Chapter 14 Back in ‘Blighty’

1918

 ‘Keep your bedroom windows open! Prevent influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis.’ Jack saw this on posters in England everywhere he looked. People wore mouth-masks on the streets and were keeping a distance from each other, and hurried about as if afraid to be on the streets. Other posters said to avoid congregations of large groups of people. Schools and cinemas were closed. The state of the country shocked Jack when he came back on leave that August. The epidemic of Spanish flu had seriously affected the troops, but the scale on the home-front surprised him. 

In Liverpool, men were out on the streets spraying disinfectant. In the News of the World Jack read, “It is advised to wash inside your nose with soap and water each night and morning; force yourself to sneeze night and morning, then breathe deeply. Do not wear a muffler; take sharp walks regularly and walk home from work; eat plenty of porridge.”

He passed a school and saw some girls playing skipping rope and singing,

“I had a little bird

Its name was Enza.

I opened the window,

And in-flu-enza.” 

Arriving home he found his mother was anxious about her family catching the deadly flu. She tried to keep everyone indoors and didn’t let anyone else enter the house. No visitors, not even relatives. Mabel, Mary and Joe were all in the vulnerable age-group, yet they were expected to go to work as they were supporting the war effort. Father also went to work because otherwise there would be less money coming in. Annie’s school was closed so she was home looking after little Reggie, now 2 years old. 

Mother told Jack he would be vulnerable, “The flu is vicious. It’s unbelievably quick. People fine at breakfast are dead by tea-time. Within hours they cough, then turn blue, struggle for air and suffocate.” 

“What are the symptoms?” Jack asked. “Tiredness, a temperature and a headache. You must be worn out after being at the front, so you need to watch out. Please stay inside as much as you can, Jack. Lot’s of people have lost their lives because of this miserable flu.” 

“Don’t worry, Mother,” Jack said, “I’m happy to have a good rest at home for a few days.”

Mother was dying to talk to Jack about what it had been like on the front. He’d written to her regularly, but she knew he never told the appalling details. She’d written to him about life on the home front, but neither did she tell the full story. She decided this wasn’t the time to delve into that.

Annie had told stories about her husband, George, who was at the front when he had an awful experience. As a wireless signaller, he had been close to the front when the Germans used gas. Even though he’d not been in the full cloud of chlorine gas, the mildly contaminated air made him gasp for breath. He ran away from the low-hanging cloud, but looking back, he saw his comrades choking and falling to the ground. He survived but the gas damaged his lungs, leaving him permanently weak. Being of no more use on the front, they sent him to Durban on the SS Suffolk as an Orderly Room Sergeant. Annie was glad that at least he no longer served on the front lines. 

Jack could see that his family had been effected by the rationing. They had lost weight, looked tired and were often hungry. No wonder with the shortage of sugar, milk, meat and potatoes. Whatever was available was not very nutritious. Mabel and her Mother did their best to augment their diet by growing fruit and vegetables in the back garden. Jack gave them a hand by picking beans and digging up a patch where potatoes had been.

His father repeated his belief that God forbids men to fight and that Jack should never have joined the army. He showed little compassion for what Jack had endured and was not interested to know. All the same, he was proud of his son and glad to have him back home.

Despite the Spanish Flu restrictions, Jack made his way to the art school. It was open and he came across Miss Grime who said she now taught the Preliminary Courses. Part of her work was to teach injured ex-servicemen who came from the local hospital in the afternoons. For them, it was not only a welcome distraction but offered them the opportunity to learn new skills, like carpentry or metal work.

Jack finished his brief leave at home and then went to No.8 Officer Cadet Battalion, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, on a six months’ officers course. He took to writing further in his diary.

“Just after the passing-out examination, while out in the fields on a map reading exercise, we broke off to await vital news. I was sitting on a five-barred gate when the cathedral and all church bells rang out at 11 a.m. on November the 11th 1918. The war was over!

“There was a swell of excitement and cheers amongst the men and we made our way back to the barracks. Parade was called and the highest in rank came forward to read from a document. He said the armistice was signed at 5am in the morning, in Compiègne, France, and was effective from 11am. The Allies had defeated the Germans.

“Our only interest then was to find something to drink to celebrate it but there was nothing to be had, not a bottle of wine or anything else! However, we soon put that right.”

The ‘Victory Christmas’ was a grand celebration that year with the surviving soldiers gradually arriving back home. But there was also sadness at the loss of so many young men. Nearly 10,000 Liverpudlians had lost their lives, the oldest aged 70, and the youngest aged 14. Everyone knew someone close who had died, either in the war or of Spanish flu. Jack had lost colleagues, friends and teachers of art school and pals from the early days in the Territorial Army. Fortunately, none of his family had died or been seriously injured. 

Crowds filled the streets for Christmas shopping as they had been supplied with money, but no extra food, no turkey, was available. People celebrated at their firesides in restraint for those lost. Little went on in the streets of Liverpool but the hospitals were busy with the seriously wounded and the Spanish Flu claiming lives.

Jack had his picture taken, wearing his officer cadet uniform. He looked smart, a cap with a white band perched on his head, a neat moustache and a white shirt and tie under his tunic. He came across as a true officer. On 6^th February 1919, he was called in to the Major’s quarters where he received his commission to the rank of officer. The Major presented him with 4 blue Chevrons and 5 medals: the British War Medal, the Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Victory Medal and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. After his seven years in the army, he was demobilised and posted to the Officer’s Reserve. He was given his Discharge Certificate and smiled when he read, “This Officer Cadet is exceptionally well educated, intelligent and capable.”

He returned to Liverpool with high hopes for a new phase in his life.