Bert’s experiences in major attacks may tend to dominate the focus on his war experience. But the reality of life in the army was that most soldiers spent only a few days of each month in a firing trench and large-scale battles were rare.
​
The majority of their time was occupied by being rotated through various support trench lines, in and out of rear area billets and occasionally put on trains back to rest camps and specialist training areas.
​
Daily life was a mixture of tedious routine – fatigues and work details, repairing trenches, guarding potato crops, attending schools to smarten up on basic soldiering, or in training for planned attacks. And this is what we see in Bert’s diaries, entries dominated by listing the activities of the day; musketry practice and kit inspections, route marches and drill, and sometimes the jarring juxtaposition of the realities of war alongside the banality of army routine - as with being woken at 3am by an enemy plane dropping bombs on the camp, and then later that morning assembling for a Church parade.
​
Once Bert reaches France there is also a bewildering array of villages and army camps that he passes through. You can see he is using his diary in part to keep track of where he is and, in a sense, maintain some control amidst the constant change and uncertainty. The sheer mundanity of many of his entries and his assiduous listing of place names make the diaries a fascinating insight into what real soldiering in WWI consisted of and allows us to track him day to day as he moves around France. There is also a refreshing curiosity evident. Not for him just sitting around playing cards if he has spare time, he is off to peek inside a historic church or take a quick tour of a nearby town.
​
Bert kept a field diary from the day he arrived in England. The 1917 diary he probably bought in England. The 1918 diary was bought in France as all days and months are in French. Both are small, lightweight books that could fit in his breast pocket – which therefore limited what he could write. His entries are usually short and clipped. They are notes to himself. In the front and end pieces of each diary Bert has also listed addresses of friends and family and made various other notes of importance to him.
​
In his book, Behind the Lines, New Zealand author Nicholas Boyack says most diaries from the Western Front tend to be less descriptive than seen from other arenas of war. He puts that down to a mixture of low morale and boredom.
​
“In many diaries page after page is headed 'same' or 'nothing new.' It is not uncommon for many weeks to elapse between entries. Even important events sometimes went unrecorded,” Boyack says.
​
Bert is much more assiduous in keeping his diary up to date, though a similar pattern can be noted at times where he uses “ditto” frequently. It also appears at times that he is catching up on entries, because he makes mistakes about dates and has to correct himself. He too is scant in detail in his diary compared to what we know he went through.
​
For example, on October 19 in the muddy trenches of Ypres he comes close to being killed. But in his diary, he records only: “I had some narrow escapes.” At the end of that terrible month he admits to being “thoroughly dead beat” and needing to spend the whole day in bed recovering. Two days later, probably succumbing because he was so worn out, he notes he was “very ill” and put on light duties for a couple of days.
​
It is in letters home and some months later, looking back when the sharp edges of the experience have dulled a bit, that he reveals some details - though always his tone is relatively upbeat about the danger he was facing, presumably so as not to overly alarm the family.
​
What follows are Bert’s verbatim entries. Notes are added to clarify various matters or add extra detail.
​
ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
THE DIARIES
A battalion from the Otago regiment leaving Sling Camp by train form Bulford in May 1917.
Marching in the Bullring at Sling Camp.
The Chestnut tree that once stood above the Figheldean village blacksmith, shown here in a 19th Century picture postcard, was traditionally said to be the inspiration for Longfellow’s poem The Village Blacksmith which starts with the lines:
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands.
New St and Snow Hill are train stations in central Birmingham – Bert was going ‘home’ to visit the many Gadd and Cashmore relatives still living in Birmingham and to nostalgically walk the streets he would remember from his childhood.
William Ferguson Massey was Prime Minister during the war and lead the conservative Reform Party. However he had reluctantly been forced to invite former PM Joseph Ward of the Liberals to form a war-time coalition and though Massey was PM, Ward gained de facto status as joint leader. They travelled to Britain several times during the war. This photo shows them insepcting troops in the UK.
The bullring at Etaples – showing just how huge this staging camp was.
Australian troops in trench training at Etaples.
A map of Etaples showing how vast it was.
January 1917
Mon 29: Arrived at Devonport. At 12 o'clock noon took train passing through Exeter and arrived at our destination Sling Camp 8pm. Intensely cold.
​
Tues 30: Medically inspected, received rifles, oilsheets etc. Addressed by officer of staff.
​
Wed 31: Dental parade. Drafted into our platoons, companies etc. Inspection of kits. Clothing given in. Lecture at night in mess room.
​
February 1917
Thurs 1: Musketry. Issued with articles of kits.
​
Fri 2: Nothing of interest.
​
Sat 3: Instruction in musketry. Weather very cold. Sharp frost.
[Bert misses a page here and renumbers the dates. He writes under a heading “Memo: Mistake in dates. Missed a page.” Also, he has written originally in pencil and at a later stage gone over it in ink.]
​
Sun 4: Church parade. Snowing all afternoon.
​
Mon 5: Instruction musketry. Ground covered with snow. Lecture on gas attacks.
​
Tues 6: Practise at rifle range in morning. Instruction in bayonet and bombing afternoon in "bull ring" and lecture at night.
[The Bullring is the name given to the main parade ground in army camps used for marching drill. Listen here to a veteran recorded in 1964 talking about the Sling Bullring in the winter of 1917.]
​
Wed 7: Morning. Rifle range. Afternoon instruction gas helmet, barbwire entanglements, Lewis gun.
​
Thurs 8: Morning practise at rifle range. Afternoon bayonet, bombing, barbwire entanglements. Lecture at night.
​
Fri 9: Rifle range morning. Lewis gun, gas attack in bull ring afternoon. Pay at 7pm.
​
Sat 10: Morning rifle practise. Afternoon route march to Amesbury. We passed through Bulford camp.
​
[Amesbury was approximately 5km from Sling Camp.]
​
Sun 11: Church parade morning. Afternoon visited the villages of Figheldean where the chestnut tree is and Durrington and Bulford.
[Figheldean, Durrington and Bulford are villages on the Salisbury Plains. It seems this is Bert doing a little sight-seeing on a Sunday afternoon off.]
[Bert has renumbered the following four days]
​
Mon 12: Musketry morn. Bullring aft.
​
Tues 13: Rifle range. Field practise firing from the hip advancing and firing with gas helmet on. Snow thawing ground very muddy. Rifles handed in.
​
Wed 14: Bullring all day. Nothing of interest.
​
Thurs 15: [nothing written]
​
Fri 16: Morning in bullring. Afternoon we went into the gas chamber with helmets on.
​
Sat 17: Morning. Wiring, Lewis gun etc. Afternoon threw 3 live bombs each man.
​
Sun 18: We drilled all day. No church parade. The 20th arrived.
[The 20th were the next group of reinforcements from NZ. Bert was in the 19th.]
​
Mon 19: Nothing of interest.
​
Tues 20: Were paid.
​
Wed 21: We go on leave. Left camp 9 o'clock. Walked to Bulford Station and took train to Waterloo, where I took the tube to Euston, where I stayed the night.
​
Thurs 22: Up at 3 o'clock in the morning, caught the North Western at 5am, and arrived New St Station at 8am. Walked to Snow Hill and took train to Rowley. Arrived Blackheath 12 o'clock.
​
Fri 23: Visited Rowley church, Hales Owen church, Wood Coomb works by the canal. Streets all in darkness.
[Wood Coomb was the site of a massive factory owned by a firm called Stewarts and Lloyds which produced steel pipelines and tubes. At its peak it employed 3000 workers. During WWI it switched to making munitions. The company later became part of British Steel and the factory finally closed in 1990.]
​
Sat 24: Visited relatives and caught train to Birmingham. Walked from Snow Hill to New Street and caught train at 5 o'clock. Said good bye to relatives. Left Waterloo for camp 9 o'clock.
​
Sun 25: Arrived in camp 2 o'clock am. Church parade
​
Mon 26: Reviewed by Bill Massey and Joe Ward who officially opened the YMCA and concert hall.
Tues 27: Extended order drill. Route march afternoon.
​
Wed 28: Fatigues morning. Medically examined. Made up shortages in kit prior to leaving for France.
​
March 1917
Thurs 1: Handed in rifles kits etc. Inspected by staff officers. Marched off at 10am and caught train Bulford at 10.30.
​
Fri 2: Arrived at Folkestone at 4am and rest in barracks, breakfasted and embarked paddle steamer. Arrived at Boulogne 12 o'clock. Marched to a rest camp where we stay.
​
Sat 3: We leave camp at 4pm and took train to Etaples where we arrived at 9 o'clock. Received 2 blankets and detailed into tents 11pm before retired for the night. Since leaving Sling Camp we have been living on army rations consisting chiefly of bully beef and biscuits.
​
Sun 4: Received rifles bayonet. Kit inspection. Medical examination. Living on army rations. Weather very cold. Snow fell during night.
​
Mon 5: Reveille 5.30am. Route march with full pack. Paid 20 Francs. Snow thawing.
​
Tues 6: Issued with gas helmets. Instruction in extended order and platoon drill in the bullring. Each man takes rations to last the day.
​
Wed 7: Bullring, bayonette work and musketry. Weather intensely cold. Strong winds blowing.
​
Thurs 8: Washing day also bathing. Snowing greater part of the day.
​
Fri 9: Bullring. Bomb throwing. Snowing all afternoon.
​
Sat 10: We fired 15 rounds of our munition at range to test our rifles. Food is dear and prices are rising.
​
Sun 11: Church parade. Afternoon muster parade.
​
Mon 12: Instruction in trench attacks. Received 2 letters, one from Laura, other from Mother.
​
Tues 13: Morning company drill. We parade at 7pm and marched to training camp where we spent the night in trenches. Ground wet and weather rainy.
​
Wed 14: Left trenches at 11am, wet and tired. Received steel helmets.
​
Thurs 15: Washing day, besides route marches morning and afternoon. Weather fine.
​
Fri 16: Bullring all day. New draft arrived at 10pm from England. Letter from M date 18th Jan.
[M presumably means his mum.]
​
Sat 17: We pass through gas chamber also trench filled with tear gas.
​
Sun 18: Church parade
​
Mon 19: An occupant of my tent taken to hospital with mumps. We are sent to a segregation camp, taking our own tent with us. Raining all night.
​
Tues 20: Our blankets are steamed to destroy germs. We are given a hot shower bath.
​
Wed 21: Route march through Etaples. Paid.
​
Thurs 22: Bullring. Snowing.
​
Fri 23: Bullring. Weather still cold.
​
Sat 24: Route march.
​
Sun 25: Church parade.
​
Mon 26: Bullring.
​
Tues 27: Bullring.
​
Wed 28: Route march.
​
Thurs 29: Wet day. No parade. Draft of 19th leave for the front.
​
Fri 30: Bullring.
​
Sat 31: Route march.
Making sense of Bert’s movements in France and Belgium when just looking at the roll call of names in his diary can be confusing.
​
It helps if you group the various villages and camps into three ‘zones’ of activity. This is a completely unofficial zoning, applied solely for the purpose of helping understand Bert’s diaries.
Zone 1 - Front line billet areas. When not in the front-line firing trenches themselves, but still actively deployed for duty to hold the front, troops were stationed in whatever accommodation was available within a roughly 15km area of the front – all areas able to be reached within a three-hour march. And footing it was the main way the troops moved around this zone so close to the front. This zone includes a group of villages straddling the Belgian and French border which can be located on modern maps, but there were also a range of army camps thrown up in the war years which have long since vanished, some of which were mere tent cities, others ‘hutment’ camps. But the soldiers were housed in whatever was available, sometimes a barn, once or twice ruined chateaus or simply in the open in a paddock. For example, when Bert first arrives at the front it is via train to Steenwerk, where he is billeted in a barn. From Steenwerk he then marched to Hill63 and from there later on marched to the trench system and after serving there four days marched to Nieppe where they slept in a ruined chateau. The trench systems themselves stretched for up to 2km back from the very front firing trench to give protection to troops moving in and out of position.
Zone 2 – Reserve billets and battalion schools. This is an area further back, between 15-40km from the front. It was dominated by reserve camps, battalion training schools and brigade headquarters. When the troops were being rested from front line deployment and instead assigned work duties such as digging cables or repairing roads they would be pulled back here. The town of Hazebrouck lies near the centre of this zone. Sometimes the troops would make grueling long marches out of zone 1 into this zone, but trucks were also used to transport troops around this area. For instance, in June Bert and his fellow Kiwis took “motor transports” from Morbecque in the west of Zone 2 to Romarin in Zone 1.
Zone 3 - Rest camps and specialist training. This third zone was an area from 50-100km from the front, in a far more picturesque area largely untouched by the direct effects of battle (though not immune to the new development of bombing air raids). This was both an area of rest camps where troops could relax, but also of more intensive training – for instance an entire scale model of Messines was built in this zone for troops to practice in the lead up to the Messines attack. Bert and the Kiwis were sent there three times during the period his diaries cover; to train for Messine; to train for the Ypres offensive; and to recouperate after being pulled out the Ypres salient altogether. Troops were largely transported to and from this area by train.
The above map highlights the key villages or camps (when they could be located) that Bert mentions. Note that in his diaries Bert did not always spell the French/Belgian place names correctly, though his spelling improved as he became more familiar with them over time. For the purposes of clarity, all names in this transcription have been corrected where the place can be identified.
April 1917
The sights at Paris-Plage.
Australian troops at Hyde Park Corner, near the entrance to the Catacombs at Hill 63, in the Messines Sector.
A front line trench, showing the step the soldiers used to get into firing position.
This is most probably the chateau Bert billeted in on April 27 – built in 1802 and now restored as part of the Parc du Chateau de Nieppe.
Sun 1: Church parade.
Mon 2: Took on job as tent orderly.
Tues 3: Nothing of interest.
Wed 4: Ditto.
Thurs 5: [nothing written]
​
Fri 6: [Bert crosses out this sentence: "We leave the segregation camp for the base" Replaces it with:] Mistake - still in Seg.
Sat 7: [Bert crosses out: "Route march morning. Afternoon march to Paris-Plage" which was a ‘resort’ beach near Etaples popular with troops.]
Sun 8: Church parade. Wet day.
Mon 9: [Bert crosses out: “Route March” and replaces it with:] Mess Orderly.
Tues 10: Ditto.
Wed 11: Ditto.
Thurs 12: Ditto.
​
Fri 13: We leave segregation camp at 2.30pm. Fine day. Weather warm.
Sat 14: Route march. Memo: Prices 1lb butter 4.20; bread 1.30; 1lb jam 1.50; 1 milk 1.35 francs.
Sun 15: Church parade. Wet day.
Mon 16: Route march through Etaples. Streets very dirty. Passed German prisoners working on the railroad.
Tues 17: Ditto. Draft made up: 120 from 2nd Auck and 25 men from 1st Auck. I manage to be one of the 25.
Wed 18: [Bert crosses out: “Volunteered for draft” and replaces it with:] Inspection. Received shortages in kit also 120 rounds ammunition. Rain all day.
​
Thurs 19: Reveille 4.15. Left camp at 6am. Left Etaples at 7.45 on train passing through Boulogne and Calais, arriving at Steenwerk at 6.30pm, where we marched to our billets in a barn. Weather wet.
Fri 20: We are issued with gas respirator and received instruction in its use. Within range of the big guns. Allied aeroplanes scouting around. Marched to our billets and was drafted into 3rd Auck on Hill 63.
[Hill 63 was the main British defensive bulwark facing the German held town of Messines. It was catacombed with tunnels and observation posts. So, Bert has finally reached the front.]
​
Sat 21: Shells continually whipping overhead and anti-aircraft guns firing at aeroplanes above us. Fatigue at night digging trenches knee deep in mud and water. Weather very fine and warm.
April 22: Digging trenches at night. Firing line ahead of us, illuminated by flares. Returned at midnight.
[The ‘firing line’ is the actual front-line trenches where troops are directly facing the Germans. So, Bert is digging reserve and support trenches.]
Mon 23: Ditto. Very cold at nights. Working in gum boots over ankle deep in water.
Tues 24: We pack kits and march to front line through a mile of saps. Arrived about noon. Fritz sending over a few shells. Stand to at 6pm. On duty at 11.30.
Wed 25: Off duty at 2am. Stand to at 4.30am. Slept all day till about 6pm, when our trench mortars began to send over a few "puddings." Fritz retaliates and sends over shrapnel.
Thurs 26: Aerial activity. Many allied machines over Fritz's lines. On duty at night.
Fri 27: Off duty at 5.30am. Rolled blankets and kit. Moved off at 8am through a mile of saps. We march to Nieppe and billeted in ruined chateau. I am on gas guard at night.
Sat 28: On gas guard. Weather fine.
Sun 29: Parade all day gas drill etc
​
Mon 30: Heavy bombardment heard in early morning. We move off and march to Aldershot Camp.
May 1917
Trenches further back from the front lines.
Troops march past as General Alexander Godley inspects them.
One of the many canals at St Omer in 1917
New Zealand troops training for the attack on Messines, St Omer, May 1917.
.jpg)
New Zealand troops rehearsing the attack on Messines
British walking through the ruins of Messines after capturing it.
Photo of Bert stuck in the reinforcement camp, chaffing to be back in the action.
The Kiwi camp at Ploegsteert, 1917, in the reserve area immediately behind the front lines.
Soldiers lining up in a front line trench ready to go over the top.
Australians from the Anzac Division in one of the Hill 63 catacombe rooms.
British troops just out of the Ypres trenches in August 1917 cleaning themselves up in the reserve area – a regular but little mentioned fact of life for the soldiers who usually came out of the trenches filthy and sodden from the mud.
Australian soldiers undergoing gasmask drill.
A field kitchen just behind the front lines – typical of how soldiers received the rations Bert was helping carry forward.
Tues 1: Digging trench for cables 8 ft deep in shell fire zone near Neuve Eglise.
[Neuve Eglise (meaning New Church) was a small village built around a large convent which was shelled badly by the Germans in the bombardment Bert mentions on May 5. The cabling work was in preparation for the Messines assault - the cables were being buried extra deep because there was going to be heavy shelling.]
​
Wed 2: Ditto.
Thurs 3: Breakfast 5.30am, fatigue making roads from 7am till 2pm. Gas drill from 6pm till 7. March off full pack at 11.30pm for about 3 miles to trenches.
​
Fri 4: Arrived at subsidiary lines at 1.30am. I am on water fatigue.
[These trenches were at Wulverghem, north-east of Neuve Eglise.]
Sat 5: Heavy bombardment of our trenches in early morning. Fritz raided trenches on our left.
Sun 6: Water fatigue. Artillery activity at night.
Mon 7: Ditto.
Tues 8: Weather wet. Marched off full pack at 10am and arrived at Waterloo Camp at 12.30pm. We were relieved by Wellington companies.
Wed 9: Parade morning and afternoon.
Thurs 10: Left camp at 10am with full pack and was inspected by Gen Godley as we marched past. Passed through Bailleul and billeted for the night at a farm near Strazeele. Weather very hot and march very hard.
[General Alexander Godley (1867-1957) had overall command of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force at the time, though was not well loved by the troops.]
​
Fri 11: We change billets to another farm nearer Strazeele. Gas drill morning.
​
Sat 12: Training for big push.
[The ‘big push’ was the planned attack on Messines.]
Sun 13: Church parade.
Mon 14: Training for the big push. I join the Lewis machine gunners.
Tues 15: Ditto.
Wed 16: Ditto. I went on leave to Hazebrouck. Weather wet.
Thurs 17: Still training. Raining all day.
Fri 18: With full pack we marched 10 kilometres to Bailleul station where we took train to St Omer from whence we marched about 4 miles to Setques where we
billeted in barn. March very heavy.
[St Omer and Setques were villages well back from the front lines, in Zone 3, an army rest and training area. Although nowhere was spared the effects of the war with St. Omer suffering air raids in November 1917 and May 1918, with serious loss of life. A full-size model of Messines and its fortifications was being built there – just below on May 24 Bert mentions helping to dig some of the trenches representing the German lines that the British would be attacking.]
Sat 19: We march to rifle range 5 miles and went through musketry course. Weather hot.
Sun 20: No church parade. We go through our training as usual.
Mon 21: We march to St Omer for a bath. Leave granted from 11am till 1pm.
[Ormond Burton gives a nice description of bathing at St Omer: “Every morning the Battalions marched away to the training ground, and by platoon, company, battalion, and finally brigade practiced their particular part of the scheme of attack. After a hard day's work, they marched back again, hot and dusty, to plunge into the river that so conveniently flowed through the middle of the village. It was a somewhat novel sight to see hundreds of men without the superfluity of bathing costumes swimming in the midst of a civilian population, which could hardly fail to see the whole proceedings.”]
​
Tues 22: Still training for the attack on Messines.
Wed 23: Ditto.
Thurs 24: Digging trenches, which are supposed to represent Fritz's lines at the back of Messines.
Fri 25: We go through the order of attack. Weather very hot.
Sat 26: A draft from Etaples arrived late at night.
Sun 27: Training as usual.
Mon 28: Ditto.
Tues 29: Still training. I hear that I am on the reserve LMG to be kept back. I am disappointed at not going over the top.
Wed 30: Last day of training.
Thurs 31: We march off and pass through St Omer and after marching 23 kilometres we billeted for the night in a barn.
[This barn was in the Wallon Cappel area, halfway to Hazebrouck.]
June 1917
Fri 1: On the road again. Those in the reserves take the road to Morbecque while the rest go straight on through Hazebrouck. Arrived at the reinforcement camp at Morbecque.
[Bert’s army records show him from 1 June officially detached from his unit and assigned to NZ Wing 2nd Anzac Reinforcement Camp – though the records incorrectly gives the place as Etaples, which was used as the generic ‘place’ for any reassignment while in France.]
Sat 2: I meet many of my old company mates who have been here a few days from Etaples. In the evening I had a look through Morbecque church. Very beautiful inside.
Sun 3: Awakened up at about 3am by enemy plane which dropped a few bombs. Anti-aircraft guns open fire. Church parade.
Mon 4: Route march to a canal where we enjoyed a swim. Pay day. I am 21 today.
Tues 5: Units for duty on fatigue. Big bombardment starts in the evening and continued through the night.
Wed 6: Tested gas helmets in gas chamber. Bombardment still going on.
[On June 7 the Messines mines were blown and the NZers went over the top in a major assault on the German held town.]
Thurs 7: Rumour that our troops have advanced 5 or 6 kilometres beyond Messines. Heavy bombardment going on.
Fri 8: Bombardment still continues. Refugees from Armentieres and Nieppe are coming in to Hazebrouck.
Sat 9: Ditto.
Sun 10: Church parade. Sports in the afternoon. Bombardment still continues. A small draft of men arrive from Etaples. Afternoon sports.
Mon 11: Another draft arrives from Etaples. Weather very hot. Issued with shortages in fighting kit.
Tues 12: Expect to be drafted up the line again to reinforce battalion.
Wed 13: Bombardment still continues. We were marched to the canal for a swim in the afternoon.
Thurs 14: Much cavalry going past the camp, evidently to be used in the Messines push. Still going through the monotonous training.
Fri 15: I am heartily sick of this camp. I hear that our battalion is stationed at Romarin.
Sat 16: Still drilling. Weather very hot.
Sun 17: Received orders to move. Left Morbecque about 8pm in motor transports passing through Hazebrouck and Bailleul. Arrived at Romarin about midnight. We spent the night in open paddock.
Mon 18: Rejoined company. Moved off in battle order at 8pm for trenches near Plug Street. Fritz strafing and blew up several dumps. Trenches rough and unmade and without communication trenches or dugouts. Heavy rain.
[Bert anglicises Plug Street here, but in later entries spells it correctly as Ploegsteert, a village near Bois de Ploegsteert, south of Messines. The ‘dumps’ would have been ammunition stockpiles. His army records officially note him as rejoining 1st Battalion Ak Regiment.]
Tues 19: I make my trench more comfortable. On fatigue at night digging trenches under shell fire. German dead lying about near their shattered dug out.
​
Wed 20: I make my "bivvy". Heavy rain. Digging trenches where our strong points are evidently for our front line. Our trench muddy and uncomfortable. We are about a 1000 yards ahead of our old front line.
Thurs 21: Still showery. Huns putting shells all along our trench. A party of Haurakis raided the enemy's lines.
[Haurakis are 6th Company - one of the four companies which made up the 1st Auckland Battalion.]
Fri 22: In the evening we were warned that we were to make a raid. We assembled in our front-line trench awaiting the word to go over. Our artillery is putting over gas shells.
Sat 23: Our barrage opened out at 1am and we hopped the bags at 1.30am. Raided party of Huns working on railway line and a few prisoners taken. Came back through German barrage which was terrific. A good few of our chaps wounded, who were carried back about 2 miles to dressing station. Two of our chaps missing. Were relieved from trenches about 10pm. We were shelled heavily with tear and asphyxiating gas shells while coming back. Terrible mix-up. Chaps staggering along road half blinded.
​
Sun 24: Arrived at the catacomb on Hill 63 early morning. Some fellows laid out by gas. I slept with my helmet on. More gas shells fell at night.
Mon 25: Pay day. A shell landed outside catacombs. Killed 2 and wounded 6.
Tues 26: Reveille 3am. Marched 3 miles through saps and tunnels over some of the ground taken in the advance where we dug traverses in a new trench. Wet weather.
Wed 27: Dug the same trench again. The catacombs electrically lighted and holds about two battalions. Went for a bath and change of clothing to Pont Nieppe, which was almost deserted owing to the bombardment. Many houses and shops destroyed by the Huns shells. Much altered since I saw it last. Road we took heavily shelled. A few casualties.
[Pont Nieppe, correctly Pont de Nieppe, was an area of Nieppe by the bridge over the Lys River which runs through Armentierres. Regimental historian Ormond Burton says the baths there were the most famous in France amongst soldiers - great round vats capable of holding a dozen or more men, filled with water five feet deep and steam heated. The men would emerge to be given clean underwear and clothes de-loused.]
Thurs 28: Left the catacombs in Ploegsteert and marched through Steenwerk. Billeted in a barn near Bailleul. Still raining.
Fri 29: Battalion parade. Weather fine.
​
Sat 30: Left billets and marched about 4 miles where we billeted in a barn near the village of Vieux Berquin.
July 1917
Sun 1: Church parade afternoon. I had a look through the church of Vieux Berqiun which was very beautiful.
​
Mon 2: Ceremonial drill. Issued with shortages. Huns dropped bombs in Bailleul.
Tues 3: Ceremonial drill morning. Sports afternoon.
Wed 4: Inspected by General Russell.
[Major General Andrew Russell was the NZ division commander on the ground, regarded as competent and popular with the troops.]
Thurs 5: Marched about 5 kilometres to have our clothes fumigated. On picket evening in village of Merris and Outtersteene.
Fri 6: Went for a bath and a change of clothing. Night manoeuvres marching about a mile with gas helmets on. Fritz dropping bombs not far away.
Sat 7: Practice at rifle range. Splendid weather. Grouping 20. Deliberate 15. Rapid 10 rounds 18. Total 58.
Sun 8: Raining heavily morning. Divisional sports afternoon at Doulieu.
Mon 9: On guard our potato crops from 8am till 9pm. Heavy bombardment in direction of Armentieres.
Tues 10: Went to a boxing competition at Doulieu afternoon. Rifle practise morning. G. 15 D17 R10 rounds 25 Total 57.
Wed 11: On picket over potatoes at 1am to 9am. Afternoon instruction in rifle grenades.
Thurs 12: Ceremonial drill morning. Afternoon went for a swim.
Fri 13: Ditto.
Sat 14: Wet day. Gas drill etc. On potato picket afternoon from 3pm till 8pm. Heavy bombardment at night.
Sun 15: [Bert crosses out a few lines and writes “mistake.” Replaces them with:] Church parade morning. Afternoon I had a look through the church at Merris.
Mon 16: Ceremonial drill morning. Afternoon sports.
Tues 17: Ditto. Bath and a change of clothing.
Wed 18: Left Bleu full marching order and passed through Steenwerk arriving at Hill 63 about 4pm where we billeted in dug out. On gas guard.
[Bleu is not actually a village and therefore not located on modern maps, it is little more than a farmstead dubbed Bleu by the army, midway along the Rue de la Bleue Tour]
Thurs 19: Left the dug out at 8.30 and went to the support trenches. Fritz shelling a little.
Fri 20: Made our bivouac. Carrying rations to front line at night.
Sat 21: Carrying rations morning and night.
Sun 22: On carrying party. Great aerial activity. Several planes brought down.
Mon 23: Carrying rations morning. Fritz shelled our trench during the day. We changed over at 9.30pm and went to the old trenches where we billeted.
Tues 24: Carrying rations 3am to the support AF right to the subsidiary lines.
Wed 25: Carrying sandbags to the support at night. We were shelled along the sap.
Thurs 26: Early morning carried rations to subsidiary lines. Also at night.
Fri 27: Ditto.
Sat 28: Ditto.
Sun 29: Carrying party. Fritz counter attacked. We had to stand to. Wet weather
Mon 30: Changed over. Went back to Red Lodge. Our troops advanced to Warneton.
[Warneton was a village south-east of Messines held by the Germans.]
Tues 31: 6pm on fatigue carrying bombs to front company. Got back to Red Lodge midnight. Continual rain. Trenches a sea of mud.
[The 3rd Ypres Offensive begins to the north of Bert’s position and continues right through to November. The New Zealand Division is transferred to Ypres to take part in October.]
British troops acting as a carrying party hauling wire entanglement equipment to the front – note the corkscrew wire pickets.
Equipment a WWI signaller had to learn to use.
A battered piece of history held by the Australian War Memorial, a road sign to help guide soldiers to army camp sites – this was recovered in 1919 3km west of Ploegsteert and 400m east of Le Romarin.
Signals training.
Major-General Sir Andrew Russell inspects New Zealand troops.
Field Marshall Douglas Haig, lost once more in his fantasy of heroic cavalry action, September 1917.
New Zealand troops on the march.
The ruins of Swan Chateau, where the 2nd Australian Pioneers were billeted for a time. It was one of many ruined chateaux in the Ypres Sector and gives a sense of the atmosphere.
A trench dug into Broodseinde Ridge.
A working party hauling duckboards to the front lines.
A trench on the Passchendaele Ridge showing the miserable conditions Bert and the Aucklanders were living in.
A German Gotha biplane.
August 1917
Wed 1: Called out again at 12.30am to carry wire to front lines. Had to return again to carry stakes Shells from one strong post to another. Returned 6am.
​
Thurs 2: Clothes covered with mud and wet through. Changed over and marched to Romarin where we billeted in tents. Still raining and ground very muddy. A few shells landed in camp.
Fri 3: Rained all day. A few shells exploded in the camp.
Sat 4: Ditto.
Sun 5: Church parade. Weather changes. Fine day.
Mon 6: Went for a change of clothing and a bath at Pont Nieppe. Afternoon inspected by CO.
Tues 7: On pomme de terre guard.
Wed 8: Ceremonial drill etc.
Thurs 9: Instruction in wiring etc. Met Fred in the evening.
[Bert’s cousin Fred Cashmore, son of Uncle Alf Cashmore. This is the only time the two cousins met while in the army.]
Fri 10: Huns dropped bombs in vicinity at night on horse lines killing many horses.
Sat 11: Rain came down in torrents in the evening.
Aug 12: On fatigue from 4am till 10.30am digging sap on Hill 63.
Mon 13: Shifted camp to Canteen Corner. Became Platoon Signaller.
[Canteen Corner was a nickname given by the soldiers to a well-known intersection behind Hill 63, as was Dead Horse Corner, mentioned later on.]
Tues 14: Practice in patrol work etc. Weather wet.
Wed 15: On fatigue Hill 63 digging sap.
Thurs 16: On fatigue 7pm. Took trucks to line where we dug new subsidiaries. Haurakis lost 4 men 2 killed and 2 wounded.
Fri 17: Returned from fatigue 4.30am. Drill afternoon. Changed camp marched to Le Romarin where we billeted in huts.
Sat 18: Received second lesson in signalling with buzzer flags etc also map reading. In the evening warned for fatigue.
Sun 19: 7am marched to Dead Horse corner where we worked carrying frames. Weather very fine.
Mon 20: Lessons in signalling. Hun planes dropped bombs in the vicinity of camp at night.
Tues 21: Left Romarin with full marching order in the evening and went to the "school" near Nieppe. Some gas shells landed nearby.
Wed 22: Lessons in signalling with flags, buzzer, flapper and light etc.
Thurs 23: Ditto.
Fri 24: Ditto.
Sat 25: A few bombs dropped in the vicinity of the camp.
Sun 26: Shifted camp to Regina where we rejoined battalion. Worcesters relieved the NZers.
Mon 27: On the move again, marched about a kilo and took motor transport to Caestre from whence we marched about 4 kilos where we billeted for the night after pitching tents. Heavy rain.
Tues 28: Still raining. Were paid.
Wed 29: Marched about two kilos to a station where we took train and after about 2hrs journey embarked at Wizernes from whence we went in motor transport to a small village of Quesques where we billeted in farm sheds. Heavy rain.
[The NZers were once more being pulled back to the rest and training areas, well back from the front lines, where they had last spent time training for the Messines push. They are to learn that yet again they are being trained for a set-piece action – part of the ongoing Ypres offensive.]
Thurs 30: Battalion parade. Still raining. Trouble with the French people on account of the damage to crops etc.
Fri 31: Parade 7.30am. Drilling in rain all day. Addressed by CO and heard that we are training for an advance. Still wet.
September 1917
Sat 1: Lessons in signalling with flags, flapper and electric lighter etc. Showery weather.
Sun 2: Church parade. Received change of underclothing.
Mon 3: A hot day. Signalling with flags, lamps etc.
Tues 4: Ditto.
Wed 5: Marched 4 miles past the villages of Verval and Coulomby and went through a battalion attack movement. Paid.
Thurs 6: Inspection by CO with brass work of equipment polished etc Sending messages in semaphore. Heavy rain at night.
Fri 7: Reveille at 4.30am. Parade 5.30. We marched 6 miles and was inspected by General Russel and staff. Also went through attack movement through wood.
[Burton says about the training from this period: “Great stress was laid upon platoon and section tactics and on the taking of pill-boxes. Wood fighting and the counter-attack also received a considerable amount of attention.” While fighting amongst trees may seem odd given the mud the troops would be struggling through, there were at least two notable stands of woods in the Ypres salient.]
Sat 8: Gas drill etc. Inspected by CO. Afternoon off. I went to Desvres about 9 kilos away.
Sun 9: Church parade.
Mon 10: Specialist training with Morse and semaphore.
Tues 11: Brigade stunt. Hot day and a heavy march. Big NZ mail in.
Wed 12: Lessons in the use of the Fullerphone etc. Fine day.
Thurs 13: Lectures on pigeoneering in the afternoon in the school room of the village of Verval.
Fri 14: Reveille 4.30 parade 6am. Marched to battalion parade ground 6 miles where the whole division was reviewed by General Haig.
[The NZ 1st, 2nd and 4th Brigades were marched past a saluting point so Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig could review them.]
Sat 15: Receiving messages by flapper, lamps, flag and semaphore. Afternoon off. Football match. Night manoeuvres lining the tapes. Preparation for an advance.
Sun 16: Church parade.
Mon 17: Still training.
Tues 18: Brigade day. Our coy in reserve under the supervision of Gen Godley and staff.
Wed 19: Afternoon lecture at Verval in the school room on communication etc.
Thurs 20: Usual training. Went over to Verval where we had messages on the buzzer
Fri 21: No parade in the afternoon but went through a night stunt using flares smoke bombs etc. Paid.
Sat 22: Test in receiving messages on buzzer, shutter lamp and flag by the division signalling officer. Also sending messages in gas with helmets.
Sun 23: Church parade. I visited the village of Leulinghem in the evening. Rumours of leaving.
Mon 24: [Two unclear words.] Station work in the morning and practise with buzzer in the afternoon. Issued with ammunition and iron rations. Unpitched tents.
Tues 25: With full pack we left billet at 7am and after a heavy march of over 20 miles billeted in a barn about 3 kilos past Arques.
Wed 26: Left billets and marched 8 miles where we billeted in farm buildings.
Thurs 27: Off again at 6.30am and marched 14 miles passing through Steenvoorde and billeted in tents near Poperinge.
​
Fri 28: Shortages in kit taken. I visited the town or Poperinge.
[Two strange words follow which look like “vsdurce gneko.” They may be some signalling code Bert has just learnt in his new post as signaller.]
​
Sat 29: Inspected by OC issued with shortages etc. Heavy bombardment going on. Bombs dropped in the vicinity of camp. Weather very good but cold at night and very dusty.
​
Sun 30: Church parade addressed by CO. Had a bath. Heavy cannonade all night in the direction of Ypres. Many Hun planes around. Dropped bombs.
​
​
October 1917
Mon 1: Left billets and went in motor transports in the direction of Ypres where we bivouacked in the open in the grounds of a big chateau.
[Again, two strange words follow which are unclear, something like “Jtu J Rty” which may once more be some signalling code – for instance phonetic of chateau for Morse. There were several chateaux around Ypres and it is unknown which one the Kiwis camped at.]
​
Tues 2: Rested during day and issued with bombs, spades etc. Left chateau in the evening and marched 6 or 7 miles and took over strong points and outposts. Commenced to rain.
Wed 3: On sentry most of the time. Party of Huns working in front could be seen. Difficult to move around on account of snipers. Very cold and wet.
Thurs 4: We lined the tapes in early morning and hopped over the bags at 6am. Reached our objective and dug in. I acted as runner from company to battalion.
[October 4 marks one of the major NZ attacks on the ridges near Gravenstafel]
Fri 5: Our platoon about 13 strong. Many prisoners taken and many dead lying around. Huns attempted several counter attacks. Relieved by the Tommies.
[The reference to his platoon numbers is an indication of how many casualties were sustained - a Platoon at full strength is 55 men. And later information from Coates indicates losses were even greater than Bert realised on the day.]
​
Sat 6: Left battalion headquarters about 11am and arrived at bivouac near Ypres at 5.30am, very tired, wet and cold. Received hot meal and issue of rum and a blanket and turned in to sleep under a canvas cover.
Sun 7: Shifted camp to Salvation Corner where we pitched tents in the rain.
Mon 8: On fatigues carrying timber for road making. Very cold and wet.
Tues 9: On working party in the morning carrying timber.
Wed 10: Ditto.
Thurs 11: Unloading wagons of timber. On guard on the cookhouse at 8pm. Still raining and draft from Etaples arrived.
Fri 12: On sentry duty. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades went over. Weather very wet and very muddy.
[October 12 marks the single worst day in NZ military history, the main assault on Passchendaele – 4000 men killed or injured in a matter of hours in a field of mud.]
Sat 13: On fatigue carrying timber in the morning. I had a look through the ruins of Ypres which was much battered about by shells.
Sun 14: Went for a bath and a change of clothing. The weather turns out fine.
Mon 15: On fatigue party in the morning. Shortage in kit taken in the afternoon. Many bombs dropped at night by Hun planes.
Tues 16: Left camp and went into the trenches again in the support line. Sleeping in bivvies dug in the side of shell holes.
Wed 17: Fritz shelling pill-boxes and pozzies at intervals. Fixed buzzer and telephone apparatus in my bivvy. Heavy rain at night. Swamped out.
Thurs 18: Huns shelling us heavily. Wires cut by shells. Fixed wire up and set phone in another dug-out. Weather during day fine.
Fri 19: I had some narrow escapes. Side of my "bivvie" blown in whilst I was in it. We changed over and went to the front line. Very fatiguing trudging through mud.
Sat 20: Looking after phone during day. Sent out to strong point to look after telephone instrument. Trench very shallow and muddy. Very cold at night.
Sun 21: Stand to in the early morning under Hun barrage. Weather fine. We dare not move around owing to the observation of enemy planes. Right under the view of pill-boxes.
Mon 22: Canadians advanced on our right and we had a practice barrage in our sector. Fritz retaliated and blew our trench in, killing 7 men and wounding 3. Left everything behind and carried wounded to dressing station.
Tues 23: Looking after telephone and buzzer which I salvaged and fixed up the night before. Changed over. Relieved by Canadians and marched back through rain and mud.
Wed 24: Arrived Capricorn Keep before dawn completely exhausted and covered with mud. Moved off again at 8am to X camp. Gotha planes came over in the afternoon and dropped bombs.
[The Gotha was a specialist bomber developed by the Germans.]
Thurs 25: Up at 4.30am and marched off and took train at Ypres. Arrived at Wizernes at 4pm and marched 10 miles to Coulomby. We were completely exhausted when we arrived. Billeted in barn.
[Bert has now moved back to the Rest Camps area in Northern France around St Omer]
Fri 26: Raining all day. I spent the whole day in bed, being thoroughly dead beat.
Sat 27: Shortages in kit taken. Muster parade in the afternoon. Paid. Weather fine. Draft from Etaples and men from Morbecque. Rejoined batt.
Sun 28: Church parade. I was issued with a pair of slacks. Went for a bath and a change of clothing
Mon 29: Parade 9am till 11.30, afternoon 1pm to 2.30pm. Fine day. I was very ill in the evening. Received "buckshee" parcel.
[Buckshee was slang for free, these parcels were made up by civilians in NZ and other commonwealth countries and supplied to soldiers to keep morale up. They contained a variety of goodies – one online record of another Kiwi soldier’s war life describes them as doggie bags which could include such curious combinations as cigarettes, rice and tinned ox tongue. This was not the first Buckshee Bert had received, that was in May when he received a Buckshee which contained a pair of socks and a packet of soup powder, though he was disparaging at the worth of the dehydrated soup, pointing out he had no fresh water to mix it and no fire to boil. Nethertheless they were a rare enough event that he marked this in his diary.]
​
Tues 30: Paraded sick. Light duty. Wet day. NZ mail in. Received 5 letters.
Wed 31: Instruction with buzzer telephones etc morning and afternoon.
Soldiers from each side would try to shoot down enemy pigeons while the Germans even brought hawks to the front lines to attack British pigeons.
Kiwis at signals training in the Lumbres area in 1917.
November 1917
Thurs 1: Station work in the morning. Exchanged my old pair of boots for another at the boot makers in the afternoon.
Fri 2: Went for a bath and a change of clothing at 7am. Parade afternoon. Buzzerwork. Weather wet.
Sat 3: Parade morning. Raining. Issued with shortages in the afternoon. On picket at night.
Sun 4: Inspection of billets 9.30. No parades. Spent day writing letters.
Mon 5: Parade morning and afternoon. Weather cold.
Tues 6: Buzzer work morning. Went to a pigeon lecture to Lumbres in the afternoon. Paid.
Wed 7: Went for a bath and change of clothes. Parade afternoon.
Thurs 8: Parade 7.15am. Marched 4 kilos to lecture on gas. Battalion drill afternoon. Gas helmets inspected. Big draft from Etaples arrived.
​
Fri 9: Left Coulomby and marched about 12 miles to the village of Cremarest where we billeted in a loft.
Sat 10: Coy parade in the morning with full pack with blankets. Specialist training.
Sun 11: Raining heavily in the morning. I visited the town of Desvres in the afternoon.
Mon 12: Reveille and breakfast 5am. Parade 6am with full pack and marched 7 kilos for a bath. Coy parade afternoon.
Tues 13: Batt parade morning. Coy drill taking pill-boxes in the afternoon.
Wed 14: Left Cremarest 9am and marched back to Coulomby passing through Quesques arriving at billets at 4.30pm.
​
Thurs 15: Reveille 2.30 breakfast 3. Left Coulomby 4am and marched 10 miles to Wizernes where we took train to Poperinge. We then marched to Dicky Bush arriving about 6pm, very fatigued.
Fri 16: Inspection of rifles and gas helmets. Football in the afternoon.
​
Sat 17: Gas drill. Inspection of rifles, helmets etc. Afternoon after parade football between 16th and 3rds.
Sun 18: Inspection by CO of ammunition etc. No church parade.
Mon 19: 100 men out of company went up the line further for a working party. Specialists left behind. Instruction in Lewis gun. Went to Reg tailor to have blue band sewn.
[Each soldier was entitled to wear a blue stripe on their sleeve to mark each year of active service. Bert had embarked from NZ on 15 November 1916. He is now one of the old hand veterans of the company.]
​
Tues 20: Parade morning and afternoon. Specialist training. On gas guard at night.
Wed 21: Parade as usual. Paid.
Thurs 22: Instruction in lines-man's work morning and afternoon.
Fri 23: Ditto.
Sat 24: Buzzer morning. Went for a bath and change of clothing.
Sun 25: Church parade etc. Cold day.
Mon 26: Left camp full marching order and marched 4 and a half miles to a camp, where we billeted in huts.
Tues 27: Wet day syllabus. Training in signalling etc.
Wed 28: Parade morning and afternoon. Specialist training.
​
Thurs 29: Parade as per usual. Station work and flag drill morning and buzzer
afternoon.
Fri 30: Ditto.
December 1917
Working parties were a constant factor of life in the army.
Hazebrouck.
New Zealand troops at Christmas Day dinner in reserve camps France 1917
Sat 1: Instruction in linesman duties etc. Weather very cold.
Sun 2: Left batt school at 6.30am in motor transports and went about 10 miles. Rejoined company. First fall of snow early morning.
Mon 3: On fatigues digging drains from 8 till 4 o'clock. Heavy frost. Ditches frozen over.
Tues 4: On working parties repairing road damaged by shellfire. Very cold.
Wed 5: Digging drains morning and afternoon. A very sharp frost.
Thurs 6: Breakfast 3.45am. Went up to the line in trains to repair roads. Went for a bath. Paid.
Fri 7: On road repairing. Weather very cold.
Sat 8: Ditto.
Sun 9: On fatigue as per usual.
Mon 10: Digging drains etc.
Tues 11: Repairing roads. Under shell fire.
Wed 12: Loading trucks of timber. Received 12 letters of NZ mail.
Thurs 13: Repairing roads etc. Weather very cold.
Fri 14: Loading transport vans with timber.
Sat 15: On fatigue early morning. Received orders to proceed to battalion HQ with full marching order. Arrived 3pm. Visited Poperinge at night.
Sun 16: Paraded at orderly room at 9am. Received some new gear from QM stores. Proceeded to reinforcement camp. Arrived noon. Had a bath there. Paid. Spent the night.
[QM stands for quartermaster. His army records show 16 Dec he officially detached from his unit and was assigned to attend ‘school’.]
Mon 17: Left Ouderdom at 8am in lorries. Took train at Poperinge. Arrived Hazebrouck 11am. Arr Morbecque noon. Visited Hazebrouck afternoon.
Tues 18: School begins buzzer semaphore reading morning. Bath afternoon. Clear day. Sharp frost.
Wed 19: Morning buzzer receiving semaphore. Afternoon jointing lines, reef knots etc.
Thurs 20: Morning lecture on elementary electricity, flag drill, buzzer etc. Very sharp frosty day.
Fri 21: Morning scrubbing tables. Flag drill semaphore etc. Inspected by gen staff. Afternoon lecture on message form. Buzzer.
Sat 22: Ditto.
Sun 23: Weather very fine, but cold. I visited Hazebrouck in the afternoon. The town knocked about by shells. I am feeling sick.
Mon 24: Xmas Eve. Parade as per usual. Lecture on cells, buzzer, flag drill, reading lamp, flags etc. Not feeling well.
Tues 25: Breakfast. Bacon and army biscuits. Fairly good dinner. No parade except for march. Miserable day. Began snowing heavily in the afternoon.
​
Wed 26: Parade as per usual. Snowing at intervals during day. Very cold.
Thurs 27: Still snowing. Roads very slippy and hard to work on. Very cold.
Fri 28: Reading through periscope. Instruction in heliograph.
Sat 29: Reading helio, Morse, flags, semaphore, buzzer.
Sun 30: Parade. Very cold.
Mon 31: Parade as usual. Diary ends for 1917.
[The 1917 diary ends and from here on is the 1918 diary]
[Note, this a French diary, with French names for months, days]
.jpg)
Semaphore training.
Sending signals in the trenches.
An aerial photo of the sprawling British camp called Cafe Belge, site of various brigade and battalion HQ.
January 1918
Tues 1: Morning lecture on galvonometer. Station work with flappers and lamps. Half day off. New Year's Day.
​
Wed 2: Parades as usual.
​
Thurs 3: Parades as usual. Snowing. Received letter from S.C.
[Likely to be Uncle Sam Cashmore, brother of Alf]
Fri 4: Parades as per usual.
Sat 5: Ditto [Bert confuses a couple of dates here - remember all days are in French - and corrects them, but we lose a day on the Mon.]
Sun 6: I visited Hazebrouck in the afternoon.
Mon 7: [Nothing recorded because of above confusion in dates.]
Tues 8: Lecture in the afternoon on the navy by a Mr Bennet MP
[This could be Major Francis Bennett-Goldney who was the UK MP for Canterbury. When war broke out he joined the British Embassy in Paris in October 1917 as honorary assistant military attaché. He was promoted as a temporary major a few months after talking to the Kiwis and then died in July 1918 after a car accident.]
​
Wed 9: Snowing heavily. Received three letters from NZ.
Thurs 10: Lecture in the afternoon by lecturer on Nelson at the Corps school.
Fri 11: Attack scheme all day. Carried all night. Snow thawing.
Sat 12: Lecture on pigeons. Examination begins. Reading lamps, semaphore, shutter and Morse flag.
Sun 13: No parades.
Mon 14: Heavy fall of snow. Tests in sending small flag, semaphore, shutter and lamp. I passed alright. Afternoon revision lecture.
Tues 15: Wet day. Theory test in morning for 2 hours also lecture on power buzzer and amplifier. Afternoon tests in buzzer receiving and sending.
Wed 16: School breaks up. Left Morbecque and took train at Hazebrouck and
arrived at Poperinge at 11.30. Had an hour's march to reinforcement camp.
Thurs 17: Left reinforcement camp at Ouderdom and tramped to battalion HQRS at Hoograaf and spent the night there. Snowing and raining all day.
[His army records officially record him as rejoining 1st Battalion]
[Hoograaf is again not actually a village, but a crossroads on the modern N398 with Hogegraafstraat, which was given the unlikely name of Hoograaf Cabaret by the British – it was the site at different times during the war of various unit HQs, a prisoner of war compound during the Ypres Offensive and, oddly, the collecting depot of the Australian Corps Salvage unit which tagged and bagged battlefield trophies to be sent back to the Australian War Museum.]
​
Fri 18: Spent the day tramping all around Belgium with full pack looking for the company. Discovered them at Walker's camp at Dickebush. Received order to proceed to Scottish lines. Arrived night.
Sat 19: Muster parade etc. Parties from tunneling jobs here. Weather warm for winter.
​
Sun 20: Shifted into other huts. Companies all put together. 4th Brigade left camp.
Mon 21: On fatigue making roads in camp. Others on parade. Received big NZ mail.
Tues 22: Fatigue. Paid.
Wed 23: Ceremonial parades etc. Lewis gun, gas drill etc. Received Blighty mail.
Thurs 24: Bull ring etc morning. Went to see a 'Tommy' model platoon give a demonstration of ceremonial drill.
Fri 25: Parades as per usual. In the evening I received order to proceed to transport lines Cafe Belge. Found the place late at night after much trouble.
Sat 26: I am here to relieve a battalion signaller who goes up the line. My duties to attend phone with 8 other sigs of the brigade.
Sun 27: Attending phone and running with messages etc.
Mon 28: Running with messages and attending phone, receiving and sending messages. Fine day.
Tues 29: Ditto. Twelve months today since I landed in England.
Wed 30: Duties as per usual.
Thurs 31: Programme same as yesterday. I visited divisional theatre.
A battalion signals room.
February 1918
Fri 1: Duties as usual.
Sat 2: Received 3 letters NZ mail.
Sun 3: Work as usual.
Mon 4: Ditto.
Tues 5: Ditto.
Wed 6: Work as usual.
Thurs 7: [Bert has crossed out: "The 1st Auck Batt goes in the line" - nothing replaces it]
Fri 8: The batt shifts up into the line.
[Auckland has been sent back to the Broodseinde Sector, in Ypres - the site of the Gravestafel Spur battle of 4 October 1917.]
Sat 9: As per usual.
Sun 10: Ditto.
Mon 11: Ditto.
Tues 12: Business as usual.
Wed 13: Ditto.
Thurs 14: Batt comes out of the line, to Walker’s Camp.
Fri 15: As per usual.
Sat 16: Fine day, but a sharp frost. I went to Walker's camp to visit company.
Sun 17: Business as usual.
Mon 18: Nothing of interest.
Tues 19: Ditto.
Wed 20: Ditto.
Thurs 21: Was paid.
Fri 22: I hear that the Batt is going to move to Halifax Camp. I expect to return to my coy.
Sat 23: I rejoin my coy at Halifax Camp.
Sun 24: Church parade etc. Whole brigade at service. March past Gen Godley.
Mon 25: On working parties up the line building strong posts in case Fritz attacks.
Tues 26: Sick light duty. Went for a bath.
Wed 27: Reveille 4.30am. About 10 miles to go for fatigue on light railway. I am to go on leave. Reported at Orderly room.
Thurs 28: Proceeded to reinforcement camp. Inspected, paid, lecture etc. Left Cornwall camp at 5.30 pm to proceed to Poperinge. Found alteration to time table. Spent night at rest camp.
March 1918
Photo Bert had taken in London.
Fri 1: Caught train at Poperinge. Disembarked at Calais. Marched to rest camp. Went down to steamer, but sent back to camp. Boat full up. Very cold.
Sat 2: Went down to the wharf again, but had to return. Very windy and cold.
Sun 3: Weather changes. Wind dies down. Reveille 5am. Paraded again, but had to return to our lines. I visited Calais at night.
Mon 4: Reveille 5am. Turned back again, but finally got away late in the day. Sea rough crossing the channel. Train from Dover to Victoria Stn. Motor bus to soldiers' club Russell Square.
Tues 5: I went to Pay Office and obtained 4 Pound and new pay book and to ordinance stores for overcoats and strides. Changed my quarters to Shakespeare Hut. Went to Oxford Theatre in the evening.
Wed 6: Walked down to Tottenham Court Rd through Oxford St, Charing Cross Rd, Trafalgar Square, Strand etc. Visited Tower of London etc. Embankment, London Bridge etc. Went to the Gayety in the evening.
Thurs 7: Visited with a comrade Madame Tussaud's waxworks, Baker St, Regent Park Zoo etc. Got lost in a tube, ended up at Holborn.
Fri 8: Had my photo taken. Went to Euston Station and enquired about the train. Sent telegram to Blackheath. Went to the Palace in the evening.
​
Sat 9: Took train at 1.15pm at Euston Station. Arrived New St, Birmingham. Caught train again at Snowhill. Reach B'heath about 5pm.
Sun 10: Went for a bike ride round Colent, Halehouse etc. Had host of relatives to meet me in the evening.
Mon 11: Went round to my Grandmothers, Aunt Lauras etc.
[Laura Green]
Tues 12: Visited the Whyles etc. Having splendid weather.
Wed 13: Went to my Uncle Sam's at Dudley. Visited Dudley and the castle. Missed the bus and had to walk back.
[This could be Sam Timmins or Sam Cashmore]
Thurs 14: In the afternoon I went to B'ham by bus and did the sights including the museum. Finished up at the Grand Theatre. Returned by bus.
Fri 15: Visited the Pattersons at Langley. Enjoyed myself. Returned by train at 11pm.
Sat 16: Went round to my various relatives including my cousin Phoebe and bid them farewell etc also the B'heath cinema.
Sun 17: Said goodbye to my aunt and cousins. Caught train at 12 and arrived Brum, where we took train at New St at 1pm. Uncle Alf and Aunt Laura came as far as London.
Mon 18: Reveille 5am. Caught tube at 6am and changed thrice and arrived at Victoria Stn, where we boarded train for Dover. Arrived about 10am. Caught boat at 3pm. Arrived rest camp Calais about 7pm. Weather lovely and sea calm.
Tues 19: Up at 5am. Caught train at Fontoneth Stn an hour's walk from the camp. Changed train at Bowe and arrived Hazebrouck at 2pm and then tramped to Details Camp from where we tramped to Staples where I picked up coy at 5pm. Pouring all day.
Wed 20: Missed parade. Spent day in Hazebrouck which was deserted and much knocked about by shells. In the evening was on visual station. Fritz putting shells into Hazebrouck and bombing.
[On March 21 at 4.40am the Ludendorf Offensive began on the Somme. Rumours filtered through to the NZ Division during the day. By evening news of the massive assault was confirmed.]
Thurs 21: On the move again. Left billets at 8am. Stopped for lunch near Arques. Passed near St Omer and arrived at billets at Moulle at 5pm. Weather lovely. Received order to stand by.
Fri 22: Up at 3am packed kits and proceeded full marching order to the village of Moulle where we did not catch motor lorries till 9am. We had about 5 kilos to march after getting off lorries to our old billets in Staples. Rumours about us going into a stunt. We are held in readiness to move.
Sat 23: Practising for an attack till 2pm. A very hot day. Issued with iron rations.
[This is the last entry. Four days later Bert was dead.]