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Description: | Word processed transcription of a diary (105pp) kept by him (June 1916 – October 1918) during his service with 113th Battery Royal Garrison Artillery (4th Division) and as an officer with 53rd Siege Battery (April – October 1918) on the Western Front, including details of preparations for the offensive and the first few days of the Battle of the Somme (June - July 1916), the move from the Somme front to the Arras sector (April 1917) to provide support to the advance there, his training as an officer at Plymouth and at Cadet School at Trowbridge (October 1917), and his return to the front near Marveil following up the German retreat; with good comments on his reactions to first seeing ‘HM Landships’ (tanks) at Guillemont (September 1916), the physical strain of the offensive on the Somme and casualties, his participation in providing an escort for the funeral of ten New Zealand officers killed at an English railway station (September 1917), and his duties on observation posts. Also held with the collection is a colour copy of a letter written by him to his brother, also in the forces (October 1916), commenting on their shared experiences on the Western Front, and a copy of a photograph of him in uniform.
Cataloguer PJB | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Davies, Gwilym Ewart | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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