At work as usual. Typed summary. Got work well up to date. Some wounded in at night and Joe and I went down to see them. Alice Carr in at night. Did pretty well in the shop. A good deal better.
Monthly Archives: March 2015
21 March 1915; Sunday
Slept in in the morning. At School and chapel at night. Mr Hewitt1 commenced his mission and preached rotten at night. He spoke to Arthur Robson during the service. Read a bit and played a bit. Fine day.
“Hewett” on 28 February. ↩
20 March 1915; Saturday
At work as usual1. Finished about 1.30. Came up with the chemist’s assistant. Went into town in the afternoon, for my papers and called at John Wilson’s and got a file and a cord† from the shop. Went down to Dr. Blair’s and got a bottle. Had walk out to Grangetown2 at night with Willie. Felt a bit better but still off form.
Saturday morning working was of course normal – as it remained until the 1960s. ↩
Grangetown is a suburb of Sunderland two miles south of Sunderland City Centre. ↩
19 March 1915; Friday
At work as usual. Lay awake tonight unwell. Played and read at night. The business progressing well.
18 March 1915; Thursday
At work as usual. Got work well up to date.
Bombardment of Narrows in Dardanelles. “Ocean” & Irresistible and Bouvet1 sunk. Bouvet lost about 500 men.
Out of sorts a bit, trouble with liver.
During this incident Bouvet was hit approximately eight times by shellfire, although she did not suffer fatal damage. She struck a mine at around 3:15, and sank within two minutes; only some 50 men were rescued from a complement of 710. Two British battleships were also sunk by mines that day, and the disaster convinced the Allies to abandon the naval campaign in favour of an amphibious assault on Gallipoli. ↩
17 March 1915; Wednesday
16 March 1915; Tuesday
15 March 1915; Monday
At work as usual. Called at George’s at dinner time to mend tyre. Rode up home. Did summary. George received a reply to a job and went away soon to see about it. Went down to teachers’ meeting. Mr Chadwick made a proposal about a procession on Anniversary Sunday and I squeezed it with the assistance of Joe. Anniversary business done. Fine day. Received news of the sinking of the Dresden1.
14 March 1915; Sunday
At chapel and School as usual. Very late in morning and afternoon. Had my class and Henman’s and managed all right. Had decent walk at night. Fine day. Mr Chadwick preaching. Miss Smith sang at night. Fine day. Dresden1 sunk off Robinson Crusoe’s Ireland [sic] by Glasgow, Kent & Orania. Crew taken off.
Dresden had been at both Coronel and the Falkland Islands, as noted on diary entries 1 November and 9 December 1914; Robinson Crusoe Island, formerly known as Más a Tierra after which this battle came to be named, was neutral territory. The RN ships found Dresden at anchor; Dresden sent Lieut. Wilhelm Canaris (head of Abwehr Intelligence in WWII, and part of the opposition to Hitler) with a white flag while they scuttled her. 300 men were interned in Chile. ↩
13 March 1915; Saturday
At work as usual. Finished in decent time. Was riding bicycle home and tyre burst in Hastings Street. Left bicycle at George Crawford’s until Monday. Played piano and suchlike. Went down to the Peter Benefit† boot shop and bought some new boots. Father hurt his arm a bit at work. Had long walk at night with Charlie and Willie Whittaker. Car-red1 up *2 Street and then walked round by the Grindon Road. Bicycle punctured. New boots 12/6. Father hurt his arm slightly.