Section 3
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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A HERO Section 3 |
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A SOLDIER IN THE COLONIES
Early in 1909 the Hampshire Regiment was recruiting at Woolwich and William signed on with them for six years service and a further six in reserve. His initial training took about six months. On entry into the army he went through a recruit's course, where he learnt how to dress, to drill and to march. He also learnt how to handle his rifle. Next he did the 'trained soldier' course, where he practiced and became proficient at target shooting. During the whole time that he was in the Army his training never really stopped. There were always manoeuvres and exercises, and frequent training in the use of new weapons and new methods of warfare. As a professional soldier he was taught effective rifle fire and movement in attack and how to lay down controlled rifle fire from defensive positions. In order to learn and to hone these fighting skills, squads or sections of men would attack each other time and again, helping to make the small professional British Army a formidable and disciplined fighting force.
Our new soldier did some of his training at Woolwich and witnessed the awesome destructive power of the modern big siege guns and smaller field artillery pieces being tested there. On the ranges he first fired a rifle and he thrilled at the weight and power of the weapon that was in his hands. He made frequent visits to the rifle ranges, and here he practiced and, like the rest of his comrades, became proficient with his Lee Enfield with an impressive rate of fire and accuracy.
His training molded him into a stubborn, brave soldier, but at the same time his imagination became stifled by the rigid command structure and the highly ordered society in which he lived. His Regiment was his family and he slowly became ingrained with its history and its tradition, which reinforced what a man could do and instilled the idea that if he did not live up to tradition in battle he might let down the whole Regiment and all of its proud history.
Off duty he found few distractions as there was little for him to do in the way of recreation. Drink, Music Halls, Housie Housie (Bingo) and women being the only options. After supper at four in the afternoon there was nearly six hours to kill before lights out. Often he might just go for a stroll. Sometimes he and his mates would have a drink and a sing song in the 'wet canteen', if they could afford it they might walk to a local public house, and on high days they went to Music Halls or even to one of the new cinema theatres. Will himself was sometimes part of the entertainment, and for his fellow soldiers on 28th July 1910 he sang in an R.A.T.A. (Royal Army Temperance Association) concert.
Whilst training he was part of the 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment but eventually the time came for him to join the 2nd Battalion, which in 1910, was stationed in South Africa, and so on 17th October 1911 his mother, Edith, made the journey by train from Woolwich to Aldershot, where she met him for a last goodbye.
On that cold morning they sipped tea in the Salvation Army coffee shop. Edith's emotions that day made her more quiet than usual, William, however, was so excited that he hardly paused for breath. She held his hand and looked lovingly at his face - how handsome he was, and how well he looked. They looked at their reflections in the steamed up window and they both knew that they would not see each other for a very long time, possibly for many years
They finished their tea and he got up to leave. She followed him outside and they hugged each other tightly. He bent down and kissed her farewell. One long look deep into her eyes and he turned briskly and walked across the neatly clipped grass, turning around as he reached the corner of the barrack block. He waved one last goodbye and was gone. Edith gave a half wave and then covered her weeping eyes with her gloved hands. She stood alone in the cold and sobbed. The young girl, who had served them tea in the café, looks through the misted window and watches them. She has seen many of these last goodbyes, but she is still saddened by what she has just witnessed. With tears still in her eyes Edith bent down and picked some small white daises from the edge of the grass as a reminder of the parting. (I have those daisies!) She then made her way slowly back to the train station, where she caught her train back to London and home.
William and his unit made the last preparations to leave Aldershot and England. He must sell off some of his surplus possessions before he leaves and luckily his friend, Private Tubb of the 1st Hampshires, needs a bicycle to get from the barracks at Aldershot to the house of his new girlfriend in the town. William sells his bike for two pounds, ten shillings (£2.50), and is able to pay off his gambling debts before he leaves.
They took the train down to Southampton docks and there boarded the SS Soudan, a small passenger steamer. In 1911 the 2nd Hampshire Battalion was garrisoned at Durban, in South Africa, and they were due to make one of their regular moves to a new post. This time Mauritius. The War Office had chartered the SS Soudan to South Africa to relieve the Hampshires and on board was a draft of new men to bring them up to battalion strength. That draft included William.
SS Soudan left Southampton water on October 19th. Six days later they briefly stopped at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Here the ship bunkered and took on water and provisions, but they were not allowed to leave the ship. Instead they bartered with the island's natives alongside in small boats. They were able to get bananas (6 for a penny) and cigars (one penny each). They also threw pennies into the water and eagerly watched as the natives dived into the sea to retrieve them. Later on the same day they took to sea heading for Capetown. They sailed through Table Bay on 10th November and passed mail to a Capetown mail boat. Four days later they reached the port of Durban, which is situated in a huge 'C' shaped natural harbour, surrounded by beaches edged with white surf and backed by green verdant hills. Here the cargo of men and equipment were off loaded onto the dusty wooden wharves. By 12th December the battalion were once again on board ship and steaming out of the bay of Durban, bound for Mauritius, 1552 miles across the Indian Ocean and two days away. On December 14th 1911 the S.S.Soudan slid in past the two Imperial forts guarding the channel leading to the low harbour town of Port Louis, the main harbour of Mauritius. 20 officers, 2 Warrant Officers, 14 drummers and 763 other ranks disembarked. They had left behind in Durban, 1 officer and 57 men due to over crowding on board the ship. These arrived on Mauritius during January 1912. |
 S.S.SOUDAN DURING THE WAR |
Mauritius is a small volcanic island situated in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, uninhabited until the Dutch found it in the 16th Century. The French took possession in the 18th Century after the island was abandoned by the Dutch, but in 1814, it was ceded to the British, who had invaded the island and beaten the French during the Napoleonic wars. Whilst there the 2nd Hampshire Battalion were split into two groups, and alternatively stayed at Port Louis, the principle city and port of this British island colony, or at Vaçoas (pronounced Vacwa), on the planes of the interior. Their home whilst in Port Louis was the Line Barracks, which was built by the French in the early 18th century, and is situated in the centre of the city and close to the sea. The barracks are enclosed by high walls made of black volcanic bricks, and the windows are shuttered to make them more comfortable in the tropical heat, but the exotic smells and bustling noises of Port Louis could still be experienced by the soldiers within. When in the interior they stayed at the modern New Barracks, alongside the railway line and close to the two small French villages of Vaçoas and Phoenix. The barracks were built in a low bungalow style, clad in wooden boards and having a covered veranda, the officers houses and parade grounds close by. The whole military area was green and flat, and dotted with small pine trees or palms, and very reminiscent of the vast military area around Aldershot in the UK. William became tanned and strong during his stay on this idyllic island, and when not on duty, manoeuvres or training he and his fellow soldiers swum in the blue waters of the Indian Ocean or picnicked under the palms in the hills. This would be the happiest time of Will's life, but good times don't last forever and after a stay lasting almost two years he and his Battalion left Mauritius in December 1913 and headed for Bombay. |
 WILLIAM RELAXING IN MAURITIUS |
Bombay was originally a collection of small islands jutting southward into the Indian Ocean from the mainland of India, and four hundred years ago these islands were inhabited by subsistence fishermen. With the arrival of Europeans the islands were slowly developed by the filling and draining of the shallow creeks that flowed between the islands, and the spit of land now known as Mumbai is the result and today it is one of the most densely populated places on earth.
On 16th December the 2nd Hampshires boarded a steam train at the Victoria Terminus in Bombay. They were on their way to Mhow, a cantonment for the British Army in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A tiring train journey of 3 days lay ahead. Out of the train's windows they were shocked by the poverty of Bombay's suburbs, but later the train slid slowly past the endless fields of the plains with their laden buffalo and toiling peasants. The journey slowly took them higher, past breathtaking cliffs and chasms that sent ripples of excitement and approval through the carriages. At last, just after midday on the third day, they arrived at Mhow station where they worked laboriously in the heat, extricating themselves and their belongings from the train. 'B' company, a quarter of their strength, stayed on board. These were to spend their first weeks at Indore, a few miles away. The rest of the battalion, including William, who was part of 'D' Company, made their way to quarters in the barracks of Mhow. |
 VICTORIA TERMINUS, BOMBAY |
WESTERN INDIA
In Mhow life continued to be run on the spit and polish, spick and span routine that William was used to in England and in Mauritius but as a private in India he lived like a gentleman. He had his own servants to fetch and to carry, to clean and tidy. One servant, a 'nappy', would even shave him while he lay in bed. There were pankha wallahs, dhobi wallahs, char wallahs. In two years he picked up the basics in Hindustani, and some of these words he would later use in England:- Cushy (khush = contented), blighty (vilayat = foreign country), chit (chitthi = letter), pyjamas (pajama = loose trousers).
William and his mother write often. Sometimes her letters would arrive all together and he complained bitterly to her:
8287 Pte Bentley W 'D' Company
2nd Hamps Regt
Mhow
India
Dear Mother
I cannot understand how it is I have not received a letter from home for such a long time. Each time the mail comes up I wait to see if my name is called out, and then have to take myself out for a walk or get half my section to help me read my lot because I am afraid I shall be late for parade the next morning if I read them all myself. There is no need for mother to always write the letters to me surely one of the girls are old enough to write a letter to their brother are they to proud. I shall not be long before I reach England two years will be the longest I hope. And then there will be no need to write letters to me. I have written four letters sinse we have been here and have not received an answer yet I can't make it out at all. Is it that you are ill and the others don't like to let me know or what is the matter there must be something in the wind. I can't make it out at all, I do hope there is no bad luck at home. Well I have said all so must bring my letter to a close, hoping I shall hear from you soon wishing all to be in the best of health
From
Your loving son
Will
P.S. I send you a small amount of cotton to help you on in your work
He lived his days in the Mhow cantonment doing routines, fatigues, manoeuvres and exercises. The heat there was much more oppressive than in Mauritius and they all found it difficult to function, especially in the afternoons. William and the others eagerly awaited the monsoon season and the resulting heavy rainstorms. When the rains first start they would all strip off and run around naked in the pouring rain like happy children.
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On June 28th 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo by a young Serbian student called Gavrilo Princip. The first piece of the jigsaw that would forever alter Will's life was in place. A month later on 28th July, Austria declared war on Serbia. On 1st August Germany, Austria's ally, declared war on Russia, then two days later on France. On 4th August Great Britain declared war on Germany, whilst Germany declared war on Belgium. The die was cast and the opposing sides were now poised and ready for war. Four years later the Empires of Russia, of Austria and of Germany would be in tatters. The Empire of Great Britain was shaken to its roots, and would never fully recover and Northern France was laid waste. More than nine million men would lose their lives and nearly every family in Europe would be touched or affected in some way by the tragedy.
On 31st August, nearly a month after the outbreak of war, the 2nd Hampshires went from Mhow to Bombay where they relieved the garrison, who went off to fight in Europe. They stayed at Colaba, the cantonment district at the southern end of Bombay. Whilst in Colaba the Hampshires were involved in an incident at the docks when a ship caught alight causing great concern as there was ammunition on board. William and the others were detailed to remove the ammunition to a safer location on the quay side. They were concerned that they would miss the 'scrap' in Europe, but, on 10th November, they received the news that they were to go. They packed up and said their goodbyes to India. Four days later they eagerly lined up to board the steam ship Gloucester Castle and on 16th November 1916 finally left India on their way to their homes and families and hoping that they had not missed their chance to help rid Belgium and France of the German monster. Some of them will die within six months. Some will last longer. Some, even, will fight on to the end of the war. A few will not be that lucky. |
COLABA BARRACKS, BOMBAY |
LAST UPDATED - 4/12/2004
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