Up at 6 o’clock and went in cars to Haussy1. Arrived there about 10.30 and walked across it to the far side and set up dressing station in cellars. Jerry shelled heavily all day and we had a pretty rotten time. A few dead men lying in the village and some civilians still knocking about. Trouble with cough at night and were all sneezing and coughing.
Category Archives: October 1918
20 October 1918; Sunday
Up about 7 o’clock. Rather restless night and awoke with the barrage at 2 o’clock. Lumps of ceiling falling down during the night with the wet. Lay about all day. Changed billet. Received a letter from Harvey saying that he had got an extension of leave. A big shell dropped in the village and we all went down to the cellar. Sat there and slept all night. Had good night. Warned for A D S in the morning.
19 October 1918; Saturday
Up at about 7 o’clock. Changed over rooms and cleaned up. Received orders that we should prepare to be going into action tonight. Division going over the top. Party of bearers and A D S party moved off well after 2 o’clock to Avesnes les Aubers1 and arrived shortly after tea time. Got up into hutch building for billet and played cards with Wood, Dory, Billy and Edgar until late, and then got down to it. Wet, dismal night.
Avesnes les Aubers : Avesnes-les-Aubert (B), 2km E. of Rieux-en-Cambrésis (A). ↩
18 October 1918; Friday
Up about 6 o’clock. Breakfast 6.30. Packed up and moved at 9 o’clock. Arrived at Rieux1 about 1 o’clock. Opened up hospital after dinner and slept in cellar under hospital. Heard that Ostend & Bruges had been taken and that Lille is encircled.
17 October 1918; Thursday
Up at 7 o’clock after good night‘s sleep. Heard that the Belgians and British in the north had taken 11 thousand prisoners and 100 guns. Warned to go up the line with the A D S party. Went up to billet and slept. Slept in the hospital. Played some duets with Cox at night1.
Heard that we will be moving in the morning.
Duets: On the organ in the billet again? ↩
16 October 1918; Wednesday
Up at about 7 o’clock and on duty. Wet night and day. Had to move our beds in the night owing to the rain coming through the roof. Heard that the Belgians had advanced further and taken prisoners and guns. Had some music at night and turned in about 9 o’clock. Had long talk with old artilleryman in the ward.
15 October 1918; Tuesday
Up at 7 o’clock. Received about 10 patients and full up. At night went along to billet and played duets1 with Cox. Got down to it about 10 o’clock.
Played duets: Perhaps on the organ, which ALL had found in this new billet two days earlier? ↩
14 October 1918; Monday
Up shortly after 7 o’clock. Received a few patients in during the day. The air full of wild rumours. Jerry in a sad way evidently. Received letter from Ernie and replied to it. Got down to sleep in the hospital room.
13 October 1918; Sunday
Up at about 7 o’clock. Heard that we were to move again and moved off about 11 o’clock. Arrived on the etcetera1 of Cambrai near Proville2 before dinner and took over billet with an organ in it. Billy Truman and I were moved over to the hospital in the afternoon and slept there at night. Spent afternoon preparing hospital.
12 October 1918; Saturday
Up at about 7.30. Not much to do all day. Washed some old clothes in the morning and wrote letters in the afternoon. Very good news in the paper and a lot of rumours. Wet night. Received letter from home and replied to it.