Like everywhere else in the UK we have had a very late spring, particularly compared with the last decade, but this has had its benefits as well as its disadvantages. Very much on the plus side have been the longevity, the colour and sizes of the wild, spring flowering fauna. Snowdrops seemed to be here in the flowering stage for almost three months. They were followed by the celandines of magnificent size and a dark, glossy, mustard colour, especially on south facing banks, while primroses with their more delicate, pale yellow flowers were greater in size and longer lasting than normal. Violets, white and blue were more numerous than usual, again lasting for comparatively long spells.
Red campions seem to be doing the same, that is full of colour and with large inflorescences, but numbers are becoming smaller and smaller every year. The white, wood anemones were late but a wonderful show, especially where coppicing had taken place, however they certainly lasted no longer than usual as they have a very short flowering period because of their very fragile blooms. As I write bluebells are at their best and it will be very interesting to see if the longer, flower life trend continues with them.
Trees of the Prunus family, the fruit and the ornamental have produced a myriad of blossom this year as are lilacs at this moment, but what is unfortunate is the lack of flying insects, the bees, the wasps, the butterflies and all the others which cross pollinate all these plants in the normal year. Is the fruit crop to be affected? Are few flowers to seed because of it? Insects which have been changing their life cycle times, because of rising temperatures, are not obviously as adaptable in the short term, as plants to sudden changes in weather conditions and have missed out this year. When the first hatches occurred, it was too cold to support insect life and there was no plant life in the form of fresh green material, nectar and pollen to feed them, consequently when the flowers are available the insect life isn't. Darwin in his approach to change was quite right, evolution does occur with species changing constantly, adapting to a changing environment but very slowly. We must all act now if we are to leave this world in a reasonable state for those who come after us. Unfortunately species don't all adapt to the same conditions at the same time. Over the springs of the last decade, the brimstone butterfly for example, has been on the wing from February onwards in quite noticeable numbers. This year the total number of brimstones I have seen so far could probably be counted on the fingers of both hands.
If it is man's way of life that is causing these discrepancies in our annual weather patterns, we have an awful lot to answer for. After all, there have never been 6.25 million people on earth before and never before have our individual lifestyles, required so much land to support each one of us. The more land we each require, the less there is for all the other living species to utilise. It is not only the rain forests, the Irish bogland and the American plains that are suffering at man's hands, but even the parish of Sixpenny Handley and all the other parishes like it in this country and throughout the world. We can certainly start now doing something, for instance we can all assist in the setting up of a local recycling system for garden waste and eventually for a complete recycling system for many other types of waste and redundant objects and materials.
Hopefully you will see where this is coming from. All life is inter-connected and is dependent on its environment. If you want to learn more, the proponent of the mother and father of all worldly systems, the "Gaia System", namely James Lovelock who has written several books on the changing world and our part in it. His latest 'The Revenge of Gaia', published this year, is very readable and well worth the effort. He left his home in the Chalke Valley to live in north Devon to get away from the hurly-burley of life, but on the day this magazine is out, the 1st June, he will be appearing in the Salisbury Playhouse to express his views on the current state of the world and what we should be doing about it.
Enough of the "Other World", we must get back to reality and return to the humdrum and exciting life of Woodcutts. It has just occurred to me, that although I did mention violets in the first paragraph of this missive, that mention did not do justice to the white violets. These incidentally did flower in January and continued until the beginning of May this year. They were the inspiration for me writing these articles for the past seven years. It is because Mrs. Norah L. North, a village resident now, but who had lived in Woodcuts in the past, replied to an article of mine mentioning the white violets to be found here, that I continued writing. I remember realising at the time "Somebody must have read what I have written."
Now we must leave the flowers and think of the birds, who don't seem to have been caught out by the later spring. Their colouring is as brilliant as ever and their food supply for their young families appears to be super-abundant now. This can be seen by the numbers of parents with beakfuls of food, on their ways back from the supermarkets that line the roads in this very affluent area. The bird table in next-door's garden is still supporting a wonderful array of bird species, with by far the most spectacular being the greater spotted woodpeckers. Unfortunately I have not been able to photograph either of them, they tend to move about so. It is far easier photographing flowers and trees. Perhaps I ought to get one of the grand-children to help. It is all very well owning a digital camera, using it is an entirely different matter.
While talking of birds, I haven't heard the cuckoo yet, have you?
Madge (Meg) has just told me she heard the cuckoo the other morning while still in bed around 4.30 am. Apparently she told me at the time but I certainly don't remember, and it wasn't in April as the old rhyme has it:~
Another very local saying, very peculiar to this area is:-
Here of course the Larmer Gate refers to the Larmer Tree Gardens entrance, near Ashmore. The problem is either the cuckoos have forgotten where Larmer Gate is, or that they have forgotten how to tell the time of year, they certainly weren't there on time this year.
While on old rhymes, do you know how to make sense of "Gathering nuts in May", which is of course ridiculous as no nuts are available in May. If this is changed to:-
this suggests the old tradition of gathering knots of flowers to celebrate Mayday, when of course Maypole dancing was also practiced.
On this happy note, I will say goodbye and God Bless until the next edition.
2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment
The principal architect of what, ultimately, proved to be a successful campaign in Mesopotamia was General Sir Frederick Maude and before coming to the events that led to the death, in action, of Private Edward Harrison, it will be useful to sketch in a very brief history of Maude's initial progress following his appointment by Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, in July 1916.
His appointment came in the wake of the defeat by Turkish forces, led by Khalil Pasha, of the Kut-al-Amara garrison, an event viewed by many in high places as one the greatest humiliations hoisted upon the British Army. However, humiliation or not, Robertson's orders to General Maude were brief and to the point; he was to maintain his position, then far to the southeast of Baghdad, and do little else for it was envisaged that any offensive action on Maude's part would lead to requests for additional forces and that Sir William Robertson was not prepared to countenance. By nature, it is said, a cautious general, Maude was not prepared to wage a static campaign and from the outset he set his sights on reorganising his forces with the ultimate aim of reversing the setbacks inflicted in the April of 1916. His attention to detail was meticulous, particular in the areas of medical supplies and transportation and when, at last, he received approval from London to commence offensive action he was quietly confident of a successful outcome.
Thus, it came about that in mid-December 1916, that the advance on Baghdad began with British and Indian forces moving up on either side of the Tigris, opposition on the west bank proving to be particularly stubborn. Nevertheless, Turkish positions below Kut were cleared by late January 1917 and the fortified positions at Khadairi Bend also fell to Maude's army by the time progress came to a halt towards the end of February, Allied forces were a good hundred kilometres beyond Kut and morale was reasonably high.
It is now appropriate to concentrate on the involvement of the 2nd Battalion, Dorsetshire Regiment in this campaign and whose War Diary records that on the 1st of March, 1917 they were bivouacked at Shumran Bend where elements of the battalion were to remain until the 6th. Notable events that took place during those six days included escort duties on the 2nd by G Company, under the command of Lieutenant Hodgson, to a telegraph construction company, followed on the 4th by a major involvement in mine recovery work at Kut. This task necessitated a stiff march to the site from where ordnance sufficient to fill three carts was dug up and brought back to Shumran Bend.
The next day Lieutenant Griffith headed a platoon from G Company, striking camp at 1.15 p.m. to accompany the 86th Artillery Battery to Aziziyah, a settlement on the east bank of the Tigris and approximately mid-distance between Al Kut and Baghdad. Then, at noon on the 6th came orders for the entire battalion to join in a brigade march to Imah Mahti, H Company forming the advance guard with F Company taking up the rear of the column. However, there was no permanence in this deployment and after resting for the night, the brigade set out for Aziziyah, though some 50 men from the 2nd Battalion were spared the fatigue of marching and enjoyed the relative luxury of a boat trip up the Tigris. It is impossible to say how Private Harrison was faring throughout this time but one can assume he spent some time at Zeur where the battalion was under canvas for a little over a week. Further detachments were the order of the day and it is noted that on the day of arrival, the 10th, the battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel H. A. Case, departed camp at 8 a.m. with E and F companies and headed for the aerodrome, as it is described in the Diary, at Bustan. I have consulted various royal air force records but can find no reference to an aerodrome of this name in Mesopotamia and it is probable that the air force was occupying nothing more than a strip of desert, rather than a base of some permanence.
The battalion's presence at Zeur was further depleted on the 12th when Major Weldon took H Company to Lass and it is also noted that E and F companies continued that same day to Ctesiphon to take up positions southeast of Baghdad which had fallen the previous day to General Maude's forces.
This period of fluidity of movement continued almost unabated; detachments from the main brigade arrived at Zeur on the 14th but within 24-hours had moved on to Bustan while orders for the remainder of the 2M Battalion to come up to Baghdad were received on the 17th and put into effect shortly after midnight on that same day. From now on, until battle was joined at Jebel Hamran on 25th of March, there was to be little respite. Frequently, the battalion diarist noted the distances travelled on these marches; on the 18th, for example, having arrived at Ctespiphon from Zeur with the intention of drawing rations but finding none, the troops continued to Bawi covering 19 miles in total for the day. A similar distance was covered on the 20th while on the 21st a further 15 miles was covered twixt Khan Bani Saad and Baqubah.
The following day, half of the battalion joined forces with the 9th Brigade at Abu Jizra while 40 men were detached to form an escort to a pontoon section. Offensive action was not far off and within 24-hours of reaching Abu Jizra the men were on the move again, this time to settle, initially, south of the village of Sharaban but by mid-afternoon they were camped on the north side of the village and preparing to move up towards the left flank of Turkish forces dug in on the Jebel Hamran heights. However, it proved impossible to make contact that day, mainly due to the confusion of movements in the immediate area and unforeseen difficulties with the terrain over which the brigade had to advance. Several deep mullah's needed to be bridged before any further progress was possible and when, at last, pontoons were in place a reconnaissance patrol, led by Lieutenant Griffith returned to report yet another wide depression lay 1,000 yards ahead. This unwelcome news necessitated the despatch of men to Sharaban to fetch extra bridging material and it was not until late in the day of the 24th that the brigade reached the foothills at the base of the Jebel Hamran ridge and made the final preparations for engaging the enemy. And so the scene was set and though parts of the diary are illegible sufficient is readable for me to report the action that took place on the 25th of March, 1917. In the words of the battalion diarist the brigade marched out at 5.30 a.m., orders having been given verbally by the General Officer Commanding to the effect that the 9th Brigade would march in a diamond formation, spearheaded by the 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment. Upon gaining the summit, the battalion was instructed to wheel to the left and advance along the ridge, rolling up the enemy as they progressed. At the forefront of this formation was Major Weldon's H Company and although I am not able to say if Private Edward Harrison was a member of this company, It is reasonable to state that he, and his fellow compatriots, were in the van of the fighting that was about to break:
'At 5.55 a.m the first shot was fired. Up to this point bodies of the enemy…… were to 20 to 50 strong and scattered. At about 7 o'clock the enemy rifle and MG. fire increased in intensity and their guns opened fire. Owing to the difficult nature of the ground which was composed of a large number of small hills with……….. by deep mullahs it was found very difficult to prevent the enemy working round our flanks. The enemy appeared to be concentrated in strength on our left where there was a gap between our left coy and the next battalion of over 1,000 yards thus enabling the enemy to go in…………. as to bring very heavy enfilade fire to bear. At 8 a.m. the position was explained to the brigade and assistance was called for. Before help arrived our left coy was compelled to retire, thus widening the gap. Eventually the remainder of the battalion was compelled to retire to an…….. ridge some 600 yards back. At 9 a.m one coy 95th Burma infantry were ordered up to our left but owing to the nature of the ground and the enfilade fire from which we were still suffering they were unable to come up in to line. About ½ coy of the 105th Mahratta took up a position on our left flank, our fight being protected by the……….. Mahrattas. The battalion remained in this position until about 1.15 p.m.
'During this period great difficulty was experienced in getting up ammunition. At 12.30 p.m. the 105th Mahrattas on our right were driven back thus leaving our flank in the air, so the enemy to command (sic) our right flank. The battalion retired to the position held by the 1st Manchester Regiment on to Campbell's Bridge. A large number of wounded had to be left behind owing to the utter inadequacy of the medical arrangements to remain there.'
Then follows a rather confused break down of casualties sustained and I strongly suspect that this part of the Diary was subject to amendments for several days after the battle on Jebel Hamran ridge as figures have been entered, crossed through and in a few cases amended yet further. However, it seems that two of the battalion's officers were killed in the fighting and about a dozen were either wounded or reported missing following the retirement to Campbell's Bridge. In the case of men, the totals are even more difficult to interpret with any degree of accuracy but at least 17 were killed though this total may well have been higher as 37 (a figure of 49 in this category is also quoted) were shown as missing and up to 98 were reported as wounded. Bearing in mind that many of the wounded had to be left behind, it seems likely that some would have succumbed to their injuries, particularly bearing in mind the reputation that the Turkish soldiers had gained in previous campaigns as having scant regard to the safe keeping of their prisoners. This is, of course, assuming that some of those unfortunates who had to be left on the field of battle were captured.
In the majority of cases, the bodies of those who died were never recovered or if found at a later date could not be identified and Edward Harrison's name is amongst the 40,658 commemorated on the Basra Memorial.
In the strictest sense of the word, Edward was not a villager in that he was born in Essex but it is known that he enlisted at Blandford and when reported killed in action his mother, Annie Harrison, was living at Woodcutts.
Just a quick note from the Scout Troop to let you know what we have been up to at Scouts, and what we will be doing over the coming months. . . .. . ..
Astronomy The main theme for last term was Astronomy. We all learnt a number of constellations in the night sky and then had to identify them on a dark troop night. We also learnt how to navigate using stars and we used this skill on the survival camp.
Quiz Night The Scouts took part in the first (and possibly last!) Scout Quiz. The group split into teams and answered questions on general knowledge, pictures from around Sixpenny Handley, mapping and current affairs. The winners for the evening were Christopher and Mark's team.
Scout Survival Weekend The challenge for the weekend was for the Senior Scouts to hike in the Purbeck Hills, using their map reading skills, and to survive a night in the wild with only the most basic of equipment.
A Scout's Diary of the Weekend The weekend started by meeting at the Scout Hut at 9am on Saturday morning. There was a quick check of our kit to make sure that no one had smuggled chocolate or money with them. This weekend we were all going to be tested on how we survived with only the clothes that we were wearing, a bowl, a fork, sleeping bag and anything we found on our way to build shelters. After the equipment check (Chris managed to hide some hot chocolate) it was in the cars and off to the Purbecks. The hike was to start at Creech Hill, take us into Corfe and then onto West Orchard Farm, our home for the night.
Once at Creech Hill we were briefed on what to expect. We were given a map, compass and a sheet with a number of tasks on it. Rob told us that if we completed all the tasks we would get £3 per Scout to buy ingredients for our evening meals. Every task that was not completed would minus £1 from that total, also if we were late in reaching Corfe we would lose £1 for every ten minutes over the allotted time. Now that we knew our tasks it was time to get on and start the hike. Martin started with the map and Bill with the compass - a combination that we later regretted! The first challenge was a simple one, to take a photograph of one or more of the group on the Creech Folly. We had to take a photograph to prove that we had completed this task. Task 2 was also at Creech Folly, we had to take a bearing with the compass and draw the landscape that we saw in front of us. Two tasks down and we were confident that we would be getting our full allowance for food.
Our hike carried on along the ridgeway. As we walked, there were a number of other tasks to be completed. These involved observing monuments, graffiti and triangulation points to get the answers. After a slight detour (Martin and Bill on the map and compass!) we arrived at Stone Hill Quarry. Our challenge here was to build the Scout emblem using the stones on the hillside. After a very enthusiastic start we realised that there were not enough stones to make a giant picture. After a little rethink we made the emblem smaller and completed the task. Another photo to prove to Rob, Andy and Simon that we had completed the challenge and it was off to Corfe.
As we dropped down the ridgeway the leaders were waiting for us at the bottom with the stop watches. The little detour had added about 2 and half miles and an hour to our time. That meant we had lost £6 already. However, there was a chance to make up this loss with a very quick challenge in Cone. We had to take photographs of a Scout with a Viking (!), a Japanese tourist, a Sentry at the Castle and a cow. Amazingly the Viking was the easy one and we had that in under a minute. The cows were a bit camera shy and the Sentries very protective and pointed their axe and spear at us - that photograph was taken from a distance! We could not find a Japanese tourist anywhere, so only three pounds extra for the food fund. With our £19 we had to buy enough food for tea and breakfast for eight people.
With our food in our back packs we were given the route card for the second leg of the hike. Not so many challenges on this part, but the map reading was harder. Again with a slight detour (another 2 miles) we headed across the common and onwards to West Orchard Farm. By the time we arrived at the farm we had walked a total of 10 miles. However, this was only the beginning of the challenge as we now had to find materials to build shelters and to light fires to cook our food on.
The axe and saws were hidden in an old derelict cottage. The leaders had hidden some rope and other materials that would be useful for the shelters. Once we had decided the best location to set up camp half of the group started building the shelters whilst the others concentrated on the fire. Within an hour our homes for the night were built and the fire was roaring away. Time to get the food on the fire and talk about exactly how we got so lost. Tea for the night was beef stew, with bananas and chocolate for pudding. There was a leg of venison (very) slowly cooking on the side of the fire, watch out Ray Mears! After our day of hiking, shelter building and survival it was an early night for all.
The birds woke Martin, Martin and Bill up at 5.15am. No time for a lie in. They got straight on with getting the fire going again and making a brew for everyone else. Maybe one day we will forgive them for getting us so lost. The rest of us were out of bed by 6.00am and ready for our last challenge of the weekend. We had to cook breakfast for the group but with a mystery ingredient. When we opened the bag up we found a huge ostrich egg. We were told that the egg was enough to feed 10 people - so we had to try it out. We cooked some bacon and mushrooms over the fire and then added the egg. After 20 minutes we had scrambled egg and it could have easily fed 15.
Time to pack the little amount of kit we bad, take the shelters down and clear the site. We were back in the cars and heading home to Handley. All back home by 9.30 in the morning - it is amazing what you can fit into 24 hours when you try.
Summer Camp This years Summer Camp is in Guernsey. The camp will involve activities including canoeing, climbing and abseiling on the cliffs, archery and lots more to be confirmed.
We are now enjoying the lighter summer evenings and all the activities that we can do at the hut.
A man came home from the pub one night and his wife shouted at him "You're an absolute disgrace. You're half drunk!" "Sorry" said the man "I ran out of money".
Your age by chocolate maths (this only works for 2006)
1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate. (More than 1 but less than 10).
2. Multiply this number by 2. (Just to be bold).
3. Add 5.
4. Multiply it by 50. (I'll wait while you get the calculator.)
5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1756, if you haven't add 1755.
6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.
7. You should have a 3 digit number. The first digit of this was your original number (i.e. how many times you want to have chocolate each week).
The next two numbers are your age ---- Oh yes it is!!!