Up at about 7 o’clock. A patient first thing and the ground was heavy with rain. Not much to do all day. Talked a few minutes with Harvey of the prospects of the war and our prospects after the war.
Two/three Divisions gone over on our left at dawn.
3000 prisoners and all objectives taken.
Up at about 8 o’clock. One case to carry down first thing and it was rather heavy after the rain. Not busy all day. Out at midnight with two cases. A machine gun crew of the Notts and Derbys1 blown up and one man out of 17 untouched.
“Notts and Derbys”: I think this is correctly transcribed, but I haven’t found any reference to battalions of a Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment. (DL) ↩
Up about 8 o’clock. Spent good part of the day carrying back muddy stretchers and officers’ kit. Had a case at night. Berry came through wounded during the early hours of the morning of the third.
Up about midnight running up the canal bank after an officer. His man had taken him down the tunnel and he was quite dead when brought down. His first time up the line. Had two gas alarms in the night and some gassed artillerymen in in the night. Rather a busy time and we were fed up after it. Went round the aid posts in the morning with the 57th officer and Lee Hughes. Two German planes flying extremely low.
Up at 8 o’clock. The place very heavily shelled all the morning and part of the afternoon. Carried one case in the morning and were shelled most of the journey. Fine night. Received newspapers mentioning Mr Aitken’s death1.
Mr Aitken had been ALL’s boss at the Hendon Paper Mill and had died on 20 September. This news had first reached ALL on 25 September. The cutting reproduced above could possibly have appeared in one of newspapers received by ALL on this day.
See also William Robertson Aitken and all diary entries tagged “Aitken“. ↩
Up at 8 o’clock. Kept pretty busy after tea with stretcher cases. Germans shelled heavily at night and kept us awake most of the time. Had to visit the posts with Captain McCombie. Shelled most of the way round and had one particularly near thing. An artillery man died in the dressing station.
Up about 8 o’clock. Kept fairly busy all night with infantry owing to a dugout being blown in. Two men died near the place. Working well into the night.
Fell on my right shoulder1 and hurt it rather badly for a time. Managed to carry on all right.
“Fell on my right shoulder”: I know that ALL got his shoulder dislocated on one occasion while carrying stretchers, and I don’t see anywhere else in the diaries more likely than this. He told me that one of the others got it back into joint, and that he fainted with the pain. This might be consistent with “hurt it rather badly”. (DL) ↩
Up about 8 o’clock. Kept fairly busy at night time. Managed all right. The Germans didn’t trouble us much at night.
Up at 6.30. Paraded at 7.30 and marched to La Laiterie1. Got car from there to Norfolk House. Went up to pontoon bridge and after staying there a while we were returned to Norfolk House. Carried a case down with Lee Hughes first thing after dinner. Jack Trayner, Brooksbank and Hughes.
La Laiterie: See note and map on 24 September. ↩
Up at 7 o’clock. Went down to the Divisional train to see the sick with the American officer. Told off for night duty with Bromley for tonight. Glorious day. Received letter from home telling me that Mr Aitken has died1. Warned for night but brought off it again at 7.30 and warned for stretcher bearing tomorrow.
Slept in the back part of the dispensary.
Mr Aitken had been ALL’s boss at the Hendon Paper Mill. ALL also added a retrospective note of Mr Aitken’s death to his diary on 20 September, the day it had actually happened. ↩