Parade as usual. Great excitement about draft. Cannot understand why lance corporals are not included. In town with Green.
Yearly Archives: 2016
26 April 1916; Wednesday
Bath parade in the morning. Captain MacLeish told us that we would be going to France on Monday. Orders up at night and my name not on them.
25 April 1916; Tuesday
On parade in the morning. Bank holiday1 in the afternoon and allowed out. Walked into town with Leishman. Had a drop tea at the Y.M. Went to Inwoods’ for belts2. Arranged to go to Victoria Hall concert. I met Mrs Inwood and Franchie in the car and went down together. Pretty good concert. After concert big rush for cars3. Mrs Inwood, Green and Leishman got in and left Franchie and I outside. We walked up to the Town Hall before we could get one. Stayed to Inwoods’ to supper. A man got *4 knocked down by a car and I helped to pick him up. Mr Inwood wrote out the paper of the Dublin Rebellion5.
Lowestoft6 Naval Raid.
Actually the preceding day, 24 April, was the Easter Monday Bank Holiday. ↩
“Belts”: clearly written as plural; uniform belts were often taken off indoors: presumably others besides ALL had done so the previous day. ↩
“Cars”: Meaning tram-cars, as usual. ↩
“Shorthand looks like “regiment”; ALL interrupted while writing – “. . man from regiment knocked down . .”? ↩
“Wrote out the paper…”: Possibly the Proclamation of the Irish Republic? ↩
Lowestoft: this was intended to be a very big operation, and was timed to coincide with the Dublin Easter Rising, the Irish rebels having asked for German supporting action. Very briefly: 8 Zeppelins bombed Norwich, Lincoln, Harwich and Ipswich on 24 April, then a strong German naval force arrived off East Anglia, and by bombarding Lowestoft and Yarmouth hoped to draw divided Royal Navy forces to be attacked and beaten separately; the Germans correctly believed that the High Seas Fleet was widely divided, part of it trying to carry out a similar plan on the German coast, but some British ships had returned after colliding in fog, and were not where the Germans expected. The German leading battleship hit a mine, and all in all the whole operation was greatly disrupted and achieved nothing. ↩
24 April 1916; Easter Monday
Went across to Soldiers’ Home in the morning and played the piano a bit and a game called Badminton. Met Inwoods in the afternoon and went up the moors with Mr and Mrs Inwood, Franchie, Miss Yately, an Engineer, and Leishman. Had pleasant walk. Returned to Inwoods’ to tea. After tea Mr and Mrs Ford, Meyrick, Hunter, and Read. Played games and had a bit music. Had a good time. Forgot my belt.
23 April 1916; Easter Sunday
22 April 1916; Saturday
On parade in the morning. Went to Mappin Art Gallery1 and saw Raemarker’s [sic] cartoons2. Had tea at the Y.M. and then went to the Victoria Hall and heard W.H. Jude3. He was very good.
Mappin Art Gallery, now Weston Park Museum. See Sheffield map. ↩
Louis Raemaekers (1869 – 1956) was a Dutch painter and editorial cartoonist for the Amsterdam newspaper De Telegraaf during World War I, noted for his anti-German stance. A collection of his cartoons is available at The Project Gutenberg. Carreras issued a set of cigarette cards showing Raemaekers cartoons in 1916. ↩
William Herbert Jude (1851 – 1922) was a composer and organist – sometimes called “the most brilliant organist of his day”; wrote operettas, nautical and other songs, but especially hymn tunes and other sacred music. He was presumably giving an organ recital at the Victoria Hall, rather than speaking. ↩
21 April 1916; Good Friday
Dismounted guard 9.15. * * sleeping rather badly. Lay in bed all morning. Went to tea at the Wesleyan church and heard sermon by Reverend Rew† Greenlands. Stayed to the tea and sat next to Franchie. Went with Green at night and heard the Crucifixion1 at the Congregational church.
Wesleyan Church Tea
Crucifixion.
Stainer’s Crucifixion: see also 5 April 1914. ↩
20 April 1916; Thursday
Parade with the duties for Lower Gate Guard. Wrote some letters. Had a sleepy easy time. A sergeant of S company told me I should not have allowed two men away for pay at the same time. Wrote up diary. Managed all right. Went to bed about midnight and slept rather badly.
On Lower Gate Guard.
19 April 1916; Wednesday
Bath parade in the morning. Off duty in the afternoon and wrote a letter to Betty and cleaned billy-can. Walked to the town at night with Green and turned in early.
Russians capture Trebizond1.
18 April 1916; Tuesday
Paraded at 9 for field day1. I was in charge of the transport waggon and an ambulance van. Managed dinner2 better this go†3. Walked into town at night with Green. Wrote some letters at the Wesleyan room.
“Field day”, now usually used metaphorically to describe a good day, is used here in its original, literal sense to mean a day spent in field activities. ↩
“Dinner” means lunch. ↩