The First Hundred Thousand: Being the Unofficial Chronicle of a Unit of "K(1)"

Unit "K (1)" #1

by Ian Hay

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: History, World War I, War, Military Fiction, Nonfiction

182 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1917

About the author

John Hay Beith was a Scottish schoolmaster, soldier, playwright, and novelist.

He was educated at Fettes College, Edinburgh and St. Johns College, Cambridge. He was a second-lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was sent to France in April 1915 where he was awarded the Military Cross. He was later Director of Public Relations at the War Office (1938 - 1941).

As "Ian Hay", he was also a novelist and playwright.

Reviews

[Old Time Tales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. It gives a wonderful perspective of so many different things. It's about life in one of the first British military units to be created to train and deploy to fight in WWI. The soldiers are all Scottish, which creates this fascinating contrast between them and what you expect from the Brits. It tells about the transformation a young man makes from kid off the street to trained soldier. The camaraderie, humor, discipline and terror which are expected in a story about the Great War are all there. Pride, joy, sadness, love of country and love of your mates, this book has it all. It is easy to see the impact that the author had on other writers. Robert Heinlein, another author who writes a strong military novel, mentions Hay by name in "Glory Road" and tells a story from this book. And the story is just as true today, in 2017, as it was in 1917 and doubtless just as apt in 1717 or any other year.

[Tracy Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a light-hearted treatment of the subject of war, which comes across as somewhat inappropriate. However, it must be remembered that this was published in 1915, at a time when the full horror of the First World War had not yet been fully realised, and that much of the book deals with the optimistic years, the anticipation of adventure and subsequent training and deployment to France.

The First Hundred Thousand refers, literally, to the first hundred thousand recruits of Kitchener's volunteer Army, collectively known as K1. As such, it is an excellent primary source, particularly for those interested in the Scottish component of that army, the 9th Scottish Division, many of whom lost their lives at Loos. Ian Hay (real name John Hay Beith) was an officer in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and formed part of that division.

The book was very popular at the time, selling copies as far as the United States. Hay's writing is tinged with humour, realism and perhaps unintentional pathos in that we are with these characters for a while, sharing their journey, their jokes and humanity. As such it fleshes out the silhouette of the World War One soldier we are so used to seeing into a three dimensional person we can recognise. Hay provides a window into who these men were before they lost their lives and before they became numbers in the history books. They might be somewhat characatured, but a thick cable of realism runs through the dialogue and prose, from McSlattery, the revolutionary recruit: 'If McSlattery's opinion of the Civil Code was low, his opinion of Military Law was at zero. In his previous existence in his native Clydebank, when weary of rivet-heating... he had been accustomed to take a day off and become pleasantly intoxicated.. to sleep off his potations... upon the pavement outside his last house of call..."I wunner ye jined the Airmy at all, McSlattery," observed one bold spirit..."I wunner myself... If I had kent all aboot this... needin tae luft your hand tae your bunnet whenever you saw yin o they gentry-pups of officers goin by, - dagont if I'd hae done it..."'

...to the Trench Mortar Officer whom no one wants in their trench for fear of retaliatory fire: 'with the uneasy assurance of the proprietor of a Punch and Judy show who has inadvertently strayed into Park Lane, (he) attempts once more to give his unpopular entertainment. "No you don't my lad," announces Major Kemp. "... Take your darned liver-pill out of this! Burn it, bury it, eat it... Creep away!"'

...to Sergeant Goffin, who 'does not understand the French tongue but speaks it with great fluency and incredbile success' in the epicerie: '"Bong jooer..." He holds up a warning hand. "Now keep your 'and off the tap of the gasmeter... and let me get a word in edgeways. I want... vinblank one, vinrooge two, bogeys six..." By some miracle the smiling lady ... produces white wine, red wine, candles...Up goes Goffin's hand again. "Nah pooh... Bong jooer!" Hay goes on to explain, 'You say "Nah pooh!" when you push your plate away after dinner... By a further development it has come to mean "Done for"... "Poor Bill got na-poohed by a rifle grenade yesterday."'

We keep company with these and other characters whom Hay gives entertaining names such as Private Mucklewame and Hogg and Ogg, as they journey from training to the eve before the attack. Those familiar with the Scottish losses at Loos will know the ominous ring of targets like Hohenzollern Redoubt and Fosse 8, and the bulking twin pitheads of the village. Hay gives a detailed, if sanitised, account of the battle that involves the characters meeting to discuss their exploits during a moment of relief. By the end of the book, 'The battle which began upon that grey September morning has been raging, as I write, for nearly three weeks... still surges backwards and forwards over the same stricken mile of ground.' A sign of what was to come for the next three years.

This is an affectionate homage to those who took part in the early stages of the war, and a depiction of their initiation from civilians to soldiers. It throws a few jabs at the absurd military hierarchy and its older orders, but offers no direct criticism of the war. Nevertheless, the contribution of this book to the war literature of the time should not be underestimated.

[Graham Mott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent Great War memoir if you can call it that as it was published during the war itself when the outcome was in doubt. A fictionalised story of his time (real name John Hay Beith) as a junior officer in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders, part of the 9th (Scottish) Division, from the first days as enthusiastic volunteers through to the battle of Loos. Accurate enough to be referenced in the Divisional history it was originally published as a series of magazine articles, the book form published in 1915, proved to be hugely popular in Britain but also in France and the then neutral USA. Written with a dry, humorous style some sections are laugh out loud funny before it becomes more serious with the battle itself when the Division suffered heavy casualties. A successful pre-war author this shines through when compared to other memoirs whose writers while skilled were amateurs and he has a very good turn of phrase. While some elements sound anachronistic by modern standards, the gulf between the officers and men is striking, his humanity and good humour shine through. Throughly recommended especially as it was written at the time and therefore without the retrospective bias of those looking back in the light of post-war views.

[Al Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who has served in the "Bloody Infantry" will understand the story laid out here, how civilians are turned into Infantry, men who will withstand the most horrid conditions and risk their life for their brothers.

This particular story of the transformation of men into Soldiers, into a Regiment happens to be about the first group of Scots who were inducted into the British Army during WWI, their transformation and training, their bloodying and, in the end, their decimation.

It's a worthy read. It is not a tale of battles and tactics and strategy. It is a tale of Soldiers.

[Corinne Agr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It gives a clear and personal view of what it was like to be part of one of the units created for the war, showing the challenges, changes, and spirit of the men who joined. It is also mixed with a little bit of Humor and has a unique cultural element because of the Scottish soldiers and the focus on them.

[Teaspoon Stories · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found “The First Hundred Thousand” by Ian Hay in a local charity shop. Initially I was rather puzzled by the title but when I read the book it became clear.

It’s the story of the infantry unit “K(1)” to which Ian Hay himself was attached as an inexperienced young officer, faced with the challenge of turning a motley group of civilian recruits into a battle-ready fighting force. Hay and his men are among the first 100,000 volunteers who enlisted into Lord Kitchener’s Army (“K”) immediately on the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. 

The book follows the unit through months of military training before they’re shipped out to France and the Western Front. Within a year of signing up, Hay and his men are in the thick of the Battle of Loos. 

I was expecting Ian Hay’s account of his war experiences to be pretty conventional stiff upper-lip stuff – a far cry from the angry young War Poets of the First World War whose verse defines for all time the folly and futility of war. 

So I was bowled over to discover that Ian Hay’s book – a popular best seller even before the war got fully underway – is actually pretty critical of the military Establishment and its conduct of the war. It’s simply that Ian Hay’s style is so subtly ironic and laid back that the serious stuff is hidden in plain sight under the gentle, self-deprecating humour. 

He exposes the incompetence of the top brass, pokes fun at the inefficiency of the military machine, and mocks showy patriotism – all while reeling off cheeky anecdotes about larger-than-life comrades and the comic moments of service life. 

I found “The First Hundred Thousand” intriguing and very moving as a contemporary account of the first year of the Great War. It’s made me realise, for example, that patriotism or pacifism weren’t binary choices. It’s also made me very curious about Ian Hay and I hope I find other work by him soon. 

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed message. The author was determined to be patriotic and unshocking yet wanted to tell the truth about the trenches experience. 'Brother Bosch' is wicked and nefarious; British High Command is well-meaning if bureaucratic; the squaddies are brave, self-sacrificing, dutiful, resigned; casualties are inevitable and necessary. The terrible conditions are alluded to but not dwelt upon, and the sacrifice of thousands of lives for a few yards of mud is accepted as part of the necessary game.
Despite its self-censorship and dated style this is a telling book which gives a veiled but living glimpse into the mind and condition of the British combatant in the Great War.

[Metrilenkki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compact and vivid memoir of a Scottish officer from his service as one of the first volunteers in the King's Army during the first world war. Full of clever and funny language, and like most realistic war novels, covers the actual war in a rather short and depressingly brutal second part.