29th May 1916 Leave cannot come to soon for Arthur; Dollie’s cake has arrived but circumstances have prevented him from sampling it yet; the funeral of Lt. Knight and his Sergeant; Arthur shares with Dollie the glowing praise he and … Continued
28th May 1916 “To-day is a day of very good news. First of all I’ve had two letters from you. Then Edouard [Noel] & Wilcox have left for leave, so I shall be next! And we’ve just carried through a … Continued
26th May 1916 A long wet night for Arthur and the men – marking out the new trenches – with the prospect of two nights of digging to follow; one compensation is the surrounding countryside “The country is quite pretty; … Continued
24th May 1916 Arthur and Company are now out of the front line after five days “up”, having survived a period of shelling; they now hope to move even further back for a rest period; one of Arthur’s fellow officers … Continued
20th May 1916 Arthur has barely had time to eat and sleep over the past few days now they are in the front line: “On the night of the 18th a Hun patrol came to our wire & we had … Continued
16th May 1916 Before Arthur and Company leave for their scheduled spell in the support trenches they are bombarded whilst still in billets late that night: “The Hun attempted a raid some way down on our right, but he got … Continued
15th May 1916 Arthur asks Dollie to sends condolences to a mutual friend, whose husband was killed in action in Belgium recently; kit inspection for the men, meanwhile Arthur and Dollie’s brother Edouard have a recce of the support trenches … Continued
14th May 1916 Arthur is full of encouragement for Dollie, who is feeling dull at their enforced separation; he sends the Pater’s letter home to her – so she can read at first hand how things stand – with a … Continued
13th May 1916 An account of the previous night’s work in the trenches; the weather was wet and the German’s strafed the Companies – there were seven casualties, one of whom was killed [Private Elston]; 2nd Lt Parry of “A” … Continued
12th May 1916 Another long night for Arthur, supervising the Company as they improve the old trenches; he is looking forward to leave, which should be granted in just a few weeks time, but after another spell in the front … Continued