All change for Harry's Battalion.

On 23 October 1917, orders were received to prepare to move to an unknown destination.

Commander in Chief Sir Douglas Haig inspected the Division at Leulinghem on 31 October. (See the War Diary entry for 31st October)

On 6th November the Division, including the 9th Battalion York & Lancaster Regiment entrained for the lengthy move by rail to Italy.

Today, 11th November 1917 the Division arrived in Italy and started on the long march to the front line.


18 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi,
This blog is really good. Keeping me in suspense and great from a historical point of view. Have added it to my favourites.

Here at the Grimsby Wargames Society we play WW1 games frequently and about to make some new terrain for those games.
Good work.

The Accidental Existentialist said...

This has to be one of the more original and ingenious blogs out there. Thank you for coming up with this. As a student of history, there is simply no way to factor the value of the release of the letters 90 years, to the day.

Thanks again for your blog.

Rowan said...

I've just found this fascinating story via the blog Corners of My Mind and have read through it all - appropriate on Remembrance Sunday. My grandfather fought with the 5th & 6th battalion of the Warwickshire Regiment in WW1 but I have never heard or read anything about his experiences so this gives me a small insight into his life. I look forward to reading more.

Trishymouse said...

Amazing blog. I will keep my eyes peeled for the diaries, and good luck...

KARATEKID and TRUE INSANITY said...

I really enjoy reading this blog. Thank you so much for creating it and letting us read it.

risky mouse said...

Hi there, Just found your blog. Fascinating. My Dad is transcribing his father's WWI diaries. I have thought about blogging them when they are done. Here is my grandfather's 11-11-1917 entry:

Sunday, November 11, 1917 Weather: Showers
Were relieved this morning at 9 A,M, Was never so thankful for anything in my life. Was wet thru & coated with mud from head to foot. Returned to billets & turned in for a sleep. Stayed in bed all day. We fired 240 rounds during our twenty-four hours duty This is my twenty-second birthday. Spent my last birthday in England and the one before that in Canada. Where shall I spend the next? I hope in Canada.

Rosie said...

Hi, thanks for your comment on my blog. Re my grandfather being at the same school as yours - I think probably not as by 1891 his direct family had moved from Awsworth to Ilkeston (not many miles away) although his grandparents were still in Awsworth. I have put a photo of him on my family history blog and a link in my post.

I am so pleased to have found you and look forward to following Harry's story.

Chanticleer said...

This is terrific! I'm linking you to my blog.

Rômulo said...

Nice stuff! Even from here, where no war was done, it sounds amazing.

Mike C said...

This is a great idea; however, when there are breaks in the dates, can you please put at the bottom of the post when the next entry will be? I think that would be a great help.

Cheers,

mjc

Tea said...

What an amazing thing you are doing in your Grandfathers memory! I went back to the beginning and found it so interesting.
My Great Grandad was in that same war and was from the Birmingham area. I have an old portrait photo of him in uniform. You`ve made me want to get it out and have another good look at it and try to imagine what they must have saw. If it`s there, in his eyes.

tea
xo

Daryl-Hunter said...

Thanks for this blog

John Guzlowski said...

I knew a WWI veteran when I was a kid, 4-5. He was a man physically and emotionally damaged by his experiences.

I wrote a blog about him at my site about my parents and their experiences in the concentration camps of WWII.

Here's the url:

http://lightning-and-ashes.blogspot.com/2007/11/november-11-1918-day-world-war-i-ended.html

Steve said...

Bravo! Wonderful use of a Blog! It's a shame that so few people have the insight to educate their readers when it comes to this format.

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Bruce said...

This is really the most original blog I have ever come across. Very nice work!!!

Anonymous said...

This is a fine blog. A great piece of work. For those who would like to know more, I recommend the books of Lyn MacDonald, who wrote about the war in the trenches from the soldiers' perspectives. The Third Battle of Ypres, which lasted from July 31 to November 10 (officially) is one of those perfectly ghastly wastes of human lives called war, and you will note the complete idiocy of FM Haig in pouring men into the mud of the Ypres salient.

Particularly poignant is MacDonald's "The Roses Of No Man's Land", about the women -- and doctors -- who tended to the wounded. The men make the mess, the women clean up after them. Sounds familiar somehow.

John Guzlowski said...

I completely agree with Tallyrand. The works of Lyn MacDonald are unbelievable.

She has a gift for writing in such a way that history shakes itself free of the flatness of facts, and gives us instead the bones and suffering.


http://lightning-and-ashes.blogspot.com/