Monthly Archives: June 2017

29 June 1917; Friday

Up at 7 o’clock. One bomb dropped in the night. Not far away. Off in the afternoon. Received letter from Charlie. Called at photo shop, but they weren’t ready. Received new patient, a captain of the 19th Division. Grand day. Learned some French at night. Billy Powell’s leave came through.

28 June 1917; Thursday

German aeroplanes dropped 5 bombs on aerodrome about 3 o’clock. Up at 7 o’clock. Felt pretty tired all day. Not much to do. My afternoon on. Wrote long letter home and enclosed photo group. Heard of another air raid on London1. Had walk round the town with Driver and learned bit French. Played chess with Driver until 10.30.


  1. “Another air raid on London”: Possibly the raid of 13 June 1917, during which 13 Gothas bombed London and killed 162 civilians, the highest death toll of any air raid during the war. 

27 June 1917; Wednesday

Up at 7 o’clock. German aeroplanes dropped two bombs in the aerodrome about 4 am. Off in the afternoon. Called at the Y M and merely touched the piano. Spent a lot of time on French. On at night and had practically nothing to do. Felt a bit bored. Read a few snatches of things.

26 June 1917; Tuesday

Up at 7 o’clock. Not much to do and learned a bit French in the morning. Capt. Johnson left us to go to number 4 stationary hospital at York. He shook hands with us at parting. Very sorry to lose him.

The Duke of Connaught in the town presenting medals gained in the recent fighting. My turn on so I wrote home. Glorious day. Received letter from Franchie to say that she has got well again. Returned letter to Franchie. Went to Merry Mauves with Driver and they were very good.

25 June 1917; Monday

Up at 7 o’clock. Rather late with our work first thing. Out in the afternoon. Lieutenant Gunning and Captain Russell went to C C S. Wrote letter to Ernie. Not much doing at night. Read little satire ‘Pig on Artemis.”1 Freddy Holmes drunk and Dai Davies drunk last thing.

[2 – 3 lines scarcely visible: “…. orderlies ….off a waggon ….. and we had him in …. time. He appeared a bit shaken.”]

German aeroplanes dropped 8 bombs near the aerodrome at about midnight and put the wind up us. The big gun also shelled the rail head.


  1. “Pig on Artemis” may have been an item in a magazine such as Everyman. See also Everyman and Arthur Linfoot’s Library

24 June 1917; Sunday

Up at 6.45. Kept busy all day. Finished about 4 o’clock and went to Y M with Lomax and Gus. Very good service and I stayed afterwards to the sing-song. Grand service and returned to billet. Lay awake until nearly midnight reading to finish up “At the Foot of the Rainbow”1 and finished it. The big German gun threw over 4 shells and then an aeroplane or two dropped 8 bombs. We got the wind up and went down craters for a few minutes. Returned again and slept well all day.

David Bywater† went down the line.

A new captain came to take over from Captain Johnson.


  1. At the Foot of the Rainbow is a 1907 novel by Gene Stratton-Porter, an early naturalist, nature photographer, and one of the first women to form a movie studio and production company, Gene Stratton-Porter Productions, Inc. See also At the Foot of the Rainbow and Arthur Linfoot’s Library

23 June 1917; Saturday

Up at 6.45. I stayed on at night. Captain Johnson called me up at night and told me he had discovered that Lieutenant Grieve and his friend were bringing whisky in and told me off about it. Johnny Astley told a deliberate lie and let me down badly. I met Johnny afterwards and talked to him. He said he understood how it was. A big row. Found out Dai Davies had got the bottle of whisky.

↑ Here to 27 June stained, some days esp. 25th & 26th also very faint. ↑