Saturday 1st July 1916

Alphaeus Abbott Casey (Private, 12/69) was killed in action on 1^st July 1916 at the age of 21 at Serre (on the Somme), along with many other members of the Battalion.
  

The War Illustrated, 29th July, 1916

Details of the Battalion’s movements between December 1915 and February 1916

[Friday 19^th March 1915]

[The writing on this page gives details of the Battalion’s movements between December 1915 and February 1916].

Arrived Malta Dec 29

     “      Alexandria Jan 1^st

     “      Port Said     “    2^nd

     “      Salt Island  “    10^th

Returned Pt Said   “    17^th

Arrived El Ferdan   “ 26^th

Left El Ferdan    Feb 21^st

Arrived Kantara 21^st Feb

Left          “          23^rd Feb

Arrived trenches   23^rd    “
  

Wednesday 29th December 1915

Called at Malta.

 

Saturday 25th December 1915

Passed through Straits of Gibraltar 9pm.

 

Tuesday 21st December 1915

Sailed for Egypt on Nestor
  

Monday 20th December 1915

Left Hurdcott.

 

Tuesday 16th November 1915

Left Hurdcott Camp for Lark Hill Camp, 14 mls away. Passed close to Stonehenge.

Filthy huts at Lark Hill.

Set to work and scrubbed everything. Last regiment, Manchester, must have been a [dirty? This word largely cut away] lot.

 

Friday 24th September 1915

Left Ripon.

Bayonet fighting, South Camp, Ripon, September 1915

Friday 30th July 1915

Left Cannock.

Hut orderly, Black leading, Cannock Chase

Friday 9th July 1915

Fatigue party. Penkridge Bank Camp, Stafford, July 9th, 1915

Wednesday 24th March 1915

 

6.30-7.30 drill. Exhilarating. Games.

9-12.30 Distance judging in Rivelin Valley. Men sent out different directions. Fire 2 shots of blank for ½ min. Had to lay sights and point direction with rifle on ground. Got 2 out of 4 correct, others 400 instead of 355, 350 instead of 300.

Afternoon practised retreat by sectional rushes, supports becoming firing line and vice versa, firing line opening out in centre.

Evening footer. Won 2-1. Good game. Pingpong.

 

Tuesday 23rd March 1915

Drill 6.30-7.30am. Coffee and biscuits. Jumping games etc. Enjoyed it. 1 ml double. Government tests continued. Target man standing in grass. a) 5 shots, b) 5 shots in 1 ½ minutes. Scored a) 18/20, b) 20/20. Top.

Afternoon bayonet drill.

Evening swotted Zo. The Tissues.

 

Monday 22nd March 1915

Shooting at range. Government test. 25 yds, 5 shots, elementary target, grouping, a) lying, b) kneeling and a rest. Made 1 ins and 2 ins groups, top.

Sprained groin at footer.

Physical exercise 6.30-7.30am. Double round parade ground.

Afternoon distance judging from Lodge Lane. Groin got stiff and hurt.

Evening swotted Zo. Protozoa, e.g. Amoeba.

  

Sunday 21st March 1915

Chapel 10-10.40am. Talk on worldly repentance compared with true. Former often self-sympathy, caused by pain and not sorrow because sinned e.g. if peeling onions eyes smart and tears come.

Read “Harvester” by Gene [blank] [Stratton-Porter]. Tale of woodlands of America. Moral, life clean.

Washing up.

 

Saturday 20th March 1915

Mess orderly. Dull weather, clearing. Battalion Route March, recruiting, full equipment, Sheffield, Malin Bridge, back to Redmires.

Home, bath. Have flitted to 101.

Camp 11pm.

Saw United v. Aston Villa, 3-0. Scrappy game, fine weather.

 

Thursday 11th March 1915

Parade 10.50 with equipment.

Beat Oldale 21-13 at pingpong, lost to Nichols 21-17 in tournament.

Mess orderly.

Company drill. Rain. Clean rifles.

Afternoon dull, close, no rain. C v. D 3-1, E v. B 5-1. Pater didn’t come up.

Played about 12 games pingpong in evening. Also bridge and solo.

Hard game of footer in afternoon.

Evening played pingpong and bridge.

Wednesday 10th March 1915

Potatoes. Fine weather.

Practised company retreating by sectional rushes (under Jarrard). Later on colonel supervised retreat. The line moved from centre to rt and left gradually opening up a space thro’ which supports could fire. The sections retired with left and rt in a line. At last extreme firing line section got on flank of supports and deployed to rear to form new supports and so retired.

Afternoon, dull, drizzle, filled in trenches.

Evening night march 7.50-9.10pm to end of Wyming Brook. Picked out men hidden on road side.

Another submarine,U12, sunk. 10 out of 28 crew saved. British make biggest advance in Flanders since deadlock, capturing 1000 Germans, 2 mls trenches, 2 mls depth advance.

Letter from Douglas.

The War Illustrated, 27th March, 1915

Tuesday 9th March 1915

Washing up. Parade 11am. Ordered to scrub hut out, and then put equipment together. Everybody dissatisfied. Won’t get good results unless are more decent to men. Working everybody to death doing fatigues and squad drill etc., which know is useless.

11-12am Company Drill under Jarrard. Did quite well.

Afternoon bayonet drill under Sgt Major Marsden. Everybody keen. Enjoyable. Practised point, parry, thrust, pointing at sacks on run and the  at wooden posts. Very exciting. Sgt Major pleased.

In evening played bridge and pingpong. 3 ships sunk, 27 out of crew of 28 in 1 drowned.