The Met' Office forecasted snow to-day and it seems they were correct. I was watching a cantankerous grey squirrel vigourously defending it's territory in the pine tree at the bottom of the garden against the unwanted incursion of a wood pigeon when the first delicate flakes started to descend. It's now quite heavy and settling on the already-frozen ground. Cumbria will be shut for business again, no doubt!
The winter of 1914/1915 was a particularly cold one too and the soldiers on the Western Front would have needed all the insulation they could get, being as they were, exposed to the elements. In letters sent home by ordinary soldiers during that period a common theme seems to be requests for warm clothing - gloves, scarves, balaclavas, and the like. I'm not sure what the Army provided in the way of severe-weather clothing as 'kit' other than the standard-issue greatcoat. Whatever was issued, it appeared to have been inadequate. Given the rapid expansion of the British Expeditionary Force the requirement was perhaps on such a scale that no-one had ever really anticipated the need or planned for it.
In consequence, the photographs from that time tend to show men wearing a variety of garments and usually presenting a somewhat 'unmilitary' appearance. One particular item often seen was the fleece - quite literally, being either of goatskin or sheepskin. I don't know whether these were officially issued or whether individuals had to purchase them privately, although perhaps the latter is more likely as I would have thought that if they were generally available then most soldiers, if not all, would have been wearing them.
Men of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers in the trenches: Winter 1914.
Some photographs of the 2nd Battalion, King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) dating from February 1915, when it was billeted at Ouderdom near Ypres, also show men wearing fleeces.
Officers' Mess kitchen (King's Own Museum).
Hutted encapment (King's Own Museum).
Sitting writing this in a centrally-heated house it's difficult to imagine just how cold they must have been, living in wooden huts which, I suspect didn't even have a stove to provide warmth. It must have been even worse for the men stationed in the trenches - frostbite was the biggest source of casualties at that time. 'Miserable' probably sums it up adequately.
Captain Thomas Brittain Forwood (King's Own Museum).
These photographs are particularly poignant for me. In all probability the men featured in them became causalties on May 8th at Frezenberg, either dead or taken prisoner, including Captain Forwood, who is now commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.
Yes, we've just had a snowfall of around four of five inches in the south. The fleeces look warm and must have been, because they attracted the lice in their droves. Whatever the Tommy tried to do to make himself comfortable, the elements and the conditions cseemed to conspire against him.
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