The Lost Years (7 page)

‘I will ride to Bodmin tomorrow,’ he said. ‘If the Germans fail to respond to the deadline the army will need every man they can get. I might be able to join before the year is over.’

‘Why is everyone so anxious to go off to war ... to fight?’ Arabella was visibly upset. The knowledge that her father had been killed in the Boer War had coloured the whole of her young life and she found the thought of Perys going away to war distressing.

Embarrassed by Arabella’s concern for him, Perys excused himself from the company of the three women by saying he was going to the stables to ensure there would be a horse available to him in the morning.

When he had gone, Maude said to her daughters, ‘Hopefully war might yet be averted. News of what is happening came from your cousin Rupert, fresh from the War Office in London. Senior officers there believe that when the Germans realise Britain is serious in its intentions, they will seek peace. Even if they do not, our generals are convinced that any fighting will be over by Christmas. I personally think our military men unduly optimistic, but who am I to argue with their views? Now, let us put all talk of war to one side. Tell me more of your adventures in Mevagissey. Everyone in the house heard the commotion, and the servants told me a ship had exploded at sea. I also learned you were both of great assistance to the doctor in treating the injured. But I was not aware Perys was so closely involved too! You must tell me everything about it . . .’

Chapter 10

Germany did not comply with the ultimatum given by the British government. As a result, at 11.05p.m., British time, on Tuesday 4 August, 1914, a declaration of war was handed to the German Ambassador in London.

News of this was obtained by Maude Tremayne in a telephone call to London early the following morning. Perys set out for Bodmin immediately.

The visit to the army barracks left him feeling utterly frustrated and bewildered. His first problem was that nobody knew the whereabouts of Major Stokes, the recruiting officer. The only certainty was that he was not at Bodmin.

The barracks themselves were the scene of chaotic activity. Harassed officers to whom Perys managed to speak seemed to assume that every man not already in uniform was a reservist, answering the army’s call for mobilisation. They showed little interest in a young man making enquiries about a future career as an officer.

Perys was eventually fortunate enough to find a captain who appeared to be working in an administrative capacity in the office of the commanding officer. Although he too was busy, he listened sympathetically to Perys and, searching through a filing cabinet, pulled out a thin file.

Reading through it he frowned, then looked at Perys uncertainly. ‘You are Perys Sampson Tremayne?’

‘That’s right,’ Perys said, delighted that he seemed to be getting somewhere at last.

Closing the file and returning it to the cabinet, the officer said, ‘I am sorry, old chap, but it seems that Major Stokes feels unable to recommend you for a commission.’

Perys was flabbergasted. His education, plus the recommendation of his uncle - not to mention the present emergency - should have been more than enough to have him accepted.

‘But why? Does he give a reason?’

The captain shook his head. ‘He doesn’t have to, really. But don’t be too downhearted about it. How old are you?’

‘Almost nineteen.’ Perys found it difficult to accept that his application had been turned down for no apparent reason.

‘If you are really keen to join the army I suggest you enlist. If you are officer material you will soon be noticed and a commission should follow. Besides, it will give time for those to heal.’ He indicated Perys’s bandaged hands. ‘What have you done to them, anything serious?’

‘No.’ Perys did not elaborate. ‘But . . . my application. My great-uncle wrote a letter of recommendation to Major Stokes. I was given a virtual guarantee of a commission.’

‘I’m sorry, young man. I’ve told you what is on your file - and that is more than I should have said. You can come in to see the major on his return, if you wish, but he is not a man prone to changing his mind. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a great deal of work to do ’

After stammering his thanks to the captain, Perys left the office and made his way to where he had tethered the Heligan horse. He was thoroughly dismayed. His whole future had been built about a service career. He could think of no reason why his application should have been turned down. It was, of course, possible it had something to do with his dubious parentage. Yet given the recommendation of Hugh Tremayne and the education he had received, it was highly unlikely to be the sole reason. Many great soldiers had been born in similar circumstances.

There had to be some other reason. Perhaps there had been a misunderstanding. He needed to discuss it with Maude. She knew Major Stokes and might be able to provide some answers.

* * *

Approaching Heligan, Perys was forced to a halt at a set of hurdles placed across the lane between two open field gates on either side. A few minutes later a flock of sheep was driven between them, from one field to the other. The shepherdess was Annie.

Apologising for keeping him waiting, she closed the gate of the field that now contained the sheep. Perys dismounted and helped her to move the hurdles into the field from which the sheep had come.

Pointing to his bandaged hands, Annie asked sympathetically, ‘Did you hurt those yesterday?’

‘Yes. I feel a bit foolish about it, really, getting blisters just through rowing a boat.’

‘From what I’ve heard there was rather more to it than just rowing a boat. Folk in Mevagissey say the man you rescued was the ship’s captain. They are full of praise for you and for Miss Morwenna, too. One or two have said they’d rather be treated by her than by the doctor.’

‘I believe she has had a very thorough training as a nurse,’ Perys explained.

‘Such skills will be needed if this war goes on for very long,’ Annie commented. After a moment’s hesitation, she added, ‘Do you think it will mean you’ll be going away sooner than you expected?’

A pained expression crossed Perys’s face. ‘I don’t know. I’ve just come from the army barracks at Bodmin and nothing seems to be very certain.’ Not wishing to tell her exactly what had happened there, he added, ‘All the senior officers are away on some war business or another. Those who are left are so busy coping with mobilisation that they have no time to deal with anything else.’

‘Martin upset Ma this morning by saying that if it looks as though the war is going to last for a while he’ll join the army. He believes most of the men at Heligan will do the same.’

It was an eventuality that had not occurred to Perys. He wondered how Heligan would cope if many of the workforce employed in the house and on the estate left to join the army or the navy.

‘Do you have time to come to the farm for a drink?’ Annie asked.

Although he was pleased that Annie had made the suggestion, Perys shook his head. ‘I would love to, Annie, but I had better get back to Heligan and find out what everyone intends doing. This war will change a great many things.’

‘I am sure it will,’ Annie agreed, seriously. ‘Are you likely to stay on at Heligan if you don’t join the army right away?’

‘Probably. The truth is that right now I have nowhere else to go. My grandparents have already shut up their house - although they might decide to return to England if it looks as though Italy will come into the war on the side of the Germans.’

Annie felt deep sympathy for Perys. Although he was a member of the family that owned most of the countryside in this part of Cornwall, he had no roots, no permanent home, and, seemingly, no one who really cared what happened to him.

‘If you do stay at Heligan for a while you are always welcome to call on us at Tregassick.’

‘Thank you, Annie, I appreciate the offer. I shall certainly pay you a visit if I stay - and will let you know if I am to leave.’

‘I hope that won’t be for a while . . .’ Aware that she was being what her mother would refer to as ‘far too forward’, Annie turned to go.

Suddenly, she stopped and turned back to him. ‘Perys . . . will you speak to Martin and try to persuade him to stay on at Heligan, for a while, at least, and not to rush into joining the army?’

‘I’ll try, Annie, but I can’t guarantee how successful I’m likely to be. You see, I understand exactly how he feels.’

* * *

When Perys repeated to Maude what he had been told by the captain at the army barracks in Bodmin, she listened in thoughtful silence.

‘. . . It baffles me, Aunt Maude. Great-Uncle Hugh recommended me - and you personally delivered the letter and my application to the commanding officer’s office, together with my references. Even my headmaster felt I was well suited for an army career.’

‘I don’t think it has anything at all to do with your qualifications for a service career, Perys. I believe it is your cousin Edward’s way of taking revenge for the bloody nose you gave him. It is perfectly true that my husband served with Major Stokes in the Boer War, but so too did Edward’s father. The two remain firm friends.’

‘I had hoped that once Edward calmed down he might have accepted that he went too far,’ Perys said, ruefully. ‘It seems I was wrong.’

‘None of this is your fault,’ Arabella protested. ‘There was nothing else you could have done after he said what he did. He is lucky you didn’t do far more to him. I know I will never speak to him again for as long as I live.’

‘The problem is that it leaves me with a very uncertain future,’ Perys said to Maude. ‘I have an allowance from my grandfather, but it’s by no means generous and is conditional upon my joining the army as soon as possible after completing my education. Perhaps I should do what the captain at Bodmin suggested. Enlist as a recruit and hope to gain a commission.’

‘That is not a good idea at all.’ Maude said, firmly. ‘As the widow of an army officer I have had considerable experience of service life. Whatever the captain may have told you, obtaining a commission from the ranks is the exception rather than the rule - even in wartime. The best thing you could do is to have a chat with your cousin Rupert Pilkington. He is in the Royal Flying Corps - I believe I may have mentioned him to you before. When I spoke to him on the telephone he said he hoped to come to Cornwall very soon, flying an aeroplane, I believe, to seek possible sites for an airfield. You have said your true ambition is to become a flyer. Rupert might be of some help to you.’

The news greatly excited Perys. If Rupert did come to Cornwall he could indeed be a great help. There might also be an opportunity to have a close look at an aeroplane. Yet he was puzzled.

‘Why would the RFC want an airfield in Cornwall? We’re an awfully long way from France.’

‘That is quite true, but an aeroplane, or an airship, could fly out over the sea and report on any German naval ships that might be making their way along the English Channel.’

The idea made sense to Perys. It also meant the Royal Flying Corps was likely to undertake a great many more tasks in wartime than anyone had ever envisaged when the corps was formed.

‘When will Rupert be here?’ Perys asked, eagerly.

‘He was not terribly sure, but expected it to be some time in the next few days.’ Maude smiled at Perys’s eagerness. ‘Be patient, Perys. I agree with the DCLI captain on one thing. Your hands need to heal before you can do anything more about a service career.’

Chapter 11

Events in Europe moved with a frightening speed. During the first few weeks of the war many battles were fought by the armies of Britain, Belgium and France - and many were lost.

The British army, which included a battalion of the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry, had been blooded early in the fighting. Now, together with the armies of its allies, it was in full retreat.

The infant Royal Flying Corps was being used to support the army and was operating under war conditions for the first time in its short history. It had scored its first victories and also suffered its first casualties. As an instrument of warfare it had given the world a glimpse of its enormous potential, but at the same time exposed immediate shortcomings.

Not least among the latter was the dismissive attitude of senior army commanders to the current role of the Royal Flying Corps - and the even greater role it might play in the future. It was an attitude that pervaded the army from the commander-in-chief down. Most senior officers had been drilled in battle tactics of the late nineteenth century and found it difficult to accept new concepts. A commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France scornfully dismissed the suggestion that aircraft be used to obtain information about the enemy, pompously declaring that the only way for a commander to get information was ‘by the use of cavalry’.

Despite this, now the war had begun, reconnaissance in support of those involved in ‘the real business of fighting a war’ was the only role envisaged for the Royal Flying Corps.

This was not the view of the pilots themselves. Reconnaissance duties were undertaken, and performed skilfully and effectively, but the pilots also succeeded in bringing down German aircraft by a number of often bizarre means. The Flying Corps also experimented with bombing techniques which included the use of weighted darts and the occasional hand grenade.

News of such activities reached those at Heligan from various sources, but not from pilot Rupert Pilkington. By the time Rupert’s ‘few days’ had become three weeks, Perys had almost given up hope that his relative would be able to fulfil his intention of visiting Cornwall.

He was still undecided about his own future. Maude’s implacable opposition to the suggestion that he should enlist in the army after he had passed his nineteenth birthday meant that he had not seriously considered the matter since mentioning it to her.

Maude had, however, announced her intention of returning to London with her two daughters in the very near future. Morwenna was a trained nurse and casualties from the front in France would soon be filling the hospitals of the capital. Her skills would be urgently needed.