Very mild & warm day. The allies have answered Germany’s not & proposals of Peace by a definite refusal & so on goes the war. Daily fresh rules are drawn by the Gov. as to how we are to live. No more white flour, one meatless day in the week, which latter we have had for some time. Tim Betts came here to day. He is to stay & play with Nicholas. The latter is certainly improved by school discipline & learning obedience, but he is still sadly untruthful. On Sat I walked to Hurlditch & heard Arminel’s experiences as...
Drove into Lanson in the Pony cart to buy toys for the school children. It was a lovely morning, very clear & still. The ground was white with hoar frost. Went to see the Morsheads & arranged for Tim Betts to come to us for a week as a companion for Nicholas. Lunched at the White Hart & there met Mrs Wollocombe & had a chat with her about her boys. Tom is now a Major & has won a Military Cross. Bidlake has been made an Acting Lieutenant, Roger still a Corporal in the Cycling Corps. Had a beautiful...
It began early as the children were awake looking at their presents. There was much excitement & running about. I had made Elizabeth & Philippa 2 red cross uniforms out of one of my old ones. They were immensely pleased with them. At 8 D & I went over to Church, & we felt then rather sad & lonely when we thought of the large crowd of us that used to be there at that service. The church looked very pretty with the usual ivy up the pillars, & we had a nice lot of white chrysanthemums for the altar...
President Wilson has sent a note to the British and all the Allied Govts asking them to state what terms of peace they wish for, also asking them to consider if a settlement could not be arrived at. The Daily Mail of course shrieks with anger at the idea, it seems to delight in war. It is a detestable little paper, and as for the London Correspondent of the Western Morning News, no words are too bad for him. If only a sort of International Board could be formed with Representations from all the nations perhaps then we might have...
Dorothea came home on Monday & Nicholas on Tuesday. He has grown but was looking rather pale & thin, & much subdued. There is a great difference in him, no doubt a result of the discipline. The roads for the last few days have been fearful, a sheet of smooth ice, one evening it rained & then froze. This morning we took the children in to Lanson to do their Xmas shopping. I was in Cater’s shop with them for more than an hour & Dorothea was at Slees buying Sunday School prizes. Philippa is a great anxiety on these...
Nothing seems to have come of these peace proposals. No one knows what Germany’s terms are, as she has not stated them. On Friday a confirmation service was held in our church. Bishop Trefusis took it & gave 2 beautiful & earnest addresses. I went to Exeter after lunch and spent the night there. I arrived at tea time & found the family at Southernhay in the consulting room. Baby having grown a lot since my last visit. It was queer going there as a visitor & being announced instead of letting myself in with my latch key. It was...
In the paper to day is an announcement from Washington that Germany desires peace. Bethmann von Holweg delivers a bombastic speech in the Reichstag saying that now Germany is ready for peace, but states no terms. The Daily News in an article today says that now is the Allies opportunity to state definitely their terms of peace. But what of that there will be before any settlement can be arrived at, yet it is a cheering thought. It has been a depressing day. Very cold & wet with rain & snow. I was busy this morning sewing & writing &...
In Thursday’s paper came the announcement that Mr Lloyd George was to be prime minister & that Bucharest has fallen. Arthur got a Daily News on Friday, the leading article was very bitter against the Daily Mail & the Northcliffe Press as it declares that Mr Asquith was forced to resign as a result of a conspiracy of the press. All this is very difficult for us who are not in the political world to follow, but all we hope is that something will be done to bring the war to an end. Dorothea went to Stonesfield yesterday to syat...
Mr Asquith has resigned; Mr Bonar Law is to take his place. Some people seemed pleased about it, but we know nothing about such things down here, only what the papers say. Greece is in the meantime in a state of chaos, it is difficult to find out what is happening, they seem to be fighting against us, so I suppose we are at war with Greece. This morning I walked over to Marystowe to spend the day with Mrs Newman who is laid up. It was a very still morning, a heavy white frost had covered every twig, leave...
All this week the Germans have been pushing on in Romania & are now near Bucharest. Greece now thinks that it is about time to join Germany, and in a few days we shall have a definite course taken by the Greek government. We heard from Bob yest. He is at present in a former German trench so we conclude he must be near the front. He says the conditions are indescribable. Dorothea went off to London on Tuesday. I was to have gone with her but the Doctor said I was not fit to travel, so she went alone...
The Germans are overrunning Romania & soon it will cease to exist as a nation even as Serbia and Belgium. In the Times yest was an account of what the Naval; Brigade has done at the Battle if the Ancre, very praiseworthy work & much heroism. On Thursday was a Bottom Shoot, Mr Hillyard as usual came & cheered us all up. I was unable to go to it on account of a tiresome cold. On Monday last Dorothea & I went to Landue to lunch. Afterwards we were shown the needlework done by the Lezant people for the Red...
On Thursday we read in the paper Mr Runciman’s statement in the House, that the food of the nation was for the future to be controlled by the Govt. There is to be no more white flour, & the making of sweets is to be curtailed. On Thursday & Friday there was a bitter wind. Father kept indoors trying to get rid of his cold. Yest I went to Plymouth to attend a meeting in connection with Women’s’ work on the land. Dorothea is the Registrar for this parish but she was unable to attend. At Goodbody’s Café I met...
There has been a tremendous attack by the British, near the river Ancre. Many thousand prisoners taken, we have advanced 1 mile. In Roumania the German-Bulgarian army seems to have come to a standstill. Herad from Bob to day. He is near Abbeville. The Tragonnings came over to tea, bringing with them the Locum Tenens from Lezant, Littlejohns. Quaint people. Dora Johns was married this morning to Reginald Symonds, a cheerful wedding & quite a number of people. I played the Wedding March for tehm. Both Yest and to day I have been working in the garden. Gullick is going...
I will now go on with this again, as I am home again. Likely to be so for some time. After a week of rain & wind today has been a perfect day. Not a leaf stirring. The air so warm is might be a spring day. The colouring this year is wonderful the leaves have hung on so late, then suddenly in a few days they turned most brilliantly. The beeches in great orchard are marvellous, coming down the coach road. It is a most beautiful sight . Father had a letter from Bob early in the week, he...
[Letter to Margaret from Salcombe] My dear old Margaret Oct 28th 1916 Five minutes after you had passed, we saw a great wave take the lifeboat, which we had been watching for some time & turned her right over, it was terrible!! There she was washing about with the poor men clinging to her & getting washed off one by one; they were washed over to Limebury Point & eventually they saved two, you can imagine our state of mind, all day long the sea roared but had they waited an hour longer the sea was much better. It was...
The Three Mothers Three Mother in heaven stole silently Apart from the music & mirth Monica, Mary & Salome, They thought of the mothers on earth, And for aid in her prayers sought each of the three To the son to whom she gave birth. So Salome sped to the King’s side near, Where her two sons gracious and gay Lent to her whisper a ready ear; “Pray to the dear lord, pray For the mothers who still no tidings hear Of their sons that are far away.” And Monica, mindful of long dead fears Sought Augustine’s eyes and smiled,...
We had the National Mission Services yesterday, beginning on Saturday night Mr Collins was the preacher, a good man with a good voice. He preached a very good sermon on Sunday morning but M & I were very disappointed at the evening sermon. M C K played Toll for the Braveas the outgoing voluntary in the morning in memory of the Salcombe Lifeboat men who were lost on the bar on Friday morning just as they were returning from a wreck the other side of Prawle. The sad this is that they were not wanted when they got there. Mr...
Bob is now for the time a transport officer in the 5th Dorsets, we had quite a cheery letter from him yesterday. He likes his Colonel & the other officers. Tom Widger has died of his wounds. He has the honour of being the first from this parish to die for his country, & may he be the last, so far we have very much to be thankful for. Margaret is at Salcombe for a few days having no douby lovely days but long dreary evenings. Miss Dennys, a very charming nursing friend of hers spent the week end before...
Rather a gloomy paper this morning. A French transport sunk, Roumanians being driven back, * a U Boat has been busy off the coast of America. Mr Donaldson spending two nights here to go out shooting with Father. May he never spend another night. We have had quite enough of him, a rude man.
Harvest Festival. Yesterday morning we decorated & nobody came to help us. We & Mrs Moore did it all, the Rector also came and helped & also gave advice but being an inartistic soul it was not worth much, but he made himself useful tieing [sic] up corn & Elizabeth helped him. In the afternoon we drove into Lanson, M & I & Elizabeth in the hay cart. We started at 1.30 * we got home about 6.45. It is many a long day since we went into Launceston in this fashion but we quite enjoyed it & Philippa kept...
