Thursday 14th December: Headquarters
I am going on leave tonight.
My great-great-grandfather transferred to the Royal Engineers on January 18th 1917. He served with them until the end of the war.
Thank you for following along on this journey and reading along with me, this has been an amazing experience to share these with the world.
Friday 1st December: Ginchy
Off up the line again but had only arrived at Ginchy when I took ill. Lay in a dugout in Ginchy all night.
Saturday 2nd December: Ginchy/ Headquarters
Ordered down the line-my temperature is 103. Arrived at Headquarters and am staying here till I go on leave.
Sunday 19th November: Montauban
Still resting at Montauban in the mud.
Monday 20th November: Montauban
We were to relieve No. 9 field Ambulance Bearers today but it is all cancelled. The whole of our Division is being relieved.
Tuesday 21st November: Montauban
We left here at 11.30am after our Division had been relieved by the Australians.
Wednesday 22nd November: Meault
We are billeted in the town of Meault near Albert.
The other two men who were in the dugout with me died in Hospital yesterday. We buried them today.
Thursday 23 rd to 30th November: there are no diary entries.
Sunday 12th November: Meault
Still in the same camp.
Monday 13th November: Meault/ Bronfay Wood
We left our camp at Meault at 11.30 today and marched up to the line till we came to Bronfay Wood. There we halted and were packed into a hut for the night. The mud here is awful.
Tuesday 14th November: Bronfay Wood/ Lesboeufs
We were awakened at 5.30am and after a hurried breakfast we were told off in relays and set off up the line to relieve No. 9 Field Ambulance Bearers.
Owing to the mud no Ambulance wagon could get nearer to the line than 5 miles so we have to place squads all down the road in relays. I am in one of the six squads told off to get the wounded from the other side of Lesboeufs and carry them back to the sunken road.
Two of the six squads are taking the first spell of duty up in the support trenches the other side of Lesboeufs and the remainder of us are in dugouts here on the sunken road. The Germans have the road taped and are shelling it continuously.
Wednesday 15th November: Lesboeufs
I had a terrible awakening this morning.
There were six of us in a dugout on the sunken road-my squad and two of another squad. We were all asleep when Fritz dropped a shell clear through our dugout and it burst inside.
Before we could move another shell hit the top of the door and carried it all in on the top of us.
After a struggle, I managed to scramble out and went for assistance from my mates in the other dugouts and we soon had all my chums dug out.
One (Doig) was dead; the other four were seriously wounded. I was the only one who had escaped without a scratch.
We very soon had the wounded dressed and off down the line as the Germans were still shelling very heavily.
Thursday 16th November: Lesbeoufs/Montauban
It is terrible cold this morning and we were relieved by No. 4 Field Ambulance at 11am and marched back to Montauban where we were to stay for our 4 days’ rest.
Two more of my chums, that were wounded yesterday, have died.
Friday 17th November: Montauban
It has been a terrible hard frost all night and the top part of the mud is hard. We are resting in tents here at Montauban.
Saturday 18th November: Montauban
It was still hard frost this morning but it turned to rain in the afternoon and we were again knee deep in mud.
Sunday 5th to Tuesday 7th November: Fresnoy
No change
Wednesday 8th November: Fresnoy
Our headquarters with all the transport, left here today for the Somme front again.
The remainder of us are going on Friday by motor.
Thursday 9th November: Fresnoy
We are leaving here tomorrow by motor.
Friday 10th November: Fresnoy/ St. Mavous/ Amiens/ Ville-S-Corbie/ Meault
We left Fresnoy at 9am and marched to the village of St. Marvous. After waiting here an hour we got into the motors and set off for the Somme again.
After passing through Amiens we halted at the village of Ville-S-Corbie then marched to a camp outside the town of Meault where we billeted for the night.
Saturday 11th November: Meault
We are staying here for the day in tents on the Albert and Bray road and are up to the knees in mud. I expect it is worse up the line.
Wednesday 1st November: Vergies
The whole Guards Division was inspected by the Duke of Connaught today and he
presented a few decorations.
Thursday 2nd November: Vergies
We are still resting here at Vergies but expect to shift to some other village soon owing to reinforcements coming soon for the Scotch Guards.
Friday 3rd November: Vergies/ Fresnoy
We moved from Vergies at 2pm today and marched to the village of Fresnoy and opened a rest hospital for the Division in a big Chateau there. This village of Fresnoy is only about 3 miles from the last village.
Saturday 4th November: Fresnoy
We are still here in Fresnoy making everything shipshape for a rest hospital. Rotten weather, rain.
Friday 20th to Monday 30th October: Vergies
Still resting here, weather is improving.
Tuesday 31st October: Vergies
There was a parade of the whole Division today. Practice for the inspection by the Duke of Connaught tomorrow.
Wednesday 11th October: Vergies
We were inspected by the General Officer Commanding the Division. He thanked us for the good work we had done up there.
Thursday 12th to Thursday 19th October: Vergies
Still here and it’s still raining.
Sunday 1st October: Bronfay Farm/ Mericourt/ Bellay/ Frettecuisse
We left Bronfay Farm at 7am and marched to Mericourt where we were joined by the whole of the 3rd Brigade of Guards. At 12 mid-day we all got into French motor buses and after travelling 70 kilometres, passing through the town of Amiens, we halted and got out of the buses at a village called Bellay then marched to another village called Frettecuisse where we billeted for the night.
Monday 2nd October: Frettecuisse/ Vergies
We stayed here in this village all day till 5pm then we packed up and marched to another village called Vergies where we again joined our Headquarters who had marched here. We are to rest here for some time.
Tuesday 3rd October: Vergies
This is a small village about 18 miles from Abbeville and all our Division is in villages around here. We are well behind the line here and can’t hear the guns and we are all getting new clothes as our clothes were all torn.
Wednesday 4th October: Vergies
We are still here in Vergies and leave has started for the Division and we have been
reinforced by some more men.
Our total casualties, on the Somme for our Ambulance, were 5 Killed, 15 Wounded and 10 Shell Shocked and we were only 80 strong up there all told. Two men received the Military Medal.
Thursday 5th October: Vergies
This part of the country is not unlike parts of Scotland and it is a very quiet country district.
Friday 6th to Tuesday 10th October: Vergies
Still here resting but we are getting rotten weather.
Sunday 17th September: Ginchy
We were at it all night again getting the wounded in from the front line and by daylight had everything very well cleared.
The battle ground is a hell of a sight, dead lying everywhere and dugouts full of German dead. The German dead are about eight to our one all around here.
About mid-day we were relieved and after some dinner we packed up and marched back to Happy Valley, about 5 miles behind the line, where the whole Guards Division have come back for a rest.
We lay down in the open for a good night’s sleep.
Monday 18th September: Happy Valley
We were roused by the rain battering down on us so had to get up about 6am; wet through; cold and fed up. The rain came down harder than ever as the day wore on, so we set out and found a few sticks and made a bivie to protect us from the rain. It was still raining when we lay down to sleep at night with our clothes a little drier with the aid of a fire.
Tuesday 19th September: Happy Valley
We had a better night’s sleep though it is still raining but not as heavy. We were expected to move from here tonight but did not do so.
This is a big camp all around here with all classes of troops. Some in bivies, some in tents or huts and some in dugouts. It is called the Citadel.
Wednesday 20th September: Happy Valley/ Carnoy
Another rotten day and it is still raining. The French have been hammering away from early this morning and are still hard at it.
We received sudden orders to move back into action again, another attack coming off, so we moved off from here at 5pm and marched to Carnoy which took us over three hours to reach as the roads were knee deep with mud.
We lay down in a field in Carnoy and slept there for the night.
Thursday 21st September: Carnoy/ Frooms Wood
We marched off from Carnoy at 7am and marched to Frooms Wood then 16 of us were told off for duty in the support trench on the top of a ridge overlooking the village of Morval and Lesboeufs. The Regimental Aide Posts are in this trench and the first line is about 300 yards in front of us.
We have a fine view from here of the German lines. We can even see their observation balloons rising from the ground and the town of Bapaume in the distance. Through glasses we can also see Germans walking about and their transport on the Bapaume road. Shells are dropping all around them.
This is the finest view of a battlefield one could wish to see though one has to be careful and keep your head down as the snipers are knocking about and our Artillery Officers observe from here.
We had very little to do all day as the wounded can only be brought down from the first line at night.
Friday 22nd Septemeber: Frooms Wood/ Ginchy Ridge
We had a terrible night last night carrying wounded from the support trench back to Ginchy Ridge. It was so dark one could not see a yard in front of him. Every squad that set out with a case got lost and had to lay down in a shell hole with the wounded man and stay there till daylight before they could find out where they were. Every squad was the same, it was impossible to find the way in the dark.
Walking over shell holes and dead, on slippery ground in the dark, is rotten work and there are shells dropping round about all the time.
We were relieved at 10am by another 16 men and came back to Ginchy Ridge where our Dressing Station is now. After some breakfast we were out helping to make a road for the Ambulance wagons up to the ridge in front for the next attack.
At night a party of us went down to Guillemont road to bring up the rations and were again lost in the dark but managed to get back to Ginchy Ridge about midnight.
Saturday 23rd September: Lesboeufs
We were out all day digging a dugout out of a shell hole just behind the support trench on the ridge overlooking Lesboeufs so as to be ready for the next attack. The Germans were dropping a good many shells around us but most of them passed over our heads.
We, the Bearers 