Preparing for War, 1914–17

Abstract

A British passport prior to the First World War was a large and splendid document. It appeared the very embodiment of gunboat diplomacy: in large copperplate handwriting Sir Edward Grey, on behalf of His Britannic Majesty, not so much requested as insisted that the holder be able `to pass freely and without let or hindrance'. Unlike today, it was assumed that border guards from Boulogne to Baghdad would tremble at Carlton Gardens' veiled threat, and with a courteous smile and deferential gesture welcome the effortlessly superior English traveller to their humble nation. In practice, Mannock's passport provided him with precious little in the way of protection once he decided to venture beyond the Bosporos. His photograph depicts a tall, commanding figure, with a taste for fine clothes (for a studio portrait the Sunday suit was still de rigueur). With his homburg and walking stick he looks every bit the eligible Edwardian bachelor, smart and suave, a veritable card.¹ But no character of Bennett or Wells ever looked as far as Turkey when setting out to climb the steep ladder of success. Mannock was keen to make his way in the world, and to see as much of it as his limited finances would allow. Seeking one's fortune in the colonies or dominions was relatively commonplace, and it appears Mannock seriously considered mining in South Africa or running a plantation in the West Indies, despite the fact that he was singularly unqualified either to find gold or to grow tobacco. Working in continental Europe, let alone Asia Minor, was almost unheard of, unless one had very specific skills, was unusually adventurous and anticipated ample reward. Mannock spent the winter of 1913–14 deciding where he should go and what he should do, but in the end his mind was made up for him. He heard at work that the Société Anonyme Ottoman des Téléphones, the empire's embryonic communications network otherwise known as the Constantinople Telephone Company, had subcontracted its cable-laying operation to the British. The National Telephone Company could not guarantee him a job in 1914few managers could envisage transferring even skilled labour from one end of Europe to the other but clearly there was a good chance of recruitment as a rigger once he had arrived in Constantinople.²