Winston
Churchill to the Duke of Marlborough
January 12, 1916
6th ROYAL SCOTS FUSILIERS
IN THE FIELD
My dear Sunny,
Your letter was vy welcome & so also will be the food
box when it arrives. I don't think it will be impossible to arrange
for you to pay me a visit in say 3 weeks time & to stay with
us here for a few days - wh' you will find vy interesting & not
uncomfortable. But everything must be settled on the right lines.
Macready begged me to apply to him if I wanted a visitor and
assured me he w'd gladly make things smooth. So if you really w'd
like to come let me know & I will approach these deities with
the appropriate ritual and genuflections, when I doubt not they
will be favorably disposed.
Of course French's departure has been a most serious loss to me.
Haig tho' friendly is only an acquaintance, & I don't expect
that he will court any criticism on my account. Why sh'd he? The
life of an Infantry Colonel in the line is not at all unpleasant.
Creature comforts are not lacking, & everyone in the battalion
is of course very anxious to serve and please. There is a constant
spice of danger. Daily shells, some very near; & a certain
amount of risk in moving about by day and night. I went to see
an artillery sträfe two days ago, with my friend of Bangalore
days, General Tudor, who commands the artillery of this division.
For one hour by the clock we were involved in a sharp cannonade
and I suppose certainly a score of shells burst within 30 yards
of us, covering us with dirt and débris. I have also had
my tiny dog hole where I sleep in the line smashed up by a shell
wh had it detonated perfectly w'd have been the
end of my chequered fortunes. One becomes quite reconciled to the
idea of annihilation, & death seems to be divested of any element
of tragedy. The only thing to dread is some really life wrecking
wound which left one a cripple, an invalid, or an idiot. But that
one must hope is not on the agenda of the Fates.
I have meditated a great deal on the g't situation & have
fairly clear views about it. Perhaps later in the year I shall
come back to the House: but for the moment this is the course marked
out for me. I see no reason to expect a Brigade for a long time & of
course there can be no question of any military career. On the
other hand, I like soldiering for its own sake; & if I am killed
at the head of my battalion, it will be an honourable & dignified
finâle. Do you think I sh'd deserve the family motto "Fiel
pero desdichado"? I am now passing through a stage in my journey
quite beyond any that my father had to traverse. Your letters & affection
are a g't pleasure to me. We must always try to keep together as
the world grows grey.
Yours always
W.
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