Research

“These letters paint a portrait of a society scarred by tragedy, guilt and grief,” says Gavin Fuller, the Daily Telegraph archivist and compiler of The Telegraph Book of Readers’ Letters From the Great War. “Also of a country battling to give their all and ‘do their bit’.” That “bit” took many forms. When the war began, in August 1914, the columns of this paper were full of contributions from organisations and individuals putting forward not just suggestions, but practical offers of help. Along, then, with exhortations from the Royal Horticultural Society to plant turnips, onions and beetroot, and calls for volunteers to help farmers gather in the wheat harvest, there were rallying cries from luminaries across the land. The England cricket team, for example, suggested that anyone who had enjoyed watching a Test match should donate the equivalent of their admission money to a fund alleviating hardship caused by the war. “We have before us as we write, the vision of many a fair English cricket ground, packed with eager multitudes,” wrote a number of players, including W G Grace.

Officers at the front have written to say that long fishing waders, similar to those worn by fishermen, would be gratefully received, and would relieve the sufferings of our troops.” And, this being Britain, there were appeals on behalf of the animals too. “Without horses, war could not be waged,” observed Olive Smith-Dorrien, of 21 Eaton Terrace (many of the letters came from well-to-do addresses). “In 1912, Our Dumb Friends League started a branch called The Blue Cross Fund, which aimed at the care of horses during wartime. Over £3,000 a month is needed to carry on this work on its present scale, and up to date, we have received this amount from lovers of horses from all parts of the Empire.” Such goodwill was not, however, extended to two-footed Germans. Especially those who had settled in Britain before the war began.