There was nothing to do but to jump from the moving train and get back as quickly as possible. It was travelling slowly at about 25 mph or so, and as it approached a slight bend there was a grassy reedy patch, and so he jumped, and rolled down the bank with the dog following after him. Although a bit bruised he was none the worse for wear and a few hundred yards away was the main road back to where he had started. As he reached it he vowed that he would commandeer the first vehicle that came along whatever it was.
Soon there was a cloud of dust with a large car approaching, and he stepped out raising his hand.
“ In the name of General G.F.Milne I am requistioning this car to take me five miles back to the station”. he said to the driver, suddenly noticing to his horror that the man in the rear seat was none other than the Colonel of the adjoining regiment.
He was absolutely livid and spluttered with rage wanting to know what was the reason, why he was dishevelled; why he had a dog with him, and would have him reported for gross insubordination and see that he was courtmartialled. Anyway he got his lift ,and to his great relief, the truck was still parked outside the coffee house, and the men were still playing cards, so he was able to retrieve his haversack safely. He never heard anything more about the court martial.
For his efforts in the Balkans he was mentioned twice in despatches, which he rated the biggest honour. The citation for each was signed by Winston Churchill as Secretary of State for War. He was also awarded the OBE Military , the citation states:
“GEORGE the FIFTH by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India and Sovereign of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire to Our trusty and well beloved Frederick Christian Charnaud Esquire Temporary Lieutenant in Our Army reeting whereas We have thought fit to Nominate and appoint you to be a member of the Military Division of Oursaid Most Excellent Order of the British Empire,
We do by these presents grant unto you Grant of the dignity of a Member of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire to Temporary Lieutenant Frederick Christian Charnaud”. He was also awarded by George 1st of Greece “de Chevalier de Ordre Royale”.
Towards the end of the war his rank was raised to Temporary Captain and shortly after the Armistice he was sent to Turkey to assist in the demobilization and surrender of the Turkish Army. He was now back in Smyrna but instead of the insecure and apprehensive that he had been when he had left, now he was a Captain in the victorious British Army that had made a base there.
One of his jobs was to take a small squad of about a dozen British soldiers and set up a base in the interior about 200 miles away close to a railway line in the small town of Afyor. He made friends with the mayor and over the next three months rifles, field guns etc. where brought in a steady stream back to his base without any trouble whatsoever. Everyone was extremely courteous, and Father whose knowledge of Turkish had been limited, had now started to become fairly fluent in a colloquial sense. Eventually after about three months, it was arranged that a train would be sent from Symrna to load up and transport all the weaponry. The rifles had all been stacked in great square piles, and the soldiers were all eager to leave as they would then be on their first stage back to England and demob.
The evening before the train was due to come in there was a knock on the door of his office and he was met by the Turkish Mayor who as usual in his courteous manner inquired after his and his mens’ health. They had a coffee together and after all the pleasantries had been exchanged he lent over and said,
“ We have greatly enjoyed your stay with us this past three months, and we will be sorry when you go, as you and your men have all been polite and cheerful and we have all worked well together. Now however I have to say, that we forbid you tomorrow to load these weapons onto the train. If you do so, we will have no alternative but to massacre you and your men. It suited us to have the Army demobilised, but now we are going to have our own revolution, and these will be required by Kemal and the New Turks.” He was as he talked courteous but firm throughout, and it was obvious that he held all the cards and that he knew it. Father too had realised he was in a hopeless situation. He had the responsibility of a dozen mens’ lives, who had miraculously survived the most horrific of wars, and all they could think of was returning home to their loved ones. So the following day when the train arrived they boarded it alone, without the weaponry. On arrival back in Smyrna, he reported what had happened and said that unless a regiment at the very least was dispatched, there was no possibility of recovering the arms!
Shortly after this he was sent for his final assignment with the army, alone with only his batman for company to the South of Turkey at Side, near Antaliya. There a brigade of Italians had landed and were setting up camp. It was his job to liaise with them in order to find out what their intentions were. The area where they landed was in the heart of a fertile plain with a large river supplying water. It emerged through dining in their mess and chatting with the officers, that they were considering setting up an Italian Colony there, following the breakdown of Turkish power, and the power vacuum in their government. Although it was after the war, he still was obliged to censor his batmans letters. He was a Liverpudlian, and writing home he said, “ Darling thank God in a couple of weeks we will be on board ship coming home. Can’t wait to see you again, but after a month with these damn Italians, I warn you that I’ll divorce you on the spot if you ever feed me on spaghetti again!”
As he came back to Smyrna, there he once again met Fred Whittall, who came for a visit to see his family for the first time since the war. They had a welcome reunion. So much had happened in the nine years that had elapsed since he had left Gampaha in 1910. As they chatted Father mentioned in the course of the conversation, that he was thinking of going to South America once he had got demobilized.
On hearing this Fred with his powerful manner, was suddenly transformed from a quiet
man, into someone who felt really hurt from the pang of being let down. “ Look here, when you were seventeen your Father asked me a favour to take you out to Ceylon and give you a training, and you accepted this offer on the understanding that eventually when I retire you would take over my Luckyland Estate and manage it for me. You gave me your promise, as did Alfred and so you now have at stake both your honour and your Father’s honour to keep to your word and carry out your obligation. This I expect to be done not reluctantly, but actively and honestly with all the vigour at your disposal , and in the full spirit that you both promised when you both gave me that solemn undertaking.”

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Letters From Macedonia