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Description: | Ts transcription (54pp) of a rather disjointed diary written during his service as an NCO Signaller with the 1/4th Battalion Hampshire Regiment (36th Indian Brigade, 14th Indian Division) chiefly in Mesopotamia, November 1916 – September 1919, describing the atrocious living conditions on board ship during the voyage out, visits to Freetown, Capetown and Durban while sailing around the coast of South Africa, arrival at Mombasa and the train journey to Nairobi, then on via ship to the Persian Gulf and Basra (January 1917), the gruesome aftermath of a Turkish bombardment, a brief stint as an observer with the Royal Flying Corps near Baghdad (September – October 1917), his poor health and the monotony of service life, his movements throughout Mesopotamia and the starvation suffered by many of the population, his unit’s efforts to obtain food and supplies including stealing from nomads, his signalling duties, attachment to Dunsterforce (April – July 1918) during their journey northwards to Baku on the Caspian Coast including hand-to-hand combat with the enemy at Resht, arrival at Baku (August 1918) where he visited the frontline in an armoured car, service in and around the Caucasus until the evacuation of Baku (September 1918) which he describes in detail, his wounding and hospitalisation and return to Baku (January 1919) as part of the Army of Occupation, and a period of service on the North West Frontier before returning to Baku (September 1919) where he reflects on how the war has affected him and his friends; the transcript concludes with notes on his subsequent life written by his son and a number of photographs relating to his First World War experiences.
Cataloguer APR | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Arthur James Hampshire Regiment Foster British Army 1/4th Battalion | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Foster, Arthur James | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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