Fletching in World War I
The Headmaster is writing to his son and the letter is dated 1st November 1914. He reports that his wife had undertaken to make 30 knitted belts made for the army and she is worrying about this. I find it strange it was strange that belts were being knitted? I wonder if that word is correct.
The headmaster continues….. Fletching is still very war-like with soldiers passing and re-passing. Take this as an example. In the ‘big room’ they are doing an examination, suddenly a wild stampede is heard in the infants rooms with shouts in the playground. The children and teachers are trekking to the gate to cheer a regiment of infantry, followed by Red Cross vans. They sit down again, then there is a trampling of horses, a regiment of cavalry. A rest, then a rumbling of wheels and a long column of ammunition wagons, later big guns each with 4 horses.
The camps will soon be getting too wet for tents so they are rushing up huts. At Maresfield they have been putting up sheds for the horses first, for as some-one says, a horse costs £40 but a man a shilling.
Letters from the Headmaster of Fletching Primary School
by Jill Rolfe
I have been lent a file of letters which the Headmaster of Fletching Primary School Mr Robert Saunders - wrote to his family members during the 1914-18 war. I am setting out just a few extracts from the letters. The following is from September 17th 1914. These letters were collected by
the late Hylda Rawlings.
The Headmaster, Mr Saunders, writes… “The authorities are
finding a difficulty in dealing with the numbers [of troops]
and are forming camps all over the country. In this district
6000 troops passed Piltdown on Monday: 2000 artillery with
400 horses are quartered at Maresfield Park [Prince Munster’s].
Lewes is full, troops quartered in every house, even ‘Arthur’ having
3 and Daisy actually being compelled to care for Lancashire lads
much to Arthur’s disgust. One old maid in Lewes who lives in a
large house, objected on the plea she hadn’t had a man in the
house for ten years. The unfeeling billeting officer merely remarked
“It’s quite time you did” and chalked 8 on the door and the 8 very soon arrived.
I will try and give you a list of Fletching people who have joined and when you remember the same thing is going on everywhere you will realise England is not so backward.
Navy 2 Curtlis, Bob, H Stevenson, C Hudson, W Page, F Stapley, C Bristome.
Army. Wally, Ron, Wally Tester, 2 Neaves, F Baker, F Martin, F King, G Farmer, W Mitchell, J Mitchell, R Stapley, Fitzpatrick [Miss May’s] F Harding, 2 Kenwards, 2 Halls, F Brazier, W Davis, B Light,
C Morley.
These are all the names I can remember at present but I know there are at least 50 from Fletching.”
Further extracts will follow in due course.
My thanks to the late Hylda Rawlings, the late Peter Kirby and my thanks also to Peter Wigan who has provided the photo of the Headmaster
At Crowborough is another large camp and officers have been to Sheffield Park to spy out the land so we may be a “garrison town” shortly. At Nutley barbed wire enclosures are being put up to accommodate the flow of German prisoners of war so peaceful Sussex will be a thing of the past before too long.
1914, 1st November
The headmaster said there was an increase in censorship and the spying business was a burning question and “there will be popular outbursts against the Germans suspected of spying.” He said “Very few places round Fletching have no wounded or dead among their men at the front.”
Another instalment will follow later.
Jill Rolfe
Fletching in World War I contd….
Continuing the Letters from Mr Saunders
the Headmaster of Fletching Primary School
The date is Sunday October 11th 1914 and Mr Saunders is writing to a son and he refers to “Ron” who has been allowed extra leave as he had been inoculated for Enteric [I think this might be in connection with Typhoid] and his left arm was toostiff to use. [Many of us are now having our Covid or Flu inoculations and can sympathise with his ill effects].
Mr Saunders reports that Ron looks fairly fit and a healthy brown colour as some of the gloss has rubbed off and eventually he finds much that is unpleasant in the rough and ready life of a soldier, but he takes it in the right spirit and shows much grit. The work is very hard and will be severe as they want them to be ready for the front by Christmas.
Ron still shows the old boyish trait of being very miserable when he says goodbye, but of course on this occasion there was more reason for it as one never knows when a soldier may return.
People in England are just beginning to realise what a big affair the war is and will be. So far 600,000 of Kitchener’s army have enlisted since August. In Sussex there are camps in every suitable spot and at Crowborough and Maresfield there are 10,000 men.
In some cases men have suffered a good deal of hardship and in some cases this led to much trouble as the men feel they have sacrificed too much to be treated to wretched food and insufficient clothing. The Mirror newspaper appealed for blankets and 55,000 were sent and the War Office had to ask people to stop sending them as they had sufficient.
It seems to be a rule that as far as possible a Regiment is sent away from its country to be trained. The majority of the men therefore had the clothes they stood up in when they marched off and for weeks the authorities have not been able to supply them. At Lewes most of the men came from Lancashire and the people collected clothes, shirts, vests, pants, socks etc so as to enable the men to change.
The letter continues and will form another instalment of what’s going on in Fletching in
October 1914.
The letter is signed “Dad” i.e. the Headmaster.
Fletching in World War I ….
This is a continuation of the letter dated 11th October 1914 from the
Headmaster of Fletching Primary School4
The Headmaster reports that incidents and sickness are common so the hospital in Dyke Road, Brighton has been taken over entirely for the use of different camps in this part of Sussex.
He tells his son that one of the artillery had a marvellous escape at Newick last week. He fell under the wheel of one of the guns which passed over his neck before it could be stopped. His water bottle slipped as he fell and came up close to his ear and the wheel was practically lifted over over the man’s neck so that he escaped with a few cuts and bruises.
It appears there was an extraordinary drought at this time so the men were not in danger of getting wet and having to sleep in wet clothes. At Crowborough and Maresfield wooden huts were being put up and the contractors had to finish by 1st November [the letter is being written on the 11th October so great efforts are being made]. There were 300 men engaged in the work.
There was often an injection of humour. The headmaster says “A good story going the rounds was of a Cockney who joined the army and at the end of a week’s strenuous marching and drilling and being referred to as No 254 he found himself nodding at his first church parade. Rousing up he heard “No 254, art thou weary, art thou languid” and promptly shouted “not ‘arf””.
Newspapers were publishing long lists every day of killed, wounded and missing and before the Headmaster went to the school to teach he went to the shop for The Times, then after school changed papers with Mr Martin for the Daily Mail. Then he went to the Reading Room to go through the Sussex Daily and the Mirror and then at 9pm the doctor came in and brought the Pall Mall and the Globe so they can exchange and talk things over.
The Headmaster says “competent authorities seem agreed the war will last till well into next year”.
The headmaster signs himself off as Dad to one of his sons.