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Friday 26 November 2010

Diary Entry and Letter Home - 26th November 1915

Diary Entry:


C.O. stays in bed with slight attack of flu. My day again spent at guns, with ordered lectures from Siggers, who was unable to lecture, owing to him being too busy.

Letter:

France
26 November 1915

Dear Father,

You will have to take letters as they arrive now, as ink and paper, and time, are rather valuable articles out here, so this is going to be a semi-letter, written in the Mess, and diary written in the dugout with the guns.

We are right in the thick of it up here, as you will gather from the rest of the letter, if it reaches you. I rather doubt the Censor, if he opens this, will let it through, but he may be a good chap.

I last wrote from the base at Havre, I think. On the Saturday, after lunch, we got orders that we were to embark on the train at 10.30 that night. We went into the town that afternoon and had a good kind of high tea to carry us on our journey and returned to camp at 6 p.m.. At 8.30, we (49 RFA) men bundled into a motor lorry - or rather three lorries - and set off for the train. Our senior sub had to take charge of a draft of 60 men, and there were also a lot of other men on the train. Rouen was reached early in the morning, but we were not allowed to de-train until 7 am.
Everything had to be bundled out and stacked in the goods shed, and, when the men had received their rations, we went up the town for breakfast. We had to return to the station after brekker as had to report to the transfer officer. However, we were informed by him the train did not leave until 8.30 p.m., so we had the whole day to kick our heels in.

Most of the morning was spent in a hot bath at some public baths we found in the city. Well, we seemed to do nothing but eat the rest of the day, (we were going by Mr McKinnon's motto on the way to Wyangerie: "Eat all you can when you get a chance; you never know when the next stop will be").

The train was late leaving the siding at night. We had a tremendous big train on and no one had the foggiest notion where we were bound for. The next morning we were still going. We stopped once or twice, but hunted in vain for coffee etc. At 11.15 or thereabouts, we pulled up at Bethune, where one could hear the guns quite plainly. In fact, you could see the effect of the big shells in passing through the streets.

22nd November, 1915
Arrived at Béthune, and reported at headquarters about 11.45 and were sent from there by the staff captain to the ammunition column on the bank of a small canal. We lunched there and from there proceeded to 36th Brigade headquarters on horses, after the meal.

This was a very foggy day, and after passing through Béthune again we made along the main La Bassée road, which runs due east, working gradually nearer to the guns' reports. It took us two hours walking on the hard part to reach the small Cambrin village, and it was some little time before we found the headquarters, as they had just moved into a new house in the morning and things were rather unsettled.

We found a subaltern in charge, as both the adjutant and colonel were out in the trenches, having a look at the new ground they had taken over from another battery. However, they eventually came in and were very nice, giving us a good meal and making us feel quite at home.

After tea, they packed us off to our allotted batteries – Bee to the 15th battery and I to the 45th battery, which is quite close to headquarters. On arriving at our Mess, I found the the O.C., who is a young captain, in bed with a cold, but the subaltern fixed me, and we paid a visit to the O.C., Grant Suttie, who said he would fix me up in the morning.

One man took me along to the battery, which is a six-gun battery, and we gave the Huns what they call a strafing, which consisted of four rounds of gunfire into a a town. Well, as I'd never heard a gun fired before, you can imagine my head used to go back with a click each time, and I think I jumped a bit too, but it is amazing how quickly one gets used to it.

23rd November

It was foggy again on getting up at eight am next morning, and the captain sent me along to the battery dugout with a man named (I can't remember) He is the senior subaltern, and he, after letting a few off, said, “You take charge. I will be back in a minute.” The minute passed into a day. I spent all of it in the dugout, trying to keep warm. Occasionally, the man at the O.B. would telephone us and tell us to fire, but we did very little shooting on account of the fog, which hung over the country all day. My day ended at 5 pm, and I was very glad to return to the Mess for tea.

I should have slept with a battery in the D.O. for the night and proceeded at 6 am to the observing front, but that is a pleasure to come. Needless to say, I slept all that night and never awoke to hear the guns being fired. It is rather amusing to think that the O.C. sits here at dinner sometimes and calls up the battery and orders, for instance, four rounds of gunfire, and you sit here not knowing what you have hit. That is the only thing I do not like about it: you can't tell whether you have killed any Germans or not. It would give satisfaction if you knew you had.

24th November

Today was a clear bright day with sun at intervals, and a lot of firing went on. Even the Bosches, who are usually very quiet, let off a few rounds. I was up in the O.B. during the morning, with another man. This spot consists of a ruined house, strengthened with beams and sandbags, and this particular one is at the end of the village and gives a clear view to the trenches. Our lookout was at the top, in a small room, with just enough tiles knocked off the roof to allow two men to observe. It was very interesting to me to see the whole landscape in front, with shells bursting all over the place, shrapnel and high explosives.  One would wonder how the men could live in the trenches but believe they are perfectly safe. However, before very long, shell called “whizz bangs” began to burst somewhat adjacent to our house (within 50 yards). It was a nasty sensation hearing the shells approaching and passing over and then waiting for them to explode. Well, there was no damage done to us, but I have to be broken in to that sort of work. I came back at midday from the O.B., as another man out for experience had to take my place.

In the afternoon, I went to the battery and spent my time with the junior sub. I mean the one next myself, whose name is Siggers. We had a quiet time, as the O.C. was in the trenches making a register for two guns in our new position, which is just in front of our mess. At about 3.30 the Bosch began dropping some 5 inch shells in a wood on our right and they made some noise, but I think they did very little damage. Our 60 pounders to our rear got on the job then and made a thundering noise. I always think of Mr Gray’s last words, “Drop us a line when the big guns start dropping shells near you” – well, you can tell him from me that I always feel I would sooner be driving the engine at home or doing something like that when they start flying around. Tell him too, that on the day of the big show at Loos on 25 October, our battery 48th consisting of six 18-pounders fired 5000 rounds in four days – otherwise, 52 tons weight of ammunition. Goodness knows what the other battery did.

I will try and give you an idea of the guns here for the front. I can see there are guns at intervals of 20 yards for 2 miles – 18 pounders! There are other batteries with same size guns in front of these, and behind there are five howitzers – 60 pounders and 9.2 inch, and six miles back 15-inch guns, so that may give you a slight idea of what it is like, or what it would be like when they start to work. All our guns are moved to their new position tonight, and, if it is a fine day tomorrow, the O.C. will register all our targets, which are numerous, from our new emplacement. There were a lot of British machines up this afternoon, but none of the Bosch was having any. I wanted to see a scrap.

It was rather funny this morning: a man stopped me on the way to the O.B. and said "How are you?" and I could not recognise him. He turned out to be a Jesus man called Granny Stafford. He said he had just met a man of my year called Gould, a good chap. I hope I run across him. My commanding officer is a young captain - about 28 or 30 years old. I am rather frightened of him. He looks to have a bad temper. I would sooner have an older man in charge. It will be very difficult for the first month, but it will be easier when I get the run of the ropes - but there is a lot to pick up.

26 November 1915

I will be thinking of you at Purrumbete for Christmas. It is hard to realise that it is summer there now. It's fairly cold today, with rain, sleet and about an inch of thawing snow, and the roads have been more soupy than ever.

Our colonel has just been tonight, and he tells us we're going to do a bit of strafing on Sunday and Monday. He pointed out the portion of the trench to plough up. All the guns behind us will be in it to – 60 pounders, 5.9 and 8 inch howitzers, 9.2 and 6 inch guns – so there will be a screeching noise overhead. Well, I find life out here very interesting at present, but I think the novelty should wear off very soon.

You should see the Bosch letting off at the aeroplanes. They fire away merrily, where they think the machine will go. Sometimes you see shrapnel bursting about a mile away from the machine. They seem to waste no end of ammunition on them, but do very little shooting with their other guns, and I should think we give them five rounds for every one.
Goodbye – a Happy New Year to you all,

Walford

6 comments:

  1. So, I shall start with today's post, and as the evening progresses, read some of your earlier posts.

    Do you know what I think would be a useful addition to your blog? A map of that part of France. It can be done in Google maps. Do you know how to do that?

    I will need one this evening, as I read through your posts to date.

    Do you know EWM was in Rouen in 1915. This is very close to where Claude Monet was painting and building his wonderful garden. Have you been to Giverny?

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  2. If I could persuade the blogspot to let me change my background, that is what I'd like to have as the background, but I have been too incompetent to get it to work as yet. Might give it another go next week, if the weekend makes me feel stronger (sometimes it does)

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  3. Actually, I think the background that you have right now suits the topic. Sort of a sepia colour ... I like.

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  4. It is actually a photograph, although you wouldn't know. I must have the dimensions wrong or something.

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  5. Sorry, which bit is a photograph? Part of the light tan background with the flying birds? Or the writing on the heading?

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  6. I put a photograph on the background, and this is what came out - I may not be 'hopeless', but there are definitely areas of 'hopelessness'

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