One day in September 1915 David Barrogill Keith and his fellow officers were summoned to the Quartermaster’s Stores at Stobs training camp in the Borders and asked their religion, so that they could receive a proper burial if required. They were then told that they were being sent to the Western Front.
The Battle of Loos, which had begun on 25 September, was drawing to a close, and men were urgently needed to replace those who had become casualties. (The battle had proved a disaster for the British and Commonwealth troops – by the time the battle finally petered out they would have lost over 40,000 casualties to the Germans’ 26,000.)
In this letter home to his family in Thurso, DB Keith explains why he was unable to visit them before his departure, and discusses rumours of the war. Presciently, he sums up the futility of trench warfare in a few sentences (“What is a gain of 200 or even 600 yards, or even 1 mile or 2 miles. If we have only made ’em give ground we have gained nothing in the wide world”). The “Tain crowd” he refers to were the other officers at a training camp at Tain.
A day or two later he would be at Etaples in France, preparing to move up to the front.
2 October 1915, Royal Pavilion Hotel, Folkestone
My dear Mother,
I have arrived here on my way to France. We got word late on Thursday evening that we were ordered off. We had no previous warning of any kind. A wire had indeed come asking for all the names of officers fit to command active service platoons but our reply had not reached Headquarters when we were ordered off. There are 21 of us in all. We expect to be sent to different regiments.
I saw Mildred in Edinburgh on Friday morning & Jul. in London this morning. I had of course no time to go north.
I am just writing this prior to catching the boat across, so have not time to say much.
There are several rumours of war. One is that we are to make a new 
landing at Ostend. Another that no more drafts are to be sent across later this year as K. [Kitchener] wants all his men across now. What the reason of this sudden bustle is I don’t know. I only know that the TAIN crowd are here too & from everywhere there are crowds of officers so it may be that the hour has struck when K. & Joffre have determined to make the beginning of the end.
Personally I fear not. It seems to me that things are pretty black. What is a gain of 200 or even 600 yards, or even 1 mile or 2 miles. If we have only made ’em give ground we have gained nothing in the wide world. The time will be when one or other drives a wedge clean through the other’s line. Then the war will be decided.
Meantime I must close. You might make up my comforter & balaclava helmet – 2 [pairs] socks 1 [pair] or 2 [pairs] woollen gloves & send them when I know my address.
You might also get Donnie to send me every week 50 gold plated cigarettes – as soon as I am settled.
Meantime hoping everyone is well & don’t worry too much as worry won’t help.
With love to all,
From,
DB Keith
[Caithness Archive Centre reference P38/10/2; the next letter from DB Keith will be published on 5 October]
