One hundred years ago today, Alfred Gobey wrote home to his family as he prepared to be sent out and was a career soldier, having joined the DLI as a boy bandsman and served 11 years in India and posted to France in May 1916.

He would eventually be promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant to war. Born in 1876, Sergeant Major Gobey, from Blaydon, was married to Wilhelmina Vashty Gobey Burma.

During the early days of the First World War, he served as an instructor in England before being in 9DLI and survived the war, but 100 years ago was based in Doncaster, training soldiers for war.

The Northern Echo:

Sergeant Major A Gobey
9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry
Doncaster
Yorkshire
Tues: 11th Jan: 1916

Dear Alice and Sydney,

I’ll endeavour to keep my promise by writing this letter, which I promised to do in my last short missive to you, which I hope you received, also the photo.

Kitty Paige (or Peters) left Vash & went back to her home at Birmingham yesterday so she is now alone, altho’ I can manage to get one or two days leave each month & am thus better off than our comrades at the Front.

Immediately war was declared, my Regt was rushed off to the West Coast, near Newcastle, where the men worked like Turks making trenches in case of invasion – while we were doing this, the remainder of the Army was getting fitted out for War, who came and replaced us, while we got fitted up – that done, we were posted at several different places along the Coast, moving here & moving there which went on for 14 months, and in the meantime trained & sent out 1,700 men to take the place of our Comrades as they fell – the worry, work, trouble & uncomfortableness of that 14 months I hope never to experience again – it started the grey hairs showing on my head & if it had continued I should have been bald headed altogether – after that we came here in Nov: last – being sent here with several other Corps owing to the large number of absentees due to them being near to their own homes & also the hard & trying time we were having.

I think I have now accounted for the time from the outbreak of War on 4th Aug: 1914 to Jan: 1916, and as to the future, I’m at a loss to say or know where we are going to – one day the rumour is that we are for France, another day is we are for Egypt etc. & another day we are for the West Coast again – all our men, the majority having been training since the outbreak of the War are keen & hot on getting out to the Front – they resent seeing Kitchener’s men being sent out, in the majority of cases with only two months service – it’s simply cold blooded murder to send men out like that, as it is utterly impossible to teach or train a man to be a soldier in two months.

Vash, children & myself are in the pink of health & spirits – our pay is much greater than in Peace time – apart from my pay as Sergeantt Major, Vash gets 35s 6d a week Separation Allowance & another 12s 6d a week for a small Government job, so, as far as the War goes, we are doing well.

I don’t know if I told you, but I am daily expecting to be specially promoted to be an Officer & the day Peace is declared, even if I am an officer for 1 day only, I can have £1,000 down in hard cash or have £80 a year for life – not bad is it. I may be promoted tomorrow or not for another 12 months.

Personally, seeing that we were all young, & left without a Father or Mother, [I am proud] that you, Lizzie, George & myself have not done bad in this world of strife in pushing on by hard work to succeed in life – I’m sure none of us have led an idle life.

Well, I am enjoying myself at Doncaster – go to 2 or 3 dances each week & 2 or 3 times to theatres, in fact go to some place of amusement every night of the week.

I will now close with love & kind regards to you both. 

Your affectionate brother, Alfred Gobey