Mr John Burnet shares the story of his father-in-law, Harold Dumbrell

Harold Dumbrell, my wife’s father, signed up on 12 June 1915 to join the Field Artillery, at the age of 18. He fought at Gallipoli and the Western Front until the end of the war, being wounded twice and evacuated to England.

Harold did discuss with me some of his experiences in the war before his death in 1976, aged 79 years. During his service, he wrote many letters to his mother and other family and friends, some of which we still have and which I have transcribed. Many of Harold’s letters were subject to strict censorship and so did not reveal much about the war, but when he returned from the Western Front to England, where he recovered from shrapnel wounds at the Ontario Military Hospital in Kent, he was able to write with much more freedom. His letter describing his 26 hour, non-stop carrying of munitions to the beaches on the last two days on Gallipoli is most interesting, as is his recount of a near-breaking of the lines by the Germans on the Western Front at the Battle of Lagnicourt.  

Here is an excerpt from one such letter:

“I am glad to say I was in it too Mumsie, also Arthur and it is only by good luck that I am not either killed or a prisoner in German hands. As we were all asleep when he broke through the line. Now Arthurs’s Btn the 102nd were about ¼ mile further on than ours. Fritz got to their guns and proceeded to blow them up, placing Gun cotton in them. All the boys but 3 or 4 had been warned by this “as they were all asleep” & all got their guns put out of action so as Fritz could not use them, & got for their lives as they had no rifles.

The unfortunate chaps who had no time to get away were still asleep. Fritz killed & made prisoners. Now we knew nothing of all this. We had been firing a good part of the night & were all dead to the world. It was about 4 o’clock in the morning now & here Fritz was charging down on us, asleep, unconscious of our danger as our infantry were in retreat & had no time to use the telephone to warn us.”

Read Harold Dumbrell’s full letters below.

Evacuation of Gallipoli – a letter from Harold Dumbrell

Breaking of the lines on the Western Front – a letter from Harold Dumbrell