Christmas

HAVING written that one word at the top of the page, it seems a difficult and unnecessary task to find anything to say about it. It has the same fundamental meaning for us all, however we spend it. Nov, indeed, new associations are added to it, and it rings like the cry of a trumpet above the dreary and disheartening battlefield. We are not likely to forget the extraordinary scenes that took place last Christmas at the Front ; how men whose one object was to kill each other voluntarily agreed to a truce and met and fraternised between the lines of death.

It always seems to us that this incident provides a most satisfactory answer to the pessimist who declares that the desire to fight is fixed ineradicably in the breast of man, that there will be war until there is a new Heaven and a new Earth. It has shown us that there is something deeper, something more fundamental in man than this desire to kill— something which the most vital moment of Christianity is able to bring out in all its power and appeal. It seems to show that if mankind could be gripped by Christianity as it is gripped by it at Christmas, there would be some hope, nay, there would be every hope, that rifles and machine-guns and all such inventions of the devil’ are eventually doomed to glut the all-receptive maw of the museum of the future.

But no doubt a School Magazine is not the place to air these Utopian dreams. We are bound down by reality, especially in these times, and perhaps not even Christmas should beallowed to drag us away from the relentless present. But it does ; and therefore we do not intend to give our readers sage advice as to whether a postman’s lot is happier than that of a porter, which is the kind of practical advice many are seeking.’Do the thing that is next you’ is always a sound exhortation, and if nothing seems next you, well, then, go and find it And if, even then, you return perforce empty-handed, keep Christmas and think about it, and you will not have failed in your duty towards the world.

The Elizabethan, December 1915

Posted in Home Front | Tagged | Leave a comment

Alfred Tomlin East

Alfred Tomlin East was the only son of the late Sir Alfred East, R.A., President of the Royal Society of British Artists. One of his father’s paintings is owned by the school and hangs in Weston’s.

East was in Ashburnham House from September 1891 to April 1895. He became an engineer and worked as a special assistant during the construction of the Bombay Municipality Waterworks. He enlisted in the Indian Marines at Bombay at the outbreak war and was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant in the Indian Army in 1915; in July he was attached 17th Company 3rd Sappers and Miners and left Bombay with the Expeditionary Force to Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) in the following month.

19151225_East,AT

The role of British and Indian troops in Mesopotamia was originally envisaged in limited terms — securing the oil pipeline at Abadan. The success the forces met with in late 1914 and early 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt al Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.

The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut Al Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Alfred Tomlin East died on Christmas Day, 1915 of wounds he received in action during the siege a week earlier.

Memorial to Alfred Tomlin East in Mumbai Cathedral.  Many thanks to Geoff Brown, who commented below, for supplying this image.
Posted in The Fallen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Frank Besson

Frank Besson attended Westminster Schoolfrom May 1910 to Christmas 1914 in Rigaud’s House. He was successful at school, taking part in cricket, football, gymnastics – where he made up ‘in strength and energy for what he lacks in style’,and athletics, excelling particularly in the latter. His performances, particularly as a short-distance runner, helped Rigaud’s to win Athletic Sports two years running.

His obituary in The Elizabethan noted that ‘he possessed boundless energy and the divine gift of enthusiasm. His tastes were all for mechanical science and adventure, and before the war he had already designed to join the Air Service.’

Indeed just before leaving the school, on 12th December 1914, Frank addressed the school’s Scientific Society on ‘Theories of Aviation’. A review of his talk noted that ‘he explained the various laws which govern the science of Flight, illustrating his points with experiments on the bench. He thus demonstrated very clearly a thing which many of his hearers perhaps did not know before, namely, why and how a heavier than-air body like an aeroplane will support itself in a less dense medium.’

After training as a pilot Frank served at Dunkirk in August 1915 before going out to the Dardanelles. Hedrowned off the Gallipoli Peninsula whilst on reconnaissancepatrol when his aircraft was brought down into the sea by the enemy. His death was not confirmed until April, when his observer, who had been captured by the enemy forces, was able to get word back to his family.

19151220_Besson,Frank
A Wight seaplane used in the Gallipoli Campaign, 1915
Posted in The Fallen | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Officer Training Corps

PARADES take place this term on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. The Friday Parade is devoted to Company drill, the platoons being organized in houses. Much practice has been obtained in close order company drill by those Cadets who are leaving, and we think that they have improved a good deal. It appears that they are better in the position of Company Commander than in that of Platoon Commander, and we should like to suggest that they devote more of their attention to the perfecting of their words of command in the latter position.

The Monday and Tuesday Parades are carried out under House Commanders, the system working side by side with that of football house leagues. This is the arrangement we have had before in the Lent term, and its popularity has justified its working also in the Play term. All the same, the C.O. does not bind himself to adhere to this system always, nor even for the whole of this term.

Shooting has been in full swing on the Tufton Street miniature range, kindly lent to us on three days a week by the Royal Fusiliers. It is hoped that our time may be extended to four days a week before very long. Much as we appreciate the kindness of our neighbours in placing this range at our disposal at certain times, we look forward somewhat vaguely, but none the less anxiously, to the time when we shall have our own range. The vast amount of shooting which has to be got through at our present strength would be much more easily organized if we could have a range entirely under the control of the Corps.

A Field Day was arranged against Cranleigh for Thursday, October 28. We hoped to go down to Chilworth and carry out some manoeuvres on Blackheath—our usual battleground. We woke up to the sound of dripping rain, which had evidently been going on most of the night. It was wisely decided to cancel the arrangements, and we now have the event to look forward to. The date, as far as we know, is not refixed, but we hope to have better luck with the weather next time.

Posted in Home Front | Tagged | Leave a comment

America’s behaviour during the War has been unjustifiable

The House met on Thursday, November 25, to discuss the motion ‘That in the opinion of this House America’s behaviour during the War has been unjustifiable.’

The Proposer (The VICE-PRESIDENT) said that he proposed the motion on two grounds that her acts all through had been double dealing, and that she had not fulfilled her role as a party to the Hague Convention. The Red Cross had been violated by Germany, open towns bombarded, neutral shipping destroyed, and non-combatant civilians had been murdered, but America’s only reply had always been a useless Note.

The Opposer (Mr. GREIG) said that America had done her best in sending Notes to the Germans when they violated the Hague Convention. Her army was very small and her navy, though of a good size, was not well manned. America, he said, was half German, and it would be very difficult for her to come in on either side.

The Seconder (Mr. HOLLINS) said that there had been no complaints about Germany’s barbarism in Belgium. The Americans had been very slack with regard to the various German officials in America who had been plotting to blow up their munition works. America ought not to interfere with European affairs.

Mr. KIRKMAN pointed out that we had all invited the American Ambassadors to look after our affairs in enemy countries, and this was asking America to interfere with European affairs. Her best way of looking after our affairs was to send Notes, for her army and navy were both weak.

Mr. SHARPE called our attention to the resignation of Mr. Bryan.

Mr. MEYER said that America’s whole principle was wrong. They should take proper action, and not be a mere Note-sender.

Mr. BRANDON-THOMAS said that America was not a first-class power, and should not try to be one.

Mr. HERBERT said that she would ruin herself with internal strife if she went into the war.

The PRESIDENT said that no one had dealt with the amazing statements of the Opposer and fourth speaker. America had failed in her dutyto the world. Self-interest was not the only thing. Her only hope lay in a big upheaval.

After various quarrels of a more or less personal nature, the motion was put to the vote, and carried by 10 votes to 6.

Posted in Debating Society | Tagged | Leave a comment

James Pitcairn Blane

19151123_Blane,JP

James Pitcairn Blane was in Ashburnham House from May 1895 until July 1901. He was a keen cricketer and played in the school’s XI with the highest batting average in the team of 24.0. When he left the school he became a mining engineer, spending four years in Western Australia and travelling to West Africa on several occasions. On the outbreak of war he was the manager of a mine in Cornwall. He joined in the 8th Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps in October 1914 and went out to the western front in May 1915.

Blane was seriously wounded at 5pm on 19th November whilst to the left of the B16 trench to the north-east of Ypres. He was hit by a ‘whizzbang’ the nick name given to German field artillery shells. The name derived from the fact that the shells fired from German 77mm field guns travelled faster that the speed of sound and therefore soldiers heard the ‘whizz’ of the shell travelling through the air towards them before the ‘bang’ issued by the gun itself upon firing. The result of this high velocity was that defending soldiers had very little notice of the incoming shell. Blane was taken to the nearby military hospital in Poperinghe but died in the early hours of the morning of 23rd November.

His younger brother, Hugh, died in active service in 1914 and his elder brother, Cmdr Sir Charles Rodney Blane killed in action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

Blane had played cricket for MCC and is also commemorated on the club’s roll of honour.

 

Posted in The Fallen | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Britain’s unreadiness for the War was entirely due to the negligence of the Government, continued

The House met on Thursday, November 18, to continue last week’s debate.

Mr. HARROD quoted the President as demanding that England should have been told, so that her armaments might have been increased ; but he held that that policy would have been fatal, for they would have inoculated us with the desire of war, and an outburst would have been the inevitable result. And what good could such information be to the average Englishman, when it was no good to the Government ? We could never have caught up Germany’s military supremacy, and an exhausting struggle in armaments would have been the only result, whereas the Government saw our proper sphere was in the struggle for industrial supremacy. Mr. Harrod then attacked Mr. Brandon-Thomas’s speech, especially his exercises in invective against Ministers. Mr. Brandon-Thomas demanded something theatrical, but he was content with the solid virtue and far-sightedness of the Government. Mr. Harrod is rather apt to repeat himself.

The VICE-PRESIDENT then rose and attacked most of Mr. Harrod’s statements. He pointed out that efficient mobilisation was due to a General Officer, and declared that nothing could have been worse than Lord Haldane’s administration of the War Office. He also quoted our lack of munitions as pointing to negligence on the part of the Government.

Mr. BRANDON-THOMAS then defended himself against Mr. Harrod’s attacks, chiefly by the use of an all-embracing ridicule.

Mr. OLIVER scoffed at the idea that the eight battalions removed by Lord Haldane were of any use. He thought it would be tyrannous if the nation has to support a large army and a large navy.

The PRESIDENT deprecated the attacks on Lord Haldane, who simply did not realise that Germany had changed since the time of Hegel. As for the impossibility of catching Germany up, Germany had got the start ; because she had got the start she was at the end of her resources, whereas Britain had not began to draw on them. Lord Roberts was a brave man, speaking the truth ; the Government insulted him. The democracy was told by its leaders that there was no danger when there was danger. For the want of a little courage and few more men, Belgium had been ravaged and made desolate. Could a Christian believe all this necessary and right?

Mr. GERRISH got up and started the old question by declaring that Britain had a Navy which was quite sufficient for her needs.

The PRESIDENT declared that it was not sufficient for the needs of Europe.

Mr. HARROD brought the debate to a conclusion by pointing out the inconsistencies in the speeches of the Vice-President and Mr. Brandon-Thomas, and accused the latter of getting hold of a piece of a phrase and making great fun of it, while completely avoiding the point.

The motion was then put to the vote, and lost by 7 votes to II.

Posted in Debating Society | Tagged | Leave a comment

London in War-Time

EUSTON at last ! The old, pale sunlight falls
Golden athwart the smoky roofs and walls,
Again the well-loved streets and Thames we see,
And five weeks’ mountains are a memory.
There is a glen that nestles in the hills,
Lit by the flashing of unnumbered rills ;
Through it a path goes winding under trees
That gaze unmoved upon the centuries ;
And from the summit the clear sunlight calls
Athwart the undying chuckle of the falls.
Safe at the top I stayed my climb and pondered
Not on the sunlight that divinely wandered
Among the trees and danced upon the stream,
Sighting a fairy lamp at every gleam,
But seeing the branches bending overhead
So like to vaulting well remember├®d,
I felt the gloom and heard the quiet stir
That soothes the tired soul at Westminster.
The young Gods made the country, took delight
In quiet fields and great, calm stars at night.
But then came One who saw with steady soul
That quiet could not be the final goal ;
And He brought men together, made them strive
To hate, to love, to help, in short to live.
God made the Town, and high above the rest
London with all his various gifts he blessed.
But now the posters shriek from every wall,
And false lures call where Honour ought to call ;
In flaunting headlines mixed of lies and spite
The Press most nobly vindicates its right,
‘The Nation’s Voice with its stentorian lungs ;
The Nation seems to have a hundred tongues.
Its tongues are loud ; its boastings high and bold.
Surely the Nation’s heart is worn and old.
Fool, these are straws that shew the flood beneath
Inevitable as night and sure as death.
Are we awake ? See, o’er the darkened sky
The searchlight’s darting and imperious eye.
While down below discreet and scattered lamps
Shew where the lonely ‘Special ‘ stoutly tramps.
Is our heart stirred ? See, when the trains arrive
With erstwhile men now pitifully alive,
The sun’s not up, but London’s daughters are,
That once would shiver at a penknife’s scar ;
Or in the street the brown-clad men go by,
The woman’s prayer, the old man’s wistful sigh,
Mark you them not ? And ever more and more
The pulse beats faster than it beat before ;
Before each bridge and every thick-thronged street
Was trod, ’tis true, with eager, hurrying feet,
But then on different business each was bent,
See, now on every face the one intent ;
The will’s the same, whate’er the work may be,
Each face means fiercely ‘Victory, Victory.’
London before was somewhat hard to find,
Shreds showed themselves to some in every mind ;
Now she is bound together and made whole.
The price is bitter, very hard the toll,
But none may crush her, she has found her soul.

C.L.B

The Elizabethan, November 1915

Posted in Home Front | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Britain’s unreadiness for the War was entirely due to the negligence of the Government

The House met on Thursday, November 11, to discuss the motion’That in the opinion of this House Britain’s unreadiness for the War was entirely due to the negligence of the Government.’

The Proposer (The PRESIDENT) said that it might seem presumptuous for schoolboys to discuss such a motion, but he considered that the members of the House formed part of a most valuable class in Society. Before he dealt with the question he asked the House not totreat it as one of party politics, for it only happened that a Liberal Government was in power. He conceived that he had three things to prove : That there was danger; that we were unready; that the Government saw the danger, The ‘first needed little proof in the light of what we know now, though some may have known of the literature of Anglophobia, semi-official in character, published in Germany. As to the second, the President said that the mere fact that only two thirds of our expeditionary force was sent across at first would prove it, but even our full Expeditionary Force was absurdly inadequate, as every eminent soldier knew. But most of all we were morally unprepared. Now the Government had had six distinct warnings. The Morocco incident, where Germany tried to break the Entente ; the acceleration of the ‘German Naval programme in 1908 ; the third warning in 191o, of which little was known ; the famous Agadir incident ; the extraordinary mission of Lord Haldane, which fully enlightened the Government, according to Mr. Asquith ; and, lastly, the German Army Bill and Loan of 1913. This last showed that Germany’s best hour to strike would be somewhere in the year 1914, when we were being told that we were on the best terms with Germany, and when Lord Roberts was being insulted in Parliament for telling the truth.

The Opposer (Mr. ABRAHAMS), in a short speech, said that he fully admitted the President’s three points, but contended that nothing else could have been done. The Government received from their predecessors the ideals of Peace, Retrenchment and Reform. The Imperial Defence Committee had advised that no form of National Service was necessary, and no one of either party listened to Lord Roberts. The majority had always been against a large aimy, and while the Government were trying to get such an increase, as the President suggested, sanctioned by the people, Europe would see what was up, and Germany would attack us. The fault lay not with the Government, but with English history.

The Seconder (Mr. BRANDON-THOMAS), in a fluent but rather irrelevant speech, began by comparing the Opposer to Parliament, which always does what their forefathers did, and then blames them. We ought to have learnt our lesson from the Boer War, but we didn’t, and all our armchair critics laughed at Lord Roberts. The Government was always leaving things to be done afterwards, so they never got done at all. In peace they refuse to listen to the demands of the War Office and the Admiralty ; and when war finds the country unprepared, they are offered up as a scape-goat. The Government was always afraid of something—of the people, or of Germany, or of itself. Mr. Brandon-Thomas drew a, glowing picture of the elder Pitt’s measures, and proceededto deliver a venomous attack on Lord Haldane. He finished by saying that the Government had always crushed patriotism, and were horrified at any lack of it when disaster came.

The debate was then adjourned till the next meeting.

Posted in Debating Society | Tagged | Leave a comment