James Owen - The Times Great War Letters - Correspondence during the First World War

This, I believe, will be found to be the firm conviction of the overwhelming majority of the English people.

Yours faithfully,

NORMAN ANGELL

6 August 1914

SIR,—IN TO-DAY’S ISSUE of The Times you publish a letter by John Jay Chapman to which I and, I am sure, many others must take serious exception.

Your correspondent describes in lurid terms the sufferings experienced by travellers in Germany the last few days. “The hand of ruthless force which regarded neither God nor man was laid on them. Every decency of existing society had vanished. No appeal to any principle or power in the universe remained,” and so on ad nauseam .

I should like to chronicle my personal experience, which was of a vastly different character. Accompanied by another woman I travelled from Baden-Baden to Berlin on Friday last on a crowded train and we were, I believe, the only English people on board. The majority of the travellers were Germans and Russians. The stations en route were packed with people vainly desiring places, this state of things getting worse as we neared the capital. Everywhere we met with much more than the ordinary courtesy extended to women travelling. I was very much impressed by the real kindness and chivalry shown to us on three different occasions by German men, who voluntarily gave up their places to save us from sitting on our bags in a crowded corridor, and who put themselves to much trouble to obtain food for us at the stations.

We returned from Berlin last Saturday at 1 o’clock, and on arriving at Osnabruck at 5.30 heard that mobilization had begun. The train was held up several times to allow others to pass, all crowded with soldiers, and we knew that it might be our fate to be left stranded, should the authorities have required our train to convey troops in. Happily for us we reached England via Flushing without more inconvenience than would happen on any overcrowded train or boat.

I should like to put on record that during all those hours of intense excitement, with a nation newly called to arms, we did not meet with a single instance of rudeness in Germany. What is more, we never saw so much as a glance of enmity directed towards us. Even in Berlin itself last Saturday, where the whole town was in the throes of a deep national emotion, walking and driving among the huge crowd we never experienced anything but kindness.

Whatever our feelings may be as to the causes and nature of this war, it is devoutly to be hoped that English people will not be led astray by the irresponsible statements of travellers. We are at war with a great nation, and it behoves us to be true to ourselves and our English traditions of fair play.

FLORENCE PHILLIPS

8 August 1914

SIR,—THE FUTURE IS dark and we do not know that we will not need our last ounce of strength before we are through. We can afford to neglect nothing.

Will you allow me to point out how a reserve force can be formed which will be numerically large and which if it does nothing else can relieve more mobile and trained troops for the fighting line? In a word, the suggestion is to form civilian companies of the National Reserve. There are tens and hundreds of thousands of men in this country from 35 to 55 who are often harder and fitter than their juniors, but for whom no place is found in our scheme of defence. Many of them are good shots, they are longing to help in any possible way, and they would fall into line instantly if they could only see how to do it. They would speedily become capable of guarding railways or buildings, helping to garrison fortresses or performing many other military duties.

If I may quote the example of this little town, we held our first meeting to discuss this on Tuesday, by Wednesday night we had enrolled 120 men, and to-day we start drill and practice at the butts. Many of the men are fine shots and all are exceedingly anxious to be serviceable. It is not possible for them to take on long engagements or to live out in permanent camps, but they could do much useful work and in case of a raid they would do anything. They would from our “Land-sturm.” But at present there is no organization into which such men can be fitted. Local effort would rapidly form the various companies, but some method of common action has to be devised.

The obvious danger of such organization is lest it should divert men from the Territorials or any other more useful branch of the Service. But to recognize the danger is to avoid it. The Reserve company would not go the length of refusing to enlist young men who cannot or will not become Territorials, but it has the constant end before it of encouraging them to go further and of preparing them so that if they do join the more active Services they are already partly instructed. I am convinced that if they are properly run these civilian National Reserve companies would be not only of value in themselves but would be a stepping-stone for the younger men to take them into the fighting line.

The official organizations have so much upon them for the moment that the work can only be done by independent local effort. But when the men are there, as in the case of the existing National Reserve, they will command attention and find some means of arming themselves. We have our own record of organization, and I should be happy to send copies of our method to anyone who may desire to form other centres.

Yours faithfully,

ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

8 August 1914

SIR,—THERE IS NOW no thought in the mind of any reasonable Englishman but to bring this war to a speedy and successful conclusion. Every man with any military training will be already in touch with his proper centre for utilization, and with that sort of man I, who am altogether untrained, have no concern. But I wish to point out that there is in the country a great mass of useful untrained material available and that it may be very readily called upon at the present time by the establishment of local committees. I suggest the formation at once of corps of local volunteers for use in local services, keeping order, transport, guerilla work in case of a raid, and so forth. I have in mind particularly the boy of 15, the man of 47, the mass of the untrained, the Boy Scouts and ex-Boy Scouts who have not gone on to any military training. There is no reason why all the surplus material should not be enrolled now. With it would be a considerable quantity of bicycles, small cars, and other material. This last line need not be drilled; it should not be expected to use either bayonet or spade; but upon the east and south coast at any rate it should have bandoliers, rifles, and Brownings (for close fighting) available, and by way of uniform it should have a badge. Perhaps it would not be a very effective fighting force, but it would permit of the release of a considerable number of men now keeping order, controlling transport, or doing the like work. Nobody wants to be a non-combatant in a war of this sort.

Very sincerely yours,

H. G. WELLS

11 August 1914

SIR,—WE HOUSEWIVES of England might assist the country somewhat during the coming time of stress by cutting off or cutting down the supply of cakes which are consumed at the tea-table both in the drawing-room and servants’ hall. In that way we could economize flour for the bread which is a necessity.