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.
11 October 1918; Friday
Up about 7 o’clock. Did nothing during morning. In the afternoon went into wood to prepare some broken down billets and moved into them after tea. Wet night. Glanced over a little French. Rather miserable over the change. Heard that we have Le Cateau1. Got down at about 8 o’clock.
10 October 1918; Thursday
Up at about 7.30. Rather dull morning. Troops moving up. Moved off after dark and arrived on the borders of a wood near to La Fontain N D1. Bivouaced out at night and put up tents for the officers, in the dark. Good news from the front.
9 October 1918; Wednesday
Up at 8 o’clock. Heard that the Germans are retiring from Cambrai and received orders to stand by. Infantry moving up. Watched Cambrai burning. News after tea that the Germans are ten kilos from Cambrai. Got down to bed about 7 o’clock and slept until 7 next morning.
8 October 1918; Tuesday
Up at about 8 o’clock. Had very little sleep and felt washed out. Spent nearly all day building dugout with Sergeant Powell and Billy Truman. British made a big attack north and south of Cambrai and got * after hard fighting. Got down to bed in good time and slept well. Heard rumours of the French and Americans advancing in the Argonne.
7 October 1918; Monday
Up at about 7.30. Paraded for a few fatigues. News continuing good and all manner of rumours. Marched off shortly after 2 and got into lorries at Souastre and moved off at 2.30. Arrived at near Grincourt [sic]1 at about 11 o’clock and marched to an open field near to the sugar refinery2. In bivouacs. I was put on guard and stayed up until 3.45. Slept badly when I did get down. Very cold. Didn’t know quite where we were. Jerry shelling Bourlon Wood3, about a kilo in front of us.
Grincourt: Actually Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt (B), 9km WSW. of Cambrai (Michelin square K7), some 40km due E. as the crow flies from Souastre (A). ↩
The “sugar refinery”, also referred to in some other accounts as the “sugar factory”, was locally known as Graincourt Sucrerie, and was possibly near the site of the Sucrerie British Cemetery (C). ↩
Boulon Wood remains to this day and is located to the SE of the the Bourlon Wood Canadian War Memorial (D) and the Bourlon Wood Cemetery (E). It is, as ALL suggests, about a kilometre from the Sucrerie. ↩
6 October 1918; Sunday
Up about 8 o’clock. The air full of rumours. Went to nonconformist service with Billy Truman and enjoyed it. Stayed round the fire in the afternoon and stewed apples. Walked out with Billy Truman at night and had long talk. Heard that the Central Powers1 had asked for an armistice and the air full of rumours.
The Central Powers consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. ↩
5 October 1918; Saturday
Woke early and felt pretty fed up with the cold. Did practically nothing all day. Walked into a village and had some coffee. Moved our billet last thing and had warm bed. Didn’t sleep too well – †probably because† eaten too much. Good news and lots of rumours.