US Army: A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians pt. 4

 

Fort Gibson, 1870's Wikipedia, public domain

 

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez

Hello! Thank you for joining us this month in our exploration of the U.S. Army and their influence on the development of our great state of Oklahoma. For the last three months, we have covered how the Army assisted in the Indian Removal Act, the assorted Trails of Tears, the War Between the States, the Southern Plains Indian Wars, and policing the territory during the time of the Land Runs. That was all during the 19th century. Obviously, it was rugged, and at different times, places were quite lawless. First let us say: we wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families.

By the end of the 19th Century, most of the land in Oklahoma had been settled. Though the tribes had somewhat settled down after the land runs, politically, tension was still high between the Indian Nations and the territorial government that had been established in Guthrie. The Department of the Army was tasked with keeping the peace; however, they had to work within jurisdictional boundaries. Many of the townships and most of the counties had their own police and sheriffs. However, the ultimate authority still lay with the Department of the Army and the local law could “call out the cavalry” if things became untenable.

In 1905, Oklahoma was still divided in two sections called the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. The tribes in Indian Territory attempted to form their own state called Sequoyah. Their constitutional convention failed to gain the required support inside the federal government, and the movement was stopped. The feeling at the time was that a one-state solution to the request was the best idea. This prevented the tribes from being able to gain additional political power inside the federal government.

In 1906, William Murray (principle chief of the Cherokee) and Charles Haskell (representative of the Creeks), came up with the “Oklahoma Enabling Act,” which was passed by the US Congress. This turned over the policing and military control of the Oklahoma Territory to the state government. This effectively ended the century-long martial law of the future state of Oklahoma. As a part of the formation of the state, the militia, which had been under regional control, formed into the 45th Infantry Division.

The role of the US Army in Oklahoma, changed from providing a police force and having ultimate control of the goings-on inside the state boundaries to one of supporting the larger national army.

Fort Reno, which had been a major fort with several cavalry units, was turned into more of a support role, being that they became a remount station.

Fort Sill changed from a primarily cavalry-based fort into an artillery fort and eventually became one of the army’s basic training boot camps as well as AIT (Advanced Individual Training) for artillery.

Fort Supply, while still a historical site, was sold to a local mental hospital, and the lands around it were sold as private residences.

During World War I, emotions were mixed, and the “Green Corn Rebellion” started. It was mostly a localized movement, where crops and resources were seized by protesters. But when the plans to march on Washington D.C. were discovered, the local municipalities called out the regional militia to put down the rebellion before the rebels were able to leave the state.

In direct response to the Green Corn Rebellion, the Department of the Army transferred control of the regional militia to the state, thus forming the 45th Infantry division. One of the first acts of the division was taking part in the 1921 Tulsa race riots and helping to end them more quickly.

Just after WWI, the state fell into an agricultural depression, which had the Department of the Army considering pulling all of the cavalry forces out of the state. During the 1920’s, Oklahoma saw an economic boom, which included the discovery of rich oil fields, and the start of several large ranches, providing beef, sheep, and horses. The U.S. Army kept the active forts alive throughout the Roaring 20’s and the Dust Bowl period.

The migration of the citizenry of Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s opened up considerable amounts of land. The army retook control of some of the areas they had previously lost in the land runs.

During the Roaring 20’s, Oklahoma became a major contributor to the US Army per capita. It is now 3rd in the nation, with close to 7500 enlistments per every 10000 citizens.

During World War II, the 45th took part in the invasion of Sicily, capturing more than 120,000 prisoners and suffering 3,650 deaths during the 511 days of fighting. Nineteen members were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously.

In 1941, the Midwest Air Depot Facility was opened to service the bombers and fighters during WWII. In 1942, the army renamed the facility after an Osage Major General Clarence Tinker whom had been killed leading a bombing raid against the Japanese on Wake Island. Tinker Air Field, now Tinker Air Force base, is the headquarters of the United States Air Force Matériel Command. The inland location and the military endorsement of the surrounding populace made Tinker the premier location.

Thank you for staying with us, as we describe the involvement of the US Army in development the state of Oklahoma. Please join us next month, as we wrap up our discourse on the Army next month, going from post World War II to the current day.




Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma.


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A Christmas Miracle in 1914

By: Michele K. Morris

Merry Christmas and Happy 2018 to each and every Heroes, Heroines and History reader.

I love this time of the year. People just seem happier—nicer. I’m not sure what it is that makes them that way.

I wish I knew.

I wish we could all get along as if it were Christmas every day of the year. But human nature keeps us at odds for an abundance of reason. I pray one day that will change.

Throughout history there are examples of people coming together at Christmas and making amends—at least for a moment in time.

Newspaper account of 1914 Christmas Truce

One of those Christmas miracles happened in 1914. During the first Christmas of WWI an unofficial truce took place in the middle of battle torn Europe.

One of the first known written accounts of a truce developing, was when an officer of the Royal Irish Rifles reported to headquarters that the Germans had “illuminated” their trenches, were singing songs, and wishing the opposing soldiers a happy Christmas. The British officers were guarded, but the soldiers were curious.

Soldiers during the Christmas Truce

Further down the battle lines, soldiers from both sides serenaded one another with Christmas carols. The German men sang Silent Night and the British, The First Noel. Soon, scouts were sent out to meet—very cautiously—in the shell-pocked, no-man’s land between opposing sides’ trenches. These few brave men exchanged whisky, cigars, and a message saying, in short, if we don’t fire at them, neither would they fire at us. Then the real miracle happened. Men came out of the dank, dark, battle trenches and exchanged names, traded gifts of cigarettes, candy and food, they played games together and sang. They had a Christmas party.

Playing soccer

Spontaneously, in other areas, the same types of trues were taking place. No one organized these truces. No one spread the word that troops could come together and observe the holiday. And in fact, many officers discouraged the truce. So, what made these men—who only hours before where shooting at each other—come together to celebrate Christmas, as friends, chums, mates or comrades? Was it tradition that brought them together or, perhaps a longing for family or home . . . We may never be able to explain it. It was truly miraculous.

During this week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could come together like these men in 1914 and forget our differences? Forget that we were recently “shooting” at one another. Forget the political mess our world is in.

Change begins with one person. I’m going to put forth an effort this year to be a person who makes change happen, who makes a difference. Will you? Make the impossible happen. Make it Christmas all year long.

Blessings to each and every one of our amazing HHH readers, and may you all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

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 Multi award-winning author, Michele K. Morris’s love for historical fiction began when she first read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. She grew up riding horses and spending her free time in the woods of mid-Michigan. Married to her high school sweetheart, they are living happily-ever-after with their six children, three in-loves, and eight grandchildren in Florida, the sunshine state. Michele loves to hear from readers on Facebook, Twitter, and here through the group blog, Heroes, Heroines, and History at HHHistory.com.

PTSD Throughout American History

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

War is horrific. Those who choose to fight for the freedoms we share risk not only loosing their lives or suffering bodily harm, they face emotional turmoil of having their friends shot in front of them and dealing with the emotional scars that living in wartime condition create. In honor of the veterans who have served our country, here is how PTSD was handled throughout US history.

Revolutionary War: In the 1700s, PTSD was called nostalgia. A French surgeon described it as having three stages: 1) “heightened excitement and imagination,” 2) “period of fever and prominent gastrointestinal symptoms,” and 3) “frustration and depression” (Bentley, 2005).

Not much was written about the effects of the war on soldiers. But they had to have suffered emotionally. These men fought for the freedom of their country in conditions where they didn't have the resources needed to keep them warm, dry, and fed. Many died from starvation and exposure. Yet after the war, when they returned to civilian life, they were forgotten. The new nation couldn't even afford to pay them.

War of 1812: Again, not much was known about PTSD during this time, but the White House burning to the ground and British soldiers marching into America had to affect these soldiers after the war was over.

Civil War: The Civil War is when the condition of PTSD first started to be recognized as Soldier's Heart. This war was one of the bloodiest in history. One million soldiers were wounded or died in the conflict. Many soldiers returning from battle after the war suffered the effects of soldier's heart. Some were unable to enter society again. Other suffered silently, but we know about their pain from letters and journals they wrote. Alcoholism grew to record numbers after the war.

 World War I: In World War I, PTSD was called Shell Shock. Life in the muddy trenches caused desperation and emotional turmoil. Many soldiers suffering from shell shock were executed for cowardice instead of treated for an emotional condition. Others were institutionalized as insane and were taught skills like basket weaving to support themselves. After the war, many soldiers suffering from this were encouraged to keep it hidden because of the attitude toward it.

World War II: In World War II, Battle Fatigue was a recognized condition by psychiatrist. Over a million men who suffered from it during the war were pulled away from duty for treatment and rest. The attitudes toward it were still not favorable, and those suffering from the condition were considered weak. In one account, General Patton slapped a man suffering from battle fatigue and called him a coward.

Korea and Vietnam: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual I (DSM-I) by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 1952 included a diagnosis for “gross stress reaction,” which was thought to be related specifically to combat-related trauma. However, “Gross Stress Reaction” was dropped from the DSM-II in 1968, for reasons that remain unknown (Andreasen, 2004). Soldiers from Vietnam were treated for Gross Stress Reaction, but their systems became worse when they returned home and were disdained for their service. Vietnam vets with PTSD were diagnosed as having Vietnam Combat Reaction, a severe form of PTSD.

Desert Storm and the War on Terror: PTSD, Post Tramatic Stress Disorder, is understood better now than it used to be, not only by mental health personnel who treat the disorder, but by the public. Soldiers go through a lot and need to be supported through the physical and emotional damage combat causes.

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures and writes Christian historical fiction set in America because there are so many adventures in American history. She has received 2^nd place in the NOCW contest, 3^rd place TARA writer’s contest, and is a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest.

Her novellas Resurrection of Hope and A Christmas Promise are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Grover Cleveland Bergdoll, the Most Hated Man in America

Grover Cleveland Bergdoll (1893-1966) was once described as “the most hated man in America.” What did he do to deserve that moniker in 1918?

He was a slacker.

We don’t use that term much nowadays. We say “draft dodger.” And in 1918, that was about the sleaziest thing you could be.

Bergdoll was an early aviator. At the age of 19, he bought a Wright Model B biplane for about $5,000, or $100,000 or more in today’s money. His father, Louis Bergdoll, was a wealthy brewer, and Grover was considered to be one of the pampered rich.

He made over 700 flights in the plane, and was known as a daredevil. He was one of 119 flyers who trained with Wilbur and Orville Wright at their factory in Ohio. Orville described Grover Bergdoll as one of the best natural pilots he had ever met.

In 1910, Bergdoll and several other American pilots went to Mexico to serve in Pancho Villa’s four-plane air force as he fought a revolution.

When World War I started, Bergdoll didn’t want to serve the United States. He offered himself as an aviator to Germany, but was reportedly turned down. Instead, he hid out for two years with the help of his mother. The authorities’ search for him made headlines across the country. His family owned property in several states, and it was rumored that he hid at some of those during the manhunt.

Wanted Poster, circulated circa 1919, Public Domain

He was arrested in 1920 at his mother’s house, after being found hiding inside a window seat, but then escaped after six months in jail to Germany, where he had relatives in Eberbach.

Newspapers said he managed the escape by telling his jailers he had buried a pot of gold somewhere in Maryland. He was willing to take them to recover it. They stopped at his mother’s house in Philadelphia. During the evening, Bergdoll excused himself to take a phone call and climbed out a window. He ran to Canada, and from there to Germany.

Bergdoll home in Philadelphia

Photo By Davidt8 (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Rumors circulated about the buried gold, reputedly $150,000, and apparently the government believed it was true. The Washington Times reported on Sept. 18, 1921, that the U.S. Department of Justice was on a treasure hunt to find the cache.

Cartoon 1933, Olean Times-Herald
"Bergdoll killed one of two
assassins found in his room/
Lives quietly, but in constant fear"

In Germany, Bergdoll eventually married and had children, but was always in fear of capture. Several attempts were made to catch him. In 1921, two U.S. army sergeants wanted to size him in Eberbach, but their warrant was only for the U.S.A. Still, after exchanging words with him at a local railroad station, it is reported that Bergdoll fled in his car and they fired at the departing vehicle. A 17-year-old girl was apparently wounded in the hand by one of their bullets, and the Americans had to face charges by the local police.

In 1923, an unauthorized gang of five men attempted to capture Bergdoll at a hotel in Eberbach. Two of them hid in his room. When Bergdoll entered, a fight ensued. Bergdoll shot one of them to death and injured the other. The survivor and the three other conspirators were caught and sentenced to prison terms.

Bergdoll sent pleas to the U.S., hoping for a pardon. Meanwhile, his airplane was in storage. In 1933, it was donated to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where it remains. It is said to be the most intact Wright airplane in the world.

Bergdoll's Wright Model B plane

now hangs in Franklin Institute's Aviation Hall

In 1939, Bergdoll returned voluntarily to the United States and was put on trial. At this time, he admitted the “pot of gold,” which treasure hunters had sought for years, was a hoax. He was sentenced to jail, and stayed in prison until 1944 or 1945. Most of his property that had been confiscated by the government was returned to him.

When released from prison, Bergdoll went to live at his farm in Downingtown, Penn. He died in Richmond, Virginia, in 1966, of pneumonia, at the age of 72.

A couple of sidelights to this convoluted tale:

The man drafted next in line after Bergdoll (often said to be the man “drafted in Bergdoll’s place”), Russell C. Gross of Philadelphia, was killed in action in France and posthumously cited for bravery. The media made much of this hero’s sacrifice, sometimes making it sound as if it was Bergdoll’s fault he was drafted and killed.

A Philadelphia newspaper reported, “The man who took Grover Cleveland Bergdoll’s place when the draft evader, now a fugitive in Germany, failed to answer the call, died a hero in the Argonne Forest. . .”

Later in the same article, however, it stated more calmly that Gross “was the first man called by the draft board after Bergdoll failed to respond.”

Bergdoll’s brother, Erwin, was also a slacker. Erwin and Grover both failed to show up for their physical exams when they were drafted in 1917. Best known as a race car driver, Erwin spent time in Leavenworth for draft evasion and apparently moved on with life.

I discovered the story of Grover Bergdoll while researching my World War I-era novel, River Rest. To enter the drawing to win a copy (paperback or e-book), leave a comment and your contact information.

Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published novels. She’s always interested in the unusual happenings of the past. Her newest books include Tearoom for Two, The Seafaring Women of the Vera B., Mountain Christmas Brides, and River Rest. She’s a two-time winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and also a winner of the Carol Award and the Will Rogers Medallion, and a finalist in the WILLA Awards and the More Than Magic Contest. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com .

When the Flu Killed 20 Million People

by Tamera Lynn Kraft

We live in a relatively healthy period in time. We no longer die of the black plague or small pox. There are cures for rabies and inoculations for just about everything from the flu to chicken pox to polio. But less than one hundred years ago, a flu pandemic swept through the world and killed over 20 million people. Over 600,000 of those people were in the United States. Some estimates say the death toll world-wide was as high as 30 to 50 million.

The time was during the ending days of World War One in 1918. Roller skating rinks, movie theaters, and amusement parks were popping up every where as Americans had more money and leisure time than ever before. Although almost everyone in America lived on farms and in rural areas, people were increasingly moving to the cities and suburbs. Model Ts were affordable, and many were trading their horses in for cars. All the modern conveniences like indoor bathrooms, running water, electricity, and the telephone were starting to make their way into some homes. Women were starting to work outside of the home before they had children, and states were ratifying the amendment to give women the right to vote.

The only downside to living in America during this period of time was the Great War across the ocean. Germany and its allies were set on conquest and Europe was in a stalemate costing thousands of lives. In 1917, the United States entered the war, and many young men were sent overseas as Dough boys.
In 1918, the first cases of the pandemic flu epidemic hit. Many soldiers in army training camps through the US were some of the first victims. Military hospitals, both in the US and overseas, filled up quickly with more victims from the flu then from warfare. Nine million solders died from warfare, but 50 million died from the flu.

In March 1918, Haskell County, Kansas sent a message to the Public Health Department informing them of 18 cases of severe influenza. By May, cases of influenza overseas was being reported. By August the flu swept through North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The flu came in three major waves, the last hitting in Spring 1919, a few months after the Great War had ended. One factor for the defeat of the Germans was the devastating effects of the flu on their soldiers.

The Public Health Service fought the flu spread through education (fliers, ads, posters), quarantine, sanitary measures, and requiring masks be worn in public. Although these measures probably helped, the flu epidemic eventually just went away. 

In my new novella, Resurrection of Hope, Vivian’s parents and sister died of the influenza epidemic. Most families during that time had family members who had died from the flu. 

Tamera Lynn Kraft has always loved adventures and writes Christian historical fiction set in America because there are so many adventures in American history. She has received 2^nd place in the NOCW contest, 3^rd place TARA writer’s contest, and is a finalist in the Frasier Writing Contest. 

Her novellas Resurrection of Hope and A Christmas Promise are available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

"Fast Eddie" Rickenbacker

by Ramona K. Cecil

The 29th of this month, in my state of Indiana, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The Speedway’s important milestone will doubtless spark many conversations about the early years of the track and the pioneers in the sport of automobile racing that have left their mark on the place. Among those pioneers, the name Eddie Rickenbacker stands out; not because he ever won an Indianapolis 500—he didn’t—but because of his amazing life that included a significant contribution to automobile racing and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.      

Eddie Rickenbacker, race car driver and
WWI flying ace

                                                                                                 

Born in Columbus, Ohio on October 8, 1890 to Swiss immigrant parents, Eddie was, from an early age, a daredevil. By his own count, he survived 135 brushes with death during his lifetime. The first came at age 8 when young Rickenbacker, as the leader of mischievous gang of boys called the Horsehead Gang, slid in a metal cart down a hill into a gravel pit. The cart flipped, slicing his leg to the bone. At age twelve his father died forcing Eddie to quit school and support the family doing an array of jobs from selling eggs and goat milk to working in various local factories.

In 1906 at the age of 16, Eddie found his passion when he went to work for Lee Frayer, a race car driver and head of Frayer-Miller Automobile Company, who let Eddie ride with him as a mechanic in major races. In 1912, Eddie joined car designer Fred Duesenberg and began racing cars on his own. Earning the nickname “Fast Eddie,” he participated in the 1912, 1914, 1915, and 1916 Indianapolis 500 races. Though he never won any of those races, in 1914 he set a world speed record of 134 mph at Daytona. In 1916, while preparing for an automobile race in California, Rickenbacker took his first ride in an airplane and was hooked.

Eddie Rickenbacker in race car

Eddie Rickenbacker at Indianapolis 500

            


















When America entered WWI Eddie joined up, learned to fly airplanes and was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron, also called the “Hat-in-the-Ring” Squadron. He changed the spelling of his surname from “Rickenbacher” to Rickenbacker, replacing the “h” with a “k” to appear less Germanic. He also adopted the middle name, Vernon, which his parents hadn’t given him, but that he thought sounded classy. Later in his autobiography, he claimed that the change of spelling he made to his last name forced his Rickenbacher relatives to follow suit. Called the “Ace of Aces,” Rickenbacker’s accomplishments as a WWI fighter pilot won him worldwide acclaim as well as a chest full of medals, including the Medal of Honor. Between April 29th and October 30th of 1918, Rickenbacker shot down twenty-six enemy planes and survived; an amazing feat considering WWI aviators were three times more likely to die than any other combat forces.

Eddie Rickenbacker and 94th "Hat-in-the-Ring Squadron

After the war, in 1920, Rickenbacker started the Rickenbacker Motor Company. Though the company eventually went bankrupt, Rickenbacker helped develop the four-wheel brake system. Interesting that he kept the same "Hat-in-the-Ring logo used by his old squadron.             

Two years later Eddie, who’d vowed to eschew marriage, married Adelaide Frost Durant, ex-wife of a former rival race car driver. The couple adopted two sons.

Eddie Rickenbacker and family

In 1927 Rickenbacker bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and operated it until 1941, closing it at the entrance of WWII before finally selling it in 1945. During the 1920s and 1930s Rickenbacker worked for General Motors and several air line companies, finally taking the helm of Eastern Airlines in 1935. Three years later, he bought the company.

Among Eddie Rickenbacker’s less known accomplishments was the comic strip Ace Drummond, which he wrote from 1935 to 1940.                 

It was in 1942 that Rickenbacker experienced his most famous brush with death. While on a tour of the air bases in the Pacific Theater during WWII, Rickenbacker’s plane was forced to ditch in the Pacific Ocean. For 24 days Rickenbacker, his friend and business partner Army Captain Hans C. Adamson, and their crewmen drifted at sea in life rafts before being rescued by a U.S. Navy float plane, earning Rickenbacker the new nickname of "Lucky" Eddie.  

After cheating death so many times throughout his amazing life, Eddie Rickenbacker died of pneumonia following a stroke in 1973 at the age of 83.  

So should the name Eddie Rickenbacker come up during the celebration of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, I will give a mental salute and waggle of wings in honor of the amazing life of “Fast Eddie” Rickenbacker, the American Ace of Aces.

Ramona K. Cecil is a poet and award-winning author of historical fiction for the Christian market. A proud Hoosier, she often sets her stories in her home state of Indiana.

Check out her website at www.ramonakcecil.com  

A Cavalry Hero in the Family Plus Giveaway – by Christine Lindsay

Scrap of paper from my grandmother about Uncle Eddie

Leave a comment to enter the draw to win the trilogy Twilight of the British Raj in Ebook format. Share on social media, and each time your name will be entered the draw again. Winner picked following Sunday.

The Irish are a culture steeped in the oral tradition of handing history down from generation to generation. As a kid growing up I devoured the stories my mother shared with me over the kitchen table of the heroes in our family. One of those heroes was my grandfather’s brother, my great Uncle Eddie who served in the Queen’s Bays, a British Army regiment with a long and illustrious history. 

The regiment was first formed in 1685 by merging four of the horse troops that were raised to fight for King James the 2^nd, but as the years passed, and so did the crown heads of Britain change, this regiment was then called on to fight against the Jacobite rebellions. It was during the second Jacobite rebellion in the 1700’s that the regimental name was changed to Queen’s Bays, having the Queen as their Commander in Chief. They were sent to places all over the world to fight for Britain’s interests such as Germany, France during their revolutionary wars, Waterloo, Ireland during the fight for homerule, to name a few.

Jumping ahead a bit, we get to the history that inspires me, when The Queen’s Bays were sent to India during the Indian mutiny in 1857, a period during the British Raj (rule) of that exotic southern continent. Besides my great Uncle Eddie, I have other ancestors who served in India as soldiers, but all of the photos in this article are my great uncle's personal photos.

It was just after WW1 that my grandfather’s brother Edward joined this regiment, and he too spent some time in India, and he's somewhere in the photo above.

In my research I found this tidbit, “The Bays during 1939 in England played hard at sport, but also prepared hard for the war that seemed to many to be inevitable.”

Typical cavalry men, they knew how to play hard. Above is Uncle Eddie in India practicing his trade as a cavalry man with his steed and lance, doing calisthenics with his horse, and steeple jumping. 

It was in the years between the two world wars that the face of army cavalry changed around the world. Horses were exchanged for tanks, and in 1939, The Queens Bays became part of the newly formed Royal Armored Corps of the British Army.

Before sailing on from England on May 14, the Bays were inspected, first by King George VI, and then immediately afterward by their Colonel in Chief, Queen Elizabeth (the current Queen’s mother). This double-event is quite unique in the annals of the British Army. 

See a video of that event, by clicking HERE

Things were pretty tough for the Queen’s Bays in Europe. Being the first of their regiment to become mechanized, there were too many bugs to work out. Sadly, many of the regiment died or were captured by the enemy. My great uncle was one of those who spent time in a German POW camp in Italy. Family stories say that he did eat grass in order to stay as healthy as possible.

But Uncle Eddie was one of those who escaped from that POW camp and made his way to friendly lines.

My uncle in the middle, after escaping from the POW camp in Italy.

Many years later during the ‘70’s, my great Uncle was invited to London with the remaining men of that regiment to be inspected once more by their Queen, who by that time was known as The Queen Mother. He is the one marked with the yellow arrow below.

It was stories such as these of family soldiers who fed my imagination. 

Eventually my romantic brain couldn’t rest until I’d written not one but a trilogy about soldiers who served in the British Army in British Colonial India. That trilogy is the multi-award-winning Twilight of the British Raj, Book 1 Shadowed in Silk, Book 2 Captured by Moonlight, Book 3 Veiled at Midnight.