Sherriff’s two letters home showed him in a good mood, probably for three reasons. First, the weather had grown cold again, which was ‘much better …than the moist, rainy days that we have occasionally – when it freezes you have a good, hard surface to walk on in the trenches – when it thaws you get a sloppy walk all the way.’

Second, he was happy with the stretch of trench they were defending, as he told his mother:

‘We are having quite a good time up here, and we are in a much nicer spot than our previous one – touch wood, because you can never tell from one day to another how things are going to be – but in any case we have better billets and our dugout is very homely – it is a cellar and we have tables and chairs, a big mirror and pictures on the wall, and a chiffonier in which we keep our crockery etc – this is quite unusual for a front line dugout, and at mess in the evening with a party of 6 of us we are quite happy.’

The first page in Sherriff’s short story about a boisterous dinner party in the trenches of Cité Calonne, probably written in 1917-1918. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 2332/3/8/1)

He assured her that he was with ‘very nice men’, although officers were always ‘coming and going.’ In fact, of the 10 officers who had been with his Company when he arrived, only three were left, the others having transferred to other Companies and Regiments. He was still enjoying his role as Mess President, although there was quite a lot of work involved in laying in sufficient provisions for long stays in the line – and also in ‘extracting subscriptions from the members’. But, happily, they had a new Mess Cook who was proving adept at cooking ‘wonderful dishes made of quite plain things’.

The third reason for the lightening of his mood, as he told Pips, was the fact that they were being relieved that very day, and moving into Divisional Reserve in Bully Grenay. He was probably cheered up, too, by his view that the war was going well, although he acknowledged that he had no additional information beyond what he read in the papers. But he was always glad to hear how the men from the Sun Insurance office were getting on: ‘I expect the last remaining “eligibles” are now being combed out and you are getting filled up with old men and girls – the office must look very funny now, as all London must.’

There was still no sign of any impending leave for him, and he told his mother that it seemed like years since he had last been home, but that on nice days, when everything was quiet, he could close his eyes and imagine himself standing in Home Park. But she needn’t worry that he was homesick: ‘I am never really lonely or miserable – I simply long to be home and long for the end of the war’.

[Next letter: 10  March]

‘We have come in for a spell of good mild weather,’ he told Pips, ‘and it is a great change to the biting cold that we have had such a lot of’.

Other than the weather there was very little to write home about, since they were still in the line, and he could not tell Pips where they were, nor really describe his surroundings [although we know from the battalion diary that he was in Cité Calonne]. He could at least say that they were ‘quite comfortable as regards dugouts’, and he promised that, ‘if I ever have the chance (as I greatly hope) after the war, I will have some very interesting things to tell you about the place we are in’.

Sherriff’s father Herbert, on their Battlefield Tour in 1921. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 2332/9/7)

He complained that he had a bit of a cold (‘like nearly every one else has here at various times’), but not enough to get him sent home. He was longing for leave, but knew that it was still some way off. At least when it came, however, they would enjoy it much more because of the long time he had waited for it. Beyond that he had nothing much more to write, since ‘my descriptions of French people and things have rather run out’. He reassured his father that, even when he had nothing to say, he would simply write ‘letting you know I am quite well’.

[It is notable that, although Sherriff’s letters home are brief at this point, they are at least more frequent (three in successive days, six in a week) than they had been throughout February, when he was suffering with his neuralgia. It suggests that, as on previous occasions (and as would happen later), Sherriff was generally more agitated by the prospect of moving into the line (even when the move was far from imminent) than by actually being in the line.]

[Next letters: 8 March]

Still in the line in Calonne, Sherriff wrote to his mother to thank her for the parcel he had just received. He had particularly enjoyed the Veda bread [a soft, sweet, malted bread] that she had sent: ‘We had a dinner party last night and it came as a most pleasant surprise – it is such a change to this unsubstantial French bread and ration bread.’

He told her that he knew how much it cost to send his parcels, and that she should economise, by only sending small parcels with the cheapest things in:

‘I have heard how expensive things now are and I know what a difficulty it must be to get these things – so I will always appreciate anything you send me – the greater pleasure is not in getting a lot from you, dear, it is the idea of it coming from home that makes it nice. That Veda bread is really delicious and if it is not expensive I should love some more – everyone likes it.’

He told her that he was now Mess President to the Company, which involved a great deal of work in keeping accounts and laying in provisions, and promised to tell her more in his next letter.

[Next letter: 6 March]

Back in the trenches, rather sooner than he had expected, Sherriff apologised to Pips that he could tell him nothing about where they were, ‘but after the war I hope I shall have the opportunity of describing to you this most wonderful place’.

The ruins of Calonne in 1921, from Sherriff’s father’s account of their Battlefield tour. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 2332/9/7)

[Whether he was being sarcastic here or not is difficult to say. He was obviously unhappy to be back in the line, but the place they were stationed – Calonne – had an interesting array of trenches running through the town. In a short story some written probably a year or two later (The Cellars of Cité Calonne) he describes their dugout as being in the basement of a large house, and sketches a merry evening dinner party with officers from many companies attending, suggesting that he did not find it as dreadful as other sectors he had been in.]

He told Pips that ‘We had some good route marching on our way here, and naturally with full pack etc you feel the strain when marching for long periods, but of all soldiering I like the route marching best of all’. [Clearly the happy memories of route marching stayed with him for the rest of his life, because in his Autobiography, published in 1968, he wrote that ‘I loved the route marches along the country lanes, singing the marching songs with the band ahead of us’.]

An account of Calonne, by Sherriff’s father, while touring the battlefields with his son in 1921. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 2332/9/7)

Another part of soldiering he enjoyed, as long as it was quiet, was ‘wandering around trenches making maps’ – but not when there were missiles around. ‘It is a curious thing,’ he wrote, ‘that the more experience you have the more nervous you become – nearly all the men say the same thing, although of course there are exceptions’.

There was still no sign of leave on the horizon: ‘Days go by and weeks go into months [and] it is now getting on towards 6 months and I am afraid the prospect of leave is still fairly distant’. Since there were still several officers to go before him, it might still be a while before he had the chance to go home, but ‘meanwhile, we must be content to look forward’.

[Next letter: 5 March]

On the move with his battalion, Sherriff only had time to write two brief letters home. He explained to Pips that:

‘we had a long day’s march today, finishing up this evening in a fairly large town [Fouquieres] for the night, and we go on tomorrow, consequently my letters have been rather irregular and I am sorry, but as soon as possible I will continue my usual flow when I am able.’

He could not say exactly where he was, nor where he was headed, but he told his mother that: ‘We are going to new fields, which is a change from the old ones, which you get used to and gradually grow to dislike.’

A (slightly battered) tintype of Sherriff on a cycling tour with his father and sister Beryl c1907. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: 3813/14/1/5)

Despite being fairly tired after his march, he told Pips that he had ridden to a nearby town on a bicycle to do some shopping [the Sherriffs, especially Pips, were very keen cyclists] – ‘the first time I had ridden a bicycle for nearly six months, and I kept getting on the wrong side of the road.’

He reassured Pips that he should not be alarmed if he were not to receive letters irregularly. He told him, as he had his mother the day before, that ‘should anything occur (wounded or even ill fairly seriously), you are quickly warned, so there is no need to worry…when you get letters irregularly it will probably be the faulty mail service.’ He apologised that his letters had been shorter and less interesting of late, but that was because his training in rest had been ‘fairly monotonous’, and he had already described the local French scenes in previous letters.

Captain Gerald Spence Tetley M.C., as drawn by Private Edward Cole of the 9th East Surreys. By permission of the Surrey History Centre (Ref: ESR/19/2/7/1-15)

He made no comment about the fact that his lethargy while in the officers’ rest home had slowed his letter writing, but he did comment to his mother that the time away from the line had helped:

‘I have now had a month from the line altogether – when I left it with Neuralgia I thought I could never go back again to the line, I felt so shaky. But I feel better now, calmer, and your letters never fail to cheer me up, dear…I have just read two long letters from you…two of the nicest letters that anyone could get.’

In the letter to his mother he enclosed a card which had been sent to him by Captain Tetley (‘In memory of New Year’s Day’), along with a letter case. Sherriff told his mother that ‘New Year’s day will always be memorable as I was with him all day from 3:00 in the morning till 2:00 in the afternoon, during which time we were shelled almost incessantly – and he gave me [the letter case] as a memento of the day’.

[Next letter: 4 March]