Up at usual time. Busy all day. Off in the afternoon. Concert for the staff from 8.30 until 11 o’clock. 57 Field Ambulance party and very good.
Tag Archives: Concert
24 December 1918; Tuesday
Busy all day. Off in the afternoon. Went to Y M concert and it was vile. Came out and had supper at a French house. The Sisters round the wards singing. Turned in about 10 o’clock.
18 December 1918; Wednesday
Up about 6.15 and on duty. On in the afternoon. Told off by the M O for making a noise when he was sounding a patient. Concert at night but we didn’t stay. Wrote 4 letters.
12 November 1918; Tuesday
Up shortly after 7 o’clock. Walked round village in the morning and paraded for cocoa† in the afternoon. Went to concert given by the Gloucesters at night. Terms of armistice announced. Steve Bott, John Dory and Snyder performing. Returned about 8 o’clock. Had porridge and went to bed early. Fine night.
28 October 1918; Monday
Up at about 8 o’clock and had breakfast late. Walked out to find unit and ultimately found them in Rieux. Had dinner there and got some rations and walked back. Received letter from Charlie dated 10th inst. and glad to know he is all right. Went to the Follies at night with Brigade headquarters. They were not up to usual form.
8 September 1918; Sunday
Arrived at Paris at about 6 o’clock1. Taken by motors to A P M place2 where we were lectured and afterwards taken to the Hotel Bleriot†. Cleaned up and had breakfast, then walked round the town. After dinner3 got room and lay down for a while. Went to Army and Navy Club at night and heard fine concert by Miss Lena Ashwell’s4 party.
Arrived at Paris.
ALL arrived at 6:00am, having travelled all night. ↩
“APM” probably means “Assistant Provost Marshall“, essentially the local head of the military police. “Place” probably means the APM’s HQ. This possibly explains the lecture – servicemen on leave in Paris were put on notice to behave themselves? ↩
“Dinner” means “lunch”, as usual. ↩
Lena Ashwell: previously transcribed as ‘O’Dell’, without identification, but ‘Ashwell’ appears probable; Lena Margaret Ashwell 1872-1957; OBE 1917; born Lena Margaret Pocock (Ashwell was her adopted stage name), suffragist, trained at Royal College of Music, London; with War Office resistance but patronage from Princess Helena Victoria, she organised numerous drama and good-quality music parties for advanced locations in France from 1915 (said to have been the first to do this on a large scale: 25 parties by 1918). Is it verifiable that one of her parties performed at the Army & Navy Club in Paris on 8 September 1918? ↩
19 August 1918; Monday
Up at 7 o’clock. On party all day. Fine day. Guns very busy at night. Received letter from Marmie enclosing photographs of her and Dorothy. Went to Follies at night. They were very good indeed and quite worth going to.
11 July 1918; Thursday
Up at 4.30 am. Paraded at 6 o’clock. Got in the buses at the top of the hill and rode to Auchel1, a mining town near Lillers etcetera. Rotten billet in the top of a house, next to the roof. Took out a pan-tile to make light. Went to a concert at night given by a concert party, Camouflage, and it was splendid. The best I have seen in France. They sent an invitation for 100 of us and we were marched up. Turned in and slept well.
20 March 1918; Wednesday
Up about 6.30. on duty at 7 o’clock. Kept pretty busy all morning. Didn’t do much in afternoon. DMS 1 round and made drastic change in the ward. Concert of Number Nines2 at night. Pretty good considering the †compère and merriment†1 vile3. Had short walk afterwards. Little chat with John Dory and A B Watt and Watt lent me a paper to read an article on the “Chance of peace”
“DMS”: Director of Medical Services ↩
The Number Nines (assuming as always that the transcription is correct) were presumably a Forces concert party (and if so, presumably based on some medical unit) – ALL had previously mentioned the Number 9s [sic] on 15 August 1917. ↩
The transcription is uncertain: “compère” assumes a nasalised “o”, ie no written “m”; ‘merriment’ is the only word which seems to fit the second outline, but is dubious; the sense appears to be that the environment for the concert was difficult. ↩
4 March 1918; Monday
Up at 7 o’clock. Had breakfast and down again at 9 until tea time. Went to the D M C at night, and they were the very best show I have seen in France. On duty at night. Warned for the advance party to go to Bus1 in the [word deleted] <to>morrow.