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Description: | Ms diary notes (144pp, 76pp, 15pp, 23pp, 40pp, 23pp, 51pp and 32pp) covering his military service on the Western Front: in the 1/5th Battalion Cheshire Regiment (14th Brigade, 5th Division from February 1915 - February 1916, then 56th Division as Divisional Pioneer Battalion) as a subaltern and grenade section officer, principally in the Ypres sector (February - June 1915), then near Arras, with good details of his first experiences under fire, operations prior to and during the Second Battle of Ypres and accounts of various aspects of trench warfare including sniping, skirmishes, the capture of enemy prisoners, the effect of shellfire on the nerves and a poignant description of his reaction to the death of a fellow officer as well as mention of his contempt for his commanding officer, Colonel Groves; as an instructor at the 5th Division Bombing School (November 1915 - February 1916); after rejoining his battalion (February - October 1916) as grenade section officer during preparations for the Somme offensive (May - June 1916), as a company commander after return from sick leave (late July - October 1916) with references to tanks prior to the Battle of Flers Courcelette; as an apprentice GSO with 56th Division (October 1916 - April 1917) with a description of operations before and during the Battle of Arras (March - April 1917) including details of his bullet wound; in France (August 1917 - January 1918) eventually as apprentice GSO and acting Brigade Major with 169th Brigade (56th Division) and GSO III at 56th Division HQ including details of the Battle of Cambrai and his negative views on cavalry; as GSO III at (?) 3rd Army HQ (January - February 1918) including mention of contempt for Portuguese officers and the presence of American officers, also with 168th Brigade with good descriptions of conditions in and near Arras (April - May 1918) and with 56th Division (February - April 1918 and May 1918 - February 1919) with details of operations also near Arras (late August 1918) including the enemy use of gas, and references to problems caused by the rapid retreat of German forces in November 1918 as well as to post-war celebrations including the formal entry into Mons (15 November) and a ball in Brussels (31 December), with a description of his demobilisation (February 1919); also ms operation orders for 168th Brigade prior to the Battles of Morval and Transloy Ridge (September and October 1916) and a few associated documents.
Cataloguer AC | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Cheshire Regiment 1/5th Battalion British Army | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Heald, Thomas L C | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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