Tag Archives: Third Battle of Krithia

A posh word for it…

The other day, I came across a word that was new to me: apophenia. It is not in Chambers Dictionary, and at first I wondered whether it was a misprint. But, of course, there is masses about it on the internet. … Continue reading

Posted in Modern parallels, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is this George Calderon?

Just as music gives people ‘ear-worms’, so biography brings us ‘phantom flies in amber’. As I explained in my posts of 5 January and 1 April 2015, over time the biographer becomes convinced s/he has seen things in print that … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian character, Heroism and Adventure, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A terrible anniversary

George Calderon is presumed to have died just after noon at the Third Battle of Krithia on 4 June 1915. Obviously, I refer first-time blog-visitors to my posts for that and subsequent days last year, the actual centenary of the … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian character, Edwardian English, Edwardian marriage, Heroism and Adventure, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Watch this Space

27/4/16. By the time you read this, I shall either be poring over George Calderon’s uncatalogued manuscript (typescript?) of The Brave Little Tailor and Kittie’s letters to Laurence Binyon at the British Library, or I shall have done so, in which … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian character, Edwardian literature, Heroism and Adventure, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watch this Space

Calderonia is an experiment in biography through a blog. It tells the story of George and Kittie Calderon’s lives from 30 July 1914 to 30 July 1915 from day to day as it happened, but exactly 100 years afterwards. It therefore … Continue reading

Posted in Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watch this Space

6/8/15. I was flabbergasted last week when the TLS featured ‘Calderonia’ a second time on its very popular blog, this time to mark our closing (see link on right under ‘Related’ to ‘Second TLS blog post’). I cannot thank Michael Caines … Continue reading

Posted in Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

30 July 1915: ‘Ends’

It does not seem exactly a year since the small boys Jack and Roly Pym ran across from their holiday home at Seaview on the Isle of Wight to greet George Calderon, a kind of uncle to them, who had … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian marriage, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

29 July 1915

29th July, 1915. The Military Secretary presents his compliments to Mrs Calderon, and begs to thank her for her letter of July 26th, and to inform her that a form of enquiry on behalf of her husband will be sent … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian marriage, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

28 July 1915

Brit. Red Cross St Mark’s Buildings Alexandria July 20.1915 Kitty dear One of our workers found another Sgt Major Allan, B Company, 1st K.O.S.B. in hospital here. The report that this man gave was sent to London last week, and you … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian marriage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The War

Im Westen nichts Neues is the title of Erich Maria Remarque’s famous novel, usually rendered in English as All Quiet on the Western Front. Its literal translation, however, is In the West Nothing New. The deadly sniping, sapping, night raids, shelling … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian character, Heroism and Adventure, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

26 July 1915

Today, Monday 26 July 1915, Kittie wrote the above letter to Military Secretary 3 (Casualties) at the War Office. I have not transcribed it, as she has written it as clearly as possible. Even so, she has omitted an apostrophe … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian marriage, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

25 July 1915

Today Kittie received a long letter from the Liberal historian, journalist and political advisor John Lawrence Le Breton Hammond (usually known as Lawrence Hammond). I cannot reproduce it, because it is still in copyright, but I will précis it and … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian character, Edwardian marriage, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

23 July 1915

British Red Cross and Order of St John Enquiry Department for Wounded and Missing 20, Arlington Street, S.W. July 23 Dear Mrs Calderon, Mr Lubbock telegraphs to us from Alexandria that 6424 Sergt. Smith, K.O.S.B. returning on the hospital ship … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian literature, Edwardian marriage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

22 July 1915

On or about this day, Kittie received Percy Lubbock’s note of 13 July from Alexandria, enclosing the statement he had taken in hospital that day from the ‘wrong’ Sergeant-Major Allen of the 1st KOSB. Although Percy had dated it the … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian marriage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

21 July 1915

On or about this day, Gertrude Bell, administrator of the Enquiry Department for Wounded and Missing at the London office of the Red Cross and Order of St John, received the witness statement that a volunteer in a hospital in … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian marriage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Flashback — and tourbillions in Time (again)

The Imperial War Museum invited me to contribute a post to their Research Blog, and I promptly accepted. I am not, of course, a military historian, and when I started researching the last ten months of George’s life I was … Continue reading

Posted in Edwardian character, Heroism and Adventure, Personal commentary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments