Vere Harmsworth
Vere Harmsworth, the son of Lord Rothermere, joined the Royal Navy but was invalided out after being deafened by gunfire.
On the outbreak of the First World War he joined the Royal Naval Reserve and took part in the fighting at Gallipoli. He later wrote to his brother, Vyvyan Harmsworth: "The best part of it was that you could hear them (shells) coming and immediately flung yourself on the ground. But this precaution does little good if the shell pitches anywhere near you. I can tell you it was exciting work, and at night it was ten times worse. One imagined the whole time that the German infantry were attacking us, and the men of course blazed off their rifles into the barbed wire entailments ahead of the trenches."
Harmsworth wrote on 17th July, 1915: "We have spent four days in the fire trench. We had only a few casualties. We were put there just after a big attack which had partially failed and the ground between our trench and the Turks were strewn with bodies. It strikes me that they will be there for a long time. In this heat the body and face turn quite black in less than 24 hours and the smell is terrific. The flies - which are myriad - also add to the general discomfort."
When it was decided to withdraw from Gallipoli, Harmsworth was sent to the Western Front where he took part in the Battle of the Somme. He wrote to his uncle just before he advanced into No Man's Land: "We came up into the trenches this morning and we go over the top the morning after tomorrow. It will be about dawn, as the whole day will be required for the very big operations in hand. It is a terrifically big show. We shall move up to our battle positions tomorrow evening. We shall be very cramped and uncomfortable until the show starts. Who knows what it will be like."
Vere Harmsworth was shot in the throat and killed on 13th November, 1916, while attacking German trenches at Ancre.
Primary Sources
(1) Vere Harmsworth, letter to Vyvyan Harmsworth (7th June, 1915)
The best part of it was that you could hear them (shells) coming and immediately flung yourself on the ground. But this precaution does little good if the shell pitches anywhere near you. I can tell you it was exciting work, and at night it was ten times worse. One imagined the whole time that the German infantry were attacking us, and the men of course blazed off their rifles into the barbed wire entailments ahead of the trenches.
(2) Vere Harmsworth, letter to Vyvyan Harmsworth (15th July, 1915)
One's loathing of the staff and all that appertains to it increases out here, where officers with red hats dash past infantry in motor cars - either splashing them with mud or covering them with dust. No staff for me ever. I am going through the mill with my men. They are little more than boys most of them and far too young to fight at all.
(3) Vere Harmsworth, letter to Vyvyan Harmsworth while at Gallipoli (17th July, 1915)
We have spent four days in the fire trench. We had only a few casualties. We were put there just after a big attack which had partially failed and the ground between our trench and the Turks were strewn with bodies. It strikes me that they will be there for a long time. In this heat the body and face turn quite black in less than 24 hours and the smell is terrific. The flies - which are myriad - also add to the general discomfort.
(4) Vere Harmsworth, letter to his uncle, during the Battle of the Somme (24th October, 1916)
We came up into the trenches this morning and we go over the top the morning after tomorrow. It will be about dawn, as the whole day will be required for the very big operations in hand. It is a terrifically big show.
We shall move up to our battle positions tomorrow evening. We shall be very cramped and uncomfortable until the show starts. Who knows what it will be like.
I firmly believe that no man can truthfully say he has done his share until he has made the supreme sacrifice. At business in the the years to come, I shall never be any good. When attending to one thing my mind will be elsewhere.