Up at 7 o’clock and on parade at 8 o’clock Finished at 4 as usual. Wrote letter home and one to Harvey re article from the paper. Read at night.
Tag Archives: Letters
16 August 1918; Friday
Up at 7 o’clock. Informed that the C O is not satisfied with the progress made with the work and that we must do an hour extra in the afternoon, and be C B1 at night. At night finished at 4.30 and told that the progress of the work done is satisfactory and that we may go out at night. Worked at our own dugout and dug the back out but it fell in. Night wasted. Received letter from home. Wrote letter to Ernie.
C B: Confined to Barracks. ↩
15 August 1918; Thursday
Up at 7 o’clock. Busy all day with dugout making. Made ours at night. Glorious day. Good news. Over 750 guns captured in the recent fighting and about 10,000 machine guns. Received letter from Ernie..
13 August 1918; Tuesday
A stretcher case in about 2 o’clock. A lot of shelling in the night. Did a scrap of French, wrote a letter home, washed a pair of socks and my feet and read a bit. Relieved in the morning at about 9.30. Slept a little in the afternoon and got down soon at night. Absolutely tired out. Jerry over at night and terrific anti-aircraft gun fire.
4 August 1918; Sunday
Up at 6 o’clock. Turned in after a walk round the village. Heard that we were moving tonight or tomorrow. Sergeant Gunn on. Did a little French and wrote two letters. Good news from the south. Went on duty at 8 o’clock. Quiet night. Talked until about 2am.
2 August 1918; Friday
Up at 6 o’clock and relieved at 8. Jerry bombed between midnight and 2 o’clock. Did a little French and wrote a letter to Marmie. Lay down until 2 o’clock. Shaved and washed and went to the French class at 5.30 and afterwards walked round to the reading room and looked at papers†. On duty at 8 o’clock. Major McMee asked us to get ready for a hernia operation on an old civilian by our staff. After getting ready they decided not to perform it.
1 August 1918; Thursday
Up at 2.30 and wrote letter to Ernie until 5 o’clock. On pay parade at mid-day. Did a bit French in the afternoon. Went to the interpreters’ first French class and thought it will be very interesting. On duty at 6 o’clock. Not much to do. Turned in about 11 o’clock but couldn’t sleep for aeroplanes.
29 July 1918; Monday
28 July 1918; Sunday
Up about 7.15. At work all day. Not much to do. Did some shorthand1 and wrote letter to Harvey. Not much to do all day. Went to service at night after walk also with Sergeant Powell and enjoyed it. Stayed to communion service, about first time this year.
27 July 1918; Saturday
Up at 7 o’clock. Rain most of the day. Wrote letter home and one to Ernie. Received letter from Harvey. Did a little French and washed some clothes. Heard of the Coventry strike1.
There was an engineering and munitions strike in Birmingham and Coventry in July 1918, caused by ‘the embargo’: a Government prohibition of the employment of additional skilled men in specified firms; it applied to very few firms, and was not generally known until a misleading notice by one of the affected firms drew attention to it. The strikes ended after a week, when the Government announced that those still on strike on 29 July would have their protection certificates withdrawn, making them eligible for conscription. ↩