Danny
I was confident that you'd have some interesting snippets to add! I dug out the original photo of my grandfather on the motorcycle. Yes, he's wearing dark puttees on top of long socks, which descend to ankle height shoes. There's a flaw on the photo which, together with a highly polished toe cap, gives the false impression of sandals. On his arm is the Royal Cypher, so he was then a 'Conductor', that is an Indian Army Ordnance Corps 'Warrant Officer First Class'. That dates the photo to 1938-9 (I thought it earlier). My mother, his daughter, says they were then stationed at Trimulgerry, Secundrabad, in the Deccan of South India. So the background wasn't a Hill Station, as you surmised. The uniform does seem to be quirky, but my mother confirms that such puttees were standard uniform. I guess the British Indian Army was a little antiquated. We do have other shots of him, when commissioned during wartime, wearing the standard cotton tunic, so evidently the Indian Army became a bit more 'in vogue'.
You mention his ribbons... he did indeed serve in WW1. He was in the Royal Field Artillery and went out to Belgium to take part in the first set-to: the Battle of Mons. He wrote a somewhat sketchy account of his ten months in combat. Since it's topical, with the centenary of the Somme, here's an excerpt from his time at Mons, when a 21-year-old Bombardier (Corporal). The comments in [ ] are my additions, made when I made a document of his journal.
In the 1920's after WW1
August 20th[1914] Entrained – a very long and tedious journey, broken by numerous halts at large towns. French people very good – dishing out tea, coffee, cigarettes, etc. We gave our cap badges and shoulder titles to them as souvenirs. Arrived at ---------- and bivouacked for the night.
[‘Bivouacing’ means sleeping outside without a tent. The train journey took them from France into Belgium, arriving close to the city of Mons, to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) facing the advance of the German 1st Army. William arrived on the second day of the battle when the bulk of the British forces had withdrawn to secondary defensive positions, but his Brigade’s guns were brought to bear on the attacking Germans. William describes their move up to the battle area, having disembarked from the train].
August 21st Route continued by march – very long march.
August 22nd Still pushing forward as hard as we could go.
August 23rd - Sunday – marched on till noon – having heard enemy’s outposts – patrols not far away – in a hurry to engage him. At noon arrived at the village of Jivry – near Mons. The Colonel went to reconnoitre – we watered and fed. Suddenly we had to take off the nose bags [from the horses] and get a move on – enemy only two miles away. 22nd Battery got into a bad place but was brought out in time to avoid any casualties. 50th and 70th Batteries went into action on the hill above the village. Brigade Staff – Colonel, Adjutant, Orderly Officer, myself, Bombardier Broadly and two Gunners went up as observing party. Commenced digging an observation trench. 50th Battery opened fire on about one Brigade of German Cavalry – almost wiped ‘em out – 50th and 70th then turned their attention to the Enemy’s artillery who were now shelling our infantry. This drew their fire – firstly on 70th then on the whole Brigade – what a day for the “Bhoys”. Our observation trench – being dug in very chalky ground – showed up plainly and was consequently heavily shelled by the Enemy. Oh for water – we had about a pint between us – it soon went. We were digging handfuls [of dirt] out as we just could – I got a bullet through my haversack – for seven hours we were bombarded continually – a fine baptism of fire indeed. Every time any of us showed our heads a shell screamed over at us – we were in line [of sight of their guns]. One shell burst on the ground 18 inches behind the trench – we thought of all our friends at home – all of those we loved – of our past lives – death seemed near – it was our Baptism. As darkness came over, the fire slackened down a bit and at length the enemy only sent one shell over every quarter of an hour. It always burst in the same place – about 300 yards behind us – we grew brave at about 11pm. I had to get the Telephone Detachment up and lay a line to 50th Battery. This over, I sent away the detachment and went back to the trench for the purpose of deepening and working it up generally – by daylight we had it finished to perfection – [later] we had to change the position of the observing station – and [here] commenced to dig like hell as the Enemy were at us again.
His journal continues in rather less detail, describing his part in the Battles of the Marne and First battle of Ypres. In the latter, the Artillery were located close behind the Infantry and his unit was nearly over-run by the Prussian Guard, who had broken through the Black Watch. They had a hell of a time due to heavy artillery bombardment. A later short excerpt, gives us a glimpse of the Royal Flying Corps:
Feb 8th[1915] After 3 days on the move, we took up a new position at GIVENCHY on the side of LA BASSEE CANAL. This had been an extremely hot shop but seemed at the arrival of the 2nd Divisional Artillery to cool down a great deal. We gave them many bombardments which they didn’t appear to like at all.
20th February – gave our greatest (up to the present) demonstration, by bombardment of a German position (called by me) DUCK’S BILL. The infantry, as always before, said our fire was disastrous to the Allemandes, who retired. Our people then advanced on the position.
March 1st Still in the same position – nothing doing – (still sweating on leave).
10th March We adopted the offensive and pushed forward in parts of the line. In this particular section of the line we could not get through the German defences – the barbed wire was of an extremely strong nature and the enemy’s machine guns did a deal of destruction amongst our infantry. [Note: the Infantry largely depended on the massive artillery barrage, laid down before they attacked, to cut the barbed wire entanglements positioned in front of the enemy trenches.] We were continuing the attack on 11th and 12th but finally had to break it off. 12th to 18th nothing of note happened. 18th I was laying out telephone wire to 56th Battery and when near CUINCHY I got sniped at a bit. One fellow nearly winged me but, as I always say, “the German bullet to hit me has not yet been made”.
[Snipers on both sides, equipped with rifles fitted with telescopic sights, carefully concealed themselves at suitable vantage points, and accounted for many casualties. A few months earlier, the Germans removed the spikes from the top of their helmets, in view of the number of casualties that Allied snipers were inflicting on them].
31st March. Nothing of any great interest has occurred since the 12th. The weather has changed for the better and aircraft of both sides have been very active. Every day we have good entertainments from the anti-aircraft guns who – on both sides - give the aviators a hot time. The German airmen mostly scuttle when fired at, but ours are plucky to the extreme. Nothing seems to frighten them, though many have close shaves. Still sweating on that leave. (What will April bring, I wonder?) We have now been in action 9 months so suppose we will soon go out to rest.
Bleriots of the Royal Flying Corps, 1914
A little earlier he described some of his experiences at the battle of the Marne, and later describes a visit from a German aircraft:
On Monday morning we crossed behind 6th Infantry Brigade and the whole drew up in a sheltered valley below the village of VERNIEUL which is on the Aune – a few miles northwest of SOISSONS. No sooner had we drawn up than the enemy introduced a new gun which fired tremendous shells – afterwards nicknamed by us as “Jack Johnsons”, “Black Marias”, “Big Willies” and several other equally idiotic names. One horse was killed and the infantry who, like ourselves, were massed, moved forward – we moving on to a more sheltered position. It was however found that the infantry were shortly opposed by vastly superior numbers and could not push on. Accordingly our Brigade, 34th and 44th Howitzer Brigade were pushed forward to assist them - and we did, but not without serious losses to the personnel and horses of the wagon lines. We stopped in that position for 7 days – it was like Hell. [But] when we eventually left, not a man had the ‘nerve’ of the smallest degree.
(I forgot to mention that [in the very first action] at Mons we got 3 of our 18 guns smashed – our casualties were 5 killed and about 35 wounded).
Here, again, we lost 4 more guns – the work of our new friend Jack One. A sub-section’s gun of 22nd Battery was completely destroyed – with the whole of its detachment and the Section Officer. The other three guns, of 50th Battery, were smashed but the gunners were away – having been ordered away from the guns, owing to the terrific fire directed upon the Battery. On the morning – before daylight – of the 8th day, the Brigade – less [the crippled] 50th Battery, moved to a position about a mile further back. The new position was on a thickly wooded hill near the village of BOURG and for 8 days we were able –unobserved – to simply massacre the Hordes of Germans. It was possible for us – from our specially constructed look-outs on the hill front – to observe the majority of our fire. It was extremely effective. The Germans searched for us with big guns and small but never once, for the 8 days found their mark. Then on the 9th day, an aeroplane, showing the British flag, came hovering over us – we continued firing and the aeroplane went away to the German lines. Shortly afterwards we were again introduced to “Jack” and some high explosive shrapnel as well. Still, in the three weeks during which we stopped in the position we had only two casualties – a fact showing the extremely fine position we had. We moved from BOURG one evening and marched about 10 miles to the village of BRENELLE – another section of the Aisne area – and stopped there for about a fortnight. Just a few spare “Jacks” were our share there – it was quiet.
Regarding my visits to the British Indian Hill Stations, my various mini-adventures aren't really up to being described here... an expedition into the hills here, a dose of malaria there, etc. But I recall the enchanting British bungalows, with traditional, Mediterranean-style tiled roofs, verandas and servants' outhouses. I got to look around one, having been let in by the caretaker... it was bare inside, but it gave some sense of how it would have been. At Mount Abu, there was the Club, there again I was allowed to look around. This was fascinating... a time-warp... everything as it had been, from library, card tables, 1920's typewriter, furnishings, etc. The Hill Sations had many of the old public buildings still standing, the churches and cemeteries being very moving. In many places the ambiance was enchanting... a 'little Surrey'... country lanes, cricket grounds, and viewpoints over the plains below. At Ootacamund, I was able to make a visit to my mother's Victorian-built school, to see the dormitories she slept in and the corridors she walked through. However, with the recent rise of the Indian middle class, I understand the Hill stations have been spoiled by modern hotels and other insensitive commercial developments... alas!