No Greater Love

By Angus H Shaw

In 1914 the world was plunged into the greatest slaughter of humanity in history. Of the 60,000,000 soldiers who answered the call of King, Kaiser, God and country, 14% or 6,000 per day, died!

These were not just big numbers; they were real people. This book tries to capture some of the people who were caught up in this tragedy, and tells their story, often in their own words.

Here is revealed the heroism and tragedy of all who went ‘over the top’ between 1914 and 1918.

British, German or American, no matter which side of the conflict the individual was involved, the heroism, bravery and sacrifice was the same.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Apr 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9781035827572

Angus H Shaw

Angus H Shaw graduated from Aberdeen University in 1971 and married Ann, who has supported him in all his endeavours throughout their life together. They moved to Fife where he became a teacher of Religious Education. Angus retired in 1997 and became very involved in the life and work of the Church of Scotland. In 2016, he wrote and published a history of the parish of The Howe of Fife.

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About the Author

Angus H Shaw graduated from Aberdeen University in 1971 and married Ann, who has supported him in all his endeavours throughout their life together. They moved to Fife where he became a teacher of Religious Education. Angus retired in 1997 and became very involved in the life and work of the Church of Scotland. In 2016, he wrote and published a history of the parish of The Howe of Fife.

Dedication

Dedicated to all who have given their lives for others.

Copyright Information ©

Angus H Shaw 2024

The right of Angus H Shaw to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The story, experiences and words are the author’s alone.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781035827565 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781035827572 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

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Acknowledgement

This volume is largely a compilation of material that has been made available to me. Without the generous contributions it would not have been possible to write this volume. Those who provided material include Clara Brunton, Jane Buchanan; Jean Finlay; Elder Garland; Jan Howie; Eckard Lange; Scott (Old Man) McAuly of Melrose, Massachusetts; Wilma Nicol; Helen Paterson; Ann Shaw; Alexander Smillie; Margaret Sproule. I particularly wish to thank Robert Carmichael for translating documents from German in the Fraktur script into English. I also wish to thank my wife Ann for her constant support, patience, and many cups of coffee!

Introduction

I

t is the purpose of this book to consider the human cost of World War One. While emphasis has been given to the German, British and American conflict, there is no intention to demean the contribution of all those people around the world who bravely sacrificed themselves in the tragedy that was World War One.

Here you will find examples of the courage, bravery and nobility of men and women who fought and others who stayed at home because they believed it was right. Motivation came through faith in God, loyalty to the monarch and love of friends and family.

Political ineptitude led to the events that resulted in this conflict. Those at the front and those at home showed tremendous bravery and courage in enduring the grave hardships of the time. There were those who endured the shells, the fear and the horror of the trenches. There were also those at home who suffered, worried and wept.

There is a strong desire to dehumanise the enemy during a war. It is easier to kill a brute or an animal than to kill another who is like yourself. With the benefit of hindsight and the loyalty of friendships across international borders, hated enemies of 100 years ago are now our friends.

In the words of the composer Karl Jenkins:

Better is peace than always war and better is peace than evermore war

Always war, always war, better is peace than evermore war

And better and better is peace

(The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace)

Chapter 1

Why War?

Why did Europe, ‘bursting with health and abundance’, fall into ‘a rage of self-mutilation that could not but sap its strength for a century or more, and perhaps forever’?

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1983, Templeton Prize Lecture)

T

here were those who claimed that the 20th century did not start until 4 August 1914. All other major events throughout that century were consequential upon World War One. The German/Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman and Russian empires collapsed.

The United States emerged as leader of the Western powers. Russia was overtaken by Communism, which led to the emergence of the Cold War after 1945. The failure of the Treaty of Versailles to establish a stable Europe, resulting in the rise of Nazism, the Wall Street crash and World War II, all followed the end of the War to end Wars!

Indeed it had been claimed that the effects of WWI did not reach a conclusion until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. That conclusion ignored the importance of the development of the European Union, which had brought political stability in Europe and grown in influence on the world stage throughout the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st.

Through this organisation, Germany had come to dominate Europe both politically and economically. In 1914, many believed the war was necessary to prevent such an occurrence but then history follows its own course and the world is a very different place from what it was in 1914.

The War also changed society with the emergence of women in the work place and the momentum this gave to the cause of feminism. Financial hardship, resulting from the cost of war, meant that there was little economic growth throughout the first half of the 1900s.

Certainly, the living conditions of many in 1950 Scotland were not very different from those of 1910. Small tenement houses with outside toilet and often also an outside tap remained in many towns and villages. There was a considerable number of people who depended upon gas or paraffin for lighting as electricity was not available for them until well into the 1950s.

This lack of development was a result of the financial commitment our country entered into in order to participate in the carnage that was the First and later, the Second World War.

It was on page six that the Scotsman on 5 August 1914 intimated: It was officially announced in London ten minutes after midnight that owing to the summary rejection by the German government of the request made by His Majesty’s government for assurance that the neutrality of Belgium will be respected, His Majesty’s Ambassador at Berlin has received his passport. His Majesty’s government has declared to the German government that a state of war exists between Great Britain and Germany as from 11 p.m. on August 4.

Positioned as it was beneath the intimation of the rising and falling of the sun and moon, with no head-line above it, there seemed to have been little effort to emphasise the significance of the event. To be fair, while this was the first mention of the declaration of War in the Scotsman on that day, it was given greater significance elsewhere in that edition.

Although there were several identifiable political situations that led to war, it was hard to establish the reasons for the outbreak of hostilities. The series of crises appeared to have started on 28 June 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, when on a visit to Sarajevo.

Austria believed the assassination had been initiated by the Serbian Nationalist Movement. On July 23rd, Austria-Hungary, with German support, delivered an ultimatum to Serbia. The Serbs spoke of arbitration but began to mobilise their army. Two days later, Austria-Hungary broke diplomatic relations with Serbia and mobilised its army.

On July 26th, Britain tried to convene a conference of major European countries to resolve the situation. While France, Italy and Russia agreed to take part, Germany did not. On July 30th, Austria started shelling Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and the following day, Russia began full mobilisation in support of their old friends.

Germany demanded that Russia cease its preparations for war and its refusal lead to the German declaration of war against Russia on the first day of August. Believing that France would support Russia, Germany decided that if it, the weaker of the two, was taken out of the conflict, Germany could concentrate its efforts on the Eastern front.

In fact, France had made no effort to mobilise its troops but Germany claimed it had bombed Nuremberg and so said that the Fatherland was in danger. On August 3rd, Germany declared war on France and invaded neutral Belgium, which it saw as a route through which it could attack France. Britain demanded that Germany retreat from Belgium.

This was ignored and so on August 4th, Britain declared war on Germany. These were the days of the British Empire and so Britain’s declaration involved Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. On August 6th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. So Europe and the countries of the British Empire were at war.

It appeared there was no reason for the war taking place for, at any stage, the situation could have been deflated by talks, and disagreements settled. The political situation in Europe was complicated with the unification of Germany and the development of a power struggle between two major European power blocks that started at the end of the 19th century. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance while Britain, Russia and France formed the Triple Entente.

Errors made by the political leaders escalated the rhetoric and this resulted in the mobilisation of forces. There was also, amongst some, the development of a mind-set that a war could be useful and people quickly started talking of when there would be war rather than if there would be war.

It was also the case that while in Britain, it was the Cabinet that had to approve the declaration of war; in Russia and Germany, the Czar and the Keiser had sole authority to make that decision. Perhaps they were not the best people to hold such power.

The French believed they were defending their country against Germany, which they saw as an aggressive foe. There had been ill feeling between France and Germany ever since the latter annexed Alsace-Lorraine in the 1870s. The average British soldier wasn’t too clear why he was involved, hence the popular ditty of the time, We’re Here Because We’re Here.

At the beginning of the war, the Germans believed they were defending Germany against an aggressive alliance of nations that was out to destroy their country. In 1916, they believed they were not only defending Germany but also French civilians who were caught up in the British assault.

Many villages were destroyed by British shells and the Germans took the people to safety and rebuilt their villages. In the Battle of the Somme, the British were seen to have launched a massive attack on the ‘Fatherland’ and the Germans believed they were protecting their country against an invader.

Most Germans continued to think of the