Tag Archives: Achiet-le-Petit

25 March 1918; Monday

Up at 6 am and marched off before breakfast at 6.30. Arrived at1

Up at about 3 am, fell in at 4 and marched to Beauquuy2. Commenced to pitch tents but order cancelled before they were up. Went into village and had breakfast at some house and fitted up a dressing station. Worked morning and very busy in the afternoon. Had to carry some of our stretcher cases a few miles to the nearest cars. Returned and found our party gone. Found out where they were going and followed and caught them up. Arrived at Hébuterne at about 9 pm. Got down to it3 and slept well.


  1. Another deletion, probably for the same reason as the previous two. 

  2. Beauquuy: presumably Bucquoy (B), 3km NW. from A.-le-Petit (A); thence to Hébuterne (C), 6km SW.; Michelin squares I7 and H7 respectively. 

  3. “Got down to it”: Lay down to sleep, as elsewhere in the diaries. 

24 March 1918; Sunday

Up at 6 o’clock. Repacked waggons, struck tents, dumped a lot of stuff. Made ready to go to a dressing station down the road but the order cancelled at the last minute. Left after about 3 o’clock and after a long march arrived at Achiet-le-Petit1 at about 6 o’clock. On duty in hurriedly-put-up dressing room until shortly after midnight. Slept badly.

Ordered to fall in shortly before 4 am. Packed up and moved off and arrived at Beauquuy at about 7 am.2


  1. Achiet-le-Petit (B): 7km WNW. of Bapaume (A); Michelin square I7 (see also note on 19 February). 

  2. More lines of shorthand crossed out by ALL; see yesterday’s note.