March 1944 saw the Irish Brigade continuing a period of training near to the Volturno river. Whilst the brigade awaited the call to join any successful breakthrough near to Cassino, they were able to celebrate Barossa Day and St Patrick’s Day in customary fashion…
In his letters home this month to his wife, Olive, Captain Lawrence (Lawrie) Franklyn-Vaile is in positive mood and keen to keep up to date with news from the home front as well as sharing stories about many of the men that he and Olive had known from their time with the Faughs in Northern Ireland.
During the early part of month, Lawrie’s thoughts turned to family matters. On their 9th wedding anniversary on 9th March, Lawrie writes home to Olive:
“I think this is only the second time that we have spent our wedding anniversary apart, the other being in 1940 when I was at the ITC Bedford. I certainly hope that next year we will be together again. Well, we have had some fine times together and I am certain we will have many more in the future. Today, is very pleasant, fine and sunny and quite warm, a very great contrast to the same day in 1935.”
And then on 11th March, Lawrie is thinking of his daughter:
“I would certainly like to be at home with you today sharing in Valerie’s second birthday. I expect she is now able to realise the significance of the day and is having quite a good time. I hope she has got a few presents and that the doll I sent her will not be too long in coming. I think she will quite like it when the box arrives. I will be interested to hear her reactions…”
4th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
The air mail service appears to have been delayed as no one has had an airmail letter from home for about a week. I expect several will arrive at once and I will be very glad indeed to hear from you again. I have had a surface mail letter from Mother written last August hence it is rather out of date. Also, an airgraph from her written early last month in answer to a letter of mine written shortly after the Sangro battle. Helen’s marriage seems a great success and she is very happy, and Tapley is somewhere in the tropics but not I gather in any very dangerous position.
The weather here continues to be very wet, and a good deal of rain each day but the temperature is quite mild. We are not too badly off in our farm house, excepting it’s rather crowded and at night time we only have two hurricane lamps so that reading or writing is rather difficult. I managed to find a large farm building for my Company so that although they are somewhat crowded, they are very much better off than being out in the open in tiny tents on very wet ground and in the evenings we are able to have tombola quizzes, etc.
It is a very happy Company, morale is high and the men work extremely well and it is of course very pleasant for me to have my two best friends in the battalion, Dicky Richards and Douglas (Room) in the Company as well. We all work very smoothly together. I had to lose one of the South African Officers (Manson) to ‘B’ Coy but the other, Howard, is an excellent chap, and very keen. He certainly has a good grip on his platoon and their standard is very high. I brought my runner, Jarvis, across with me. You may remember me telling you what a good, plucky lad he is and he has settled down very well.
Captain Denis Haywood
I had a letter from Denis (Haywood) about a month ago, in which he said he was returning to the battalion but he has not yet arrived and Dicky and I are wondering if he has gone elsewhere. I would be very pleased to see him personally, but otherwise would rather view his return with mixed feelings as I don’t quite know whether I would have to step down for him.
A few months ago, I would not have minded but now I would have no confidence in him.. When he commanded the joint B-C attack that fateful December day (I was commanding ‘A’ at the time)…it was due to the great bravery and personal example of Dicky that the attack was a success. Denis told me about it himself and admitted quite frankly to me that he was in a bad way. I felt terribly sorry for him especially when he said he felt like leaving the ribbon off his chest and I was very glad he got the job in N. Africa which now unfortunately has fallen through. …I have no fear of myself in any future action, and I know my own personal pride will enable me to set a good example and my only fear is making some mistake that might prove costly to the Company but I feel my experience will now render that less likely.
Tomorrow is Barossa Day, which will bring back some pleasant memories of the past few years. The football match between Officers and Sgts at Ballykinler in 1941. This will be my fourth in the ‘Faughs’. As we are fortunate enough to be able to spend it out of the line, we are trying to make the best of conditions and it should not be too bad, however. More of what happens in my next letter.
Since writing the above, a small amount of mail arrived but, no letter from you darling. I am getting quite anxious but perhaps the northern mail will come tomorrow. I got a letter from Jim Lawrence who has apparently been ‘called up’. It must have come as a bit of shock for them, as he had been 3 days in the Army when he wrote. I expect he will very possibly be passed into some other branch of the Army when he has left the Primary Training Centre. I gather Jerry, who is expecting a baby in July may go and stay with you. I think it is a good idea, after all they have turned out better friends than many other people.
Look after yourself, precious. I hope you and Valerie are quite well. By the time you get this letter Valerie will be two. I wish I could be with you both for the occasion but perhaps I will be before her third birthday.
All my love and kisses to you both.
Lawrence
9th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
Nine years ago today, we were married and what a lot has happened since then. I think this is only the second time that we have spent our wedding anniversary apart, the other being in 1940 when I was at the ITC Bedford. I certainly hope that next year we will be together again. Well, we have had some fine times together and I am certain we will have many more in the future. Today, is very pleasant, fine and sunny and quite warm, a very great contrast to the same day in 1935.
Yesterday after a long wait, a large lot of mail arrived. Three letters from you, darling, dated 20/2, 22/2, 27/2.
I was very sorry to read that Valerie has been ill again. It must have been quite alarming for you when she had that screaming fit and I am glad you went straight to the doctor. She should be much better when the summer comes along and the weather is more settled. I am always most interested to read about her doings and sayings and can never have too much of it. It is some small compensation for not being able to see her growing up but very small I am afraid. She certainly seems a character. From the sound of your letter, Sadi is her favourite, does she not have much to do with Sylva?
I also got quite a number of other letters, one from Mrs Slowley in which she called me a ‘hero’. Apparently, the third boy is in the Army now as well. Someone, who from the description was apparently Shale, came to see them recently and said that I had been severely wounded and had been evacuated to England. Amazing the rumours that get around. No such luck about England, and actually I am feeling very fit. A letter from Reg Slowley, who is now with the 5/Skins, and has just completed a battle course. According to him, he got a good report and is hopeful of going to an OTCU. I wrote him rather a strong ‘bucking up’ letter so it may have had a good effect. Byron is with the same battalion and also young John Corbert serving there as a Lieut, quite a change for him after Omagh. Shale is still at Omagh. A letter from Mr. Higgins to say they are very pleased I am in the same battalion as Frank and they are very proud that Frank has become a Sergeant. He is, of course, in a different company to me now. They would very much like for you to go and stay with them sometime but I imagine it is rather difficult for you and there are other places you would like to go to first. A letter from Pat saying she was very sorry to hear from you that I had to revert to Captain. One from Sgt. Wallace who is now in India with Sgt Self. Wishes very much he was with us here and asks to be remembered to you. One from Mother written Nov 10th, when she knew I had gone abroad but did not know where, and one from Muriel Glennie. Altogether a very satisfactory mail.
Barrosa Day was quite a big success. The Officers and Sgts football match was quite a hilarious affair and about the best ever. It was contested on a field about an inch deep in water and we were certainly a sight at the end. A good dinner was provided for the men and in the evening we had our own dinner at a hall in a nearby town. Quite a good meal was provided with the usual Barrosa customs, with the speech by the junior subaltern, young Hansson and the passing of the Barrosa drinking cup. Afterwards, the Sergeants arrived and the evening assumed a fairly hectic note and ended up in some fierce scrums and a few thick heads the following morning.
A letter has just arrived from you dated 24/2. I very much hope you are able to make some new friends, darling, I wish I was home to be able to relieve you a bit with Valerie. I am glad she gets on well with your Mother. Nothing very startling has happened with us, and we are still doing quite a good deal of training and having plenty of exercise. We have our own mess for ‘C’ Coy, just four of us, myself, Dicky Richards, Douglas and Pat Howard and we are very happy and quite comfortable. Fellowes is, of course, still with me, as no officer can ever take another batman. It just is not done and a batman changes Company with their Officers as they desire but Fellowes was only too willing to change.
Look after yourself darling. All my love to you and Valerie, I miss you tremendously.
Lawrence
11th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
I would certainly like to be at home with you today sharing in Valerie’s second birthday.
I expect she is now able to realise the significance of the day and is having quite a good time. I hope she has got a few presents and that the doll I sent her will not be too long in coming. I think she will quite like it when the box arrives. I will be interested to hear her reactions.
During the last two days, each Company in turn has carried out quite a strenuous ‘Company in Attack’ organised by the CO. ‘A’ Coy did it first and did fairly well, ‘B’ Coy followed and put up an appalling show. I did not see it but everyone there said it was extremely bad, and the CO was furious and said that 80% of the Coy would have been casualties. Apparently, Collis cursed and swore at his Coy all the way, and when one of his platoon commanders approached him, he said ‘What are you doing here …… off, blast you’. Somewhat naturally the Coy did not react very well to such treatment. McNally told me it will be some time before he lives down such a performance.
That is the man to whom I sacrificed my Company and crown. All over the battalion ‘B’ is known as a very unhappy Coy, and one can sense it in the mess. ‘C’ Coy did it the following morning and to my delight put up a splendid show. The CO was unable to be present but the Second in Command (Major Holmes) congratulated me and then afterwards on what he termed ‘a really fine performance, full of enthusiasm and good skilful work. ‘D’ Coy, as was only to be expected under Jimmy Clarke, did extremely well and the 2 i/c later in the day said there was nothing to choose between ‘C’ and ‘D’. They were head and shoulders above ‘A’ and ‘B’. I was very pleased because I am anxious to hang onto the job and I think there is a very good chance of so doing. Everything that the CO or 2 i/c have seen the Coy do since I took over has been done well, so things are moving along satisfactorily.
We are a great Company for entertainment at night, tombolas, whist drives, inter-platoon quiz competitions etc, so that altogether the atmosphere is a very happy one. I have a few the old ‘F’ Coy in the Coy, no one that you would know with the exception of Sgt Payne.
Dicky Richards has gone on a course so I am just left with two officers, Douglas and Pat Howard but we are a very happy trio and get along well together extremely well and both are most helpful. My Sergeant Major is a Welshman from Pontypridd by the name of Morton, the first non-regular CSM I have met. He has done very well for himself and is an excellent chap but I still think Leonard of the 30th was the best CSM I have ever had with Tom running him a close second. My CQM. is another non-regular who has done very well. One consolation out here is that a Company Commander has not got all the awful responsibility for kit and equipment that he has at home.
The Russians seem to be keeping up a steady pressure and gradually pushing the Germans back. Our raids on Berlin and Germany, in general, appear to be most heavy and getting fierce and more effective. Berlin must be a nasty mess, and how infuriating it is reading about people at home protesting about the bombing. They don’t think of the lives of our men that it is saving. It really makes us all mad, because these people see nothing wrong in letting the unfortunate infantrymen go into face German machine guns, mortar, mines etc but squeals because we are trying to shorten the war by less wasteful methods. I wish they could come and sit in a slit trench out here for a time, then they would soon be only too keen to end the war by any possible means.
The papers you are sending are now arriving very regularly and I have had a really good supply of them recently.
I hope you are quite well, darling, and are managing to have some enjoyment. Look after yourself, most precious of wives and remember I love you both very dearly.
All my love to you and Valerie.
Your devoted husband
Lawrence
15th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
Three letters arrived from you today dated 29/2, 2/3, 6/3. You appear to have had some trouble with the house, all these burst pipes, etc but I hope by now it has been straightened out. Perhaps Valerie is going to become a famous dancer. I am a great believer in letting her develop along her own natural lines and if she really does show an interest and enthusiasm for dancing, it will be worth while giving her every encouragement and having her trained. Still, at the age of two I expect it is a trifle early to be planning her future career and I expect she will have many other likes as time goes on. I will be very glad to get another photo of her, and it is a pity that the mail takes so long to arrive out here.
The papers you have been sending are now arriving regularly and after reading them, I pass most of them on to the men. The ‘New Statesman’ is very balanced in its views and I think the “Tribune” has had some quite good stuff of late. One gets very out of touch regarding books, films and music. All our quiz questions are invariably very out of date on these questions.
Nothing much has happened during the past few days – there is slowly some heat getting into the sun but it is still very chilly at night time. We are mixing training and pleasure quite nicely and there is a cheerful atmosphere in the Company. Certainly, they always tackle any job wholeheartedly. Turner and two other NCOs in ‘B’ Coy reverted to fusilier at their own request recently and he is now across in this Company and doing very well. I believe there are others who would like to come across.
On Sunday night, we gave a small dinner party at which our guests included the CO, Jimmy Clarke, McNally, Harry Graydon (the fighting padre whom I told you about) and a couple of others. It was a very successful evening, as Jimmy is a most brilliant conversationalist, one of the wittiest people I have ever met and the conversation flowed along very well. Douglas had managed to secure some very good wine, about the best I had tasted out here – most of the ‘vino’ is foul, and that too flowed very pleasantly. I have also had some bridge recently, but at best we were all rather rusty although the standard is improving again and we are having another game tonight.
Gerry Chambers who met with a car accident about a week after he joined the battalion in December has just returned. I have just heard that Tony Pierce is home in England. He was wounded in the mouth in Tunisia but returned to the battalion only to be wounded in Sicily, this time rather more seriously. You were correct about the Brigadier. He is very good, having a high reputation out here and, unlike his predecessor, he does not interfere in the running of the battalion. Of course, he and the CO are very great friends, which is always useful.
Have never heard a word from Edward (Gibbon) since he went to hospital in late January? It is quite extraordinary, and one would have thought he would have written, but no one has any idea where he has got too. Somehow, I don’t think he will appear here again. Denis (Haywood) has so far not appeared on the scene as expected, and I don’t think he will get command of a Company again. The CO said the other night he did not know what he would do with him if Denis returned. I rather gather he is liked personally very much….Still it won’t worry Denis unduly, as he is not over ambitious in the military field and I think his one ambition is to return home safe to Ingrid, all very laudable, but I must confess the thing that keeps me going out here is the responsibility and feeling I have got something to work for, desperately as I want to return home to you and Valerie.
I suppose we may expect the ‘Second Front’ shortly. The pressure of the Germans is very severe and I am rather inclined to the view that the crack will come suddenly. They will go on resisting fiercely to the end but the continuous retreat in Russia combined with the heavy bombing must be very wearying on morale and if the ‘Second Front’ is a success, it may just make all the difference.
All my love and kisses, darling, may we be together again soon.
Your devoted husband
Lawrence
18th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
Received two letters from you dated 8/3. 9/3. I am glad you have some decent neighbours: it makes a big difference. The house appears to be rather a nuisance regarding leakages etc but perhaps the warmer weather will make a big difference. I am looking forward to having some more photos of Valerie and am glad you have sent some to Mother. I agree with what you say but it is no good bearing grudges and both Mother and Helen have been writing a lot of late. I do feel certain that if anything happened to me, you would find they would do everything possible for you and Valerie.
Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day which was duly celebrated. There was the usual church parade in the morning with all our officers as per custom attending the RC parade. Afterwards the Brigadier presented shamrock to the field officers – they only managed to get hold of that amount but subsequently we got sufficient for each officer. The pipes and drums of these regiments combined to give a very good performance and, afterwards, there was a 7 a side 15 minutes each way soccer knock out competition which I regret to say was not won by ‘C’ Coy.
After having won the Inter Company League in brilliant style a few weeks earlier and providing 6 out of the 11 in the battalion team of which Fellowes is one of the stars, we crashed out sensationally in the 1st round yesterday. A good dinner was provided, with the CO coming round and he said to me afterwards, ‘You always seem to provide a fine show, Lawrie. I have just come from ‘A’ Coy and they are pigging it’.
In the afternoon the RASC band, recently arrived from England, provided some good entertainment and, in the evening, we had a party for the Officers, and a fairly sober one on this occasion for certain reasons. At dinner, I made a speech to my Company saying how well I thought they had done recently and I was proud to command such a fine crowd of fellows and I had the utmost confidence regarding leading them in action and got a very uproarious reception from them at the end.
The position regarding Majors in the battalion is becoming peculiar. The establishment is five Majors – the 2 i/c and four Company Commanders and they should be rifle Coy Cmdrs. At present, apart from the 2 i/c, we have three: Jimmy Clarke and Collis, ‘D’ and ‘B’ and McNally ‘S’, which means that one rifle Coy Cmdr will have to be a Captain. The ‘S’ Coy Cmdr is sometimes a Major, especially if he is of long service and a good fighting record and McNally deserved it from that point of view. So there is one vacancy which is between Neville Chance commanding ‘A’ and myself.
The general consensus of opinion seems to be that ‘C’ is much better than ‘A’, but of course Chance is very much senior to me, having being commissioned in about 1936. I get on very well with him, and he is quite an amusing chap. Nothing very startling from the military standpoint but a pleasant helpful fellow and he seems to like me.
I want the Majority for the pay, for your sake as much as anything. As regards your allowance, I cannot quite remember what I wrote to Lloyd’s the second time. The first time, I told them to pay you £30 month as soon as my Major’s pay was credited. I think I had better write again and for them to pay you £25 per month and, at the same time, I must find out how much I am in credit – it should be reasonably substantial. I will have to send it by airgraph as I am getting very short of airmails, as we only get one a week. It has just been increased to three a fortnight but the issue is rather erratic so don’t get alarmed if there is a gap in the letters. I will send a few airgraphs if its supply is very low and sometimes they are fairly quick.
I seem to have established quite a niche for myself in the battalion. Whenever I go into the Bttn HQ officers’ Mess, there are cries from the CO downwards of, ‘Here’s old Lawrie, sit down and have a drink, etc.’ The CO often appears suddenly in my Mess and says ‘I have just come round for a chat, Lawrie’, and much the same from the 2 i/c.
I have become a very great 1st Bttn man and would loathe and hate to go anywhere else. (Brigadier) Pat Scott had a long talk with me the other day, walking up and down a road for about half an hour. He said I must have been very glad to leave Omagh – his opinion of the ITC is very low, and he kept on hitting me on the chest to explain his points and expressed himself very forcibly on some of the methods of running things there.
Look after yourself, most precious of wives. I cannot say how much I love you and long for your presence, I am very proud of you and will never be disappointed.
All my love and kisses to you and Valerie
Lawrence
* Just after writing this letter, the CO told me I was a Major again. He said he had spoken to the Brigadier and the B thinks very highly of me. He added with a grin, ‘of course I have no idea why’. Well, I am pleased and I know you will be as well, darling.
20th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
I expect you were pleased to get my last letter and to know I have been promoted again. I had written the letter and sealed it and left it lying on the table while I went to the CO’s orders as I had a man for an interview. When I came in, the CO said, ‘Have you got any whisky, Lawrie’? I looked somewhat surprised, as it seemed a somewhat unusual time to broach the subject of drinks and replied, ’Yes, I think so, Sir, would you like to come along for a drink’, and still rather mystified as he usually popped in without needing an invitation. He replied, ‘Do you think I deserve a drink if I give you a crown’, so then it began to dawn on me. One of the pleasanter moments of one’s life. He went on to say, ‘I have spoken to the Brigadier about your promotion and he thoroughly approves, as he thinks very highly of you’, and added with a grin, ‘Of course I have no idea why’. He then said ‘Same conditions as before, Lawrie, if any of the tired, overworked ‘Faugh’ Majors from the Depot, answer you know what it is’.
However both he and I are of the opinion that the Brigadier will not be particularly enthusiastic about such individuals. It certainly looks as if the Brigadier does not go greatly by seniority, because I have got my Majority before Neville Chance who was commissioned in 1935 and has been a Major in the 6th. Well it is nice to know that one has got the backing of the Brigadier as well, because I know his predecessor did not think that non-regulars like myself should command Companies when there are regulars about.
I received two letters from you dated 9/3 and 11/3, a very important day in our lives, and as we both decided to write on those days. I am glad to know my credits are amounting and duly reaching a substantial sum. I cannot quite remember what I said in my second letter to Lloyd’s, but I have written again telling them to pay you £30 per month as from April 1st with an extra £10 that month. If you need any more at any time, let me know but we will try and save as much as we can possibly can. It will be needed after the war.
The CO, Lt Col Dunnill, had a long private talk with me about ‘B’ Coy. He said it hurts him to think that the Company he once commanded and has been such a good Company is now the worst in the battalion. I think he talked to me about it because he knows how attached I have always been to ‘B’ Coy and although I am now a great ‘C’ Coy man and very proud of my new Company, still I have a very soft spot for my old Company. I was talking with some of the NCOs and men of ‘B’ Coy on St. Patrick’s Day and they were saying, ‘Why did you have to go from us, Sir, surely Major Collis would have gone to ‘C’ and you stayed with us? You have been in action with us and we all know you’.
It was not easy to explain to them why I went. In their minds, the logical thing was for me to stay and Collis go and it seemed the logical idea to me. Actually, I think it was ‘touch and go’, and the CO took a couple of days to make up his mind but I think his idea was that as Collis had just taken over a Company and had been involved in all that extra work, it was rather unfair to ask him to start taking over another Coy, while I was very friendly with Dicky Richards and Douglas and already knew some people in ‘C’.
At that time, certain discords had not become apparent to the outside world. Sgt. Taylor, who I knew well at Ballykinler and who just arrived with the Coy at the beginning of Feb, told me that the lads always refer to me as ‘Franky’ which he said was a great compliment. They always say ‘Franky did this’ or ‘We did this under Franky’, or ‘If Franky was here, we would be doing such and such’. According to him, I established a high reputation with them for coolness in action and he said they would go anywhere for me. It seemed a pity to leave such a good crowd, but my new Company and I seem to hit it off very well and, of course, a lot of the men knew me already and one’s reputation for good or evil does tend to travel around the Bttn.
The CO and I were watching ‘C’ Coy v HQ at football this afternoon and he said, ‘Would not Fellowes make a good L/Cpl? He looks as if he had twice the intelligence of the average L/Cpl in the Bttn.’ I think he would do very well but would not like to lose him and he is most emphatic that he will not leave me.
Look after yourself, darling, I always have you and Valerie in my mind and love you both very dearly.
All my love and kisses to you both.
Lawrence
24th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
Have received three letters from you dated 13/3, 16/3 and 18/3. They arrived on separate days, which is rather unusual but very pleasant. Valerie seems to be in fine fettle and I am glad your lumbago has ceased to trouble you any more. It is good to know that Sadi and Sylva retain their high spirits -probably a bit trying for you but I would rather hate to arrive back home and find them old sedate dogs. It would certainly be grand to be with you again.
I am writing this letter in the sun. It is a beautiful day, clear blue sky and the countryside is beginning to look very pleasant. The mountains, some of them snow topped, present a magnificent sight. It is very much a case of ‘All prospects please and only man is vile’. The thunder of our guns, the drone of our planes, and the heavy AA fire of the enemy all seems strangely incongruous under such surroundings. What a life. I suppose one day we will return to normal conditions. Yet, curiously enough, war has done me well. It is a most brutal, bestial and senseless business, but since I joined up in Nov 1939, I have on the whole had very little cause to complain. Occasionally certain events have annoyed me and I have sometimes had a disappointment or setback but on the whole I have got on pretty well and have never suffered from that awful boredom that used to inflict me with BU.
I can recall days there when I was so bored, I could hardly speak a civil word to people, and I am afraid 3½ years as an officer and quite a lot of that time as Company Commander does not fit one to go back to that kind of job. Actually, I don’t suppose for a moment that I will – I am certain that something better will crop up and that is why I am anxious that we should save as much as possible and it was pleasing to read in a recent letter of yours that our financial position is much better. To repeat what I said in my last letter, I have instructed Lloyd’s to pay you £40 in April and from there onwards £30 per month. As I spend very little out here, our funds should still continue to mount nicely.
Mind you, I like the Army not just because of the job I am doing. Despite the changes etc, I would not be half as contented in mind at some Base Camp as I am with the battalion. ‘A’ Company Commander’s job can be very varied and one mistake can make a great difference but still the responsibility is well worth while and it I nice to feel that men have a confidence and trust in me.
Dicky Richards is away on a course but he came back one night before we moved to see me. Denis (Haywood) is instructing at the school and is apparently very happy there but his nerves are still not good, Dicky tells me he was quite shaky on an artillery demonstration….Ingrid has recently had to undergo an operation to her womb, something got misplaced when Karin was born, but she has made a good recovery.
I got a pleasant letter from George Barnett and was very surprised to receive one from Oliver Barraclough. Frankly, I thought his letter was poor stuff – it seemed to me to be divorced from what at any rate appear to me to be the realities of life. Jim Lawrence writes much more sensibly and interesting letters. I think Freda was rather unfair on Gudge. It is easy enough to write interestingly when one is doing an interesting job, but life in India must be very largely mean stagnation and Gudge was the first to admit that life in the ranks dulls the mind.
Even with Officers, it is much the same. It is very difficult to talk interestingly outside our job, and most of us quite frankly admit we will probably be classed as awful bores when we return home. I got a letter from Muriel Glennie to say that she had been to see Susan, and Susan had spoken very highly of us.
Look after yourself, precious. Remember I love you far beyond everything in the world. Give my little daughter a great big kiss and hug from her Daddy.
All my love and kisses to you both.
Lawrence
27th March 1944.
My Dearest Olive,
Received a letter dated 20/3, which was very quick in arriving. Sometimes the mail is very good that way. I am glad Valerie is not one of those excessively shy children. It is nice to know that she gets on well with people, but it is a great pity that I am missing this very lovely period in her life.
View across the Gari river towards San Angelo.
The weather is steadily improving and today is lovely in the sun – quite warm and the countryside has quite a pleasant aspect, although I would much prefer the softness of an English spring. It is still quite cold at night time; the other night we had a fairly heavy fall of snow but it soon melted under the influence of the warm sun. I expect in another couple of months we will be cursing the heat.
The shelling during the past few days has been absolutely incredible in its power and concentration. The whole 24 hours, our guns are thundering and just to make matters a little more pleasant the RAF periodically go over and drop their bombs, and the whole earth shakes for miles around. About the most amazing sight I have ever seen was our shells pouring into a certain town (Cassino) and the remainder of the town being shelled at the same time by the Germans.
It is almost beyond comprehension how anyone could continue to live in such an inferno of hate but they do and the resistance of the Germans is a thing to be marvelled at. I often think of how my instructors at the OCTU told me that the German was first rate at attack but could not fight in a defensive war. His tenacious resistance here against overwhelming superiority in artillery and air force makes it seem more remarkable than ever how the Russians have been able to advance at such a pace. Of course, this country is absolutely perfect for defence and, in most places, it is very difficult to outflank him.
We have not been worried much in our positions. Night time is, of course, very much the time for alertness and the utmost vigilance. The second in command told me yesterday that the CO was rather worried about Chance and Collis, both of whom are having their first close contact with the enemy and who are rushing around all night long, never getting any sleep and consequently not only becoming nervy themselves but getting everyone else in a similar state.
This Coy Commander has become very cool and it takes a lot to get me worked up. I made my plan and placed my defences and that was all there was to it and I jolly well get as much sleep as I possibly can. Jimmy Clarke and I are regarded as the veterans and the CO does not bother us much – he was very well satisfied with my defence dispositions. I have good platoon commanders and I don’t keep on worrying and nagging at them. Pat Howard is an excellent chap with bags of experience and very cool and steady and Douglas is putting up a very good show, very cool and confident and has a good grip over his platoon. My third platoon commander by the irony of fate is Frank Higgins. Rather curious to think that three people who arrived just about the same time at Ballykinler should 3½ years later be in the same Company here, one commanding the Coy and the other two platoons. Frank of course commands as a Sgt. Through a chapter of accidents, I was reduced to one Sgt and tackled the CO on the question. He said he would get me a good Sgt and then the following day asked if I would like Higgins. Of course, he knows I like Frank and to quote his own words, ‘Higgins requires handling – he is first rate by the person over him and has confidence in that individual’. The great thing to be said for him is that is very cool, as experience has taught him the answers as the saying goes out here and he can be absolutely relied upon. I would not pretend for one moment that he is a born leader or even a great leader but he has acquired the ability to lead and because he has proved himself on the field of action, he is well respected by the men.
The CO saw the photo of you and Valerie recently and said, ‘So that’s the little girl I have heard so much about, Lawrie. She is lovely and the wife too – very nice indeed, you are a lucky man, Lawrie’. He was married in 1938, the day Hutton broke the record but has not been able to spend a great deal of time at home. He was in Norway as a platoon commander, France and came out to N. Africa with the battalion as a Company Coy. (Major) John Horsfall has recently returned and has gone to the London Irish as 2 i/c. He, of course, has a very big reputation.
The papers you send arrive quite regularly. The last lot was dated the beginning of February. Two hundred cigarettes from Pat (Long) arrived a couple of days ago. Look after yourself, darling, and don’t worry more about me than you can help, I am doing very well and in good spirits.
All my love and kisses to you and my precious little daughter.
Your devoted husband
Lawrence
