ELIZABETH THORNE’S MEMORY PALACE by HaileyburyUK

E L I Z A B E T H T H O R N E’S M E M O RY PA L A C E The Thorne Papers

Toby Parker

E L I Z A B E T H T H O R N E’S M E M O RY PA L A C E The Thorne Papers

An exhibition to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War 1918–2018

Toby Parker

Elizabeth Thorne with her three sons

Corda Publications 2018 Heritage, Archives and Historic Collections, Haileybury

INTROD U CTION

The Thorne Papers is one of the largest and most complex of all of the personal collections in the Archive, composing of over 1,000 letters and other manuscripts. It is best known for the papers relating to Cornelius and his younger brother, Marlborough, who were both killed in the First World War. Their mother, Elizabeth Thorne, nee Crosse, has hither too been a minor footnote in the understanding of the collection but this has been based on a misunderstanding. The collection consists of letters, notes and newspaper cuttings kept by her during her children’s youth, the First World War and the first years of peace after 1918. Elizabeth, who was widowed at a relatively early age, adored her three sons and the loss of two of them profoundly affected her. The annotations on envelopes reveal a person who used their collection of letters as a repository for the memories of her children. This was particularly important during the period of time that Cornelius and Marlborough were serving in the Army. Elizabeth had no immediate understanding of that part of their lives and deaths and so she turned to the surviving officers and men who served with them to find out about this period of time. She wanted to know any information about their deaths, down to the most minor detail, in order to understand why and how they had died. The survival of a calling card, adapted to express the sympathy its owner on hearing of the death of Cornelius on September 30 1916 is an example of the small but significant emotional triggers that Elizabeth kept. A scrap of paper was kept that reminded Elizabeth that she had returned Cornelius’ swimming trophies to Munsey and Co, the well-known Cambridge goldsmiths and jewellers. These and other surviving pieces of paper appear to have an equal importance as the letters themselves. By keeping annotated envelopes, telegrams and prayers which were sent by friends she was able to forensically build a map which linked her to the lives of her sons. The collection was Elizabeth’s memory palace and as such a highly personal memorial to the two brief lives of Cornelius and Marlborough Thorne.

ATMP 10.10.2o18

Cornelius Thorne

Marlborough Thorne

Left: Cornelius and Marlborough Thorne Below: Batten House 1911. Cornelius seated 2nd row, 5th on the left. Marlborough standing on back row, 6th on the right.

Left: Cornelius Thorne on leave in Paris, 1916. Below: Cornelius Thorne, Cambridge

Below: Marlborough Thorne

T WO BR I E F LIV ES: MA R LBOROUGH A N D COR N EL IU S THORNE Lives revealed through the letters collected by Elizabeth Thorne.

In 2012 the Haileybury Archives was given a collection of letters which record the lives of three brothers, Cornelius, Marlborough and Joseph who attended Haileybury at the beginning of the twentieth century by Cornelius Thorne and his brother Joseph, both Old Haileyburians. The donors were sons of Joseph Thorne and the nephews of Cornelius and Marlborough. At Haileybury, Cornelius has been a prominent member of the Office Training Corp, attaining the rank of Sergeant and receiving the Coronation Medal (the letter of award remains in the collection) in 1912. After Haileybury, he went up to Clare College, Cambridge University where he gained a ‘Blue’ in rugby and a half ‘Blue’ in water polo. Before the outbreak of the War, Cornelius was also regular player for the Harlequins and the Old Haileyburian Rugby Football Team. While Cornelius went up to Cambridge University, Marlborough Thorne emigrated to Stonewall, Manitoba in Canada in 1913. He joined the 90th, Winnipeg Rifles on the day that War was declared and Marlborough’s letters during his time as a soldier in Canada were written in the form of a diary. Marlborough Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne H Company, 90th Winnipeg Rifles 23 August 1914 Tuesday 4 August Hearing that recruits are wanted I go to Winnipeg. Interview Arundel a lawyer and meet J Reynolds (Old Etonian) at this office…..Reynolds did not think that we would have much chance of going to the Front. R[eynolds] takes me down to 90th recruiting office and I join H company Thursday 13 August Orders to mobilise 3.30 Parade Pay from henceforth $1.10 a day Thursday 20 August I am a signaller. Start to learn morse and semaphore. The advantage of being a signaller when not actually in the battle line-no fatigue as such as fetching food, digging trenches, etc no guard or sentry duty.

Saturday 22 August In camp an inebriated gentleman is painted up with beard and moustache and carried to sick tent on a stretcher “Death to the Kaiser”. Gets rather a shock when he wakes in the morning. Meanwhile in England, Cornelius was desperate to secure a commission in the Army. In a letter to Elizabeth Thorne, Cornelius’ uncle, expressed his unhappiness at his nephew’s determination to wait for a commission rather than simply joining up as a private soldier. Citing the Nations’ call for men and not officers, he accused Cornelius of not listening to the government’s request and, instead, following his own selfish desires. In a letter of condolence from one of Cornelius’ closest school friends, Frank Strawton shared his memories of the night that war was declared with Elizabeth Thorne. Frank wrote the letter from St Thomas’ Hospital after having been wounded on the Western Front while serving with Wiltshire Regiment. Frank Strawson to Elizabeth Thorne St Thomas’ Hospital 12 October 1916 My dear Mrs Thorne, As you know, Cornie and I were at Haileybury for exactly the same length of time….I last saw him outside Buckingham Palace the night war was declared, when we discussed what units we should join and little did I think I was never to meet my best school friend again. Cornelius Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne London August 1915 I myself wait till my interview on Friday is over and then propose to join the Inns of Court OTC. This will probably mean my staying in town a week or so longer drilling etc (as far as I can understand), and then being drafted off to some Territorial training camp. I hope there from to get drafted as soon as may be (a matter of I hope 2 or 3 weeks) into a ‘Special Reserve’, whereby one becomes attached to a regiment of regulars….

Cornelius was eventually commissioned, as a temporary Lieutenant in the 8th East Surrey Regiment; one of the seven Service Battalions raised by the East Surreys. Marlborough in the meantime had arrived in England with the Canadian Contingent, and through Cornelius’ efforts, he was able to secure an interview for transfer into his brother’s regiment, the 8th East Surreys. Cornelius Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne East Surrey Regt November 1914 The theory is that we get started for Belgium about February and after doing some line communication work and see active fighting about April. Meanwhile the men are extraordinary raw lot, only enlisted just over a fortnight as yet unsupplied either with uniforms or rifles. We rise at 5am and drill 6-7, 8-1, (with ten minute pauses) 2-4 and 5-6 Dinner is at 7.30 lasting till 8.45 or thereabout and one is glad enough to get to bed immediately afterwards. In a letter to his youngest brother Joseph, who was still at Haileybury, the news of Marlborough’s transfer to the East Surrey Regiment was finally reported. However, more disturbing news was also included in the letter, Cornelius noting the huge losses that were being experienced on the Western Front between August and November 1914. Cornelius Thorne to Joseph Thorne Belhus Park, East Surrey Regt 12 November 1914 I have heard from Mally the other, who says he can get a transfer, so I hope he will soon be joining we here. In the ordinary way we should not be going abroad till about till about March but they are killing officers so quickly that there is quite a chance of us officers being sent off a good deal sooner. At the end of May 1915, Marlborough Thorne was able to get leave to visit his brother, Joseph, at Haileybury and watch the House Cricket match between Batten and Colvin as well as inspecting the trenches. His old house, Batten lost to Colvin by 113 runs.

In The Haileyburian, 27 May, 1915, the introduction of trench digging in the OTC Instructional Class was reported: The Instructional Class have dug up some elaborate trenches between the touch line and the big wood on Twenty Acre, and I understand that one House at a time will dig on Thursdays instead of route marching….There are labels affixed to various parts e.g., ‘Shrapnel Shelter’, ‘Shell Traverse,’ ‘Communication Trench,’ ‘Fire Trench,’ ‘Rifle Pit Traverse,’ and ‘Parapet’. Marlborough Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne Salisbury Plain, East Surrey Regt I June 1915 My dear mother, Was successful in getting leave to see Joseph……Joseph met me at the Lodge and we watched house matches on the Pavilion ground. Tea on top of the Grubber and all the ancient cakes that one used to devour. Inspected school trenches in 20 acre. It became clear by the summer of 1915 that Marlborough and Cornelius would shortly be sent to France. Their aunt, Charlotte Crosse began to worry, openly, about her nephews’ safety in her letters to them. Charlotte Crosse to Cornelius Thorne Lovells Hall 12 July 1915 Dear Cornie, Have you got one of these breastplates? I think you and Mally should be protected, there is still time to order them. I think with a breastplate on, courage in your heart and prayers on yours lips you will be safe. I asked Grannie what message to send you-she was quite herself. I told her you and Mally had to go and fight in France for your King and Country. She replied “I would not let them go” and grandfather sitting beside her said “I would not consent to them going” you see they are losing courage………

Life in France, even when the Regiment was not at the Front, was not without its own challenges for a young officer. Dealing with the discipline of the men and censoring their letters was both challenging and time consuming. Marlborough Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne East Surrey Regt, 18 Division, BEF France 2 August 1915 My dear Mother, Haven’t has much time to do much ready here as censoring men’s letters take up most of one’s spare time! Every week we are receiving a food box from Fortnum and Mason, London and are living very well. The lady next door stores vast quantities of light cider so one has no trouble in getting drink for supper or lunch………The pubs here have been out of bounds to all men, three men got hold of a whiskey bottle of drink, it took no effect on them till after they had gone to bed, the doctor analysed what has left in the bottle; 50% methylated spirit, 25% brandy, 25% red wine.

On the night of 27th September 1915, Marlborough Thorne and one of his men, Private Warby, went out on night patrol to try and remove a German sniper, when they ran into a German patrol. Marlborough was shot through the shoulder and both lungs. His injuries caused him to drop to the ground, possibly already dead, while Warby ran for his life. When Warby returned to the East Surrey’s position an attempt was launched to find Marlborough but it ended in failure. His older brother Cornelius, further along the line, was telephoned at about 12.30am to inform him of the incident. After studying a map of the area, Cornelius set out to look for his brother. The death of Marlborough Thorne was a shock to the family and it was made more poignant because of Cornelius’ involvement in the recovery of his younger brother’s body. In the 8th East Surrey’s War Diaries for 27 September 1915 it recorded: The day passed quietly; at 10.30 pm. 2nd Lieut. THORNE went out with a man on patrol with the Intention of bombing a German sniper, supposed to be at the corner of one of the craters in front of the TAMBOUR DUCLOS, and also to gain information as to whether the Germans were holding the edge of the craters The man, Pte. WARBY returned at 11 pm saying 2/Lt,THORNE had been shot, he believed in the head

Marlborough Thorne to Maime Crosse (cousin) East Surrey Regt, BEF France 1 September 1915

L/Sgt. CONQUEST led three patrols to bring him in, two of which returned owing to heavy rifle and machine gun fire, and the third got well out, but failed to find him,

Dear Mamie,

Lt. C. THORNE then went out with his servant Pte. G. E. HINE and found his brother and brought him in on his back. On examination by the M.O he proved to be dead.

I was pleased to receive your letters. Letters are precious out here and one learns to appreciate them. In the same way, I tell my married men, their wives are learning what they are missing. One always has about 40-50 letters to censor per day lest the men address too fully or give time or date for a future event etc thanks to practice I can now read 999 words per minute, an absolute necessary. We had a perfectly rotten German regiment against us for the first 8 days. On the morning before they left they blew up a mine and ‘fired rapid’ with m[achine] guns, rifles and small artillery for ¾ hour. Our total casualties were 1 man killed, 1 man with his scalp grazed!

Elizabeth Thorne received many letters from men whom had served with Marlborough but the letters from his commanding officer and Cornelius were particularly powerful.

Colonel H Powell to Elizabeth Thorne East Surrey Regt 28 September 1915 Dear Mrs Thorne, I want to get this before you get the War Office telegram and I am trying to get it to you quickly. I cannot tell you how sorry I am to have to tell you that your younger son was killed last night when out patrolling the German Trenches. Poor boy. We are all so sorry he was absolutely first class young officer always keen, always cheery…… He was shot, I believe instantly killed within a few yards of the German Trench-It was only on the fourth successful attempt was carried out by your other son who insisted in going. As fine as bit a bravery and courage as any CO wants to hear or read. Regretting as I do the one boy death loss, I am even prouder to have the other one in the Battalion. Cornelius Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne 28 September 1915 My own beloved Mother, Poor old beloved Marlborough. He has found his purpose in life. He has fulfilled it, and is content. But for us who remain I cannot yet bring myself to think or realise what life will be to us without him. Marlborough was detailed for a risky piece of reconnaissance round the far side of one of the mine craters which lie between the part of our trenches and the Germans, it being necessary to discover how strongly the German trenches are being held in case we have an attack…I am practically certain that he was shot by a patrol party of Germans…. I went around at once, to find another patrol on the point of setting out. What was feared that he had been hit near a German listening post & that they had got him. The patrol returned in amount ½ an hour having got most of the way round the crater but could see no trace of him.

So I took off my waders and put on sand shoes, changed my jacket for a wool waistcoat; and set out with my servant Hine. Partly I suppose because being a machine gun officer I have more time to study the use of ground and cover and guessed Marlborough’s route, and partly because I was thinking more about Marlborough than myself, I very speedily found him. There was no doubt about it, he was dead. But I hardly minded such was relief at actually finding him and being able to bring him safely home. I cannot tell you what I went through while I was waiting for the patrol who went out before me to bring news, the possibility that we might not know whether he was dead or alive, and whether he was lying in agony in the open or whether the Huns has got him dead or alive. I found him in the hollow, half on his back with his right arm under him. His left sleeve was wet with blood from his face but he wasn’t bleeding anymore. I tried to drag him along but failed entirely to move him. I then got him against my shoulder and tried to get up with him. Then Hine came up and helped me get Mally onto my shoulder and we walked home with him. George Hine, Cornelius’ servant was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his participation the retrieval of Marlborough’s body and Cornelius was awarded the Military Cross. After the death of Marlborough, life for Cornelius became more dangerous and demanding. In one of his letters from the end of 1915 he described the effect of a tear gas attack in the trenches at the Tambour, Fricourt. According to the 8th East Surrey’s War Diaries the bombardment using Howitzers and ‘wizz-bangs’ began at 12.30pm until 5.30pm. At 3.30pm the Germans started to use tear gas but the British anti-smoke goggles did not fit the men tightly enough for them to work properly. It was estimated that 1000 shells fell in or near the Tambour over five hours. Cornelius Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne BEF France 31 December 1915 My dear Mother, Safe back in billets again after a somewhat lively week….On the 29th the Huns fetched up a couple of 8.2 ‘Hows’ and proceeded with every other kind of missile down to pip squeaks and rifle grenades to strafe us back….When the strafing ceased I went down to the right of our line (the part affected) to see one of my M[achine] G[uns] down there,

and I found myself nicely caught. He started again about 4.15 and went on until after it was dark stopping about quarter to sic. This was the most concentrated and trying bombardment of the lot; and the first time in experience they used lachrymatory shells against us. These made us cough and splutter a bit and our eyes smarted mightily and streamed with water (the smell is to me like a mixture of chloroform and ammonia) and of course the men didn’t quite know what was happening and didn’t know whether they were being gassed; and of course every moment we expected to be attacked (the Hun is just 100 yards off). It passed all right: total casualties 3 men buried in a dug out (dead), 1 man wounded, 1 man more of less mad temporary.

The Battle of the Somme On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, Marlborough Thorne’s friend, Captain ‘Billie’ Nevill provided footballs for his men in ‘B’ Company, 8th East Surrey Regiment, to kick as they crossed ‘No Man’s Land’ towards the German trenches at Montauban. Captain Nevill was killed on 1 July 1916 and shortly afterwards Cornelius Thorne was given command of ‘B’ Company. It fell to Cornelius to report the deaths of the men in ‘B’ Company’ that took part in the football charge to their families. In the Archive there is a copy of a letter that Cornelius wrote to a mother of one of the officers killed during the East Surrey’s football charge on 1 July 1916. Mrs Richardson sent to Elizabeth Thorne a copy of it after Cornelius’ death on 30 September 1916. Cornelius Thorne to Mrs Richardson East Surrey Regt, France 3 September 1916 Dear Mrs Richardson, I very much regret that nobody of the Regiment has written to you before about the death of your son 1st July. But when I took over the company I found every thing very much disorganised. The company commander, two other officers and the company Sergeant Major were all killed at the same time……I have asked about your son’s death, and Sergeant Pollard (the Lance Corporal) who was in his section said that he was with him when they all got out of our front trenches together. They went across to the German trench but had to lie down a little distance before they got to it.

Sergeant Pollard saw your son throwing bombs into the German’s trench, then a German bomb came over and burst beside him, knocking him out. Sergeant Pollard then went on with the rest, who thank God, successfully captured the trench…….This took place in the attack on Mountauban, you may have seen a lot in the newspapers about the East Surrey’s charge with the Footballs. That was the charge Capt Nevill (who was killed) himself kicked off one of the footballs which the company dribbled across, and you will be proud to know that it was actuallyyour son who kicked off the other one on that historic day, the memory of which will live for ever in the regiment and indeed the British Nation. The opinions of the NCOs, in the many of their letters to Eliazabeth Thorne, are frank and offer the reader a slightly different view on the War from the letters written by many of the officers. George Hine, the soldier who helped Cornelius to discover the body of his brother, and later witnessed Cornelius’ death, remained a regular correspondent of Elizabeth Thorne. The bitter tone in Hine’s letter addressed to Elizabeth illustrates the lack of appetite men had for the War by 1917. George Hine to Elizabeth Thorne France c.1917 I am now Cop [Company] Sergeant appt C.Q.M.S so my humble position of an officers servant has been considerably enhanced and I am jolly pleased over it too. When I joined up Patriotism was the motive and as I had been the sole support of my widowed mother for a few years. I had to make, as I thought, sure that she would be enabled to live whilst I was away and in the event of my death, of a small income for her, but the commodities of life have increased in cost enormously, that I am thankful I am in a position to increase her allowance, the Government think married men are the only one’s who require the ‘raised’ separation allowance that has just come into being for myself. I am now in a position where the danger is not so great as other me in my batt. and instead of longing for the glory and honour of fighting, my self preservation is foremost among my thoughts. Elizabeth Thornes’ sister, Philippa, later interviewed George Hine to find out more about the death of Cornelius. Hine described the bravery of the officers and the attack that took place on the Schwaban Redoubt on 30 September 1916 to Philippa:

He says the officers in July went over the top with only their walking sticks. The idea was just to show they cared nothing and to inspire the men. The present officers are not like that they have not the training and are to be fond of their dugout. He said that Capt Nevill was as brave as a lion. H[ine] said it was a most awful trench, full of dead Germans and then on top of that all our dead and wounded, many of the latter lay there 4 days before they could be moved and what with the mud etc it was most dreadful and many were engulfed. Thipval was a place which was a regular thorn in our side till it was at last taken. A German machine-gunner, Musketier Karl Blenk of the 169th Regiment also remembered observing British officers at the front carrying walking sticks when they went ‘over the top’ at the Somme. Cornelius was killed in action on 30th September 1916, an event which was lost amongst 49 other tragedies recorded in the October edition of the Haileyburian for that year. Marlborough’s and Cornelius’ younger brother, Joseph joined the Army in 1917, and survived, only to be killed in action in May 1940 in France. Many of Joseph’s letters survive and perhaps the most profound is one to an Old Haileyburian. Joseph had written it three days after it addressee, Second Lieutenant Pieter Johnson of the Royal Flying Corps, had been killed while out on a flying sortie, aged eighteen. The letter to Pieter was returned unopened. Pieter Johnson was one of four brothers who served in the war, three of whom were killed in action. Lt Col ADB Irwin to Elizabeth Thorne 2 October 1916 Dear Mrs Thorne I don’t know how to find words to express my deep regret in having to tell you that your son, Captain Cornelius Thorne of this Battalion, was killed in action on the 30th September. He was shot through the head by a sniper and death must have been instantaneous.

The failure to retrieve Cornelius’ body was a concern for all, causing Colonel Irwin to write to Joseph, now the only surviving brother, about the situation almost a month after the death. Lt Col APB Irwin to Joseph Thorne East Surrey Regt, France 25 October 1916 Dear Thorne, I am sorry to say that we have had no opportunity of recovering your brother’s body, as we came out of that part of the line next day and have not been back since. Heavy shelling and fighting has been going on there continuously and if you could only realise the condition of the ground there, you would agree with me that there is no hope that Cornelius body can be recovered and buried. Sergeant Brennan to Elizabeth Thorne 31 October 1916 Dear Mrs Thorne, It was very sad we could not get Capt Thorne away to bury him with Capt Paul for just as he was killed, the orders to advance was given, and a man of his Company who was wounded not far from him said a light that was put up by the Germans fell on Capt Thorne and his coat was in fire when a shell fell just on top of the last seen of him, I have a very good idea of the exact spot in front of the Redoubt. The letters in the Thorne collection recorded how Cornelius matured and changed during his short life. While at Haileybury and Cambridge he may have been a rather selfish, arrogant young man but by the time of his death there is no doubt that he had become a true leader of men. In a letter from one of his men, written to Elizabeth Thorne in 1917, the character of Cornelius is beautifully drawn through one example of his kindness towards the men in his care.

FRAG MENTS FROM EL IZ ABE T H T HOR N E’S M EMORY PA L ACE

Cornelius Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne, 6 November 1914. Asking about receipts for camp equipment so he can claim money back from the Army. 18

Charles Hanks to Elizabeth Thorne Cottage Hospital, Harrow 7 October 1917 Dear Mrs Thorne, One thing I shall always remember of Capt Thorne and that was when he had charge of the Gun section and we were relieved after a spell of 8 days in the trenches and we had 7 or 8 mile of mud and water to march through to reach our billets, it was him with great reserve of strength used to keep going on in advance to pick out the easiest path for us to take travelling backward and forward several times and never seeming to tire thereby saving us a 100 yrds perhaps which to a worn out man loaded with pack, rifle etc. seems like a mile. Sixteen months after the death of Marlborough, a letter addressed to him, was delivered to Elizabeth Thorne. On opening it, she received a piece of information about a missing item of Marlborough’s property. As with so many people who had come into contact with Cornelius and Marlborough, Elizabeth struck up a correspondence with Ada Graham for a period of time. Ada Taylor Graham to Lt M Thorne 18 April 1917 I have in my possession a silver identification disc with the disc with the inscription. Lieut M Thorne Lovells Hall Terrington St Clement and on the reverse side 8th E Surrey CE This was given to me by a soldier who had picked it up on no ‘mans’ land, in the summer of 1915. He said that it was lying on the ground and he has no means of knowing whether the officer to whom it belonged had been killed or not.

Elizabeth Thorne to Marlborough Thorne, 31 December 1914. Transferring to the East Surrey Regiment as an officer from 90th Winnipeg Rifles.

Telegram from Joseph Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne, 14 July 1915. The record of the last time the three Thorne brothers met up together.

Colonel H. Powell to Elizabeth Thorne, 27 September 1915. Informs Elizabeth Thorne of the death of her son, Marlborough (see also following two pages).

Colonel H. Powell to Elizabeth Thorne, 27 September 1915. Informs Elizabeth Thorne of the death of her son, Marlborough (continued).

Telegram from King and Queen to Elizabeth Thorne, 7 October 1915. Condolences on the loss of son.

William Schreiner, High Commissioner of South Africa, to Elizabeth Thorne, 5 October 1915. Condolences on death of son.

Biography of Marlborough Thorne by Elizabeth Thorne, n.d.

Biography of Marlborough Thorne by Elizabeth Thorne (continued).

Cornelius Thorne to Elizabeth Thorne, 6 August 1916. Letter sent to mark Elizabeth Thorne’s birthday.

Philippa Crosse to Elizabeth Thorne, 5 October 1916. Philippa’s condolences to her sister on the death of Cornelius Thorne.

Visiting Card from Mr and Mrs Septimus Lister, 5 October 1916. Condolences of death of Cornelius Thorne.

Biography of Cornelius Thorne by Elizabeth Thorne, n.d.

Biography of Cornelius Thorne by Elizabeth Thorne (continued).

Right: Elizabeth Thorne note, n.d. The return of Cornelius Thorne’s trophies to Cambridge. Below: Newspaper cutting, Daily Mail, 21 February 1917. Short note on Cornelius Thorne using the last photograph taken of him at Abbeville in the summer of 1916. 38

Above: Photograph of Cornelius Thorne, R. Fenet, Abbeville, 1916. Left: Newspaper cutting, n.d. Story echoing the recovery of Marlborough’s body by his brother, Cornelius.

This and opposite page: Elizabeth Thorne to Lieutenant P.A Tillard. Printed sheet of thanks for condolences on the deaths of Marlborough and Cornelius Thorne. Captain Tillard (Elizabeth has got his rank wrong) served in the Shropshire Yeomanry and was attached to the East Surrey Regiment. He was killed on 19 November 1916 and Elizabeth’s thanks were never received by him.

Printed prayer given to Elizabeth Thorne on 2 January 1917.

Elizabeth Thorne to Philippa Crosse, 13 February 1917. Letter in which Elizabeth Thorne expresses a desire to know more about the death of her son, Cornelius Thorne.

Elizabeth Thorne to Philippa Crosse, 13 February 1917 (continued).

Elizabeth Thornes’s notes about the inscription for Marlborough Thorne’s grave stone, n.d.

Director of Graves Registration and Enquires, War Office to Elizabeth Thorne, 29 April 1919. Reply regarding the location of Cornelius Thorne’s body.

Elizabeth Thorne to Philippa Crosse, 20 October 1919. Planning to visit Fricourt and Abbeville, France.

Elizabeth Thorne, scrap of paper with travel details and contacts for visit to Fricourt and Abbeville, c.1919.