Diary of E. Lansing Ray, Editor & Publisher St. Louis Globe-Democrat

E. Lansing Ray, the editor and publisher of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, was invited by the British and French governments to be a part of a twelve person delegation of newspapermen to tour the allied Western Front in the fall of 1918. Ray kept a detailed diary during the trip, documenting the journey and his observations of the conditions in England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. The 152 page diary is held by the State Historical Society of Missouri and is set to be digitized this year.

The delegation, which included editors from several major newspapers across the U.S.,  left New York on September 25, 1918, on board the transport ship the Orontes. They sailed in a large convoy for two weeks before reaching England in early October. The newspapermen then toured Scotland, France, and Ireland before returning home. They spent nearly one full week on the Allied Western Front in France.

Throughout the diary Ray described his trip in great detail, commenting on and making keen observations about the war time conditions in Europe.  The delegates took part in a variety of events, from dining with royalty, to examining tanks and war torn towns on the front, to celebrating armistice day in London.  Below are a few excerpts from Ray's diary.


On the voyage over to England, the delegation faced bouts of severe weather along with multiple outbreaks of influenza among the soldiers and civilians on board.

"…When the ship drew into the harbor at dusk, the soldiers had all been assembled with packs on shoulders to dis-embark. They were certainly a disappointed lot when informed they must stay on board at least over night. There was a lot of sickness in the convoy besides our ship which had about 500 hundred in hospital I was told that Liverpool authorities were preparing for over a 1000 beds. Something wrong some where, too much over-crowding & sending boats out laden with Influenza germs, of course the extremely rough trip aggravated the situation. This is a big day for me, getting to London, after such a voyage & being at the heart of every thing & so royally taken care of. I am told we are within 60 miles of the front. A submarean was shelled or something happened at Liverpool last night because Captain Rawle said he heard artillery firing during the night. I slept blissfully through it, as did all our party. We were dead to the world, all of us."



While in Great Britain, Ray and the other delegates had the opportunity to visit and dine with leading politicians and writers of their day, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and King George V.

"[October 13] Sunday – a day I will never forget. at 11 a.m. we went to Sandringham, the country place of the King. It is about 100 miles from London on the north sea or an arm of it. Has several times suffered from air-raids, about 60 bombs having been dropped in the grounds… After being coached on the formalities we went in in groups of four & were presented. First to King George, the Queen, the Queen Dowager Alexandra, the Princess Mary, the King's own daughter, & the Princess Victoria, the King’s sister, also to numerous, about 8 gentlemen & ladies in waiting, [equerries] etc…Immediately after presentation, which was the only real formality the party broke up into small groups for conversational purposes. The Royal party walked around the grounds with us until 4:30. Saw the gardens, stables, greenhouses etc. Everything beautifully kept up."

Probably the most difficult part of the tour for the delegation was the visit to the Western Front. Here Ray described some of the destruction they witnessed.

“...This country is terrible, trees all destroyed, roads full of shell holes & no civilian population. Captain Kennedy picked up an abandoned hand-grenade at Moat Farm & exploded it. The greatest care must be exercised in picking up anything. Entered Lille about four days after Boche. Our party probably first civilians to enter. People crowded about, greatly excited. Butler, who speaks French over whelmed. Crossed Deule Canal just before Lille, all bridges destroyed, all telephone & telegraph poles carefully cut down. Lille not damaged particularly by Boche, except every thing of value taken away, very strict enforcement of Boche Military laws…”

“…This head quarters is nearer to the fighting line than any we have seen. Found that we were billeted for the night at a number of brigade head quarters between Le Catelet & Le Cateau. Each one of us at a different place as we were to be with the actual fighting men. Gen. [Henry] Rawlinson said he wanted to show us personally a portion of the recent battle. Where some American divisions had had a very hard fight & had helped in the breaking of the Hindenburg line a few days before. The exact location was Gillemont Farm on the top of a hill. There had once been a house & a prosperous farm, now nothing but bare-ground & deep trenches, the Hindenburg Line passing right through where the farm once was. This spot was taken & retaken 7 times. We went all over it with the General, up & down trenches. Very muddy. Ground strewn with American & Boche helmets & equipment just where the men fell. An awful sight. The dead had been buried. There was one grave-yard where about 300 American boys lie side by side in long rows of graves, with plain yellow pine Crosses marking each one…”

The delegation arrived back in London for the last leg of their trip just in time for Armistice Day celebrations on November 11.

“[November 11] ... After breakfasting we wandered down-stairs about 10:30 entirely unaware of the momentous things that were to come. We of Course knew that the Germans had been given until 11 O’Clock this morning to decide about the signing of the Armistice but had no idea it was already a matter of history. As I reached the strand, the story broke. Lloyd George had just made the announcement in the House of Commons. The guns started to boom. British stolidity & calm were smashed to bits and the people rushed for the streets, literally poured on to them. Waiters, chamber-maids, bell-boys, guests, clerks, shop-keepers, bar-maids, every body was soon in the throng, which [continued below]”

“surged every where. One Could not stand against it, but had to drift along with the human tide. It was a fight to buy the “extras” which soon appeared on the streets with only a small type, two or three line announcement under “stop Press News”. Everybody just quit what they were doing and started to celebrate. Windows were crowded with waving men & women, From every window in the Hotel Cecil, which had been used as a head quarters for the R.A.F. Thousands of the recruiting sheets & posters were thrown, looking like snow as the blew about in the air. Busses immediately became packed. The signs were town off & used to beat with on the sides. Trucks, taxis & horse-vehicles were commandeered and packed. The Taxis soon were covered, men & girls sitting on the hoods, side-steps, fenders, & on back halfs of tops which were thrown back. The front parts which stayed up had three or four on them and as for the drivers seats & the regular seats, it was only a question of the number of layers. It was a seething mass of humanity. Police authority was suspended. Military bands paraded the streets & thousands fell into line & followed. Flags appeared in every window. Hundreds of flag venders appeared on the streets almost instantaneously & did a thriving trade. Women laughed, screamed & sang & cried with joy. For four long years then women had borne the burden of the war & most had lost a husband, a sweet-heart, a son or a brother...”



Sources:

Images courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri. For more information about the E. Lansing Ray diary please contact The State Historical Society of Missouri.