Up at 6.45. Usual day. Off in the afternoon and at night. Had a walk with Duggins and Neave. Saw some graves of the R.W.Regt1.
R.W.Regt: could be either the Royal Warwickshire Regiment or the Royal Welsh Regiment. ↩
Tag Archives: Méteren
10 September 1916; Sunday
On all day as usual. Fine day. Finished at 7.30.
9 September 1916; Saturday
On all day as usual. Good news from the front. A bit talk about the fire. A lot of work putting things square.
8 September 1916; Friday
Up shortly after 6.30. On duty all day. Received long letter from Joe and one from Mother telling me that George Crawford1 had enlisted. Fine day and good news from the front.
Fire at the house at the hospital. We were out all night at it. I got a job to watch the stuff we carried out of the ward. Got to sleep about 5 o’clock.
George Crawford, of the Hendon Paper Works office, mentioned frequently in the 1914 diary (see footnote on 30 January 1914), according to an address in the 1917 diary entered the Army Veterinary Corps. See also all posts tagged “George Crawford” and George H. Crawford at Lives of the First World War. ↩
7 September 1916; Thursday
Up at 6.30. Went to the C.C.S. and had tooth stopped. Fine day. Called at Y.M. in Bailleul and looked at some papers. Went over to the house at the top of the village with Duggins and had some supper. Running short of cash and Wood had to dig us out.
Heard that the Zeppelin1 was brought down by an airman named Robinson23 who had been presented with the V.C.
“Zeppelin”: Continuing the story begun in the previous day’s diary entry. ↩
Lt. William Leefe Robinson of the Royal Flying Corps (as it still was) was the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain during the First World War and was indeed given the V.C. for this act. He was himself shot down in 1917 in France by one of the Red Baron group, and was thought dead for around 2 months until a letter arrived from him at a PoW camp. He was repatriated in 1918 but died of influenza on 31 December 1918. ↩
A similar incident is recorded on 7 June 1915 when Sub-Lt. Reginald A J Warneford RNAS brought down a Zeppelin over Ghent in Belgium by bombing it in the air. ↩
6 September 1916; Wednesday
Up at 6.30 and went down to hospital. Pretty busy in the morning. Slack in the afternoon. Out at Y.M. at night.
Received news that a Zep. 1 had been brought down near London. On Sunday night.
“Zep”: More on this incident in a later diary entry. ↩
5 September 1916; Tuesday
In the hospital as usual. Busy all day preparing tin stores. Truman and I put into the town stores and waited.
4 September 1916; Monday
Commenced to work in the hospital after dinner. Pretty busy all day. Didn’t finish until 7.30.
3 September 1916; Sunday
Came off guard at 9 o’clock. Had walk to the Y.M. in the morning. On fatigue in the afternoon. Service at night at 6 o’clock in the Y.M. After the service Harvey, Holman and Stanton and I had a bit music. I played and enjoyed it.
2 September 1916; Saturday
On guard at 9 o’clock. My turn in the middle. Had a few short walks and called in Y.M.
[The foregoing words are superimposed on “Father’s birthday” and “Dorothy 7th”, written faintly in longhand.] 12
On from 1 o’clock in the morning until 5 o’clock. Gas alert put on and gave me some trouble. Pinched some petrol and washed tunic next morning3.
ALL’s father’s birthday was the 4th of September, not the 2nd. ALL noted his father’s 59th birthday on 4th September 1914, so he would have celebrated his 61st birthday two days after this diary entry. ↩
“Dorothy” refers to Dorothy Wiseman, ALL’s niece and daughter of his elder sister, Marmie, and her husband, Joe Wiseman. “7th” refers to the date of Dorothy’s birthday, 7th September, and not to her age. The 7th of September 1916 would have been her 4th birthday. See also: Family. ↩
“Washed tunic”: possibly to remove discolouration of buttons caused by gas? (q.v. gas test on 3rd June). ↩