War Diary Entries
January to March 1918

 

1918

New Years Day 1918

I hear today that 10 of us including myself are to be sent back to our respective batteries. It has to be I suppose, though God knows I am feeling most unwilling for next Sunday to come. To add more to my feeling I have not yet answered Mabel but when I do ?

Sunday January 6th

Today was sent back to Reningelst (Signalling Course) to Battery, with no light heart either for the blessed position and corduroy track haunt me.
Mabel’s letters are so very strained. I do want things to go right and yet they are such a muddle.
I find we have taken a new position of Zonnebeke Road, just past Bavaria House (Zonnebeke Pillbox). This is good news to me.

Monday January 7th

Sent on truck fatigues to Ypres station. At night detailed for Battery position.

Tuesday January 8th

6am arrived on position. Snowed hard all day – blizzard. At night group line broke. Went out and pilled(?) it. It was perishing work. This position is a King to the Tokio position.
Received news of Rob, he is at home awaiting his commission. In his letter he asks I will say whether it is true or not that I am no longer going with Mabel. Very peculiar that. I should like to know where that originated. Two men went on leave (for 12-14 months service abroad).

This new gun position to which I was sent as signaller lies just behind a ridge called Frezenberg Ridge and in to the right of Zonnebeke. It is approached by a corduroy track and the condition surrounding the gun position and the track leading to it are similar to those on the Passchendaele and Zonnebeke areas. There was however much less shelling on this position. The signallers lived and slept in a similar kind of hut as we did at Zonnebeke. There were about 5 of us and of these I can only remember one, Pat Pounder. Poor Pat he suffered from bladder trouble which occasioned him to have to make water at frequent intervals. During the night time, especially with it being very frosty he had to delay these actions and as a result would leak, but this caused a worse trouble for him for he became red raw all around his private parts.

In my last entry of Jan 8th it will be seen that from Rob Ainsworth’s pertinent query regarding the nature of my relationship with Mabel, someone was being bamboozled by Mabel and that someone was me, but that because of the contents of her letters to me I could not bring myself to believe that she had other than friendly reasons for writing to Rob.

Wednesday January 9th

Snowed hard again. Fixed stove into the pit. Fritz on front of ridge in front all day. Perishing cold today. Had a walk down the road to “Cheerio Canteen”.

Thursday January 10th

Went with Frost and Leut Feeney to O.P. (Observation Post). 24 hours duty. Rocket station.

Friday January 11th

Normal

Saturday January 12th

Normal

Sunday January 13th

Jerry’s day out, bumped ridge on front all day long. Started building Officers Cookhouse. At night nearly direct hit on pit.

Monday January 14th

Runner to group

Tuesday January 15th

Usual

January 16, 17 and 18

[no entry?]

January 20th

3 new signallers came up line. Eyre and myself went down. 3.30pm went to 331 Headquarters (Dickebush) with French Camp.

Monday January 21st

Orderly. Went to Battery position with message. Eyre went on Reninghelst course. 5pm Telephone Duty at D. Battery. 24 hours. I have not yet written to dear Mabel yet. She is most precious to me but I fear I have lost her own dear love. As she says the wrong is done now. She must love me, yet her letters are so cold. This is a miserable life. Every punishment seems to come at once.
Lice, loneliness, cold, suspense, wet feet. No comfort of any sort. Dear Mother is longing and fretting to see me. How I wish I could get home for her sake only. What will I not do for her if I get through this strife safely. How I do regret that I did not do more for her in those past happy days.

I think that the above entry need not be enlarged upon although as I read it now I am very much amused at the selected list of non comforts I mention. My greatest grief was the knowing thought of the loss of Mabel’s love yet I sill clung to the feeling that this was not true and that all would come well in time.

Wednesday January 23rd, Thursday 24th, 25, 26th

One of these days thee quarters of the Battery poisoned stomachs through eating bully. I had some but it brought no effect on me. The others were in a terrible state. They had the next day in bed to get over it.

Wednesday January 30th

Heavy firing today on either side. Last night was a gloomy night. Every day I look for a letter from her but yet I know that no more will come. Now it will be 2 or 3 months before I can see her. God make me more worthy of her. All happiness has gone out of my life. All hopes dashed to the ground. For one thing I can thank God, I have still my dear Mother to love. M going up the line tomorrow with party of gunners and another signaller to Tokio to anti tank gun. Rumours of an early move.

Thursday January 31st

Went to Tokio, not required. 2 signallers sent back, boots rubbed heel, very sore and blistered.

This soreness and blistering of the feet were the result of wearing our boots for long periods particularly during the time I was in Zonnebeke where it was wise to keep them on continuously.

Friday February 1st

Capt went down to W.L. We move shortly from here. Went to group tonight.

Saturday February 2nd

Runner to group. Went Div Battery. Heel very sore again with walking. Went to Group again at night.

Sunday February 3rd

Footbath in afternoon. Should have gone to Tokio with Lamb but foot too sore.

Monday February 4th

Douglas Villa O.P. duty 24hrs. 4pm three quarters hour Corps Stint.

Tuesday February 5th, Wed 6th

Runner to group

Thursday 7th, Friday 8th

After Jerry bumped on right flank about 2000 to 3000 yards from 3pm to 8.30pm. 10pm news through that Gladman had been arrested, detained at Etables. Parcel from home.

So since Gladman had deserted at Zonnebeke on the 21st Nov 1917 he had been free until early Feb 1918 and in due course he would be sent back to Battery and court martialed. All of us speculated on what would happen to him knowing that the usual penalty for desertion on active service was death by shooting.

Saturday 10th

Pulled out of action

Monday 12th

New overcoat

Thursday July 14th

Left Kraustadt, Poperinghe, W…..bury. Arrived Rossebruge.

Friday February 15th

Gave evidence concerning Gladman.
Football match with D Battery (3-1)

Gladman had now been brought back to the Battery and was under close arrest until his trial.

Saturday February 16th

Ordinary

Sunday February 17th

Football match with D Battery (5-0)

Monday February 18th

Midnight reveille

Tuesday February 19th

By 7am entrained Proven(?) station. Travelled all day. Arrived Guillecourt midnight.

Wednesday February 20th

Jack Barr very bad. Sent to hospital – deranged mind of course. Cpl Unsworth returned.

Thursday February 21st

Horses changed round

Friday February 22nd

Sig stint at HQ

Saturday February 23rd

Sig stint cancelled. Went to Villers Brettoneux.

Sunday February 24th

Battery staff out. Half holiday.

Monday February 25th

Drill order. Sham action for CPA.

Tuesday February 26th

Ordinary Duty

Wednesday February 26th

FSMO cancelled to Friday

Friday February 29th

FSMO. Gladman court martialed. Gave evidence. Advance party went today

 

Spring 1918

Monday March 3rd

Came into action. Templeaux. Wagon lines.

Tuesday March 4th

At Tinecourt

Wednesday March 5th

Night ? O.P. Snowdrop

I think Snowdrop was the code name for our Battery for I remember that on the front we used for the fist time a new field phone called “the Fullerphone” which was supposed to prevent anyone tapping in on the telephone wiring and hearing the conversation. On this type of phone there was always a continuous buzzing sound and the ordinary transmission of conversation rode over the buzz. Also the code name was continually being changed.

 

Friday March 7th

At left section. Wire cutting ?. On wire at night

Saturday March 8th

8-9 Duty in the pit. Diarrhoea bad.

False Sense of Security

Our gun position at Templeaux which we occupied from March 3rd onwards until March 21st was the quietest front I had been on. Excepting for our own gun there was no indication that there was a war on and during this period of nearly 3 weeks we did not fire a gun at all. The weather was spring like and it was just like camping out in peacetime. None of us knew what was in store for us.
On our right flank was the St Quentin Front held by the French.

Sunday March 9th

O.P. (Observation Post) duty in Quarry with Lt Lamb. Diarrhoea bad.

March 10th

Duty in pit. Diarrhoea bad.

11th March

Duty in pit. Diarrhoea bad.

Wednesday March 12th

Have to go to hospital if no better tomorrow.

Thursday March 13th

Duty in pit. Diarrhoea no better.

Friday March 14th

Ordinary duty.

Saturday March 15th

O.P Forward Lt Walton

Sunday March 16th

Ordinary duty

March 17th & 18th

Pit duty.

From the entry of March 17th – 18th there was no further entries until March 21st.

Thursday March 21st

Outside Templeaux
Outside Roisel. 2 Times outside Tincourt
Inside Cartigny

Friday March 25th

Came to wagon line, Mesnil
Shifted to Assevillers

Saturday March 26th

Shifted to ?

German Big Offensive

The cause of these uninformative entries was because the Germans opened up a tremendous offensive barrage which enabled them to advance right up to the town of Villers Brettonneux which was within only a short distance of Paris. It will have been noted from my previous description that our Battery along with others in this area had a lazy and enjoyable period of almost 3 weeks, with green field around us and spring weather, and then with this sudden fury in the morning of March 21st 1918 at 4.45am we were subjected to continuous rain of German 5.9 shells for a period of 7 hours. At the time this started I was on pit duty but most of the Battery were asleep but were soon awakened but the first shell that dropped. Everyone was taken by surprise and before many minutes had passed all of us realized that this sudden blitz was the beginning of something big but we did not guess at how big it was going to be. In previous engagements at Ypres Sector when concentrated fire had been rained down on us, we had been given orders to quit the position temporarily. We got no such orders this time and as far as we signallers were concerned we sat huddled together waiting for the worst to happen any minute. Most of the shells came across the wood and many dropped in our immediate surrounding. Reading about this attack in official histories I now know that the British and French had been expecting it but did not know the day it would start. They had been completely surprised and the German onslaught was of such intensity that before long there was general retirement along the British and French fronts. Very soon there was a loss of communication and there was danger of the retirement becoming a rout. To me and all our other ranks it was most bewildering and on our own orders to retire there was immediate confusion and our ranks split up and moved backwards in all direction. Since our movement backwards was one of long duration I was not able to make diary entries day by day and so soon as I could after the event I endeavoured to remember and record what had happened each day from March 21st onwards.

Wednesday March 20th – 21st

Sore throat. 4.45 bombardment. Left position approx midday

Thursday March 21st

Drew 3 guns in behind Rossil

My recollection is that these guns along with their gunners were captured by Germans. It was also my recollection that following the beginning of the bombardment our own guns began to retaliate and at about 12 midday when the order was given to retire we could actually see Jerry Infantry advancing by the side of the quarry and many shots from our gunners were firing point blank at this horde. For the first time our gunners could see the target they aimed for.

Friday March 22nd

About 9am withdrew to position outside Tinecourt.
About 11.30am withdrew to position inside our wagon lines.
About 2-3pm withdrew to Cartigny
Sent Signallers to Wagon line outside Mesnil.

Saturday March 23rd

Moved over Brue Bridge through Villers Carbonnel to Assevillers.

Sunday March 24th

Moved through Chuignes and Chuignolles to Mericourt.

Monday 25th March

Moved through Proyart along Amiens straight road through Lamotte-Warfusee.

Tuesday March 26th

Moved through Villers Bretonaux to field outskirts Blaugy Trouville.

Wednesday March 27th

Through Dormart, Berteucourt to Moreuil then thro Moreuil to Ailly Sur Noye. Relieved by French and went into action again.

Thursday March 28th

Through Jumiel Gueyncourt. Remiencourt to Dommartin

Friday March 29th

Through St Nicholas across Amiens road to Glizy.

Sunday March 31st

Easter. At night (chicken)

 

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