A General of the German First Army,
Alexander
Heinrich Rudolph von Kluck,
Was turned from
the threshold of invasion,
By involvement of
four small elements -
That would serve
to halt him in his tracks:
Two lost Tommy's,
a trusted gamekeeper
And his wife, a
chateau pheasant preserve
And a group of
snared struggling rabbits.
Near the town of
Senlis in September 1914
Stood a chateau
belonging to M'sieur Meunier,
A successful
chocolate merchant - within his
Employ was an
English man, John Jameson -
Head gamekeeper
of thirty years - one night,
Along with two
servants and his wife, settled
Down in a late
hour,sleeping in the Chateau.
In the dark came
a loud knocking on the door -
With all the
servants awoken, none dare see
Who was there -
Mr. Jameson unperturbed, slid
Back each bar and
bolt - on opening he found
Four German
infantrymen, holding rifles - fixed
Bayonets all
pointed towards his chest.
At their
questions as to who was in the Chateau
He said himself,
his wife and two other servants.
Their reply was
the order to leave - where to go?
They did not care
- but it was to be immediately.
With this, he
considered the lodge entrance
By the gates - within
the grounds he observed
Countless German
soldiers, mostly drunk -
Back in the
house, now filling with officers,
He requested safe
conduct for self and wife’s
Progress to the
lodge - an officer granted this.
As the gamekeeper
and wife reached the lodge,
They found the
place full of German soldiers -
Who, acting
beyond control of their officers,
Proceeded to
verbally abuse their presence.
Thinking of his
wife's safety, the gamekeeper
Decided on the
shelter of pheasant preserves.
Hidden in that
place for five days, they stayed
In rough
underbrush living off scraps thrown
Out for the
birds - by determined means he lit
A fire - then with the needs for varied food,
Jameson went out
to lay snares for rabbits.
Later, as he
returned to see if any had been
Caught, he found
British uniformed men.
He called out to
them in shared language,
To ask why they
were there - to explain
They were lost,
only now finding a road,
To lead to their
regiment - in warning
Jameson told of
the German soldiers
About the chateau,
that numbered 5000.
It was likely
they were only the advance
Party - the main
army not so far away.
The following
night the two Tommy's
Made a return -
this time with an English
Detachment they
found in a nearby village -
They asked the
gamekeeper to be a guide.
Leading the
English force to the chateau,
They foiled the
Germans, taken by surprise,
Who being drunk
put up only a weak fight -
Less than a
handful escaped and ran back
To their
headquarters - proclaiming lines
Of communication
were now under threat -
With thousands of
British now advancing.
In the dry
chateau the British officers then
Settled to a late
supper, as General von Kluck
Changed his
plans, to pull away from gates
Of Paris - on his return to regained chateau
John Jameson's
mood improved, although
200 Germans lay
buried in his kitchen garden.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915. Daily Telegraph 16 January 1915. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 16 Jan. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11345859/Daily-Telegraph-January-16-1915.html
[Accessed: 16 January 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 16 January 2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered
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