Pte BERTIE HIBBETT, attached Notts & Derby Transport: PAGES 4-6 of LETTER to IDA HIBBETT, 95, Foden Rd Walsall.
(Sun. 13th Feb. 1916?) (1)
. . . . They have passed me as a qualified Sniper (2) & I satisfiedour old Coy. Com. Capt List-r (3).
British Trench with Sniper and dead /sleeping soldier? NB Steel helmet issued 1916.
He has a brother in the 3/ 5th (S.Staffs) who wrote to him concerning Sydney.Captain L — r, now Major, is acting as Colonel while R—r (4) is away.I am sorry for a reason; Sydney’srelease will be delayedagain.
I am what you might call ‘humbly’ glad you liked my small gift, & really did not think it would give you so much pleasure as you made out in your letter. The cross must be yours for all time. (I don’t know so much that I shall have a cross dangling from a watch Chain). I might go in for a couple of wrist watches.I say two – so that I can take the average, or otherwise the medium (sic) time (5).
I am especially glad that you received my letters on the dates which were most appropriate.
Now, dear Sister, don’t you think it would be a weee bit impertinent to bother the Colonel abootLeave. It is like this, you cannot die of your own accord before your appointed time,you cannot die before God wishes you to die – & so with everything in life.I shall have my Leave in all good time; do not think for a moment that I have been easy going & let opportunities slip, far from that.
In the Corps (6) we are now attached to there is no Home Leave,so I have heard.We shall be leaving the Corps at the end of the month & then Leavewill start again. There are lots of other men – & so accordingly there are lots of other men’s parents who are just as anxious to see their relatives.
Oh! Bukhshee* was very fond indeed of me,I might say without any self-assertion. Luckilyhe saw me againonentraining, & after we were dismissed, immediately came up & shook hands with me.He also gave me his address & your letter has just reminded me to write to him. He & the ‘frogeater’ will serve as jolly correspondence chums when ‘aprés le guerre’ (7).
Thank you very much for your advice. Yes Sydney & Bertie have a very brave & patient Mother.SoMum was very different from those ‘silly, three fat ladies’ who clung to Dodger for protection. (8).
Best love to all,
Bertie.
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ELIZABETH HIBBETT WEBB
Whilst his family would have been pleased Bertie had passed as a Sniper they were obviously very anxious to see him on Home Leave. He had been in France & Flanders for almost a year.
(1) 13th Feb. is the most likely date for this Letter.
James Paris Lee. 1831-1904.
(2) Pte Bertie’s Lee-EnfieldRifle, took its name from the designer of the rifle’s bolt system, James Paris Lee , British Canadian & later American manufacturer – and the factory in which it was designed—the Royal Small Arms Factory,Enfield.
(3) Captain Lister*.Old Company Commander. (4) Lt.Colonel Raymond Raymer* 1/5th S. Staffords.
(5)Pte Bertie wanted to know the Greenwich Mean Time & new Summer Time at Home to compare with the time in France. ‘Mean’ time rather than ‘medium’ is meant.
(6)Notts & Derby(Transport Coprs). (7) Bukhshee Ichbye Singh Waltu* an Hindustani soldier met at Marseilles & Joe Albene*,farmer landlord of Pte Bertie’s billet at Bellancourt.
(8)Ref. to Basil’s actionsduring Zeppelin RaidoverWalsall.31st Jan -1st Feb.1916. See New Page: ‘My Memories’ A.H.H. 1967. published 10th Feb 2016.
Pte BERTIE HIBBETT: A Little Book of Words & Doings. February 1916.
Bellancourt (1).‘Had a good time with Transport at Bellancourt, where I acted as MP over billets. Got in with Frenchchap & an old couple and baby who would greet me as ‘Daddy‘ and cry awfully when I went away. Albene by name. Invited me to supper. Menu: Pork et Pomme de terre. Cider. Macaroni pudding. Pommes de fritters. Cafe.Promised to keep in touch with Bukhshee Ichbye Singh Waltu (clerk). No 5. Base Supply Depot, Indian Expeditionary Force, France.’ .
POSTCARD ‘Notre Petit Gars’ to Mother, Marie Neal Hibbett (omitted from post by mistake, illustrated below): 27/ 1/ 1916.
My very dear Mother, still here.
Any amount of flies in this orderly room, but half dazed.I squashed one on my ear.Trust you got the PC I sent toDad. Not much I can tell you now, but hope to do so in time. The French are great at painting mind pictures. PCs are ½ d eachhere but these two were a1d eachowing to them being hand finished. I bought several PCs and hope topaint a pictureortwo when I have leave at home (when that is).
I wonder if S(ydney) is at home or in England yet. Sorry you will not be able to write to me as I am still away from theBatt.
Best love, Bertie.
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Mother at Tea.
Pte BERTIE tries his hand at ‘L’Angue Francais’ inLETTER to Marie Neal HIBBETT, 95 Foden Rd Walsall, she had not heard from him for some time.
NB Neuve Address (1) Lundi, Fevrier 7/ 16
Mon bien Chêre Mère, (2)
Comment-allez vous mon Mama. Je vous espère – ne heureuse – about me not being able to write you on Janvier 31st Demanche.Que pensez vous le raide deszeppelins sur l’Angleterre?Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Liverpool, & Nottingham.
I spent Sunday January 31st in a cow truck, so of course I could not very well write to you as thetrainshook too much for reading even, let alone writing.Je suis bien triste mon Mère that I have missed my usual Lettre de Demanche.
I guess you will be ‘Bien Heureuse’ to receive a letter from me, & still happier I know that you can send parcels & letters from now on until further orders to Private AH Hibbett 8832 1/5 South Staffordshire, attached to A Company 1/5 Notts & Derby Regiment BEF.Please note the latterRegiment. Basil can make a copy for you to keep safe. I was told to write the addressin the letter & not on Top.
Notre petit Gars! Mon Dieu! dans les dangers Daignez le proteger! PC to Mother: 27.1.1916.
I hope now that I shall soon hear of Sydney. I wonder if he has left England yet. When I wrote you last I sent youtwoFrench Postcardswith something of little interest written on them, for then I could not tell you much. But since then – Je suis avons une longue journé dans le chemin de fer & spent some happy days at a little village composed of nothing but farm houses & ‘chateaux’. (3).
I was in charge of a billet as ‘police hommes en garde’ & got to know the farm people who lived there. The old lady invited me to supper every evening free of charge. The supper was fine every time. I had no less thanfour courses, but curious enough all the courses, except the second, was the same every night:–
Menu: Prem: Pommes de terres frittres.2.Macoroni au lait.3.Pommes des frittres et du pain. 4.Cafe. – see torn leaf. (4)
[Torn Leaf: We all made ourselves quite happy & at home with L’Angue Francais.Je connaissez petit – causing one another to break into roars of laughter now & again. They had one little child who mistook me for her ‘Dada’ & she would break into crying everytime I promenaded down La Rue de Ville. The farmer gave me many souvenirs. ]
So do not Rêre but be en L’Alerte for a letter from my French Chum,Joé by name.They were very interested, as well as surprised, when I got them to understand thatmy home was in Staffordshire over which des Zeppelins travelled (5). We got to know of the damage done at Nottingham & Liverpool & I made them understand that I wanted to send the news in Frenchto mon Père et mon chêre Mèreas the news in French would be ‘Bien Interestanté’.
Je suis fatigue – êcriré l’angue Francais. Je suis bien ignorant. Monsieur Basil(the French compris ‘Basil’ as it is a French man’s name also) will think my scraps of French‘Bien faible’, but I just put the phrases in as I like plenty of variety when writing letters. I hate reading letters which are written in the same ‘olde style’.
Aimez-vous les petit timbres et les petit photograph de moi-même et mon ami Bukhshee –il un Hindustani Sikh:– that is his name. He could speak, not only his own language but French fluently, & English too. (6).
I will conclude now. Je vous promets que vous serez heureuse when je vous vois at Home.
Please note Notts & Derby Reg.Let Basil make a copy for you to keep in a safe place. You can, if you wish, send me any thing you like in a parcel.
Je suis votre aimable fil, (7).Bertie.
PS Que pensez-vous de la raide des zeppelins sur L’Angleterre? Mon Basil [. . the rest is censored . .]
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ELIZABETH HIBBETT WEBB
(1) BELLANCOURT, a tiny settlement in Picardie, 3 miles north-east of the Cathedral City of Abbeville.Pte Bertie,was now attachedto Notts & Derby Regt(Transport)& acting asmilitary policeman(until 1/5th South Staffords arrived back in France from the Eastern Front).He accounts for the lack of a LetterHome on 31st January (on a train journey in a cow truck)and his Mother may not have received anything from him in January except a couple of postcards with ‘little of interest’ (see above PC 27th Jan).The British Army was keen to keep its movements quiet.
(2) Pte Bertie’s French is exactly as he wrote it (including accents)but readers, even with little French themselves, can make out the gist of his meaning! Here he confuses ‘bien’ (good) with ‘très’ (very) and signs himself ‘Your kind (fil) thread‘! instead of ‘Your loving (fils) son. ‘Je suis bien ignorant’ I can hear him laughing, but he made himself understood & his Little Book of Words & Doingshas pages of French vocabulary. NB. Walsall’s Blue Coat Elementary School curriculum would probably not have included French and at Queen Mary’s Grammar his studies would have been geared towards his mining surveyorapprenticeship.
(3) Pte Bertie’s positionas an MP(military policeman) may account for his happier billet on Joé Albene’s farm.
(4) ‘Pommes des terres Frittres‘: Potato chips.‘Pommes des frittres‘: Apple fritters.NB omission of Porklisted in his ‘Little Book’.
Zeppelin Raid : Wednesbury Rd Congregational Church, Walsall, corner of Glebe St. Walsall.
(5) ZeppelinsL 21 & L19intended to bomb Liverpool on 31st Jan -1st Feb. 1916but got lost in the Midlands and bombed the Black Country instead – with high explosives & incendiary bombs.
Zeppelin L 21 (LZ 61). Nordholz Airbase, 1916. 587 ft long 61 ft diameter. Largest combat aircraft ever flown. Shot down in flames 28th Nov. 1916, over Lowestoft.
Walsall was hit on the afternoon of 1st Feb. The Lady Mayoress,Mary Julia Slater, died later (20th Feb.) having been badly injured whilst riding on the top of an open-air tram 16 in the centre of town near the Science & Art Institute in Bradford Place (at the spot where the War Memorial now stands). My grandfather had a narrow escape and my grandmother at 95, Foden Rd watched the sinister aircraft pass overhead. Total Casualties: 35 killed. <https://www.expressand star.com/tag/walsall> <https://www.en-wikipedia.org>
(6) Bukhshee Ichbye Singh Waltu: one of 130,000members of Indian Expeditionary Force who served in France & Flanders,of whom9,000 died. Memorials at Ypres & Neuve Chappelle. <https://www.greatwar.co.uk> < https://www.en-wikipedia.org>
NEXT NEW PAGE:10th Feb. 2016. ‘My Memories of the First World War & the Battle of the Somme’by the Revd A.H. Hibbett. Essay: 1967.
NEXT POST: 13th Feb. 1916.
The WW1 Letters and Drawings of Private Bertie Hibbett, 1/5th South Staffordshire Regiment, to his family in Walsall, will be posted again, one hundred years on, from August 1914 to November 1918, by his daughter Elizabeth Hibbett Webb. The first posting will be the Recruitment Postcard sent by Queen Mary's Grammar School Headmaster to the Hibbett family on holiday in Abergele, Wales.