Having a go at the
KAISER
Having a go at the
KAISER
A Welsh Family at War
GETHIN
MATTHEWS
UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS
2018
Gethin Matthews, 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the copyright owners written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press, University Registry, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3NS.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-78683-347-1
eISBN - - 78683 - -
The right of Gethin Matthews to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Cover images: Gabriel, Richard and Ivor Eustis (photographs by kind permission of Pamela John and Rhian McGivan).
Cover design: Olwen Fowler
For a chess player, an optimist
and a cricketer
Contents
Acknowledgements
T he first I heard of the story of the Eustis brothers at war was in 201011, when I was running the Welsh Voices of the Great War Online project at Cardiff University. Marianne Eustis told me the outline of the story, though she had few concrete details of the war service of her uncles Richard and Ivor Eustis. She shared photographs of her father, Gabriel, in his Royal Navy uniform, but had no written matter by him. I was interested, because these were my grandfathers cousins, but in truth I did not pursue the research because I had many other collections to study, where there was a wealth of written material.
In 201314 I co-ordinated a HLF-funded project at Treboeth, centred upon the Roll of Honour at Caersalem Newydd Baptist Chapel. With a lot of help from the community, it was possible to piece together not just the story of the eighty-one men listed on that memorial, but also of the impact of the war upon their families and the whole community. The sources unearthed by the project gave me much information about the activities of Richard Eustiss unit, the 3rd Welsh Field Ambulance, as a dozen Caersalem men served alongside him. It became clear that this was a local story with a very broad sweep: many of these men, like Richard, were members of the Treboeth Temperance Brass Band who enlisted as Territorials in July 1913, and then served together in England, Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine from the very beginning of the war through to 1919.
Then in 2015, quite by chance, I got to know Ian Eustis, son of Daniel, the younger brother of Richard, Gabriel and Ivor. One day he said to me, I have something that I think will interest you, which has turned out to be something of an understatement. He entrusted to me a small box full of the familys treasures. I did not expect the quantity of letters that had been preserved thanks to the parents, and then the sisters Bess Ann and Lottie Eustis: only one other family collection that I had encountered while running the Welsh Voices project had more than a dozen letters in total. It took me some time to appreciate the quality of these hundred-plus letters, and the window they provide into the family conversation, in particular of 191618. After I realised the value of the material, I am grateful that Dr Llion Wigley and the staff of the University of Wales Press were so willing to listen to my proposal, and that they concurred that this was a story that deserved to be told, and material that demanded a book-length analysis.
I am very grateful to Swansea University for providing financial backing for the publication of the book and to the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, who sponsor my post, for their support and encouragement. The book has also benefited from the insights I have gained while running the Welsh Memorials to the Great War project, which was generously funded by the Living Legacies WW1 Engagement Centre from 2015 to 2017.
Specialist help regarding military matters has come from the Rev. Clive Hughes and Hywyn Williams, and from some of the contributors to the Great War Forum, most notably Horatio2 who assisted greatly in deciphering Gabriels war record. Ivor Williams of the Treboeth History Group passed on a copy of the programme for the unveiling of the Treboeth War Memorial and Peter Williams shared a photograph of the Mynyddbach rugby team from 191314. I am grateful to the staff at the Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University; West Glamorgan Archives; the National Library of Wales and my colleagues at the Department of History at Swansea for their interest and support. Prof. Paul OLeary at Aberystwyth University provided very valuable feedback and encouragement at different stages of the project. My father has been supportive throughout and my wife has been very patient.
The most substantial support for this project has come from three grandchildren of John and Mary Eustis and one great-granddaughter. I am particularly indebted to Ian Eustis for opening up the familys treasures to me, and to Marianne Eustis for her support and encouragement. Pamela John (daughter of Grace, and thus a niece of the Eustis brothers) has also been generous in sharing some of the material safeguarded by her side of the family with me. Rhian McGivan (granddaughter of Richard, the eldest brother) lent me his diaries from 1916 and 1917. Other family members have shared pieces of information: Christine Collins, Dave Gordon, Julie Eustace and the late Rose Davies. Diolch yn fawr to all for every piece of assistance.
