The war diary has been entered up to the end of March. Click here.
Virtually every other day men leave for their demob. Not Harry, I'm afraid.
By the end of February a number are shipped to Fiume and the Battalion is reduced to a "Cadre" of 2o men.
Harry is very restrained in his letters. He must be very frustrated. BL
War Diaries - At last!
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He must have been very good at what he was doing or he would have been sent home, surely?
Thanks to the Ministry of Defense for finishing with the Battalion War Diary in such a timely manner. It only took them 3 months to muddle through. Meanwhile, we have been missing out on valuable information about Harry's continued detainement in Italy, cooking for the brass, of all things. Now, the Diary will keep us informed about his battalion's activity and "dispersal". I see they continue to route march. They probably route march in their sleep!
Ministry of Defense messing around in 2009 for no discernable reason with ninety year old public records..... Ministry of Defense messing around in 1919 by letting some guys go home, and keeping others (like our Harry!) in Italy for extra months for no discernable reason.....
Tradition: it's wonderful!
Harry's experience mirrors that of my Grandfather, whose letters sent up the chain of command pointing out the conditions of his enlistment were not as restrained as Harry's.
Do you see any rhyme or reason in WHO is getting demobbed? Longest enlistments first, longest time since leave, any particular specialties (not a lot of need now for sappers!) or assignments? (Maybe Harry getting into what we first thought was a slightly cushy berth, cooking for some officers, was a bad move after all: they'll want to keep their best cooks as long as they themselves are there!)
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