It all began with a phone call from a elderly lady in her nineties living on a remote farm in Derbyshire who, on reading in her local paper about the Sherwood Foresters Museum search for archival material, called to inform us that she had a few letters in her possession written by her father during the Great War.
Sid, as he was known, was born in 1885, one of 9 children. His “life among his 2 sisters and 6 brothers, and parents was far from rosy”. He left school in 1898 at the age of 13. At age 16 he tried to enlist, the war in South Africa had started and he wanted to go – anywhere away from home, but was too young. So he ran away from home, lied about his age and joined the Sherwood Forester Regiment. There he remained for about 9 years serving in different countries, including India, but not Africa. He then returned to Derby where he opened a shoe shop in Normanton. In 1913 he married ‘Florence Parnell’ sold his shop and began work teaching deaf and dumb boys in what was later to become the Royal School for the Deaf. In 1916 he re-enlisted into the Army, being posted to the Seaforth Highlanders, his daughter Vera was born on the 3 December 1916 and Sid only had the opportunity to see and hold her twice before leaving for France. His previous Army experience gained him rapid promotion to Sergeant and as such he took part in 5 major battles receiving the Distinguished Conduct Medal for exceptional leadership and bravery. In the final year of the war he was awarded a battlefield commission. (Details taken from a letter dated 18 October 1918 to his dear daughter Vera Wood on reaching her 16th year, Dec 3 1932)
EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS WRITTEN BY
DURING THE GREAT WAR
“I intended writing this afternoon, but had to have my kilt and boots repaired. This is not the worst. I had to sit outside in a field whilst they were done. It struck me as being very funny, sitting out there. I tried to imagine myself sitting in the garden while you mended my trousers (etc). I think the neighbours would petition for my immediate removal to some home, I having only my shirt and socks on, but all things are forgiven for the duration, at least out here………
I have been thinking ‘what a great, and if used in a proper manner “Science” is’. Through it we have been able to improve the beauty of nature’s own flowers, to see the stars more clearly, to bridge the seas that divide nations, thereby helping one another to prosper, science again has helped us to alleviate pain, in the shape of surgery and medicine, and in thousand of other instances proved itself a boon to mankind. But man is cruel, especially the German. He has turned science into a totally different channel (viz) the devilish destruction of men in many ways during the great catastrophe. He, by turning of gas, gas shells, liquid fire (etc) is making the name of man a byword for almost inhuman cruelties far surpassing the heathen of old and to which, generations to come (who will be far more enlightened than we) will look on with abhorrence. Children will say to themselves “was my Grandfather so wicked?”………….”
“God help me, I really thought I was in Hell. I can’t describe it – no one could. It was such a din, and the flashes were something awful, like thousands of streaks of lightning. It fairly shook the ground under us, then all of a sudden the Germans recovered from the shock, which was just before dawn. Then they gave us some of their fury, shell after shell was sent over to us on the offhand of killing as many of us as possible. We advanced a bit quite steady which seems marvellous under such a tornado of shell fire.”
“Something worse was to follow. Perhaps I daren’t mention it, but I know you won’t worry, as it is finished now and I probably will never go into that part of the line again – I hope not however. Here goes then – on reaching our objective we had orders to dig ourselves in. Of course we soon set about it and dug for our lives, as the shells were coming over. When we got about 4ft down, we came across the bones of men who had died a year before. By jove, it was horrible work but we simply had to do it.”
