The Great War of Dorothie Feilding

The British nurse and ambulance driver Dorothie Feilding (1889-1935) spent almost three years at the Belgian front during the First World War. She was only twenty-four years old when the war broke out. Dorothie wrote many letters to her father and mother.

War sows death and destruction. Dorothie saw many destroyed towns and villages, including Ramskapelle:

“Of what was once a prosperous little country village there remains roofless homesteads and desolate gardens, with personal treasures and children’s toys trampled under foot.”

The First World War had a major impact on civilians and soldiers in many countries. The African soldiers aroused curiosity in Europe and they did not escape the attention of Dorothie:

“Such a lot of black Senegal troops her at Dixmude.”

She made positive comments about the Zouaves:

“The Zouaves are very fine troops (…) These Zouaves are wonderful troops and something so fine about them and their morale and bravery.”

Dorothie also had great respect for the [French Marines] and their beloved admiral Pierre Ronarc'h. She met with him regularly:

“The beloved old admiral came in to see me this morning, as nice as ever.”

In August 1915 she was awarded the French Croix de Guerre:

“Ronarc’h presented me with the French Croix de Guerre (…) The admiral presente dit me with pleasant words. It’s rather a nice bronze medal.”

She showed outspoken negativity about Germans, who were regularly compared to barbarian Huns, Teutons or Boches:

“The beastly Germans (…) are devils.”

The hard fighting around the front city of Ypres claimed many lives of young British soldiers:

“The English are having huge losses at Ypres.”

The consequences for the city and its inhabitants were disastrous:

“Ypres is absolutely desolate. No civilians or soldiers, just ruined.”

?The water in Flanders was sometimes an ally and often an annoying enemy:

“Such mud and such rain (…) Mud is a Flanders speciality.”

Dorothie was well aware of the terrible living conditions of the soldiers in the trenches:

“This wet (weather) is hell fort he poor Tommies in the trenches. It’s awful to see the state they are in from i tand it takes the heart out of a man to be frozen and soaked and never able to dry.”

Death was always present. Dorothie lost many of her patients and colleagues. Even in hospitals, no one was safe from the violence of war:

“One of the little nurses, a Dutch girl, at our hospital was wounded and I am sorry to say died of the shock of her leg being amputated. Poor little soul, it’s very tragic.”

Casualties sometimes also occurred unintentionally as a result of friendly fire:

“Our gunners fired a good deal on our own men.”

Dorothie had clear opions about the ‘develish’ and ‘damnable’ war:

“War is an utterly incomprehensible horror (…) This war is a nightmare.”

She fervently longed for peace:

“I am fed up with the war (…) I wish to God this war was over.”

In August 1916 she was pessimistic about the course of the war:

“It’s the third year of the war today and the end seems as far away as ever.”

Her pessimism reflected realism, as the war would continue for two long years. On November 11, 1918, the Armistice was a fact:

“I couldn’t bear to hear the people laughing and clapping yesterday. On was so haunted by the memories of those dear boys who have gone.”

Dorothie had mixed feelings. The war was finally over, but she had lost two brothers, namely Hugh and Henry.

Captain Carter from the Royal Army Medical Corps mentioned Dorothie in a letter to his own brother:

“She (Dorothie) is a lady of whom Britain may well be proud.”

Dorothie expressed her personal drive and mission as follows:

“I got to love my soldiers like my children. It was a positive need to me, to share the life and dangers of this war with them.”

Dorothie Feilding married with Charles in July 1917 and had five children. She died in 1935.

Literature: Hallam, A., & Hallam, N. (2011).?Lady Under Fire on the Western Front: The Great War Letters of Lady Dorothie Feilding MM. Casemate Publishers.