A General morale boost

22nd November 1914

General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, commander of II Corps, visited the Dorsets at some point during the day. It’s mentioned in passing by the war diary and not at all by the History of the Dorsetshire Regiment 1914-1919. Whether there’s any significance in that omission is impossible for me to say.

According to the 14th Brigade’s war diary, Smith-Dorrien spoke to the Dorsets at 3pm. Exactly what he said is not recorded anywhere I can find at the moment. It appears that, looking at other units’ diaries, he was doing the rounds boosting morale up and down the line occupied by troops of II Corps giving, I suspect, the same speech over and over again.

The Dorsets remained in billets for another day. The weather was bitterly cold with a strong north wind and snow on the ground, according to the 14th Brigade’s dairy.

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