Up at 7 o’clock and on duty rather late. Missed the parade. Got all the tent cleaned up and everything went pretty smoothly all day. Cold weather.
Tag Archives: Hospital
17 December 1916; Sunday
Busy all day. Finished at 6 o’clock and went up to the service in the Mairie. The padre was very good and we enjoyed the service. Received letter from Ernie, also parcel from Betty.
Heard that at the French victory at Verdun 9 000 prisoners and 81 guns had been captured.
16 December 1916; Saturday
Busy as usual. Managed to get time to write a letter. Finished about 8 o’clock and went straight to bed.
Heard of a French victory at Verdun 1 and that they had advanced 2 miles on a 6 mile front.
“French victory at Verdun”: Seemingly the closing stages of the Battle of Verdun (February – December 1916). ↩
15 December 1916; Friday
Up at 7 o’clock. Very busy all day and no time for anything else but work. Went to bed about 9 o’clock.
14 December 1916; Thursday
Up at 6.30. Breakfast at 7 o’clock and on duty at 7.30. Very busy all morning. Everything in a terrible mix up.
Read part of Bethmann Hollweg’s speech1
See note on 12 December. ↩
13 December 1916; Wednesday
Up about 7 o’clock. On duty 7.30. Cleared all patients for the hospital and packed up. Called down to the C R S 1 shortly after dinner. Billeted in tents. Heard Holman and Truman taken up the town and put on a big double marquee with 27 patients. Got to bed after a search for my blankets. Rain came in through the tents and awoke rather wet. Received letter from Father telling me of accident to Marmie and Dorothy through the oven bursting.
“C R S”: Camp Reception Station. See RAMC Chain of Evacuation. ↩
12 December 1916; Tuesday
Billy Truman brought me breakfast and I lay in for a short time. Not bad * and my arm prick† all right. Worked all day as usual.
Bethmann Hollweg1 made speech in the Reichstag.
Bethmann Hollweg was the German Imperial Chancellor. One of the problems by this stage was that the German generals were increasingly taking charge of policy, while the relationship of the Kaiser, though nominally possessing autocratic power, with his appointed ministers was becoming increasingly ambiguous. ↩
11 December 1916; Monday
Up at 7 o’clock. Inoculated at 11 o’clock against enteric fever1. Usual day.
Enteric fever, more commonly now known as typhoid fever. ↩
10 December 1916; Sunday
Up about 7 o’clock and on duty at 7.30. A lot of patients in and we were kept fairly busy. Went up to the service in the Mairie at night and heard the new preacher. A very good service. Had short walk afterwards and slept well.
9 December 1916; Saturday
Up about 7 o’clock. On duty in the hospital. A few patients in. Kept fairly busy all day. Boxing test† and Bill Jolly beat two men.