Yearly Archives: 2017

11 December 1917; Tuesday

11 December 17December 1917FinsArthur Linfoot

Up about 8 o’clock. Had breakfast rather late. Wrote up diary. Very cold morning. Spent afternoon messing round camp and picking up rubbish. Sat shivering round the fire in the hut at night.

10 December 1917; Monday

10 December 17Abridged, December 1917Ernie, Fins, Gertie, Letters, Mother, New ZealandArthur Linfoot

Up about 8 o’clock. No rations up so we had iron ration biscuits and bully for breakfast with a drink of tea without any sugar. Paraded at 10. I reported sick and was given duty. The American officer put a bandage on my ankle. Spent afternoon writing a letter home. We tried to improve our billet but the sergeants took it from us because two officers took theirs. Received letters from Gertie, Mother, Ernie and Hilda Linfoot¹ in New Zealand. Got down to it about 8 o’clock. Had a look inside of a tank. Walked round inside gate† and was very much interested in it. Quite a lot² where we are. A rumour that some of us are going to a place on duty.

Hilda Tate Linfoot, ALL’s cousin. See Hilda disambiguation page. ↩
“Quite a lot [of tanks]”: By this stage of the war in late 1917, tanks were deployed in large numbers – see also note on 22 November. ↩

9 December 1917; Sunday

9 December 17Abridged, December 1917Courcelles-le-Comte, Fins, MapArthur Linfoot

Called up at 7 in the morning and told to fall in at 8. I rode on a lorry again with the quartermaster’s staff. We left about 9 o’clock (the men marched off shortly after 8 o’clock) and arrived at Fins about 4 o’clock¹. We had rather a miserable journey through the most desolate and blasted country. The men arrived about 7 o’clock after 10 hours marching and were very much done up². They had had no dinner, the same as yesterday. Got into miserable cold billets, just canvas shelters. I was put on guard and did from midnight until 4 o’clock. Very cold in bed and my feet nearly frozen.

Fins (B): 16km SE. of Bapaume, on the Péronne – Cambrai road; Michelin square K7, and about 30km from Courcelles-le-Comte (A). “Fins” inserted in longhand above “at about” by ALL ↩
“Done up”: Exhausted. ↩

8 December 1917; Saturday

8 December 17Abridged, December 1917Courcelles-le-Comte, Map, SaultyArthur Linfoot

Got ~~tea~~ cocoa up at Salety and the men arrived about 3 in the morning. Stood about until nearly 7 o’clock. Left in the car and arrived at desolate place near a village called Millemont¹. Left there about 10 o’clock on a lorry and arrived at Courcelles² about midday. The men left at 12 and arrived about 5 o’clock, pretty well done up. A mess up at night for the food. Passed over some of the ground retaken in the retreat from Bapaume. Rather enjoyed the ride. Slept well.

Millemont: in shorthand, so transcription not certain; not identifiable on the map. ↩
Courcelles: Courcelles-le-Comte (B, 8km NNW. of Bapaume, map square I7) is on a fairly direct route from Saulty (A, if this is correct) to Fins, but Courcelles-au-Bois (C, 19km W. of Bapaume, map square H7) also seems possible. ↩

7 December 1917; Friday

7 December 17Abridged, December 1917Map, Saulty, Steenbecque, Wallon-CappellArthur Linfoot

Up about 7 o’clock. Paraded at the dispensary sick. News not very good. Told off to ride in the ambulance cars. Went down to a car after dinner and started off shortly after 2 o’clock. Arrived at Steenbecque¹ station before 3 o’clock. Got up tea for the men, who arrived about 5 o’clock and then as the blanket lorry had broken down our ambulance had to make four journeys for our blankets. We packed up and left again at about 9.10. After a quiet journey arrived at Salety² about midnight.

3 M T men, Corporal Jones, Sergeant Strauss† and myself on the car.

Steenbecque (B): 7km SSW. of Hazebrouck (A); Michelin square G3. ↩
Salety: this is in legible longhand, but not identifiable under this name on the Michelin map; possibly Saulty (C) (off the N25 midway between Doullens and Arras, Michelin square H6), but this leaves the next day’s journey unclear - ↩

6 December 1917; Thursday

6 December 17December 1917Leishman, Letters, Ranald MacDonald, Wallon-CappellArthur Linfoot

Reported sick again and Captain Fryer saw me in the billet. Ankle much better and able to walk pretty easily. Wrote letters to Leishman, Ranald MacDonald and home. Not quite so cold. Played chess last thing and lost a game with Holman.

5 December 1917; Wednesday

5 December 17December 1917Wallon-CappellArthur Linfoot

Ankle rather painful so didn’t go on parade. American officer orderly officer, and saw me in the billet. He told me to bathe and massage it and rest it. Spent most of the day lying down.

4 December 1917; Tuesday

4 December 17Abridged, December 1917Double, Football, Wallon-CappellArthur Linfoot

Up about 7 o’clock. On double¹. Spent morning practising stretcher business. In afternoon played football. First game I have played since I left school. Sprained my ankle at the start of the match but kept on playing. Had short walk at night but had to turn it in².

Double march, or run. See all diary entries tagged “double“. ↩
“Had to turn it in”: ALL had to abandon his walk as a result of the ankle injury he sustained while playing football. ↩

3 December 1917; Monday

3 December 17Abridged, December 1917Current affairs, Wallon-Cappell, WarArthur Linfoot

Up about 7 o’clock. Stretcher drill in the morning. Spent afternoon doing French and bothering about as usual. Had walk at night.

Heard that we have lost ground in Cambrai¹.

Lord Lansdowne wrote letter to the Daily Telegraph² which created a commotion in the Press.

Cambrai: see note on 22 November. ↩
Lansdowne Letter: See note on 1 December. ↩

2 December 1917; Sunday

2 December 17December 1917Wallon-CappellArthur Linfoot

Up about 7 o’clock. Kit inspection in the morning. Inspection by G O C ¹ in the afternoon and it was bitterly cold. We stood in the cold about an hour and were nearly frozen.

” G O C”: General Officer Commanding. ↩

The Diary of Arthur L. Linfoot

58th Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C.