Add MS 89235/1/3/5

• January to April 1919

Located mainly in Belgium. Speculates, with increasing frustration mostly, about anticipation of demobilisation, of passing the time meanwhile, and hopes to move on to Germany. Demobilisation is sensitive to various developments of Armistice, and strikes in England of this year. Also accounts his and Essie's hopes and logistical developments regarding purchasing a home at this time. Recreation includes, reading, playing in a football team, horse riding and taking long scenic walks. Includes also his official Demobilisation documentation.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

01.01.1919 to 03.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Peveril Drive, Nottingham.

Received ltr 55.

'I have been playing football to-day the first time I have played in a match since the Artist days.'

'I think all men with jobs with be demobilised fairly soon. They are demobilising 5000 a day now and that is soon to be nearly doubled.'

• The Morning Post newspaper cutting: Military Awards

02.01.1919

'For services in France and Flanders'. A list of names of those promoted, appointed, and honoured, granted for valuable services rendered. [A.F. Johnson listed under Military Cross, second column].

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

04.01.1919 to 08.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Peveril Drive, Nottingham.

Received ltr 56, 57x2

'It appears we are not off to Germany at least not for the present, which is rather disappointing.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

06.01.1919 to 08.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Peveril Drive, Nottingham.

'The trip to Liege [Belgium] came off yesterday.'

'Tomorrow I am going off to Brussels with Lee.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

08.01.1919

Letter written in ink on Bruxelles Palace Hotel headed paper, of 4 folios.

'Brussels is certainly a very fine town.. We have been to the picture galleries, the chief one has some modern sculptures like Rodin...Various fair ladies tried to lead us astray and Lee was quite alarmed. I rather enjoyed it.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson , 1919

10.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios.

Received ltr 58, 59.

Received 'an official notification from the B.M., which registers me for demobilisation when general demobilisation begins.'

Reading: 'Le Rouge et le Noir', Henri Beyle Stendhal, (1830)

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

12.01.1919 to 12.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 60

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

14.01.1919 to 14.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 61, 62.

'I have had quite a busy day to-day, a football match and coaching two fellows in German. March is educational officer and has all sorts of schemes on. He has started a course of lectures once a week to the men and I have let myself in for one on the stars.'

Thursday:

'I had exhausting hour talking French...I have been for a riding lesson this morning.'

• Envelope, addressed Haverstock Hill, London ,17.01.1919

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

21.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios. The third folio is speculated to belong to this group, yet it is uncertain.

Received ltr 65.

'I really think if we can get a suitable house for about £450 and we can borrow the money it would be worth while doing that.'

Reading: 'The Count of Monte-Christo', Alexandre Dumas, (1846)

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

22.01.1919 to 23.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

25.01.1919 to 25.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 67, 68.

'About the M. C.[Military Cross] I don't know what I got it for. The Major put my name in last September for things I general I think. That is all I know.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

27.01.1919 to 28.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 70.

'We went to Dinant, [Belgium] yesterday.'

' We have demobilised a good many, sent about 40 away to heavy batteries to help with the horses..'

• Postcard of Dinant, Belgium, to Christopher, from 'Daddy',

28.01.1919

Depicting a panorama of Dinant.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

30.01.1919 to 30.01.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Reading: 'The Little Minister', James Matthew Barrie, (1903)

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

02.02.1919 to 02.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'You will have seen some new regulations about demobilisation in the papers. It works out very well for the men but I don't know what will happen about officers. anyway it seems clear that we are all liable for retention.. they daren't lay down such conditions for the men but I suppose they think officers will stand it... I believe if I volunteered to stay on I could get leave in a few days.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

03.02.1919 Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios.

Received ltr 67 [belated]

'I had lunch with some officers who have come back from Germany. They all seem to have a very nice time. They were talking of the Opera in Cologne.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

05.02.1919 Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios.

Received ltr 74.

'Fabulous tales are told of the time it takes for men demobilised men to reach, anything up to a fortnight it appears.'

• Postcard to Christopher, from 'Daddy'

06.02.1919

The postcard bought from Namur, sends well wishes for Christopher's ill health.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

08.02.1919 to 08.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Reading: 'The Green Mirror', Hugh Walpole, (1918)

Reference to first London tube strike: February. 'I wonder if the tubes strikes in London have let you down. Perhaps you are using candles by now and walking everywhere. The thing seems to be getting very serious. I wonder if these people do want a revolution.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

09.02.1919 to 10.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 76, 77.

'Now don’t you worry. I shall be coming on leave with luck in a month and we shall have a gay time.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

12.02.1919 to 12.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 75, 78.

'The Major will not be back til about March 10 and I don't see that I can go before then. By that time they should have decided how many officers they mean to keep and I should either be demobilised or get leave then.'

'There is a pond here fit to skate on..but we have made a slide on one pond and take our daily exercise thereon.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

14.02.1919 to 14.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 79

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

16.02.1919 to 16.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 7?/80.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

17.02.1919 to 19.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received ltr 81.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

20.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I found I could not sleep and began to think of nasty things in the war, so to stop that I tried to recollect early events with you.'

Reading: 'For Second Reading': Stephen Gwynn (1918)

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

21.02.1919 to 22.02.1919

• Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Reading: 'The Amazing Marriage', George Meredith, (1895)

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

24.02.1919 to 26.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

26.02.1919 to 28.02.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I wonder what sort of work they will give me at the B.M. I suppose I shall start with cataloguing copyright books, or perhaps they will try to break my heart with six month's incorporation.'

'I have just been reading in The Times about the importance of the soldiers who are left having children and carrying on the manly race. The world seems to be in an awful mess after the war and I sometimes wonder if we shall pull through after all.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

28.02.1919 to 02.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'The Major is due back next week and we should be glad of the excitement of his return.'

'The Labour members in Parliament seem to me a pretty sound lot and I am rather pleased with Lloyds George just now.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

02.03.1919 to 04.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 3 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Essie reports another disappointment on house hunting .

Reading: 'Diana of the Crossways', George Meredith (1909)

'I used to bar the U.S.A but am more kindly disposed now owing to American Officers I have met, and to Wilson.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

04.03.1919 to 06.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

07.03.1919 to 08.03.1919

Letter written in ink on headed paper, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'At length there is some news.The retainable part of the battery is going to Germany to-morrow. Lee and I are not going, which means we will be transferred to some unit which is being demobilised.'

'The major has told me he called on you and I am anxious to hear what you thought of him.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

07.03.1919 to 09.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, addressed from 284 Siege Battery, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

09.03.1919 to 10.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Reading: The Amateur Gentleman, John Jeffery Farnol, (1916)

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

15.03.1919 to 16.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I have given up expecting immediate demobilisation.. I keep looking out for news and expecting to go I only get more and more restless.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

17.03.1919 to 18.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'There has been some good news since I wrote last. Officers who were in the Army in 1914 and who do not wish to stay on,are now to be released. I am under hat, so it is only a matter of waiting for our allotment.'

'I hope you will have got that house.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

17.03.1919 to 18.03.1919

Letter written in ink on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'..you certainly were splendid during the war'.

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

21.03.1919 to 21.03.1919

Letter written in ink on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

Received belated ltr 69.

Reading: 'The lighter side of school life, Ian Hay, (1914).

'I wonder if there is going to be a big strike in England. If there is one of the results will be that our return will be further delayed.'

'I have been reading the reports of the Coal Commission with great interest…two hours a day reading the Times and feel very annoyed when it does not come up.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

23.03.1919 to 2[?].03.1919

Letter written in ink and pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'We hear that a strike has started in England.. demobilisation has already stopped in anticipation, so we are certainly going to be delayed as long as the strike lasts.'

'At one moment one is expecting to go off quite soon and the next day the position seems hopeless. I feel like going off to Brussels on the loose.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

25.03.1919 to 30.03.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I can't imagine that men like Thomas will agree to a strike at this time as long as the gov. is reasonable.'

'Meredith does not seem to believe in equality in marriage.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

28.03.1919 to 29.03.1919

Letter written in ink on ruled paper, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I saw a letter from one of the officers now in [battery] 69. They seem to be having a good time going to concerts in Cologne and Bonn.'

'As it is I come back with the battery which is supposed to entrain on April 15th..'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

31.03.1919 to 31.03.1919

Letter written in ink on paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'..we have been moving our guns and stores down t the railway at Ardennes.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

02.04.1919 to 04.04.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'The Labour troubles seem to have blown over now at home, I think the gov. has done rather well.'

'I wonder what there will be in the budget. I suppose when I have to pay full income tax again it will be rather a shock.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

05.04.1919 to 07.04.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'Have you seen in the papers the new scale of bonuses for Civil Servants? .. I shall be hopelessly unfitted for the job at first. I shall have to work hard to make up for lost time...I am afraid I shall be very ignorant and out of place in the B.M. I suppose I shall be one of the last to get back.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

07.04.1919 to 09.04.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 2 folios, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I shall be very disgusted if I can't keep my place [at the B.M.] on my own merits.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

10.04.1919 to 11.04.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'The Colonel has promised that I shall go off when the next officer in the brigade comes back from leave.'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

12.04.1919

Letter written in pencil on paper, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'The officer I spoke of in my last letter has come back so I am off in a day or two… I feel too excited to write..'

• Letter correspondence from Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

13.04.1919 to 15.04.1919

Letter written in pencil on ruled paper, of 1 folio, with 1 envelope, addressed to: Haverstock Hill, London.

'I might conceivably sail on Wed and be home Wed..'

• Disability claimant form, 1919

13.04.1919

Printed form, of 1 folio, populated in ink. Completed by every Officer and Soldier on Demobilisation.

Johnson confirms he makes no claim for disability due to military service.

• Telegram Alfred Forbes Johnson to Essie, 1919

17.04.1919 Sent to Haverstock Hill, London. Informing of his arrival at Dover, and expected to return home of the same evening. With 1 envelope.

• Protection certificate, 1919

17.04.1919 to 18.04.1919

Includes a stamp of Dispersal Unit, dated 17th, Crystal Palace. Stamp on verso 'Local Food Office, Townhall Hampstead', with pencil inscription: 'Ration Book issued', dated 1 May 1919.

• Envelope, labelled of discharge papers, 1919

Pencil inscription indicating Johnson's discharge documents.

• Envelope, labelled of demobilisation papers, 1919

Labelled 'Army Form Z.53'. With printed inscription of 'Old English Text MT' typeface: 'Cover for Certificates and Other Documents of a Soldier on Demobilisation, Transfer to the Reserve or Discharge.'

• Envelope addressed to Essie, 1919

20.04.1919 to 22.04.1919 Addressed to Haverstock Hill, London, forwarded to Dorset.