The source of the material from which this journal has been compiled is a small pocket diary in which brief entries were made daily throughout the writer’s short spell on active service in the British Army in 1917. The events and incidents, both trivial and tragic, and the names of those who shared in the writer's experiences are authentic.
Links to original posts ...
>> Introduction
>> Prologue and Training in England
>> Across the Channel to France
>> Joining the Battalion at Duisans
>> Into the trenches - The Battle of Arras
>> Heading north to Ypres
>> Into the trenches - The Third Battle of Ypres
>> Back to England
>> Bradley - Closest friend and companion
>> Postscript
18th June 1917
The day broke wet and stormy. Bivvies gave but little protection from the unending torrents and the glamour of those first few days in the line was no more. The sodden chalky trenches became treacherous underfoot. Burdened with picks and shovels the nightly stint was the construction of a new trench some yards ahead of the front line position. The results were meagre and unrewarding but nobody seemed to mind.
Wet and stormy - otherwise quiet.
Trench digging in advance of front line.
Mr Smith leaves for the RFC.
Wet and stormy - otherwise quiet.
Trench digging in advance of front line.
Mr Smith leaves for the RFC.
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Original diary entry |
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Original journal notes |
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