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Harmsworth Family - related Anecdotes

Two of the Great Fallen

Vyvyan Harmsworth was the eldest son of Lord Rothermere. As a young man he attended Eton (1908-12).

On the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Irish Guards. He saw action on the Western Front where he was wounded several times.
On 13th January, 1915, he wrote to Lord Rothermere: "Hell is the only word descriptive of the weather out here and the state of the ground. It rains every day! The trenches are mud and water up to one's neck, rendering some impassable - but where it is up to the waist we have to make our way along cheerfully. I can tell you - it is no fun getting up to the waist and right through, as I did last night. Lots of men have been sent off with slight frost-bite - the foot swells up and gets too big for the boot."
Harmsworth was injured again in December, 1917. He wrote to his father: "I am now well on my way to England and comfort. I have got as far as the base hospital at Staples. Here I am very comfortable and am having a rest after my week in that hectic spot, the Casualty Clearing Station. My wounds are healing very rapidly - in fact I don't worry about them now. I have been awfully lucky, no vital or difficult spots, such as knees touched."

Vyvyan Harmsworth, who returned to the Western Front when he recovered from his wounds, was killed on 12th February, 1918.

Vere Harmsworth, the second son of Lord Rothermere, joined the Royal Navy but was invalided out after being deafened by gunfire.

On the outbreak of the First World War he joined the Royal Naval Reserve and took part in the fighting at Gallipoli. He later wrote to his brother, Vyvyan Harmsworth: "The best part of it was that you could hear them (shells) coming and immediately flung yourself on the ground. But this precaution does little good if the shell pitches anywhere near you. I can tell you it was exciting work, and at night it was ten times worse. One imagined the whole time that the German infantry were attacking us, and the men of course blazed off their rifles into the barbed wire entailments ahead of the trenches."

When it was decided to withdraw from Gallipoli, Harmsworth was sent to the Western Front where he took part in the Battle of the Somme. He wrote to his uncle, Lord Northcliffe, just before he advanced into No Man's Land: "We came up into the trenches this morning and we go over the top the morning after tomorrow. It will be about dawn, as the whole day will be required for the very big operations in hand. It is a terrifically big show. We shall move up to our battle positions tomorrow evening. We shall be very cramped and uncomfortable until the show starts. Who knows what it will be like."

Vere Harmsworth was shot in the throat and killed on 13th November, 1916, while attacking German trenches at Ancre.

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Harold Harmsworth and Vyvyan Harmsworth
1915

Credits:
Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright © S.J. Taylor, 1996

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Harold Harmsworth Family Anecdotes: Two of the Great Fallen
1915-1917
Location unknown

Credits:
Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright © S.J. Taylor, 1996
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/

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Esmond in Budapest
1928
Budapest, Hungary

Credits:
Taylor, S.J. The Great Outsiders; Northcliffe, Rothermere and The Daily Mail. Copyright © S.J. Taylor, 1996

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THE WAR YEARS in Grand Falls

From Grand Falls, some 230 men enlisted and those who were employees of the A.N.D. Company (owned by Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere) continued to receive a portion of their wages and their jobs were held until their return. Outside of the mill, six men enlisted, and five of them were from one family - the Goodyears.
The A.N.D. Company provided wooden tent floors, free of charge, so that when the first 120 recruits marched into Pleasantville on September 2 they found awaiting them adequate protection from the weather.

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War Years in Grand Falls
1940-May-12
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor Heritage Society
Alison Bartle

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THE WAR YEARS in Grand Falls
1 July 1919
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor Heritage Society A.N.D Collection

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Parade to meet WWI Veterans
Early 1900s
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society
Donated by the Legion

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Children on Memorial Day
Early 1900s
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor Heritage Society
Neal Wells

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166th Regiment WW2
1940s
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor Heritage Society
Harold Winslow

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Replica of the Cenotaph in London
1922
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor, A Place and its People, Published by: Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society Inc. 2005

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Paying Tribute to the Soldiers
Early 1900s
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor, A Place and its People, Published by: Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society Inc. 2005

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Cenotraph
Early 1900s
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor Heritage Society A.N.D. Collection
Old postcards sent from The British Paper and Board Industry Federation

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War Savings Certificate
1942-Aug-18
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada

Credits:
Grand Falls Windsor Heritage Society
Alison Bartle