3 November 1915

Commentary

Another of Peirs’s typed/transcribed letters, this one to his sister Cecily. He he is concerned that his division (and battalion) did not get enough credit for their action at the Battle of Loos. All the glory seems to have gone to the Guards.

The context behind Peirs’s complaint: Field Marshal Sir John French‘s report from Loos was just released. French was widely blamed for the failure of the battle and his subordinate generals were criticizing his leadership. He was in hot water that would get even hotter as the month of November 1915 went on.

Speaking of water, there is lots of complaining in this letter about the quality of drinking water at the front. Water was frequently brought forward to the trenches in petrol containers (tins) and tasted of its former contents. Though their trenches were full of water, it was putrid, and drinking water had to be walked up the communication trenches one tin at a time for thirsty men at the front, a considerable effort of supply.

Peirs attended some sort of concert the evening of November 3. The show was put on by their Methodist chaplain whom he calls ‘a dreadful little fellow’. Even so, Peirs finds him a bit more useful than the Church of England chaplains in the brigade.