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Personal letters from Roland Mountford, 1914 - 18
The letters of Roland Mountfort, presented by Coventry historian Chris Holland turned out to be a witty, ironic and slightly acerbic commentary on the conduct of military operations. They provided a fascinating first hand account of a soldiers life in the Great War.
When war was declared, Roland signed up for the army and joined the 10th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He wrote 76 letters and a postcard to his family between May 1915 and January 1918. The letters began from the conclusion of his training as a soldier, and covered his operational experiences in Northern France and German East Africa. Roland joined and served in France as a private soldier.
In his letters, Roland first described his passing out and inspection by King George V; following with descriptions of the forced marches the battalion undertook on its way to the front, the topography of the Somme area, and the trench practices used by soldiers to alternate active fighting with reserve and resting duties. A soldier’s companions were not just his comrades, but the rats and the lice which infested the trenches.
Roland learned to use codes to convey information which might otherwise have been censored. The message he sent home was a reminder of the awful waste of war. His letters were infused with irony, conveying more by that means than would have possible in plain speech.
The futility of much of the battle planning, the irrelevance of large swathes of training and preparation, and the sheer weight of chance and mischance which affect the survival prospects of combatants on both sides were effectively unmasked in these understated but telling letters from a man who had seen it all, and came through, but lived all too brief a life once it was all over.
He was wounded on 23 July 1916 at Pozieres, a battle in which the Australians lost a large number of men. Roland’s shoulder and chest wound required constant treatment over an extended period to prevent gangrene, and it was some time before he returned to active service. This time it was to Tanganyika (German East Africa), engaging in river warfare in collaboration with the Navy. Here the real enemy proved to be tropical disease.
The letters of Roland Mountfort, presented by Coventry historian Chris Holland turned out to be a witty, ironic and slightly acerbic commentary on the conduct of military operations. They provided a fascinating first hand account of a soldiers life in the Great War.
When war was declared, Roland signed up for the army and joined the 10th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He wrote 76 letters and a postcard to his family between May 1915 and January 1918. The letters began from the conclusion of his training as a soldier, and covered his operational experiences in Northern France and German East Africa. Roland joined and served in France as a private soldier.
In his letters, Roland first described his passing out and inspection by King George V; following with descriptions of the forced marches the battalion undertook on its way to the front, the topography of the Somme area, and the trench practices used by soldiers to alternate active fighting with reserve and resting duties. A soldier’s companions were not just his comrades, but the rats and the lice which infested the trenches.
Roland learned to use codes to convey information which might otherwise have been censored. The message he sent home was a reminder of the awful waste of war. His letters were infused with irony, conveying more by that means than would have possible in plain speech.
The futility of much of the battle planning, the irrelevance of large swathes of training and preparation, and the sheer weight of chance and mischance which affect the survival prospects of combatants on both sides were effectively unmasked in these understated but telling letters from a man who had seen it all, and came through, but lived all too brief a life once it was all over.
He was wounded on 23 July 1916 at Pozieres, a battle in which the Australians lost a large number of men. Roland’s shoulder and chest wound required constant treatment over an extended period to prevent gangrene, and it was some time before he returned to active service. This time it was to Tanganyika (German East Africa), engaging in river warfare in collaboration with the Navy. Here the real enemy proved to be tropical disease.
The letters of Roland Mountfort, presented by Coventry historian Chris Holland turned out to be a witty, ironic and slightly acerbic commentary on the conduct of military operations. They provided a fascinating first hand account of a soldiers life in the Great War.
When war was declared, Roland signed up for the army and joined the 10th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. He wrote 76 letters and a postcard to his family between May 1915 and January 1918. The letters began from the conclusion of his training as a soldier, and covered his operational experiences in Northern France and German East Africa. Roland joined and served in France as a private soldier.
In his letters, Roland first described his passing out and inspection by King George V; following with descriptions of the forced marches the battalion undertook on its way to the front, the topography of the Somme area, and the trench practices used by soldiers to alternate active fighting with reserve and resting duties. A soldier’s companions were not just his comrades, but the rats and the lice which infested the trenches.
Roland learned to use codes to convey information which might otherwise have been censored. The message he sent home was a reminder of the awful waste of war. His letters were infused with irony, conveying more by that means than would have possible in plain speech.
The futility of much of the battle planning, the irrelevance of large swathes of training and preparation, and the sheer weight of chance and mischance which affect the survival prospects of combatants on both sides were effectively unmasked in these understated but telling letters from a man who had seen it all, and came through, but lived all too brief a life once it was all over.
He was wounded on 23 July 1916 at Pozieres, a battle in which the Australians lost a large number of men. Roland’s shoulder and chest wound required constant treatment over an extended period to prevent gangrene, and it was some time before he returned to active service. This time it was to Tanganyika (German East Africa), engaging in river warfare in collaboration with the Navy. Here the real enemy proved to be tropical disease.
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