From Pupil to the Western Front: Alfred Victor Hedges MC; Part Three. Alberts thoughts on the necessity of war and Nuclear deterrents.

We follow on from Alberts wounding at High Wood, with this extract from a letter written in the 1980’s that harks back to his time in France in July 1916, and gives his thoughts on more modern ideals and wars, I will as a historian should, refrain on the whole from making heavy or biased comments based on modern ideals (and hindsight, something that most primary sources are not privy too), instead letting his words speaks for themselves across the ages.  It is not often we get a Great War veteran’s thoughts on Nuclear war and deterrents, so this source must be an almost unique opportunity to hear his opinions and thoughts, no matter your political standpoint.  It is however allowable to ruminate on his thoughts and to note, how even seeing the horror of some of the largest bloodiest battles in the Great War, he still held strong beliefs and a loyalty to his country and morals. Perhaps these are the signs of the values instilled by a Victorian/Edwardian education and home life?

“Last Saturday I watched and listened to the last night of the proms as I always do.  The main item was, as always, “Land of Hope and Glory”.   I remember singing it in the trenches in, early July, 1916.  The Battalion, made up to its full strength of 1,000, was on its way up to relieve other troops taking part in the Battle of the Somme.  We sang it with all our hearts, though we knew the casualty rate [would be high] – There were 100 left after we captured High Wood.  On the wall of Giggleswick Chapel there is a memorial, which Robert will know (the person the letter was written to, and presumably a former pupil), to one who died in the South African War.  “Dulce et Decoram est, pro patria mori”. – “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country”. 

The prevailing idea nowadays seems to be to get money out of one’s country.

We all volunteered, – conscription hadn’t come in then – and in the same circumstances, would do it again I’m sure.

War is a terrible thing, but so is the death toll on the rest of the world, sacrifices to the gods of pleasure and commerce.  And what about the conditions of life in the Third World?  I am a strong believer in the Nuclear Deterrent and am convinced that it has prevented another major war for many years past.  I was given a pamphlet outside St Peter’s by a Nuclear Disarmer and told him to look at his hands from which was dripping the blood of men and women and children.  The two bombs on Japan saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of Japanese men and women and children, who were planning to defend their country inch by inch, and also, of course, thousands of Americans. [Editors note:  The loss of life for attacking forces was also projected to be horrendous, so much so, that they were still issuing the Purple Heart medals produced for the intended Japanese landings until the 1960s] War is a terrible thing, but there is trust and comradeship and self sacrifice.  Worse things are happening in the big cities of the world.  And, if we disarmed, should we become another Afghanistan or Poland? No!  I am afraid that I stand on the Biblical statement of “A strong man armed”. ”

This letter shows some interesting thoughts. That despite being heavily wounded, permanently disabled, and having lost many friends and comrades, and undoubtedly, lead many men to their deaths.  He says that he would still do it all again, it was his duty to his country.  This does to me sum up all the hopefulness and expectation of the youth of that period.  However he, unlike the modern supposition that all who took part were horrified and traumatised, and never recovered, seemingly saw it as a duty, and a job.  Which although horrific; he himself admits to trepidation at seeing men mown down by machine gun fire in front of him, he does not shy away from saying war is occasionally necessary, for the greater good and he would repeat his experiences if required.  One wonders how much of this was perhaps reinforced by his knowledge of what happened in the Second World War when good men did nothing, I don’t think we shall ever know the full extent for certain, but I would invite you to continue reading his story and think upon his words, if you have any comments or questions please feel free to leave a comment below.

Japanese Surrender……. heard but not necessarily understood…

On 14^th August 1945 for the first time in history the Imperial Emperor of Japan took to the radio and spoke to the common people.  The reason this momentous occasion came about, was that the Allies had dropped two atomic weapons on Japan and ushered the world forcefully into the atomic age.  He spoke to his people and said….. Well this is the problem, not many Japanese people were too sure what he said; as he spoke a completely different dialect to the one they did.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Imperial_Rescript_on_the_Termination_of_the_War.ogg – A recording of the speech.

“To our good and loyal subjects:  After pondering deeply the general trends of the world and the actual conditions obtaining in our empire today, we have decided to effect a settlement of the present situation by resorting to an extraordinary measure.

We have ordered our Government to communicate to the Governments of the United States, Great Britain, China and the Soviet Union that our empire accepts the provisions of their joint declaration.

To strive for the common prosperity and happiness of all nations as well as the security and well-being of our subjects is the solemn obligation which has been handed down by our imperial ancestors and which we lay close to the heart.

Indeed, we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to insure Japan’s self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement.

But now the war has lasted for nearly four years.  Despite the best that has been done by everyone–the gallant fighting of our military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of out servants of the State and the devoted service of our 100,000,000 people–the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan’s advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.

Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives.   Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.

Such being the case, how are we to save the millions of our subjects, nor to atone ourselves before the hallowed spirits of our imperial ancestors?  This is the reason why we have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the joint declaration of the powers.

We cannot but express the deepest sense of regret to our allied nations of East Asia, who have consistently cooperated with the Empire toward the emancipation of East Asia.

The thought of those officers and men as well as others who have fallen in the fields of battle, those who died at their posts of duty, or those who met death [otherwise] and all their bereaved families, pains our heart night and day.

The welfare of the wounded and the war sufferers and of those who lost their homes and livelihood is the object of our profound solicitude.  The hardships and sufferings to which our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great.

We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, our subjects.  However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that we have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the [unavoidable] and suffering what is unsufferable.  Having been able to save *** and maintain the structure of the Imperial State, we are always with you, our good and loyal subjects, relying upon your sincerity and integrity.

Beware most strictly of any outbursts of emotion that may engender needless complications, of any fraternal contention and strife that may create confusion, lead you astray and cause you to lose the confidence of the world.

Let the entire nation continue as one family from generation to generation, ever firm in its faith of the imperishableness of its divine land, and mindful of its heavy burden of responsibilities, and the long road before it.  Unite your total strength to be devoted to the construction for the future.  Cultivate the ways of rectitude, nobility of spirit, and work with resolution so that you may enhance the innate glory of the Imperial State and keep pace with the progress of the world.”

Strangely such was the division between the Japanese people and the Emperor (and his court) that he spoke a classical dialect that had almost ceased in common usage several hundred years earlier.  The Imperial Japanese court was very separate from common life and they were treated as deities and rarely, if ever, had a need to speak with anyone outside their courtiers.  The changing face of feudal Japan meant that this separation left the Japanese court speaking a dead dialect, and the common people speaking a more “Pinyin” Japanese dialect [By “pinyin” I mean as in a universal dialect like the Chinese, as throughout Japans different areas, islands etc. they spoke many differing dialects which were used to denote class and area, occasionally to the detriment of the speaker]. This intransigence between the dialects meant that for a short while they needed to wait to get a translation so the orders could be re-broadcast to clarify the Emperors orders.