Fought Like a Lion: The Life of an East End Soldier by Paul Blumsom
From time to time, we recommend a book, usually because it has some connection to Daphne du Maurier, but sometimes because of a link to a relative or close associate of hers. Today's book, Fought Like a Lion: The Life of an East End Soldier by Paul Blumsom, is the life story of William Charles Blumsom (1881 - 1932), the author's Grandfather. The book has been beautifully written and meticulously researched over many years. But in the telling of William's tale, Paul has also uncovered a mass of information about Guy du Maurier, which gives us a powerful reason to want to share this book with you all.
I first met Paul Blumsom when he came into Bookends of Fowey, the second-hand and antiquarian bookshop that we owned in Fowey until we retired in 2020 (now Shrew Books, owned by lovely Kate Longman). Paul was researching the life of his Grandfather, William Charles Blumsom. While studying his military record, he discovered that, at one point, he had been in the Royal Fusiliers under the command of Guy du Maurier.
Guy Louis Busson du Maurier (1865 – 1915) was George and Emma du Maurier's second child and eldest son, older brother to Gerald, Daphne's father. Daphne would not have known him very well because she was only seven years old when he died, but they shared a birthday, which gave them a bond.
In 1905, Guy married Gwen Price, who he had met through his sister Beatrix and her husband Charles Hoyer Millar.
Apart from his military career, Guy is famous for writing a play called An Englishman's Home, which was performed on the London stage at Wyndam's Theatre in 1909 to huge acclaim. It was directed by Gerald du Maurier with support from J.M. Barrie.
That day, when Paul came into Bookends, I was able to show him a precious book I had owned for many years, the letters that Guy du Maurier wrote to Gwen in the Great War. It is a slim volume because he was killed in action early in the war, on 9th March 1915. I believe the book was privately printed in small numbers by a company called Bumpus, with the agreement of Guy's widow, Gwen, and at the request of Henry James, a dear friend of George du Maurier and all his family. Copies were then given to each of Guy's family.
I was able to tell Paul that Andrew Birkin, author of J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Real Story Behind Peter Pan, had acquired an extensive archive of du Maurier-related material from Guy's nephew Nico Llewelyn Davies and that the archive contained letters from Guy to various family members. Andrew has since auctioned the archive to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children, but the information was still accessible.
Paul had been a police detective, and he used his skills to research his Grandfather's life as if he were investigating a 'cold case'. His research, which spanned many years, used many resources, including Andrew Birkin's material, the archives at both Exeter and Harvard Universities, the Imperial War Museum, the National Archives, the National Army Museum, and the Wellcome Trust Library. Paul walked the route of his Grandfather's young life in the East End, followed his path through his military career, including times of injury and finally returned to the East End to follow the last part of his Grandfather's life. I have seldom come across such a thorough and detailed path through someone's life, particularly someone who was, dare I say it, apparently an ordinary man, just like thousands of other East End men, living a life that was often a struggle. And yet, by the end of the book, I felt such pride in all that he achieved and sad that despite surviving the war, he did not live to see old age.
Paul begins the story of William Charles Blumsom with some background family history. Then he describes William's young life at home with his family, growing up and starting work, aged thirteen or fourteen, as a labourer. In 1898, when he was still only 16 years old, William joined the part-time militia, presumably lying about his age. Then, just over a year later, in October 1899, William joined the regular army with the Royal Fusiliers at Dalston barracks, maintaining the lie about his age. It was joining the Royal Fusiliers that put him under the direct command of Major Guy du Maurier in the Mounted Infantry, with a posting to South Africa and a role in the Second Boer War.
It is during this time that the majority of information that Paul discovered about Guy du Maurier is revealed, information that has never been collated and published before. After South Africa, William embarked on his journey to India. He was still only 22 years old. Willian eventually completed his extended period of military service in October 1907 and was able to set sail for home. On arriving at Southampton, his transfer to the Army Reserve was formalised. Then it was back home to the East End and a job at the vinegar works.
As a reservist, the Great War meant a return to service for William and a war that took him to France, Belgium, Salonika, and the Middle East. He ended his military service as a corporal, alive and well, and returned home to his family in the East End, where he resumed his job at the vinegar works.
As a civilian, he found love, marrying a widow with two children, going on to have more children of their own, and, as we have come to expect, William loved them all equally,and was a good father to all five children.
This review has taken us on a tiny dash through William's life, and in Paul's book, you will be amazed at how much information he found out about his Grandfather in peacetime and in the theatre of war.
As I read William's story, I discovered that his path did not only cross Guy du Maurier's life but also those of a young Winston Churchill, Medic, Charles McMoran Wilson (later Lord Moran, personal physician to Winston Churchill 1940 - 1965), and T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). So, there is even more to the book than you could possibly have expected.
And finally, I must mention the chapter about War Pilgrims. I had not heard this term before, but it was used to describe the initial post-war boom in battlefield tourism spanning the years from 1919 to 1923, with the Church Army, Salvation Army and the YMCA conducting tours and escorting tens of thousands of bereaved relatives to the sites where their loved ones had been lost and buried. Although the term may not be familiar to us now, people have never stopped making this same journey.
A huge thank you to Paul Blumsom for writing this excellent book, which rebuilt his Grandfather's life and, in doing so, provided us with information about Guy du Maurier and others that we would probably not otherwise have ever discovered.
Fought Like a Lion: The Life of an East End Soldier by Paul Blumsom
Published by Reveille Press in 2025
ISBN 9781068311116
Price £16.99.
© Ann Willmore, May 2025.