Field Service Post Card franked 2 De 14 to Miss Crawshaw, 29 Strathleven
“I am quite well. I have received your letter, parcel. Letter follows at first opportunity” signed Frank and dated 2-12-14
2nd December 1914
Another service postcard means only one thing: Another letter is winging its way to Brixton.
The Dorsets were now in trenches just north of Wulverghem. It’s only a little way south east from where the Dorsets were last week. I found a map drawn by E.Rogers 2nd Lieutenant on the 2nd December 1914 and have done my thing to it. He’s written A Section at the top. I wonder if this means he is an officer in Frank’s A Company? If Frank is still in A Company that is.
E. Rogers remains a mystery. I have found his medal roll on Ancestry but I cannot find anything else about him at this time. Not even his first name. It’s the same with Captain R.E. Partridge. It’s a shame because it’s not the last we’ll hear from either of them.
The Dorsets’ diary reports a quiet day except heavy shelling in front of C Company’s trenches.
Interesting to see your blog. I’m Captain Richard Evelegh Partridge’s grandson. I have several fairly high quality photos from 1914-1915, including two or three of groups of officers and soldiers. There is, I suppose, a chance that one of them includes Frank Crawshaw. Even if they don’t, I think that you would be quite interested in them. Let me know if you are and I’ll try scanning them and email them to you, along with the annotations my grandfather has written on the reverse sides. Incidentally, he sent copies of all of them to the regimental museum in Dorchester, so if you have been there you might well have already seen the photos.
Dear Mr Partridge
Thanks for your message. Firstly, thank you for getting in touch and for giving me your grandfather’s full name. I feel so honoured when figures from history reach out and touch the present.
I would be absolutely delighted to see any photographs you might have. I’ve seen some of the photos at Dorset – in fact one of my posts is about a photograph taken by your grandfather. It was quite rare for a camera to be on the British side of the trenches.
You will find your grandfather mentioned a few times during the course of my project, if you haven’t read these posts already: http://wordpress-249197-772718.cloudwaysapps.com/?s=partridge&submit=Search
There are also copies of his photos on Flickr posted over at https://www.flickr.com/photos/29051501@N08/sets/72157625255282580/with/5121625852/
One day I will find some time to add to this blog – I want to add a walk I made around where they were based for much of the early part of 1915, before the horrors of Hill 60.
Kind regards
Jon