A Bare Chronicle of Existence

Stories and Letters from Internment in Norway During WW1

Rebecca Clarke

• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781398456471
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

On the very same day as his brother, Arnold enrolled to serve in WW1. He signed up for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves and in April 1915 set sail on HMS India. A few short months later, he found himself floating in the North Sea. This is his story and the story of the men who found themselves interned in Norway for the remainder of the war. It is a story of loneliness and love. Of conflict and of isolation. It is a story from WW1 that is rarely told but one that deserves to be.

Table of contents

• A Bare Chronicle of Existence
• About the Author
• Dedication
• Copyright Information ©
• Prologue
• Richard Arnold Clarke – “But Procrastination and Delay Are My Only Portion in this World.”
• HMS India – “She is a Good Sea Boat.”
• Sinking of HMS India— “Submarine on Starboard Bow”
• What to Do with the Sunken Sailors?
• The First Few Months— “Well, News is Scarce.”
• First Half of 1916 – “Hopes, Ambitions and Ideals have Gone.”
• Second Half of 1916 – “Not Letters but a Bare Chronicle of Existence.”
• First Half of 1917 – “The News Is Forced.”
• Second Half of 1917 – “I Regret My Letters Often Get Left Unwritten Nowadays.”
• First Half of 1918 – “London Seems a Long Way Off.”
• Second Half of 1918 — “I Am in No Wise over Brimming with Cheerfulness.”
• A Caricaturist’s View – “A Great Humourist Has Obviously Not Let this Opportunity Go.”
• What Next? What Are the Stories of and What Happened to some of the HMS India Crew?
• Rogues Gallery
• The Rest of Arnold’s Life
• Epilogue
• References
• Appendix