Tommy's Ark: Soldiers and Their Animals in the Great War. Richard Van Emden (43 page)

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Authors: Richard van Emden

BOOK: Tommy's Ark: Soldiers and Their Animals in the Great War. Richard Van Emden

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I would like to thank the wonderfully supportive staff at Bloomsbury, particularly Bill Swainson, the senior commissioning editor, for his encouragement and enthusiasm, and Emily Sweet for her exceptionally keen editorial eye. I am also very grateful to Nick Humphrey, Ruth Logan, Anya Rosenberg, David Mann, Lisa Fiske, Polly Napper and Andrew Tennant for their support in helping to nurture
Tommy’s Ark
all the way to publication. I would also like to express my gratitude once again to Richard Collins for his excellent editorial comments and careful reading of the text, helping to iron out many small queries.

Once again, a special mention must be made of my good friend Jeremy Banning. His remarkable research skills and unflagging energy have helped make this book not only possible, but much richer in material. I should also like to thank Stuart Arrowsmith, who, once more, was very generous in lending me photographs from his collection taken by Sgt Harold Bisgood, 2nd London Regiment; Andrew Read and Steve Chambers for images from their own extensive and impressive photographic collections; and Stewart Simpson for the image from his archives of Jacko the monkey. I am also very grateful to Taff Gillingham for reading through the text; his Great War knowledge and expertise is truly to be envied. My gratitude must also go to Jim and Sarah Burnham, who came up with the title
Tommy’s Ark
over dinner, trumping all other contributions such as
Your Country Needs Zoo
and
Not Fur-gotten
. Thanks also to Peter Barton and Simon Jones for pointing me in the direction of some superb quotes about the service of canaries and mice underground, and to Nigel Steel at the Imperial War Museum who also proffered some very sound advice on sources. My gratitude is due to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers Museum and to Brian Owen and my friend Anne Pedley for granting permission to quote extracts from Captain James Dunn’s
The War the Infantry Knew
. I also appreciate the support of Vic and Diane Piuk, Mark Banning, Matt Dixon, Caryl Williams, Iain and Donna McHenry, David and Judith Cohen, Peter Wright, and Ken Prowse.

Especial mention should be made of my wonderful agent, Jane Turnbull, whose duty of care knows no bounds and who has always offered sage advice and been totally supportive of all I have done: thank you once again, Jane.

My warmest thanks must go to my family: to my mother, Joan van Emden, who, as always, has been wonderful and a tower of editorial strength. I remain deeply in debt to my wife, Anna, whose support grows greater as deadlines loom and who, when the pressure is on, steers our three-year-old son away from my study door.

I would like to thank the following people for permission to reproduce extracts from diaries, letters or memoirs written by their Great War relatives: Gill Pullinger (for extracts from the diaries of Arthur Alexander); Laurence Martin (extracts from the diary of Albert Martin); Tim Hardwick (extracts from the papers of A.G.P. Hardwick); Jean Harris (extracts from the memoirs of F.E. Harris); Constance Ross (extracts from the papers of A.R. Read); Allan Mott (extracts from the papers of D.J. Polley); Mike Durham (extracts from the memoirs of G.W. Durham); Mrs Louisa Service (extracts from the memories of H.H. Hemming); Rosemary Price (extracts from the diary of S.T. Fuller); John Harlow (extracts from the papers of E.H. Harlow); David Newman (extracts from the memoirs of C.T. Newman); Miss M.A. Johnston (extracts from the papers of J.A. Johnston); Mrs L. Palmer (extracts from the papers of A.E. Lowy); Mrs E.J. Grisenthwaite (extracts from the letters of James Foulis); Mrs Dorothy Kilpin (extracts from the papers of Capt. D.P. Hirsch VC); Eleanor Edwards (extracts from the memoirs of Wilfrid Edwards).

Sources and Credits for Text and Photographs

Text

Imperial War Museum:
By kind permission of the Department of Documents, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ. With grateful thanks to Roderick Suddaby, Anthony Richards and Simon Offord from the Departments of Documents.

S.T. Fuller – 86/32/1; A.G.P. Hardwick MC – 98/14/1; Lt E.C. Allfree – 77/14/1; Lt Col H.M. Dillon DSO – 82/25/1; M.R. Evans – P473; P.A. Glock – 99/84/1; F.E. Harris – 06/29/1; C.T. Newman – 03/5/1; A.R. Read – 06/86/1; Capt. J.B. Foulis – 85/15/1; D.J. Polley – 80/35/1; G.W. Durham – 90/7/1; Lt Col H.H. Hemming OBE MC – PP/MCR/155; E.H. Harlow – 03/15/1; J.A. Johnston – 02/29/1; A.E. Lowy – 06/54/1; Capt. J.D. Mackie – 06/109/1; Capt. A. McCormick – 02/6/1; G. Buckeridge – 04/39/1; A.V. Conn – 81/41/1; F.J. Field – 85/39/1; Lt J.W. Gamble – PP/MCR/82; Capt. L. Gameson – PP/MCR/C47 & P395–396 & Con Shelf; Brig. E.E. Mockler-Ferryman CB CBE MC – P323; Lady Londonderry – 06/128/1;
Lt Col C.E.L. Lyne –
80/14/1; T.S. Williams – Misc 40 (702).

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, and the author and the Imperial War Museum would be grateful for any information which might help to trace those whose identities or addresses are not currently known.

The Liddle Archive:
By kind permission of the Liddle Collection, Leeds University Library, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT,
www.leeds.ac.uk
. With thanks to Richard Davies.

Capt. D.P. Hirsch VC – GS0770; Pte W.N. Edwards – GS0506; Lt G.L. Reid – GS1337; 2nd Lt L.W. Pratt – GS1294; Capt. J.W. Tibbles – GS1603; Driver W.M. Peto – GS1256; 2nd M. Webb-Peploe – GS1699; Sgt W.A. Rigden – GS1358; 2nd Lt C.W. Walker – GS1672.

Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum:
By kind permission of the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, Custom House, Gloucester Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2HE,
www.glosters.org.uk
. With thanks to George Streatfield, David Read and Graham Gordon.

The letters of 2/Lt C.W. Winterbotham, 1/5th Bttn, Gloucestershire Rgt.

Somerset Record Office:
By kind permission of the Duty Archivist, Somerset Record Office, Obridge Road, Taunton TA2 7PU,
www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/
, and Lt Col Mike Motum, Somerset Military Museum Trust, 14 Mount Street, TA1 3QB.

Arthur Cook diary – Ref: DD/SLI/17/1/40.

King’s Own Scottish Borderers Regimental Museum:
By kind permission of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers Regimental Museum, The Barracks, The Parade, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1DG,
www.kosb.co.uk/museum
. With thanks to the Regimental Secretary and Ian Martin.

Capt. A.J.M. Shaw, 1st Bttn, Ref – KOSB T/1/13.

Royal Engineers Museum:
By kind permission of the Royal Engineers Museum, Prince Arthur Road, Gillingham, Kent ME4 4UG,
www.remuseum.org.uk
. With thanks to Rebecca Nash and her staff.

Lt F.J. Mulqueen; Col Logan: Memorandum on Gas Poisoning in Mines.

The Regimental Museum of the Royal Welsh:
By kind permission of the Regimental Museum of the Royal Welsh (formerly South Wales Borderers & Monmouthshire Regimental Museum), The Barracks, Watton, Brecon, Powys LD3 7EB,
www.rrw.org.uk
. With many thanks to Martin Everett and Celia Green.

Pte C.P. Heare, 1/2nd Monmouthshire Rgt – unpublished diary, July 1913–March 1919, Acc. No. 1997.139.

The Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland:
By kind permission of the Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland, The Abbott’s Tower, Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, NE66 1NG,
www.northumberlandfusiliers.org.uk
. With thanks to staff at the Fusiliers Museum of Northumberland.

Diary and letter of A.O. Terry, 23rd Bttn, Northumberland Fusiliers (4th Tyneside Scottish) January 1916–July 1918 [34th Division].

The King’s Own Royal Border Regiment Museum:
By kind permission of Border Regiment & King’s Own Royal Border Regiment Museum, Queen Mary’s Tower, The Castle, Carlisle, CA3 8UR,
www.kingsownbordermuseum.btik.com
. With thanks to Stuart Eastwood and Tony Goddard.

Lt C.H.M Whiteside, 7th Bttn, Ref: 11/G2/001/29A.

The National Archives
,
Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU,
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
.

In the 1920s the following officers corresponded with the official historian (Cab45), and extracts from their letters have been used in this book:

2nd Lt Eric Anderson, 108 Batt. RFA; Maj. George Walker, 59th Field Coy, REs; Maj. Percy Hastings, 1st Queens Own Royal West Kent Rgt; Capt. Charles Norman, 9th (Queen’s Royal) Lancers; Capt. and Quartermaster W.W. Finch, 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers.

Bibliography

Memoirs