You may have broken your mothers hearts, but you wont break mine

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I Joined Up!
You may have broken your mothers hearts, but
you wont break mine! You may be wearing a
toffs hat, but Ive got three stripes!
Quotes taken from Cardiff (Pals) Commercial The
Welsh Regiment, edited by K. Cooper and J.E.
Evans.Image provided by M. Williams
Des Quinn and Martin Williams
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Men of Wales, leave to your children the richest
of all inheritances the memory of fathers who
in a great cause put self-sacrifice before ease,
and honour before life itself. The Prime
Minister, H. Asquith, speaking in Wales, October
2nd, 1914.
When the Prime Minister and many other great men,
such as David Lloyd George, had implored men to
join the armed services, many Welsh men, as we
have seen, answered the call. 750 Cardiff Pals
marched through Cardiff on September 14th 1914 on
their way to their first camp at Lewes in Sussex.
But, when they got there they had no uniforms,
one drill rifle per platoon and only one meal a
day and a few scraps.
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After a few months training at Winchester
which, because of the shortage of ammunition and
weapons, included only about six practice rifle
shots, the hour came to leave for France, and the
trenches. We were cooped up in the ships hold
until dawn, when we were allowed on deck and saw
the French coast gradually loom into view. It did
not look at all inviting in that cold and foggy
daybreak. W.A. Tucker, 38th (Welsh), Divisional
Cyclist Company, quoted in Wales and the First
World War, by Keith Strange
Even though the call had gone out to men around
the U.K. to join up, does it seem that the forces
were ready for the actual number of men who
entered the armed services?
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Men joined up in 1914 from all over
Cardiff Workers at James Howells
StoreTeachersWorkers with the Cardiff Gas
CompanyJournalists (many from the Western
Mail)Clerks from Spillers the Flour
MillersNearly all of the Cardiff Corinthians
Soccer Team The story was the same in many
areas within Wales. Men answered the call to
arms. But, why did they do it? We now know that
the conditions and dangers endured (tolerated) by
men during the Great War are almost too many and
too terrible to comprehend.
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When some of my oppos and me set out for
Birkenhead we were miners in our late teens, and
we were set to join the new Tunnelling Companies
that were being formed. An agent had come to the
pit and told us we could work as Army Moles,
digging under the German lines, and be paid as
much as five shillings a day. That was big wages
in those days, so we set off to make our
fortunes! Albert Lewis quoted in Wales and the
First World War, by Keith Strange
My very dearest mum. At last I have a little
news for you Ive changed my underclothing.
After all, its done yeoman service for the last
two months. A young man of 18 ½ in the Cardiff
Pals quoted in Cardiff (Pals) Commercial The
Welsh Regiment
Why do you think that many young men joined up?
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September 13th, 1914 Officer CommandingFullwood
BarracksPreston Dear Sir I have
received a communication from 20 recruits sent
from this town to the barracks at Preston, and a
pitiful letter that I have received from them. It
is astounding to think that men could be treated
in such a manner when volunteering their lives
for their country. I presided at a
meeting in this town and pledged my word that
they and their families would be well cared for
if they enlisted for service, and then to receive
the letter that I have received makes it very
annoying to me and certainly it is going to have
a bad effect for further recruiting.
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I am sending a copy of this letter to
Col. Vaughan who attested the men and shall be
glad to hear that by that time the matter will be
put in order. We have had a great deal of
difficulty in Neath with men sent from here. I am
billeting 66 men in the town who were returned
from barracks in which the regiment had been
filled up. I am sorry to have to make
any complaint but this is not altogether a town
matter, it is a National Blot, and an impediment
to the strengthening of our British Army.
May I ask you to be good enough to let me know if
everything is alright or otherwise.
Yours faithfully,
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The following extract is from a letter sent from
Rhyl dated 29.01.15. This letter and the table of
articles issued should give you some idea of
the scale of trying to equip a Battalion during
training, before they even set off to fight in
the war.
To - Secretary, Welsh Army
Corps.
With reference to your letterI am
enclosing the list of Clothing and Necessaries
that has been issued to the men of this Battalion
(10th, 1st Rhondda) since its formation in
October 1914I can only be held responsible for
Clothing and Necessaries received by the
Battalion from 30th October 1914. ColonelCommandi
ng 10th (Service) Bn. Welsh Regt. 1st Rhondda
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1 2 3 4 5
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The following extract is from a letter sent from
Cardiff to the 1st Rhondda Battalion. It was
received on the 5th of January 1915.
Welsh Army Corps January 4th 1915 Dear Sir
I have your wire of todays date with
reference to supplies. I have wiredfor the
delivery of 183 pairs of Drawers. The 507 Towels
have already been despatched to you by Messers
Howells. I have also wired Samuel Bros. to
despatch the Blue suits as quickly as possible.
There may be a little delay sending you the
Puttees as they are difficult to procure at the
present time. In regard to Razors, we have a
contract for 5000 but delivery does not take
place until the beginning of February. They are
very difficult to obtain. R.B. Brown and Sons are
doing their utmost to hasten delivery of
uniforms.
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The War Office paid an allowance of 10s to each
man for the loan of his clothing which had to be
returned to his home at the governments expense
once uniforms were issued. The 16th Cardiff City
Battalion was clothed in a mixture of civilian
and military garb. The Rhondda and Swansea
battalions wore the distinctive uniform of old
Welsh grey homespun cloth known as Brethryn
Llwyd Cymru. The 11th Cardiff Pals wore a
uniform of Brethryn Llwyd which was a little
browner than khaki, hence their nickname the
Chocolate Soldiers. New Battalions always
lacked equipment. In 1915 the Rhondda Battalion
had no straw, rope, spun yarn and posts and
crossbars for bayonet fighting. The Cardiff
Battalion was equipped with 60 unserviceable
rifles. It took well into 1915 before the War
Office was able to supply and equip the New Army
properly.
END