March 7, 1918 - Bennett give order to go to France, and a visit to Whitehead Aircraft Ltd.

Don Martin diary entry for Thursday, March 7, 1918:

Another air raid – started 11:30 – over 1:45.

Looks as if I shall go to the front. Mr. Bennett wires to go to Paris and stay at the Crillon Hotel where he will engage a room. Things coming along very well so far. Left at 10 a.m. to visit J. A. Whitehead of the Aircraft Co. Went through his big plant which turns out 150 aeroplanes a month. Attended a luncheon at his beautiful home on the Thames near Richmond after a pleasant automobile ride through the country. Made a speech which seemed to take pretty well. About 70 prominent men – editors among them – present.

[John Alexander Whitehead was a real entrepreneur and self promoter, who built up Whitehead Aircraft Ltd. from scratch starting in 1915. He got badly in debt and at the end of the war it went bankrupt and he went on to other ventures, eventually establishing successful apple orchards to compete with imported North American apples. The photo shows Whitehead and his wife with the Mayor of Richmond and wife.]
Got back at six. Went to office and while talking to Champion about the orders to go to Paris heard sirens. No one was expecting an air raid. He and I came up to the Savoy. I hung round the lobby after standing on Waterloo Bridge till the barrage started. Heard no bombs but saw place of big fire. Came to my room at 1:45 a.m.

Weather delightful

Comments

October 14, 1918: Don Martin’s funeral service in Paris

A funeral service for Don Martin was held in Paris on Sunday, October 13, 1918, at the American Church, rue de Berri. The New York Herald published this report on Monday, October 14, 1918. MANY FRIENDS AT CHURCH SERVICE FOR DON MARTIN Simplicity and Sincerity of Character of “Herald” Writer, Theme of Dr. Goodrich’s Sermon Funeral services for Don Martin were held yesterday afternoon in the American Church in the rue de Berri. They were simple and impressive. Before the pulpit rested the coffin, over which was spread the American flag. Floral offerings were arranged around it. Flat against the wall behind the pulpit were two American flags and the tricolor, and on either side were standards of these two emblems. Uniforms of the United States army predominated in the gathering of 200 persons composed of friends Mr. Martin had known for years at home and friends he had made in Fr...

Welcome to Don Martin blog on Armistice Centennial Day

Welcome to the World War I Centennial Don Martin daily blog, on Armistice Centennial day, November 11, 2018. Don Martin was a noted war correspondent reporting on the American Expeditionary Forces in France in 1918. Regrettably he died of Spanish influenza in Paris on October 7,1918, while covering the Argonne Forest offensive. He missed the joy of the Armistice by a month. Beginning on December 7, 2017, this blog has chronicled each day what Don Martin wrote one hundred years earlier – in his diary, in his letters home, and in his multitude of dispatches published in the Herald newspaper, both the New York and the European (Paris) editions. The blog, for the several days following his death, recounts the many tributes published, his funeral in Paris and his trip back to his final resting place at his home in Silver Creek, New York. To access the daily blogs, click on the three red lines at top right, then in the fold-down menu, click on Archive. There are 316 blogs from D...

September 30, 1918: Don Martin assesses war situation, and visits recaptured Varennes

On Monday, September 30, Don Martin sent a cable sent to the New York Herald beginning with his review of the war situation in France, and then reporting on his day at the front in and around Varennes-en-Argonne. It was published on Tuesday, October 1. ENEMY EXHAUSTED BY FOCH STRATEGY OF VARIED BLOWS Enemy Forces Bewildered and Never Quite Certain of Plan of Defence By DON MARTIN Special Correspondent of the Herald with the American Armies in France [Special Cable to the Herald] WITH THE AMERICAN ARMIES IN FRANCE, Monday Competent observers who long feared to believe their own convictions are now fully convinced that Germany is in a most serious predicament – not only because of her desertion by Bulgaria, but because of the general military situation on the Western front. To-day this situation is far more favorable to the Unit...

Search This Blog