how much I love you.
Please let each and
every family member know how much I love them.
Not to alarm you,
England could be on the verge of an invasion by the Kaiser’s army, but I know
that England’s army will never fail to defend and repel this attack.
By the time you receive this letter, there may
be an enemy in our land.
Please keep safe, even
though I know you know how to survive. I
know I do not have to ask you to watch over my family.
I do love you so. Please kiss and hug the children for me,
Your husband,
Commander of RA training group O – 12 Thomas
McCuthen
January 20th 1915 the Great War P J
Chaos reigns. Last night a German zeppelin drifted silently
over the training grounds. Thinking this was only a reconnaissance run, and at
the worst a recon run for an invasion, we prepared to either go forward to meet
the enemy or hold our position. In the
end, we held our position and, as far as I know, there was no invasion.
It has been
reported that two zeppelins bombed; one bombing the Port of Yarmouth and the
other zeppelin bombed at King’s Lynn, murdering innocent civilians. At this time, reports are incomplete at best.
My concern is for
my family and did those bastards bomb Ipswich? Hopefully, by tomorrow, they will have things
sorted out, and then I will know.
I must question
those who are running England’s home protection. Why were those zeppelins not brought down,
either by land to air fire, or by the Royal Air Corps., and why did those
German bastards bomb an innocent civilian target like King’s Lynn? I understand the Port of Yarmouth may be
considered a military asset, but not King’s Lynn.
January 21st 1915 the Great War P J
It is back to
battlefield training and now every man realizes how important this training is.
It was a sober and somber day, as I believe
each man now realizes we are at war, and death could be near.
James Adkins is
back with his unit and William Deas will join his unit tomorrow.
The men were reassured by those in charge that
this type of accident will not be repeated.
Thankfully, Ipswich
was spared from the destruction of the German madness, which included 4
civilians killed and as many as fifty injured.
January 24th 1915 the Great War P J
Training continues,
and I can’t believe I will write this but I believe I am bored and have a want
for action. Yes, even a taste for blood
from the Kaiser’s army. I believe all
this is from that unprovoked zeppelin attack, those bastards, all involved,
should be hunted down and hung, even the damn Kaiser. Now I’m as ready as almost every man is, ready
to go into battle and prepare to kill or be killed. For now I must be satisfied with training and
helping other soldiers to prepare for war.
A letter from Able,
how I miss you and Abundant, our children, and my family.
Dear husband Thomas,
I hope you are safe
as the Germans have decided to bomb England. That is the only thing people speak about
daily. Yes, I worry that the Germans
will be bombing other parts of England. We now live in darkness at night hoping that
this will be as a safe blanket, which will cover the German’s eyes and they
will be as a blind bird.
Abundant seems to
be having more difficulties each day handling father. Yesterday he did not recognize her and called
her grandmother. Knowing Abundant, she
will continue to care for him even if it hurts her that he does not recognize
her.
Abundant is not
herself lately, she is changing, not sure what this is. It may be the fact that she is homesick, the
fact that father did not recognize her, and taking care of the children, maybe
this is too great of a burden. I will be
taking Thomas and Anna with me when I return to school next week, although this
is much work, I feel it could be very helpful to Abundant.
School is like a
new love for me, my husband, never to replace you, only to fill the void while
you are not here.
I was afraid that I may not have been
accepted, but I am as a buffalo in a city like London, a curiosity to all. They ask so many questions and are surprised I
am so smart, as to be able to read, write and do simple math.
They do so want me
to write a book, as to tell my story, and the stories of my ancestors. They
have pledged their support and help in writing my book. One student’s father owns a book shop in
London who will have it printed.
My dear husband, I
will start to write and send you notes so you may see what I have accomplished.
My dearest husband,
how I miss you and love you. Each day I
tell the children about you so they remember you.
When I write next,
I will be on the train to school.
Day-ghee-lah
eed ah, which means, “loves very much.”
Your wife,
Able Acorn
Looks like this school thing is permanent and,
by the way she writes, it should not be long before she is running the
University of Leeds.
Training, training,
and more training; boring training, sickening training, non-sense training.
I am to the point
where I cannot wait to meet the Germans on the battlefield. Maybe that is what the executives want, how
they motivate officers and soldiers to go willingly into battle. Yes, that must
be it, bore the men to the point where they will gladly go forth into war.
One week of
training down, and I’m hoping not many more.
February 2nd 1915 the Great War P J
Not much to write about other than training,
but I did receive a letter from Able and mother.
To my husband Thomas,
I write with tears
in my eyes and a pain in my heart. Father
is ready to pass into the spirit world.
Abundant and I pray to those great spirits of
our ancestors to lead father where we will coexist with the buffalo once more.
Abundant now prepares the Lakota way for
father’s passing
If you can, please come home to father.
Wah-shday lah-kay
Love,
Able Acorn
To my dear son Thomas,
The time has now
come when we, as a family, must prepare for father’s passing. I believe I have come to grips with this for
now, but know when father has finally passed, even with time; it will not heal
the hurt that I will feel.
I truly believe
father is in no pain, and sleeps most of the time. I believe, shortly, father will pass in his
sleep.
Thomas, father is
the only man I have ever loved.
By tomorrow, the
whole family will gather and be with father, hopefully, he will sense this and
it will up lift his spirit.
Thomas, I know your
situation, so if it is not possible for you to return home, I will understand.
With my love,
Mother
As I read Able and mother’s letters, I am
waiting outside of the executive office for my request of a home leave.
Update: I am on the last late bound train for London. I should arrive home early in the morning. As the weather looks quite glum, I have sent a
telegraph post home asking if it would be possible to have someone meet me at
the station. If not, I will march the
ten kilometers or so home.
I pray and hope
that father will still be with us when I arrive.
February 3rd 1915 the Great War P J
By the warm home fire, I write my entry:
It has snowed almost all day and has
accumulated to over ten centimeters.
This is the home I
miss so much, my family, a warm fire, a spot of tea, and looking out the window
at the snow. I know no matter where I
travel I will never find a place as my home.
Father is not doing
well and I must bring myself to the realization that at any moment he will
pass.
It was a cheery
welcome for me at the station as Edward, sister, Mary, who is with her second
child, my wives, and children are waiting for me. It made the bitter cold bearable and, thankfully,
I did not have to walk home, although Edward’s truck probably only made a
little better time than if I would have walked. Twice we had to push the truck
onto the road again as the road to home was slick with ice. Mary kept reminding Edward that it would have
been much better if he had brought the horse and sleigh to the station.
With weather like
this, I believe the horse is here to stay.
February 4th 1915 the Great War P J
As I write this, I
believe it may be any time in which father passes. Father’s condition is grave; he is unconscious
all of the time. We are now at the end
stage of father’s life, and comfort is the main goal for him.
For Abundant, it is now a constant vigil, and
I would not ask her to leave father’s side, not even for a short time as she
would refuse.
My brothers are
annoyed at Abundant’s Sioux ways in preparing for father’s passing, as she
sings Lakota songs and prayers, asking the great Sioux ancestors to help and
guide father when he does pass.
Mother and sister,
Mary, are squarely on the side of Abundant, as I have heard both of them sing,
and pray along with Abundant in Lakota.
My only hope and
prayer now is that father will soon pass.
February 5th 1915 the Great War P J
Father passed
today, with drama and friction.
Abundant, wanting to practice the Lakota way of death, while
brothers John and Albert wanting the English and white way of death. In the end, mother prevailed; Abundant lead
the way. With a light snow fall, we
carried father outside so his spirit may ascend to heaven.
I know Abundant and
Able will cut their hair short, and pluck any beads from their cloths.
Mother has also cut
her hair and has removed her beloved beads from around her neck, which I cannot
remember mother not wearing.
Sister Mary, who
had loved her long hair, has done a stunning thing, she has cut her hair.
Abundant takes a
mixture of black paint and paints mother’s face, then passes the black paint so
each of us may paint our face black. My Brothers
hesitate, but with a glaring stare from mother, follow. Abundant gives mother a small knife and tells
her to cut her hand and smear the blood upon herself.
Abundant starts to wail and we all join in,
but this only lasted for about one hour as it started to rain.
Abundant tells
mother to go up to her room and meditate, and wait for father who will visit
her, but she should not tell anyone what father has told her.
Abundant has told
us that we should all leave, as too many people in the house may prohibit
father’s spirit from visiting mother.
Abundant, alone,
will stay in the parlor with father.
As much as my brothers
disagree, they leave, knowing this is mother’s wishes.
John and family are
staying with us, and glad he has finally gone to bed as all he wanted to do was
say how wrong this ceremony was, and that father would never condone this sort
of thing. I think he was trying to bait
me into an argument but I just wanted for peace and quiet, and to reflect on
father and the times we had together.
I hope today will
be the end of our brothers dissatisfaction, and drama.
February 8th 1915 the Great War P J
Today we buried
father. A fitting tribute that father
was well liked was the fact that so many from the town paid their respects and
visited with mother.
Although, I believe
they were baffled by the Sioux ceremony put on by Abundant and Able, but they
did seem to rather enjoy it. My brothers
still seemed annoyed by all of the Sioux traditions, but were silent as they
knew if they were to interfere they would incur the wrath of mother.
Tomorrow I must
return to training. Thankfully, Monty has kept me updated with daily telegraph posts.
I am quite
surprised that the executives are keeping the men in the field this long. Surely, I thought it would have been no longer
than two weeks but, who knows, the way those in charge think, maybe they will
keep us in the field until we get ready to graduate.
February 9th 1915 the Great War P J
It is late as I
travel on the night train from London back to training in Staffordshire. As it will be the middle of the night when I
arrive, I will make myself comfortable at the station and wait till the morning
mail truck arrives.
My thoughts turn to father, with fond
memories, good memories. My mind scans
the different times of life with father and me.
Naturally, now in a melancholy mood, I drift
in and out of sleep, now thinking of Christmas past with father.
My dear, dear
father, I miss you so.
February 10th 1915 the Great War P J
Training continues,
the men have done a great job, and well done.
As the men have prevailed and persevered, I
now have a very guilty feeling. Maybe
those who return from battle, those who have survived the war, will have a
feeling of guilt, survivor’s guilt, yes, true to form, survivor’s guilt.
Monty brings me up
to date; it will be a big push tomorrow to crush the opponent, and maybe it
will end this session of battle training. If not, maybe we could plan an attack on the
base executive offices. End this
battlefield training or the executives can be our prisoners for the duration of
our training.
February 11th 1915 the Great War P J
Great victory, the
push was successful, and this battlefield training is over.
The executives were
so impressed that they have granted a three day home pass starting tomorrow.
When I speak to
Monty about home leave, he seems to become ridged and vague. After questioning Monty about what he may do
during home leave, he does not answer immediately.
Damn, I must be
blind or not very in tune to those around me. Monty has no home, no one at home, nowhere to
go. After my long winded rambling as to
why he must not stay at base and why he must come home with me, and his
continued reluctance as to why it is better he stay on base, I
do the only thing I, as an officer, can do to change his mind, I give him an
order.
February 12th 1915 the Great War P J
It is night when we arrive home but, as always,
mother has leftovers to eat. Good and
filling portions, along with some ale to wash it down.
It is as if the
twins have a Sioux spirit to tell them whenever I arrive home. Before Monty and I can finish our meal, the
twins, along with the children, have set upon us, each one wanting for my
unrestricted attention; the children wanting to play and the twins with a long
list of wants and complaints.
With two women, two small, active, children,
and no extra rooms, no need to order Monty to stay with mother.
Seems as if the
very few days I have been gone, I have not been gone at all.
For now, I just
want to rest, sleep in a soft bed, but not tonight, for Able and Abundant have
already made their plans for me, as if they were trading for beads, or
blankets, with Abundant becoming the winner of the trade. So I will give in to these young women and
their desires and do my duty as a husband, which means tonight it will be
Abundant and tomorrow it shall be Able.
One last entry into my journal; after eating,
Monty seemed to take great pleasure in telling the children a rather pleasant
story, something about a cat, a king and princess. Rather thrilled
the children it did. It
was as if Monty was quite familiar with children. Not knowing Monty’s past, I now speculate
Monty may have children.
Rather comical, so to speak, big burley
training Sergeant becomes a nanny.
February 13th 1915 the Great War P J
As Monty has
knowledge of my two wives, we visited mother, only to find Monty tilling
mother’s garden getting it ready for the spring, next month.
Hardcore strong as an ox, Sergeant Monty, war
veteran, no nonsense, kickass Monty;
children’s nanny, gardening fellow, who as I later found out
this very day is a great cook and will even cleanup and do the dishes.
As we decide to have a bit of brandy and a
cigar in the parlor, Monty brings to my attention that what I have observed of
him is not for discussion after we leave, and must never be spoken about, not
even amongst ourselves. He says this
with a glaring look that I believe would have killed weaker men. Then adds, is this understood sir? I agree but I am puzzled, was Monty joking or
did he really mean it?
February 14th 1915 the Great War P J
Today was a total surprise on me, for after
breakfast, the twins were really anxious to go to mother’s, and upon arriving,
the surprise was definitely upon me. There
was my whole family, at mother’s, to celebrate my birthday.
There was kickass Sergeant Monty with a hat,
yelling surprise and singing, looking very comical, and me, already knowing
never to speak of this ever again, not even among Monty and me, another
birthday treasure, which I will treasure till I die.
Another birthday, another year older, thirty
one and counting, leads me into a melancholy mood, which leads to thoughts of
this may be my last birthday, and why does this damn war even exist, even to
think I will just stay home. Let them place me in prison, at least I will be
alive; alive to celebrate another birthday.
Monty, Monty, your actions give me hope that
if you, a no nonsense action Sergeant, can do the things you have done in the
past couple of days then maybe there is hope that the war will end before I get
there.
February 16th 1915 the Great War P J
I am back at
training camp. Monty did confess this
story to me on our journey back to training base. “I had a wife and one child but lost them to
the sickness. After the 2nd
Boar War in 1902, being at the age of 24, I decided to settle down and marry. Grace was her name, the same as your own
sister in law. Gracie, a looker she was,
with her long flowing golden hair, skin so fair she had to watch the sun.
A year later she
gave me a son, Alastair Jr. He was, same as his mother, golden haired, and fair
skinned. It was after his first
birthday, we all came down with the fever. I was under, for what I believe was two weeks and,
when I did come around, the Lord had taken Gracie and Alastair. When people ask if I had ever been married, I
always reply, never, married to the Army, it is better than to explain my heart
break, it will not bring back Gracie or Alastair, sir.”
It was a silent
ride back to training base. My dear Sergeant
Monty, your secret is safe with me never to be spoken again.
February 17th 1915 the Great War P J
Training is such a
bore, same thing almost every day. Nothing
to write in my journal, hopefully, Able or Abundant will write as they are
always good for an entry.
February 21st 1915 the Great War P J
A letter from
Abundant, which surprises me as Able always does the writing. Able has really excelled in her writing and
reading, and now I must add school, university no less.
The letter is
short, but well put. The children are
well and almost more than Abundant can handle. Able is doing well in school.
Abundant, mother,
and sister all have become close, and have three p.m. tea together almost every
day.
Abundant misses
America, and Pine Ridge, but will persevere and continue to stay in England. This worries me, what will happen if she
desires to return to America? What of
our child, Anna? What if Abundant was to
return to America, to Pine Ridge? This
would be unacceptable; Anna could never fit in, besides she is not even full
blooded Sioux. This cannot happen, I
must never let this happen, and surely I will forbid Anna to travel to America.
As much as I love Abundant, and would
never want her to leave, I know if she wanted to return to America, I could not
stop her, but I can and will forbid Abundant from taking Anna with her.
I pray and hope that it will not come to this.
I wanted to receive a letter from Able so I
could have something interesting to enter into my journal, but instead I
received a letter from Abundant, with what may become a serious problem.
If this is what I
receive when I wish for a letter, then I hope that I may never receive another
letter.
February 25th 1915 the Great War P J
Another soldier,
William Cooper, has deserted. Damn, this
will not set well with the executives, no, not well at all.
No one knows why. Looking at his records, William was twenty
seven years old; he had been married but was separated from his wife for almost
a year, and had one child.
His wife’s home
will be the first place in which the authorities search.
I guess it may be
the time for a pep talk to the troops.
Another letter from
Abundant; she mainly writes about tea time with mother and sister, and that
sister is finally showing that she is with child.
All in all it is
quiet.
February 27th 1915 the Great War
Two days since William Cooper went over the
wall. Thank you William for all the
reports I must now do, thank you William for taking my personal time and,
lastly, thank you William for screwing up the training session for all men, as
now there is talk of no more home leaves.
I received yet
another letter from Abundant; more of tea time and such.
I also have a
letter from Able who paints a very different picture. Able writes that Abundant is clearly not well
and cries daily, as she is most homesick.
Able tells me Abundant
would like very much to visit me, but will not dare ask as I have made it clear
that she must stay at home. Maybe it is
time to make this possible for her.
Maybe I should have her move close to the base, even if for
only a few weeks, as this may prevent her from becoming home sick and leaving
for America and possibly take Anna.
March 1st 1915 the Great War
Not much time left;
by the end of the week Abundant will be here.
I must find a place for her to stay for two weeks, two weeks to convince
her to stay here in England and remove this nonsense about her returning to
America.
Hell, if Able is
satisfied, why can’t Abundant be satisfied?
I have only two weeks to change her mind about
being homesick. This will be really hard as I will only see her on Sundays.
Monty, a good man,
he will cover for me so I may meet Abundant at the train station.
March 5th 1915 the Great War
Today was very
stressful as I met Abundant at the train station while Monty was covering for
me. I was worried that our plan would be
uncovered. Bad form that the damn train
was over one hour late, and Abundant wanted for me to stay. Bad form the next two weeks will be.
Thankfully, I found
a place, Mrs. McGovern’s boarding house, which is close to the base, and is
owned by a very sweet elderly woman, a widow she is, who reminds me of my
mother, but with a true sadness about her. She lost her husband two years ago, and lost
her son, Stanley, to this damn war, last November.
I guess before this
bloody war is finished there will be a lot of mothers who will have broken
hearts.
March 6th 1915 the Great War
Today was trying
and awkward. Abundant thought she was
doing a nice thing, and I guess I must confess she was, but still very awkward.
Abundant thought
that it would not only be a nice thing, but a proper thing to bring myself and
Monty lunch. Yes, she brought us lunch.
We were called to
the front gate and as we arrived there were three executive officers, all with
smirks on their faces, and they were speaking with Abundant. My first thought was that they will all know I
have two wives. Surely I will be drummed
out of the army and possibly face charges.
Without speaking, my look at Abundant said it all, she quickly turned
and left.
The executive officers never said a word as I took the lunch
basket and left.
Monty and I did
enjoy the lunch, and did get a laugh about this ordeal. Monty sealed a good story just in case
Abundant said anything to the effect that she was married to me. The story was rather good; Abundant, Able’s
twin sister, has always liked me and has always thought of herself as being
married to me. She came for a visit
without my knowledge.
I guess Abundant
believes I am angry at her, but I am not. Monty will cover for me tonight so that I may
have a visit with her, as to assure her that all is fine, but that she must not
do this again.
Update: When I arrived at Mrs. McGovern’s boarding
house, Abundant was packed and ready to leave as she thought that I was angry
with her. After fifteen minutes of
convincing her that I was not, she was like a child at Christmas, although it
took me an hour to convince her that I must return to base, but that I would
return tomorrow.
This is just the
first day of two weeks.
March 7th 1915 the Great War
Sunday night I sit
by the fire, my cup of tea in hand, of course, Abundant sitting close by.
The children are in bed and the only person missing is Able.
A distant storm, I
believe in the direction of London rumbles, which gives a rather pleasant night
light show. This is nice, calming, and
soothing. Maybe I should consider having
Abundant come for a visit once a month, once a month? Next month this time, we will be graduating. Damn, time is getting short. I wonder if they allow wives at the
front.
March 10th 1915 the Great War
As I write this, I
am now in the field once more for more bloody training. No notice, so the best I could do was to send
a note to Abundant explaining to her my whereabouts. At this point, I am not sure what she will do
or even if she is still staying at Mrs. McGovern’s boarding house. It would not surprise me if she was on a ship
back to America.
Well, at least the
men are spot on with their training, spot on.
The men are ready to take command and go forward into battle. Hopefully, this session of field training will
end shortly.
March 11th 1915 the Great War
The executives are
impressed with the way this field training is going. They even state that this group of leaders is
now ready to take command, now ready to go forward and kick the Kaiser’s ass. Hopefully, this field training will be done
soon; like now, as I wonder what has become of Abundant. Not knowing, is she here or has she left for
America?
Damn, I wish that
this field training mission would end, how much more can we learn? How much more can the men improve? Damn, this whole thing is crap, and with not
knowing what has become of Abundant, it is double crap.
March 12th 1915 the Great War
Field training is over;
field training is over, damn good! The
executives say that we can now go forward and kick the Kaiser’s ass. As they put it, we are ready for anything; we
are ready to go into battle.
As a reward, we are
given a three day pass, and as an extra reward no more field training. Now it
will be all classroom training with a three day pass every other week.
Now I will find out
what has become of Abundant; now for the moment of truth.
Update: As I entered Mrs. McGovern’s boarding house, I
expected Mrs. McGovern to say that Abundant left but, with luck, Abundant
remained and, hopefully, she will remain.
With a three day pass, every other weekend, it
may be possible that Abundant will now forget this nonsense about going back to
America, back to Pine Ridge.
March 15th 1915 the Great War
Our three day pass
is over. Back to training; well at least
there will be no more field training. Now it will be classroom work, battle theories,
till the last bloody day of training. Then
it will be forward into battle to meet the damn Kaiser’s war machine.
Not sure I will
have any entries as it would be rather boring.
Hopefully, Abundant and Able will fill the
void.
Speaking of filling
the void, it came as a bit of a shock when Abundant told me she had not had her
time of the month since December. December! Damn, my bloody home leave at Christmas, damn.
I told her to go to the doctor when she
returned home and let me know for sure. Not
having her time of the month since December, bad timing. Abundant must be with child, and if Abundant
is with child, then Able must also be with child. Now I must wait to see what the doctor has to
say.
Bad form, bad timing.
March 19th 1915 the Great War.
Not much to write
in my journal. It is boring class work
each and every bloody day.
It is time to send Abundant home, meaning back
to Ipswhich, and not back to America. I
must know if Abundant is with child, is Able with child? If I were a betting man, I would place my
money on the fact that both are with child.
Not that I desire not to have more children, it is because shortly I
will be off to war. What if I die in
battle? What will become of my children? So many bad things happen during war, so many
soldiers affected, so many families affected.
March 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I sent Abundant home. I must say I almost changed my mind, the way
that Abundant looked at me; you might have thought I was sending her to the
gallows.
Soon I will know if
Abundant and Able are with child.
The finish line for
this damn training, for this boring class work, is almost complete.
Now I will wait for my answer, is Abundant
with child? Is Able with child?
Tick tock, tick,
tock.
March 30th 1915 the Great War
It has been a while
since I last had an entry into my journal.
Things are rather
boring; training, it is still the same as my last entry.
At this point, I
believe they should give us our commissions and send us forward to meet the
Kaiser’s army.
How I wish it was
this boring at home. Oh how I wish it
was.
Abundant is with child, on the bright side,
Able is not. Not to stop there, Able has
written to let me know that Abundant still has a longing to return to Pine
Ridge.
What to do? I will go against what I believe I should do
and, once more, send for Abundant. I will have her stay with me until
graduation.
April 1st 1915 the Great War
Today is what I
call ‘birthday day’ for it is not only the twins’ birthday, but also our
children’s birthday. I hope my gifts
will arrive today.
Paper, a fine
quality pen and ink, along with a note book for Able. For Abundant a finely hand crafted wooden
musical box.
For the children, a red haired dolly for daughter,
Anna, as her love for red haired dollies is to the point that it is comical. For Thomas Jr., a fine wooden truck, his
collection of wooden toys for his age is most likely tops in all of
Britain.
As years go by, as
the war continues……..
April 3rd 1915 the Great War.
Bored and boring;
so as not to bore the reader I will no longer place more entries into my
journal until I am off to war.
April 8th 1915 the Great War.
I am writing this
as today was not boring, not boring at all.
Abundant decided
not only to come, as I had instructed her, but also had talked Able into
accompanying her, bloody Hell; Abundant, Able, Thomas Jr. and Anna.
Thankfully,
Abundant had the great sense to tell Mrs. McGovern that Able was her sister.
I can imagine how that would have gone over with the army’s
powers to be if it were known I had two wives. Straight to the front it would have been, and
as a private to boot.
With things winding
down in training, I asked for and received a four day pass for all men.
Should be
interesting how Able reacts to playing a sister and not a wife.
April 9th 1915 the Great War
Friday night and Able is away at school and
the children are running amuck.
Only one week to go
before we graduate and finally get on with fighting this war.
Am I scared? Yes. Am
I afraid of dying? Yes, but I must go into battle for God and country to defeat
this evilness, this blatant hurt against humanity, even if it means my death. I hope and pray I will not have died in vain.
Now all is quiet,
the children are in their beds for the night. Abundant is knitting, and a fine knitter she
is, and I am writing in my journal.
I wonder what kind
of entries I will have come two weeks from this date? I wonder what horror I will have seen.
Maybe in six months
the war will end and I will once more be home. Maybe with luck the war will come to an end by
next week and we will be sent home.
In some twisted way,
I long to see war, to feel battle, to know what many other men have felt.
I know for as long
as there are men, there will be war.
April 15th 1915 the Great War
A day before we
graduate then one week at home, then we will receive our orders and off to war
it will be.
A most surprising
event; my whole family has traveled to be at my graduation.
Mrs. McGovern did
not have enough space for my whole family; luckily, her sister owns one of the
other boarding houses in the town.
Mother could not be
prouder, as is my sister, Mary. Brothers,
Albert and John are, as always, offering up their jokes about me, but it is
with brotherly love.
Tomorrow is
graduation then the clock will begin ticking down and, by next week this time,
I will be saying my goodbyes and begin a new chapter in my journal.
My gut feeling; it
will be called blood, guts and the horrors of war.
April 16th 1915 the Great War
Today was
graduation day and with all the pomp and circumstance.
All of the men were
fit and outstanding looking. A no more
proud commander there ever was. This
group, what I shall always call my group of men, was the most outstanding group
to have graduated as of this date.
After graduation,
the executives questioned me about staying on and being in charge of the next
training group, and as much as I would have wanted to stay on the home front, I
have decided to go forth into battle.
Promoted to the
rank of Capitan, I have chosen Cheese as my second in command and, of course,
my Sergeant in charge is Monty, for when it comes to real battle conditions
Monty is the man to go to.
Our unit will be
part of the third division, II corps.
We will meet the
men on the 24th of April and train for one week before being tested
by fire.
May God watch over
us all…..
April 18th 1915 the Great War
Home leave is never
quiet, never dull, too much drama, too many comings and goings.
Abundant, with
child, is showing and it seems to have changed her as she is becoming much more
assertive.
At this time, I
believe if she wants to return to Pine Ridge I will not be able to stop her. Now is the time I must rely on Able, she must
convince Abundant to stay here.
Each day I try to
take in all that I can of home and my family as very shortly I will be somewhere
far from home.
April 22nd 1915 the Great War
The war, the news, the
bad news; for the first time in the war, the Germans fire shells filled with
chlorine gas, which causes the French line to collapse.
The Kaiser’s war
machine marches forward. Now it will be up to us Brits to stop it. With the introduction of this new weapon of
war, there can be only one outcome, more deaths.
April 24th 1915 the Great War
Today we have met
the men, they seem like good, Godly, and sound men.
It will be one week
of training and then straight forward to meet the damn Kaiser’s army.
May 3rd 1915 the Great War
One week of
training; the lies we believe in but it seems there will be much more training
before we meet the Kaiser’s army.
We are assigned to
the 6th service battalion.
As far as the men, they are a great unit, which will be so
valuable in battle.
May 9th 1915 the Great War
First the Germans use gas in battle and now
they go after, and sink, a passage ship with innocent children, women and men
on board.
Those bastards, what the hell are they thinking?
They sank a passenger ship, the RMS Lusitania. What the bloody
hell, what have those bastards done? They
have not only broken humanity’s law, thou shall not kill, but they have also
broken just about every international law of decency.
Damn war criminal
that Kaiser is, and when we finally end this damn war, then a good, sound and
Godly noose around the Kaiser’s neck it will be.
May 11th 1915 the Great War
A bit of very sad
news, Abundant has lost our child, which was a boy.
A family leave must be considered, or maybe I
must send for Abundant.
Able writes and
states that Abundant now wants more than ever to return to Pine Ridge as she
feels this is a sign, a warning that the Great Spirit is not happy with her for
living the white man’s way.
I must find a place
for her to stay and a care taker for her and our child, Anna. Being stationed in Hull, which is a major port
in the war effort, it will be a challenge finding a place and a nanny. This is a must do thing, for I fear Abundant
is longing for Pine Ridge and may leave with our daughter Anna.
May 12th 1915 the Great War
With luck, I have found a rather nice place,
quaint it is; peaceful, and may help with the nonsense of Abundant wanting to
return to Pine Ridge.
Mrs. Marwick is a
lovely, caring person, who runs a clean and tidy place. With her attentive and caring sister, Mrs.
Ashdown, as our nanny, I believe Pine Ridge will become more distant with each
passing day.
Since this is so
important, a letter will not do so I have decided to send a telegraph post, informing
Abundant of my decision.
Able Acorn will
assist me and, when she is fit to travel, Abundant and my daughter will be
under the best care of Mrs. Marwick and Mrs. Ashdown.
As far as the war
goes, it is still training and more damn training, bloody training which, I
believe, will eventually get the better of me.
My head will explode.
May 16th 1915 the Great War
Long time coming,
this telepost, but as I read it became clear as to why. Sister Mary has given birth to another fine
baby boy, named James Edward. God bless
you Mary, God bless you James Edward, a gift is in order.
Able writes that
Abundant is doing better, and that she should be able to travel to Hull on the 18th
of May.
Able is so worried
that Abundant has a strong will to return to Pine Ridge, she feels it may only be
a matter of time before she does so. I must convince Abundant that she should
abandon this very thought.
As of yesterday,
the unit is now assigned to the 19th Western division.
May 18th 1915 the Great War
The last train from
London arrived with no Abundant, no Anna, no Able, and no Thomas Jr. Could it be that Abundant has left for Pine
Ridge? I hope not.
Maybe too much time
has passed; maybe I have not tried hard enough to keep Abundant close, and with
much sadness, maybe I should have never married her.
If Abundant has
returned to Pine Ridge, I must accept it, but how could I ever accept it,
knowing that my daughter will be living in the conditions that are present at
Pine Ridge.
So now I end my day
in a great depression.
May 19th 1915 the Great War
Glad today is
finished, very glad. It started out with
me wondering where Abundant was, and ended with my whole family here in Hull.
Abundant, Anna,
Able and Thomas Jr. have arrived. Seems
there was a missed train and that is why the family did not arrive yesterday.
Abundant seems
distant, I must work diligently to convince her to stay in England.
Anna is like any
other normal little girl, looks like Abundant, she does. Come fifteen years, I will have to be the
bully dad when the young men start to call on Anna to date.
Able is all about
school, and achieving great things, she is even considering penning a book.
Thomas, what a
handful! As Anna is most still, quiet,
and very pleasant, Thomas is loud, always moving. Most of the time, he wants for things to be
his way, a never ending battle of this now two year old.
May 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I have placed
Thomas Jr. and Able, or as I will now call her and write her name, Okihi Uta,
which is Lakota for Able Acorn, on the train returning home.
As Able, I mean Okihi Uta, told me, her
Lakota, Sioux heritage is her life, and is one of the most important things in
her life, this I will respect.
After a very busy
but pleasant visit from Okihi Uta and Thomas Jr., it is now down with the
business of caring for Abundant. With
tenderness and much love, I will, I must convince Abundant to remain in
England.
May 23rd 1915 the Great War
Abundant told me
today that she loves me a great deal, and will always love me until her dying
breath, and that there would never be anyone else, but she feels it is time for
her to return to Pine Ridge, she feels the Great Spirit wants for her to
return.
When I asked about
Anna, her reply was that she would take Anna to Pine Ridge until she is five
then she will send Anna back to me for her formal education, as Abundant
realizes a formal education is so important for Anna.
This is certainly
heart breaking. When I suggest I may
refuse Anna to leave, Abundant tells me she has already spoken to Okihi Uta,
and mother, and even though their hearts will break, they are firmly behind
whatever decision she comes to.
A dark time, and
with me going off to war, only God knows where I will be soon, I guess I must
accept Abundant’s heart breaking decision.
May 26th 1915 the Great War
It has now been one
week since Abundant has been staying with Mrs. Marwick, and under the very good
care of Mrs. Ashdown. Abundant has her
mind made up and she still wants to return to Pine Ridge.
I have made one
last stand and have written to Mapiya.
May 26th 1915
To my good friend Mapiva,
I write to you, my
friend, as I do from time to time, but this time it is not about how my family
has grown or about how well Okihi Uta, now wanting to be known by her Lakota,
Sioux name, is doing. She has become
quite a celebrity at the University of Leeds.
I only wish this
letter would have me bragging about Okihi Uta, but it is not, this letter is
about Abundant Cloud, and sadly I state that, at this time, she wants more than
ever to return to Pine Ridge.
I cannot say how
much my heart breaks, knowing very soon she will leave, taking Anna with her. I fear Anna is too young and would never fit
in at Pine Ridge.
Please, my good friend, Mapiva, I plead for
you to see my dilemma, my heartbreak. Please
reply with reason to Abundant Cloud.
I have enclosed
some aero post stamps as time is of the essence.
Your good friend and Sioux brother,
James
May my good friend,
Mapiya, be the voice of reason for Abundant not to return to Pine Ridge.
As far as the war,
it is still training, which I believe we could all do in our sleep.
Little sleep
tonight as I am overdue on writing a letter to mother.
May 29th 1915 the Great War
I have lost
Abundant, for today she has told me, and with no doubt, by next week she and
Anna will be leaving for Pine Ridge.
Since my letter to
Mapiva will not arrive at Pine Ridge until somewhere around the end of June, it
was a feeble attempt, a heart breaking feeble attempt to keeping Abundant here.
If Abundant leaves
next week, that would place her and sweet Anna at Pine Ridge somewhere around the
25th of June.
I should have just
given the letter I wrote to Mapiva, to Abundant to hand deliver.
Chin up, stiff
upper lip and all that bullshit.
May 11th 1915 the Great War
A bit of very sad
news, Abundant has lost our child, which was a boy.
A family leave must be considered, or maybe I
must send for Abundant.
Able writes and
states that Abundant now wants more than ever to return to Pine Ridge as she
feels this is a sign, a warning that the Great Spirit is not happy with her for
living the white man’s way.
I must find a place
for her to stay and a care taker for her and our child, Anna. Being stationed in Hull, which is a major port
in the war effort, it will be a challenge finding a place and a nanny. This is a must do thing, for I fear Abundant
is longing for Pine Ridge and may leave with our daughter Anna.
May 12th 1915 the Great War
With luck, I have found a rather nice place,
quaint it is; peaceful, and may help with the nonsense of Abundant wanting to
return to Pine Ridge.
Mrs. Marwick is a
lovely, caring person, who runs a clean and tidy place. With her attentive and caring sister, Mrs.
Ashdown, as our nanny, I believe Pine Ridge will become more distant with each
passing day.
Since this is so
important, a letter will not do so I have decided to send a telegraph post, informing
Abundant of my decision.
Able Acorn will
assist me and, when she is fit to travel, Abundant and my daughter will be
under the best care of Mrs. Marwick and Mrs. Ashdown.
As far as the war
goes, it is still training and more damn training, bloody training which, I
believe, will eventually get the better of me.
My head will explode.
May 16th 1915 the Great War
Long time coming,
this telepost, but as I read it became clear as to why. Sister Mary has given birth to another fine
baby boy, named James Edward. God bless
you Mary, God bless you James Edward, a gift is in order.
Able writes that
Abundant is doing better, and that she should be able to travel to Hull on the 18th
of May.
Able is so worried
that Abundant has a strong will to return to Pine Ridge, she feels it may only be
a matter of time before she does so. I must convince Abundant that she should
abandon this very thought.
As of yesterday,
the unit is now assigned to the 19th Western division.
May 18th 1915 the Great War
The last train from
London arrived with no Abundant, no Anna, no Able, and no Thomas Jr. Could it be that Abundant has left for Pine
Ridge? I hope not.
Maybe too much time
has passed; maybe I have not tried hard enough to keep Abundant close, and with
much sadness, maybe I should have never married her.
If Abundant has
returned to Pine Ridge, I must accept it, but how could I ever accept it,
knowing that my daughter will be living in the conditions that are present at
Pine Ridge.
So now I end my day
in a great depression.
May 19th 1915 the Great War
Glad today is
finished, very glad. It started out with
me wondering where Abundant was, and ended with my whole family here in Hull.
Abundant, Anna,
Able and Thomas Jr. have arrived. Seems
there was a missed train and that is why the family did not arrive yesterday.
Abundant seems
distant, I must work diligently to convince her to stay in England.
Anna is like any
other normal little girl, looks like Abundant, she does. Come fifteen years, I will have to be the
bully dad when the young men start to call on Anna to date.
Able is all about
school, and achieving great things, she is even considering penning a book.
Thomas, what a
handful! As Anna is most still, quiet,
and very pleasant, Thomas is loud, always moving. Most of the time, he wants for things to be
his way, a never ending battle of this now two year old.
May 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I have placed
Thomas Jr. and Able, or as I will now call her and write her name, Okihi Uta,
which is Lakota for Able Acorn, on the train returning home.
As Able, I mean Okihi Uta, told me, her
Lakota, Sioux heritage is her life, and is one of the most important things in
her life, this I will respect.
After a very busy
but pleasant visit from Okihi Uta and Thomas Jr., it is now down with the
business of caring for Abundant. With
tenderness and much love, I will, I must convince Abundant to remain in
England.
May 23rd 1915 the Great War
Abundant told me
today that she loves me a great deal, and will always love me until her dying
breath, and that there would never be anyone else, but she feels it is time for
her to return to Pine Ridge, she feels the Great Spirit wants for her to
return.
When I asked about
Anna, her reply was that she would take Anna to Pine Ridge until she is five
then she will send Anna back to me for her formal education, as Abundant
realizes a formal education is so important for Anna.
This is certainly
heart breaking. When I suggest I may
refuse Anna to leave, Abundant tells me she has already spoken to Okihi Uta,
and mother, and even though their hearts will break, they are firmly behind
whatever decision she comes to.
A dark time, and
with me going off to war, only God knows where I will be soon, I guess I must
accept Abundant’s heart breaking decision.
May 26th 1915 the Great War
It has now been one
week since Abundant has been staying with Mrs. Marwick, and under the very good
care of Mrs. Ashdown. Abundant has her
mind made up and she still wants to return to Pine Ridge.
I have made one
last stand and have written to Mapiya.
May 26th 1915
To my good friend Mapiva,
I write to you, my
friend, as I do from time to time, but this time it is not about how my family
has grown or about how well Okihi Uta, now wanting to be known by her Lakota,
Sioux name, is doing. She has become
quite a celebrity at the University of Leeds.
I only wish this
letter would have me bragging about Okihi Uta, but it is not, this letter is
about Abundant Cloud, and sadly I state that, at this time, she wants more than
ever to return to Pine Ridge.
I cannot say how
much my heart breaks, knowing very soon she will leave, taking Anna with her. I fear Anna is too young and would never fit
in at Pine Ridge.
Please, my good friend, Mapiva, I plead for
you to see my dilemma, my heartbreak. Please
reply with reason to Abundant Cloud.
I have enclosed
some aero post stamps as time is of the essence.
Your good friend and Sioux brother,
James
May my good friend,
Mapiya, be the voice of reason for Abundant not to return to Pine Ridge.
As far as the war,
it is still training, which I believe we could all do in our sleep.
Little sleep
tonight as I am overdue on writing a letter to mother.
May 29th 1915 the Great War
I have lost
Abundant, for today she has told me, and with no doubt, by next week she and
Anna will be leaving for Pine Ridge.
Since my letter to
Mapiva will not arrive at Pine Ridge until somewhere around the end of June, it
was a feeble attempt, a heart breaking feeble attempt to keeping Abundant here.
If Abundant leaves
next week, that would place her and sweet Anna at Pine Ridge somewhere around the
25th of June.
I should have just
given the letter I wrote to Mapiva, to Abundant to hand deliver.
Chin up, stiff
upper lip and all that bullshit.
May 11th 1915 the Great War
A bit of very sad
news, Abundant has lost our child, which was a boy.
A family leave must be considered, or maybe I
must send for Abundant.
Able writes and
states that Abundant now wants more than ever to return to Pine Ridge as she
feels this is a sign, a warning that the Great Spirit is not happy with her for
living the white man’s way.
I must find a place
for her to stay and a care taker for her and our child, Anna. Being stationed in Hull, which is a major port
in the war effort, it will be a challenge finding a place and a nanny. This is a must do thing, for I fear Abundant
is longing for Pine Ridge and may leave with our daughter Anna.
May 12th 1915 the Great War
With luck, I have found a rather nice place,
quaint it is; peaceful, and may help with the nonsense of Abundant wanting to
return to Pine Ridge.
Mrs. Marwick is a
lovely, caring person, who runs a clean and tidy place. With her attentive and caring sister, Mrs.
Ashdown, as our nanny, I believe Pine Ridge will become more distant with each
passing day.
Since this is so
important, a letter will not do so I have decided to send a telegraph post, informing
Abundant of my decision.
Able Acorn will
assist me and, when she is fit to travel, Abundant and my daughter will be
under the best care of Mrs. Marwick and Mrs. Ashdown.
As far as the war
goes, it is still training and more damn training, bloody training which, I
believe, will eventually get the better of me.
My head will explode.
May 16th 1915 the Great War
Long time coming,
this telepost, but as I read it became clear as to why. Sister Mary has given birth to another fine
baby boy, named James Edward. God bless
you Mary, God bless you James Edward, a gift is in order.
Able writes that
Abundant is doing better, and that she should be able to travel to Hull on the 18th
of May.
Able is so worried
that Abundant has a strong will to return to Pine Ridge, she feels it may only be
a matter of time before she does so. I must convince Abundant that she should
abandon this very thought.
As of yesterday,
the unit is now assigned to the 19th Western division.
May 18th 1915 the Great War
The last train from
London arrived with no Abundant, no Anna, no Able, and no Thomas Jr. Could it be that Abundant has left for Pine
Ridge? I hope not.
Maybe too much time
has passed; maybe I have not tried hard enough to keep Abundant close, and with
much sadness, maybe I should have never married her.
If Abundant has
returned to Pine Ridge, I must accept it, but how could I ever accept it,
knowing that my daughter will be living in the conditions that are present at
Pine Ridge.
So now I end my day
in a great depression.
May 19th 1915 the Great War
Glad today is
finished, very glad. It started out with
me wondering where Abundant was, and ended with my whole family here in Hull.
Abundant, Anna,
Able and Thomas Jr. have arrived. Seems
there was a missed train and that is why the family did not arrive yesterday.
Abundant seems
distant, I must work diligently to convince her to stay in England.
Anna is like any
other normal little girl, looks like Abundant, she does. Come fifteen years, I will have to be the
bully dad when the young men start to call on Anna to date.
Able is all about
school, and achieving great things, she is even considering penning a book.
Thomas, what a
handful! As Anna is most still, quiet,
and very pleasant, Thomas is loud, always moving. Most of the time, he wants for things to be
his way, a never ending battle of this now two year old.
May 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I have placed
Thomas Jr. and Able, or as I will now call her and write her name, Okihi Uta,
which is Lakota for Able Acorn, on the train returning home.
As Able, I mean Okihi Uta, told me, her
Lakota, Sioux heritage is her life, and is one of the most important things in
her life, this I will respect.
After a very busy
but pleasant visit from Okihi Uta and Thomas Jr., it is now down with the
business of caring for Abundant. With
tenderness and much love, I will, I must convince Abundant to remain in
England.
May 23rd 1915 the Great War
Abundant told me
today that she loves me a great deal, and will always love me until her dying
breath, and that there would never be anyone else, but she feels it is time for
her to return to Pine Ridge, she feels the Great Spirit wants for her to
return.
When I asked about
Anna, her reply was that she would take Anna to Pine Ridge until she is five
then she will send Anna back to me for her formal education, as Abundant
realizes a formal education is so important for Anna.
This is certainly
heart breaking. When I suggest I may
refuse Anna to leave, Abundant tells me she has already spoken to Okihi Uta,
and mother, and even though their hearts will break, they are firmly behind
whatever decision she comes to.
A dark time, and
with me going off to war, only God knows where I will be soon, I guess I must
accept Abundant’s heart breaking decision.
May 26th 1915 the Great War
It has now been one
week since Abundant has been staying with Mrs. Marwick, and under the very good
care of Mrs. Ashdown. Abundant has her
mind made up and she still wants to return to Pine Ridge.
I have made one
last stand and have written to Mapiya.
May 26th 1915
To my good friend Mapiva,
I write to you, my
friend, as I do from time to time, but this time it is not about how my family
has grown or about how well Okihi Uta, now wanting to be known by her Lakota,
Sioux name, is doing. She has become
quite a celebrity at the University of Leeds.
I only wish this
letter would have me bragging about Okihi Uta, but it is not, this letter is
about Abundant Cloud, and sadly I state that, at this time, she wants more than
ever to return to Pine Ridge.
I cannot say how
much my heart breaks, knowing very soon she will leave, taking Anna with her. I fear Anna is too young and would never fit
in at Pine Ridge.
Please, my good friend, Mapiva, I plead for
you to see my dilemma, my heartbreak. Please
reply with reason to Abundant Cloud.
I have enclosed
some aero post stamps as time is of the essence.
Your good friend and Sioux brother,
James
May my good friend,
Mapiya, be the voice of reason for Abundant not to return to Pine Ridge.
As far as the war,
it is still training, which I believe we could all do in our sleep.
Little sleep
tonight as I am overdue on writing a letter to mother.
May 29th 1915 the Great War
I have lost
Abundant, for today she has told me, and with no doubt, by next week she and
Anna will be leaving for Pine Ridge.
Since my letter to
Mapiva will not arrive at Pine Ridge until somewhere around the end of June, it
was a feeble attempt, a heart breaking feeble attempt to keeping Abundant here.
If Abundant leaves
next week, that would place her and sweet Anna at Pine Ridge somewhere around the
25th of June.
I should have just
given the letter I wrote to Mapiva, to Abundant to hand deliver.
Chin up, stiff
upper lip and all that bullshit.
May 11th 1915 the Great War
A bit of very sad
news, Abundant has lost our child, which was a boy.
A family leave must be considered, or maybe I
must send for Abundant.
Able writes and
states that Abundant now wants more than ever to return to Pine Ridge as she
feels this is a sign, a warning that the Great Spirit is not happy with her for
living the white man’s way.
I must find a place
for her to stay and a care taker for her and our child, Anna. Being stationed in Hull, which is a major port
in the war effort, it will be a challenge finding a place and a nanny. This is a must do thing, for I fear Abundant
is longing for Pine Ridge and may leave with our daughter Anna.
May 12th 1915 the Great War
With luck, I have found a rather nice place,
quaint it is; peaceful, and may help with the nonsense of Abundant wanting to
return to Pine Ridge.
Mrs. Marwick is a
lovely, caring person, who runs a clean and tidy place. With her attentive and caring sister, Mrs.
Ashdown, as our nanny, I believe Pine Ridge will become more distant with each
passing day.
Since this is so
important, a letter will not do so I have decided to send a telegraph post, informing
Abundant of my decision.
Able Acorn will
assist me and, when she is fit to travel, Abundant and my daughter will be
under the best care of Mrs. Marwick and Mrs. Ashdown.
As far as the war
goes, it is still training and more damn training, bloody training which, I
believe, will eventually get the better of me.
My head will explode.
May 16th 1915 the Great War
Long time coming,
this telepost, but as I read it became clear as to why. Sister Mary has given birth to another fine
baby boy, named James Edward. God bless
you Mary, God bless you James Edward, a gift is in order.
Able writes that
Abundant is doing better, and that she should be able to travel to Hull on the 18th
of May.
Able is so worried
that Abundant has a strong will to return to Pine Ridge, she feels it may only be
a matter of time before she does so. I must convince Abundant that she should
abandon this very thought.
As of yesterday,
the unit is now assigned to the 19th Western division.
May 18th 1915 the Great War
The last train from
London arrived with no Abundant, no Anna, no Able, and no Thomas Jr. Could it be that Abundant has left for Pine
Ridge? I hope not.
Maybe too much time
has passed; maybe I have not tried hard enough to keep Abundant close, and with
much sadness, maybe I should have never married her.
If Abundant has
returned to Pine Ridge, I must accept it, but how could I ever accept it,
knowing that my daughter will be living in the conditions that are present at
Pine Ridge.
So now I end my day
in a great depression.
May 19th 1915 the Great War
Glad today is
finished, very glad. It started out with
me wondering where Abundant was, and ended with my whole family here in Hull.
Abundant, Anna,
Able and Thomas Jr. have arrived. Seems
there was a missed train and that is why the family did not arrive yesterday.
Abundant seems
distant, I must work diligently to convince her to stay in England.
Anna is like any
other normal little girl, looks like Abundant, she does. Come fifteen years, I will have to be the
bully dad when the young men start to call on Anna to date.
Able is all about
school, and achieving great things, she is even considering penning a book.
Thomas, what a
handful! As Anna is most still, quiet,
and very pleasant, Thomas is loud, always moving. Most of the time, he wants for things to be
his way, a never ending battle of this now two year old.
May 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I have placed
Thomas Jr. and Able, or as I will now call her and write her name, Okihi Uta,
which is Lakota for Able Acorn, on the train returning home.
As Able, I mean Okihi Uta, told me, her
Lakota, Sioux heritage is her life, and is one of the most important things in
her life, this I will respect.
After a very busy
but pleasant visit from Okihi Uta and Thomas Jr., it is now down with the
business of caring for Abundant. With
tenderness and much love, I will, I must convince Abundant to remain in
England.
May 23rd 1915 the Great War
Abundant told me
today that she loves me a great deal, and will always love me until her dying
breath, and that there would never be anyone else, but she feels it is time for
her to return to Pine Ridge, she feels the Great Spirit wants for her to
return.
When I asked about
Anna, her reply was that she would take Anna to Pine Ridge until she is five
then she will send Anna back to me for her formal education, as Abundant
realizes a formal education is so important for Anna.
This is certainly
heart breaking. When I suggest I may
refuse Anna to leave, Abundant tells me she has already spoken to Okihi Uta,
and mother, and even though their hearts will break, they are firmly behind
whatever decision she comes to.
A dark time, and
with me going off to war, only God knows where I will be soon, I guess I must
accept Abundant’s heart breaking decision.
May 26th 1915 the Great War
It has now been one
week since Abundant has been staying with Mrs. Marwick, and under the very good
care of Mrs. Ashdown. Abundant has her
mind made up and she still wants to return to Pine Ridge.
I have made one
last stand and have written to Mapiya.
May 26th 1915
To my good friend Mapiva,
I write to you, my
friend, as I do from time to time, but this time it is not about how my family
has grown or about how well Okihi Uta, now wanting to be known by her Lakota,
Sioux name, is doing. She has become
quite a celebrity at the University of Leeds.
I only wish this
letter would have me bragging about Okihi Uta, but it is not, this letter is
about Abundant Cloud, and sadly I state that, at this time, she wants more than
ever to return to Pine Ridge.
I cannot say how
much my heart breaks, knowing very soon she will leave, taking Anna with her. I fear Anna is too young and would never fit
in at Pine Ridge.
Please, my good friend, Mapiva, I plead for
you to see my dilemma, my heartbreak. Please
reply with reason to Abundant Cloud.
I have enclosed
some aero post stamps as time is of the essence.
Your good friend and Sioux brother,
James
May my good friend,
Mapiya, be the voice of reason for Abundant not to return to Pine Ridge.
As far as the war,
it is still training, which I believe we could all do in our sleep.
Little sleep
tonight as I am overdue on writing a letter to mother.
May 29th 1915 the Great War
I have lost
Abundant, for today she has told me, and with no doubt, by next week she and
Anna will be leaving for Pine Ridge.
Since my letter to
Mapiva will not arrive at Pine Ridge until somewhere around the end of June, it
was a feeble attempt, a heart breaking feeble attempt to keeping Abundant here.
If Abundant leaves
next week, that would place her and sweet Anna at Pine Ridge somewhere around the
25th of June.
I should have just
given the letter I wrote to Mapiva, to Abundant to hand deliver.
Chin up, stiff
upper lip and all that bullshit.
May 11th 1915 the Great War
A bit of very sad
news, Abundant has lost our child, which was a boy.
A family leave must be considered, or maybe I
must send for Abundant.
Able writes and
states that Abundant now wants more than ever to return to Pine Ridge as she
feels this is a sign, a warning that the Great Spirit is not happy with her for
living the white man’s way.
I must find a place
for her to stay and a care taker for her and our child, Anna. Being stationed in Hull, which is a major port
in the war effort, it will be a challenge finding a place and a nanny. This is a must do thing, for I fear Abundant
is longing for Pine Ridge and may leave with our daughter Anna.
May 12th 1915 the Great War
With luck, I have found a rather nice place,
quaint it is; peaceful, and may help with the nonsense of Abundant wanting to
return to Pine Ridge.
Mrs. Marwick is a
lovely, caring person, who runs a clean and tidy place. With her attentive and caring sister, Mrs.
Ashdown, as our nanny, I believe Pine Ridge will become more distant with each
passing day.
Since this is so
important, a letter will not do so I have decided to send a telegraph post, informing
Abundant of my decision.
Able Acorn will
assist me and, when she is fit to travel, Abundant and my daughter will be
under the best care of Mrs. Marwick and Mrs. Ashdown.
As far as the war
goes, it is still training and more damn training, bloody training which, I
believe, will eventually get the better of me.
My head will explode.
May 16th 1915 the Great War
Long time coming,
this telepost, but as I read it became clear as to why. Sister Mary has given birth to another fine
baby boy, named James Edward. God bless
you Mary, God bless you James Edward, a gift is in order.
Able writes that
Abundant is doing better, and that she should be able to travel to Hull on the 18th
of May.
Able is so worried
that Abundant has a strong will to return to Pine Ridge, she feels it may only be
a matter of time before she does so. I must convince Abundant that she should
abandon this very thought.
As of yesterday,
the unit is now assigned to the 19th Western division.
May 18th 1915 the Great War
The last train from
London arrived with no Abundant, no Anna, no Able, and no Thomas Jr. Could it be that Abundant has left for Pine
Ridge? I hope not.
Maybe too much time
has passed; maybe I have not tried hard enough to keep Abundant close, and with
much sadness, maybe I should have never married her.
If Abundant has
returned to Pine Ridge, I must accept it, but how could I ever accept it,
knowing that my daughter will be living in the conditions that are present at
Pine Ridge.
So now I end my day
in a great depression.
May 19th 1915 the Great War
Glad today is
finished, very glad. It started out with
me wondering where Abundant was, and ended with my whole family here in Hull.
Abundant, Anna,
Able and Thomas Jr. have arrived. Seems
there was a missed train and that is why the family did not arrive yesterday.
Abundant seems
distant, I must work diligently to convince her to stay in England.
Anna is like any
other normal little girl, looks like Abundant, she does. Come fifteen years, I will have to be the
bully dad when the young men start to call on Anna to date.
Able is all about
school, and achieving great things, she is even considering penning a book.
Thomas, what a
handful! As Anna is most still, quiet,
and very pleasant, Thomas is loud, always moving. Most of the time, he wants for things to be
his way, a never ending battle of this now two year old.
May 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I have placed
Thomas Jr. and Able, or as I will now call her and write her name, Okihi Uta,
which is Lakota for Able Acorn, on the train returning home.
As Able, I mean Okihi Uta, told me, her
Lakota, Sioux heritage is her life, and is one of the most important things in
her life, this I will respect.
After a very busy
but pleasant visit from Okihi Uta and Thomas Jr., it is now down with the
business of caring for Abundant. With
tenderness and much love, I will, I must convince Abundant to remain in
England.
May 23rd 1915 the Great War
Abundant told me
today that she loves me a great deal, and will always love me until her dying
breath, and that there would never be anyone else, but she feels it is time for
her to return to Pine Ridge, she feels the Great Spirit wants for her to
return.
When I asked about
Anna, her reply was that she would take Anna to Pine Ridge until she is five
then she will send Anna back to me for her formal education, as Abundant
realizes a formal education is so important for Anna.
This is certainly
heart breaking. When I suggest I may
refuse Anna to leave, Abundant tells me she has already spoken to Okihi Uta,
and mother, and even though their hearts will break, they are firmly behind
whatever decision she comes to.
A dark time, and
with me going off to war, only God knows where I will be soon, I guess I must
accept Abundant’s heart breaking decision.
May 26th 1915 the Great War
It has now been one
week since Abundant has been staying with Mrs. Marwick, and under the very good
care of Mrs. Ashdown. Abundant has her
mind made up and she still wants to return to Pine Ridge.
I have made one
last stand and have written to Mapiya.
May 26th 1915
To my good friend Mapiva,
I write to you, my
friend, as I do from time to time, but this time it is not about how my family
has grown or about how well Okihi Uta, now wanting to be known by her Lakota,
Sioux name, is doing. She has become
quite a celebrity at the University of Leeds.
I only wish this
letter would have me bragging about Okihi Uta, but it is not, this letter is
about Abundant Cloud, and sadly I state that, at this time, she wants more than
ever to return to Pine Ridge.
I cannot say how
much my heart breaks, knowing very soon she will leave, taking Anna with her. I fear Anna is too young and would never fit
in at Pine Ridge.
Please, my good friend, Mapiva, I plead for
you to see my dilemma, my heartbreak. Please
reply with reason to Abundant Cloud.
I have enclosed
some aero post stamps as time is of the essence.
Your good friend and Sioux brother,
James
May my good friend,
Mapiya, be the voice of reason for Abundant not to return to Pine Ridge.
As far as the war,
it is still training, which I believe we could all do in our sleep.
Little sleep
tonight as I am overdue on writing a letter to mother.
May 29th 1915 the Great War
I have lost
Abundant, for today she has told me, and with no doubt, by next week she and
Anna will be leaving for Pine Ridge.
Since my letter to
Mapiva will not arrive at Pine Ridge until somewhere around the end of June, it
was a feeble attempt, a heart breaking feeble attempt to keeping Abundant here.
If Abundant leaves
next week, that would place her and sweet Anna at Pine Ridge somewhere around the
25th of June.
I should have just
given the letter I wrote to Mapiva, to Abundant to hand deliver.
Chin up, stiff
upper lip and all that bullshit.
May 11th 1915 the Great War
A bit of very sad
news, Abundant has lost our child, which was a boy.
A family leave must be considered, or maybe I
must send for Abundant.
Able writes and
states that Abundant now wants more than ever to return to Pine Ridge as she
feels this is a sign, a warning that the Great Spirit is not happy with her for
living the white man’s way.
I must find a place
for her to stay and a care taker for her and our child, Anna. Being stationed in Hull, which is a major port
in the war effort, it will be a challenge finding a place and a nanny. This is a must do thing, for I fear Abundant
is longing for Pine Ridge and may leave with our daughter Anna.
May 12th 1915 the Great War
With luck, I have found a rather nice place,
quaint it is; peaceful, and may help with the nonsense of Abundant wanting to
return to Pine Ridge.
Mrs. Marwick is a
lovely, caring person, who runs a clean and tidy place. With her attentive and caring sister, Mrs.
Ashdown, as our nanny, I believe Pine Ridge will become more distant with each
passing day.
Since this is so
important, a letter will not do so I have decided to send a telegraph post, informing
Abundant of my decision.
Able Acorn will
assist me and, when she is fit to travel, Abundant and my daughter will be
under the best care of Mrs. Marwick and Mrs. Ashdown.
As far as the war
goes, it is still training and more damn training, bloody training which, I
believe, will eventually get the better of me.
My head will explode.
May 16th 1915 the Great War
Long time coming,
this telepost, but as I read it became clear as to why. Sister Mary has given birth to another fine
baby boy, named James Edward. God bless
you Mary, God bless you James Edward, a gift is in order.
Able writes that
Abundant is doing better, and that she should be able to travel to Hull on the 18th
of May.
Able is so worried
that Abundant has a strong will to return to Pine Ridge, she feels it may only be
a matter of time before she does so. I must convince Abundant that she should
abandon this very thought.
As of yesterday,
the unit is now assigned to the 19th Western division.
May 18th 1915 the Great War
The last train from
London arrived with no Abundant, no Anna, no Able, and no Thomas Jr. Could it be that Abundant has left for Pine
Ridge? I hope not.
Maybe too much time
has passed; maybe I have not tried hard enough to keep Abundant close, and with
much sadness, maybe I should have never married her.
If Abundant has
returned to Pine Ridge, I must accept it, but how could I ever accept it,
knowing that my daughter will be living in the conditions that are present at
Pine Ridge.
So now I end my day
in a great depression.
May 19th 1915 the Great War
Glad today is
finished, very glad. It started out with
me wondering where Abundant was, and ended with my whole family here in Hull.
Abundant, Anna,
Able and Thomas Jr. have arrived. Seems
there was a missed train and that is why the family did not arrive yesterday.
Abundant seems
distant, I must work diligently to convince her to stay in England.
Anna is like any
other normal little girl, looks like Abundant, she does. Come fifteen years, I will have to be the
bully dad when the young men start to call on Anna to date.
Able is all about
school, and achieving great things, she is even considering penning a book.
Thomas, what a
handful! As Anna is most still, quiet,
and very pleasant, Thomas is loud, always moving. Most of the time, he wants for things to be
his way, a never ending battle of this now two year old.
May 21st 1915 the Great War
Today I have placed
Thomas Jr. and Able, or as I will now call her and write her name, Okihi Uta,
which is Lakota for Able Acorn, on the train returning home.
As Able, I mean Okihi Uta, told me, her
Lakota, Sioux heritage is her life, and is one of the most important things in
her life, this I will respect.
After a very busy
but pleasant visit from Okihi Uta and Thomas Jr., it is now down with the
business of caring for Abundant. With
tenderness and much love, I will, I must convince Abundant to remain in
England.
May 23rd 1915 the Great War
Abundant told me
today that she loves me a great deal, and will always love me until her dying
breath, and that there would never be anyone else, but she feels it is time for
her to return to Pine Ridge, she feels the Great Spirit wants for her to
return.
When I asked about
Anna, her reply was that she would take Anna to Pine Ridge until she is five
then she will send Anna back to me for her formal education, as Abundant
realizes a formal education is so important for Anna.
This is certainly
heart breaking. When I suggest I may
refuse Anna to leave, Abundant tells me she has already spoken to Okihi Uta,
and mother, and even though their hearts will break, they are firmly behind
whatever decision she comes to.
A dark time, and
with me going off to war, only God knows where I will be soon, I guess I must
accept Abundant’s heart breaking decision.
May 26th 1915 the Great War
It has now been one
week since Abundant has been staying with Mrs. Marwick, and under the very good
care of Mrs. Ashdown. Abundant has her
mind made up and she still wants to return to Pine Ridge.
I have made one
last stand and have written to Mapiya.
May 26th 1915
To my good friend Mapiva,
I write to you, my
friend, as I do from time to time, but this time it is not about how my family
has grown or about how well Okihi Uta, now wanting to be known by her Lakota,
Sioux name, is doing. She has become
quite a celebrity at the University of Leeds.
I only wish this
letter would have me bragging about Okihi Uta, but it is not, this letter is
about Abundant Cloud, and sadly I state that, at this time, she wants more than
ever to return to Pine Ridge.
I cannot say how
much my heart breaks, knowing very soon she will leave, taking Anna with her. I fear Anna is too young and would never fit
in at Pine Ridge.
Please, my good friend, Mapiva, I plead for
you to see my dilemma, my heartbreak. Please
reply with reason to Abundant Cloud.
I have enclosed
some aero post stamps as time is of the essence.
Your good friend and Sioux brother,
James
May my good friend,
Mapiya, be the voice of reason for Abundant not to return to Pine Ridge.
As far as the war,
it is still training, which I believe we could all do in our sleep.
Little sleep
tonight as I am overdue on writing a letter to mother.
May 29th 1915 the Great War
I have lost
Abundant, for today she has told me, and with no doubt, by next week she and
Anna will be leaving for Pine Ridge.
Since my letter to
Mapiva will not arrive at Pine Ridge until somewhere around the end of June, it
was a feeble attempt, a heart breaking feeble attempt to keeping Abundant here.
If Abundant leaves
next week, that would place her and sweet Anna at Pine Ridge somewhere around the
25th of June.
I should have just
given the letter I wrote to Mapiva, to Abundant to hand deliver.
Chin up, stiff
upper lip and all that bullshit.
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