A summary of Volume XX [Return to publications page]

Volume XX, Julian Grenfell, soldier and poet: letters and diaries, 1910-1915

The Hon Julian Grenfell was the eldest son of Willy and Ethel (Ettie) Grenfell, later Lord and Lady Desborough; both he and their second son, Billy, were killed in 1915, within two months of each other. Julian was also a poet and his poem about the war, 'Into Battle', was published in the Times on 27 May 1915, on the same day that his death (on the previous day) was announced. He had been wounded in the head by a splinter shell; at first it was not thought to be serious, but once he had been x-rayed it became clear that the splinter was embedded in his brain. He had two operations, but died after 11 days, and is buried in the military cemetery at Boulogne.

Julian loved war, something that is seen as shocking today, and he appeared not to fear death. He was a complex character, having suffered a nervous breakdown while at Oxford, and took a pass degree rather than Greats. He was a career soldier, joining the 1st Royal Dragoons straight from Oxford, and served in both India and South Africa, before his regiment was recalled to England and then took its place on the Western Front. Julian's parents' principal residence was Taplow Court, near Maidenhead, but Ettie inherited Panshanger in Hertfordshire on the death of her aunt Katie Cowper. Surprisingly, there are very few Grenfell documents in the Buckinghamshire Record Office, compared with the extensive collection in Hertfordshire. The Grenfell material forms part of the most significant archive in the care of Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies. There are three parts: D/EP (the main estate collection), D/ERv (Ravensdale, containing the bulk of the Grenfell material) and D/EX789 (a 'magpie' collection of mainly Grenfell material). Julian and his siblings were energetic writers and there are over 800 letters from him in the archive, the bulk of them (712) to his mother. In addition the volume will include letters received by him, other relevant documents (such as the diary Julian wrote during the war), details of Grenfell material in other repositories and a list of those who wrote letters of condolence to Ettie and Willy when Julian died. It is fairly clear that the last represent only a percentage of the hundreds of letters the Desboroughs received, and some of them are also reproduced in Pages from a family journal 1888-1915, written by his mother and published privately for family and friends (there is a copy in the Buckingham Record Office).

Ettie Desborough was a well-known member of the 'Souls' and many of the letters to her from Julian discuss her views and way of life, which he disapproved of. Inevitably, though, the letters written from the Western Front are the gem of the archive, together with Julian's diary. Interest in the First World War seems to increase, rather than diminish, as time goes on and it is clear that interest in this volume will extend far beyond Hertfordshire. The letters are in good condition on the whole, although Julian's last letter to his mother is blood-stained!.

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