Up at 5.30. Drill and lectures as usual. Received letter from Charlie in the morning, and also books from Ernie at dinner-time.
News of a German Destroyer being sunk by French torpedo boats.
Category Archives: 1915
23 August 1915; Monday
Had drill after dinner. Had to wash out rooms first thing and only paraded at 7 and 10. Inspected by General of Northern Command in the morning. Out with Dunn, Moil and another chap at night. Visited the reading room at the Wesleyan chapel. Miss Inwood walked in and spoke for a minute. Received postcard from Charlie saying he would try to get across to see me.
[Written at foot of previous day’s page - ] Monday. Received news of the battle in the Baltic1. The Molke [sic] sunk by a British submarine and 2 or 3 cruisers and 8 German destroyers destroyed or damaged by the Russians, who lost one ship.
The Battle of the Gulf of Riga was a major engagement between the German High Seas Fleet and the Russian Baltic Fleet, but British vessels were involved. The Moltke was indeed torpedoed on 19 August by the British submarine E1, but did not sink, was repaired in Hamburg, and survived Jutland and other engagements, to be scuttled at Scapa Flow at the end of the War. Moltke had previously been involved in several other incidents noted in the diaries, including the Battle of Heligoland Bight, the Raid on Yarmouth, the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby and the Battle of Dogger Bank. ↩
22 August 1915; Sunday
Had church parade in the morning. To Inwoods’ to tea and supper. At church at night. Fine day. Spent afternoon at the Soldiers’ Home.
[The entry for Monday 23 August is continued on the lower part of this page.]
21 August 1915; Saturday
Cleaned out rooms. Suffering from inoculation still and feeling very seedy. Had long walk in the afternoon with Dunn and Hotchkiss and had conversation afterwards with Dunn and discovered he was a distinct agnostic. Had tea at the Soldiers’ Home.
20 August 1915; Friday
Drilled <as> usual in the morning and received our pay. Inoculated second time in the afternoon by Captain Seely. Felt it more than first time. Scrubbed floors in the afternoon. Out for a walk at night. Wrote letters.
Received 4/- pay.
19 August 1915; Thursday
Drill all day. Nothing unusual taking place. Out at night.
18 August 1915; Wednesday
Drill as usual. Kept pretty well at it. Had walk as usual.
17 August 1915; Tuesday
On parade as usual. Went in to Wesleyan Soldiers’ room. Miss Inwood1 came in. We had a long talk before I went with her to their house. She told me she was 18 and that she was training to be a school teacher, and I told her all sorts of things about home and such like. Stayed to supper.
See page: Church – Who were they? ↩
16 August 1915; Monday
At parade as usual. Busy all day. Went to lecture at night by Mr Cannon and it was pretty rotten. I bought 6d chocolate in going to the Parks’ place to supper.
15 August 1915; Sunday
At church parade in the morning. Mr Cannon preaching and he was above ordinary missioner class, but a bit noisy. At the first men’s meeting in the afternoon and to Inwoods’ to tea and supper. At church at night again.