Review of 'Life off Duty Corporal Vince Schürhoff, Intelligence Officer' by Jim Beach (May 2022)

Vince, whose family had lived in Birmingham for 30 years having taken out British Nationality, volunteered in 1914 a few months after the outbreak of the Great War. For the first year of the war, he served as an infantryman. He spoke German and French fluently but was not ‘picked up’ by the intelligence services until 1916. He was promoted to Corporal but no further, two attempts for a commission were turned down. He left us a diary/memoir of his war service but what is of interest to us now is his life off-duty. He spent two years based in Arras, avoiding the interminable movement of infantry between Corps which had been his experience while an infantryman.

He did not spend all his time in the trenches as the ‘listening posts’ were usually further back. His hours of duty meant that he could access entertainment, meals and opportunities to go drinking with workplace companions much more than an infantryman. After 1917 he was transferred to prisoner interrogation which also meant he was stationed in the same area. He carried a security pass which enabled him to move around in the rear areas without being harassed by military police. He was to spend 60% of his war service in these rear areas.

Vince led an active social life, he socialised with the same group of intelligence translators and intelligence police. From his diary we can learn that he enjoyed reading novels – he recorded what he read and whether he enjoyed them - as well as going to the cinema. He enjoyed both British and French silent films, making at least 41 visits in three years. Cinemas were very popular and Vince would record whenever he was unable to gain entrance due to the venue being full. He records enjoying both Charlie Chapin comedies and Douglas Fairbanks adventure films. He averaged a visit to the cinema every 2 weeks during his time in France.

Visits to concert parties indicate that these were most enjoyable. As he spent so much time in the 5thDivision area, it is their concert party, a Pierrot troupe called the Whizz Bangs, which receive the most mention but he managed to see 12 others. On average he visited a concert party every 3 weeks, not all receive a good report, but in several he comments on the mixture of officers and men in the audience, a Major-General along with monocle is mentioned once.  One group, the Bow Bells, were so popular that seats had to be booked in advance.

Vince also enjoyed classical music (he had been a keen piano player before the war) and would attend a music event once every 7 weeks on average. He commented on evenings listening to Waltz music, Gilbert & Sullivan as well as naming the band e.g., Irish Guards (where the venue was packed) as well as the Divisional band. He could close his eyes and use music as a ‘bridge’ to a past life.

Lastly, there is food and drink. Vince kept a record of his meals whenever they impressed him. We might think his life might have been dominated by ‘bully beef’ and dried biscuits followed by rum, but this was not the case. He made an average of seven mentions a month during 1916, fewer in the following years and ‘bully beef’ is only mentioned 16 times during the time span of the diary. He was more likely to write about the various stews he ate or the occasions he ate bacon or pork. He also ate fish, eggs and cheese on multiple occasions.

He was particularly appreciative of chocolate; he mentions chocolate or cocoa more often than other sweet deserts. In fact, he asked his family to send him chocolate in place of money on many occasions. In terms of what he drank, wine is mentioned twice as much as spirits, tea or coffee! Vince also frequented small family run cafés in place of the estaminets most British soldiers visited. With his near perfect French, he would have been able to invite himself in without problem. He records enjoying soup, followed by meat and vegetables all washed down with beer! Finishing with cheese and fruit.

Before he left these cafés, he would fold his napkin, offer his fellow guests a cigarette and leave with an exchange of ‘bon soir’, ‘au revoir’ and ‘bon chance’.

Finally, Jim mentioned two books we might be interested in reading, ‘Enduring the Great War’ by Alexander Watson, and ‘Behind the Front’ by Craig Gibson.

Report by Peter Palmer

Below is a video of the presentation by Jim Beach