Diary of Alexander Sutherland Mackay, 15 June 1917 - 26 October 1917 - Part 1

15.6.17
4 3.8
 

Landed in Le Havre France
on 15/6/17. a Friday. On the
Saturday we were taken to
the Bullring tested our Box
Respirators & passed out at Gunnery
Only about 5 gunners failed to
pass.
30/6/17. Still awaiting draft
from this Base. We unless picked
for various fatigues, we are taken
for route marches both in morning
& afternoon. Some beautiful walks
here, long shady avenues, lined
both sides with immense trees

meetingoverhead. You see some
magnificent homes with fine
orchards - cherries black & red currants
galore, also some find vegetable
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gardens. Goodness knows what
they they intend doing with
all the Artillery, they have
hundreds here waiting to reinforce
the different divisions & there
must be thousands undergoing
training in Blighty. Raining
practically everyday
We get passes & occasionally for
Le Havre & Harfleur, but the
other village Monte Villers is placed
out of bounds although we have
been through it on route marches.
23/7/17 left Le Havre for up the
line leaving camp at 5.30 pm
& marching to Le Harve a fairly
solid contrait with all kit up.

The train left about 2 am & we

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reached Rouen about 7.30 am
We detrained here & were
marched to a rest camp, about 
10 minutes walk. We have just
finished breakfast & expect
to leave about 2 30 pm today 24/7/17.  
25/7/17. Left Roven Rouen at 5.30
pm yesterday. Sat up all night
& reached Etaples about 7am
this morning. Had breakfast -
wash & shave there, this place
was the former Australian Base
& is now occupied by Canadians
& Tommies. xxxx x xxxxxx
with Then on to Boulogne, we
did not stop, continuing on
for Calais. Outside Boulogne
you see a statue of Napoleon

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it is fixed on the top of
a huge column like at lighthouse
Napoleon is standing up with
his back towards England.
I believe he camped here
for 7 months before deciding
to forego his object of conquering
England. There are some.
fine scenes on this line but
the French buildings do not
possess one, they are the old
square or oblong style. The
kids are still humming but
Biscuits & Bully Beef have
displaced the howl for pennies.
I was sup surprised to see
whole camps of Japs & other
camps of coul coloured races, from
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all accounts, they are employed
solely behind the lines
Reached Calais or outside, did not
delay long, on through St Omer
Baillieu to Steenwerck where
we detrained & went to a rest
camp. We had tea there & waited.
until about 10.30 pm. for a G S
Waggon to take us on to the D.A.C.
We reached that place about 11.30pm
We are now in Belgium, you hear
the guns booming day & night.
the DAC is only some 5 or 6 miles
behind the Batteries.
26/7/17. Allowed to miss first parade
at 6 am, made first appearance
at breakfast. All day long was
employed enlarging a feed room

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27/7/7 Sent away today to
unload ammunition from the
limbers at one of the dumps
about a mile behind the batteries.
It was my first appearance of
shells bursting. Fritz was shelling
the road near where we came
up, about 100 yards away. You
hear the big shells whistling
overhead then see a cloud of
dust followed by the report.
Its very interesting to watch the
reception Fritz's Aeroplanes receive
immediately he comes over, our
Antiaircraft guns start to sing
& you see a ring of small clouds
(shells bursting) near the machine
Our machines also whiz round

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& rat a tat with their machine guns
We send up a line of observation
balloons every day. At night you
see a continual glare from the
guns & innumerable star shells
dropping from aeroplanes
28/7/17} Working at Ammunition
29/7/17} Dumps all day. No shells.
bursting. Fritz has been fairly quiet
the last two days, in fact little
beyond the Anti-aircraft guns have
been heard
30/7/17. Informed today that I
am to go to a trench I Mortar Mortar
School at Saint Amer for about
three weeks. We were first sent
for a bath & then to D A C. Headquarters
for pay. Whilst at the

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latter place, we saw shells bursting
on Baillieu & a firs large column
of smoke rising from Armentieres
These baths are great inventions.
You hand your leggings boots.
& valuables (if any) at one window,
Tunic & Breeches at another & underclothes
at another. After having a bath,
your receive clean underclothing
& your tunic & Breeches back ironed
on the inside, to roast any travellers.
On returning, three of us were
placed under open arrest for
not saluting a Colonel. We were
innocent as we did not see him,
but the case will probably be on
tomorrow & they may decide to the
contrary. Up here you would think
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that frill would be dropped, but
they appear keen as ever on it.

Its an eyeopener to see the number
of women & young children knocking
about here, evidently the poor beggars
can't get away, but they the shells
do not worry them, by appearances.
We leave tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday
morning for the school
31/7/17. Doing fatigues round the
camp all day. This afternoon three
of us faced the barrier for not
saluting the Colonel & were awarded
7 days C.B. This punishment
in addition to stopping in camp
generally means 2 hrs chaff cutting

of a night but as we are leaving
for the Trench Mortar school in
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the morning we were let off.
Consequently our 7 days amounts
to nil & is evidently for the benefit
of the Colonel.
1/8/17. At midnight last night
all the drivers were called out to
take ammunition up to the Batteries.
I did pity them, as it was raining
a treat, they got back at 5 this
morning. The bombardment the
last two days has been awful, one
continual roar howl, day & night of our
guns roaring. Our fellows made a
move all along the line & from
particulars to date, they have been
very successful. I believe the majority
of the prisoners here are regular
boys 16 & under. One officer was
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crying like a kid, he reckoned
the bombardment was terrible. One
to hear it, can't help pitying the
poor beggars. We left for the
school at 6 am to Hazelbr^ouck,
& saw some shops that Fritz had
shelled last night. This is the
first time he has shelled this
place, so the civilians were very.
nervous, a number waiting to get
away on the train we arrived on.
I felt rather sorry for one shopkeeper

a middle aged woman, she
told me she was very nervous & looked
it, but couldn't sell or leave her
business, Fritz will probably
send a few more tonight, he was
evidently after the Railway Station

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The beggars must be 16 miles
away but once they get on a spot
they generally send a few
nightcaps along. We had about
2 hours there & continued on to
Saint Omer, where motor busses
were waiting to take us out to
the school. It has been raining
all day long.
2/8/17. This camp is about 5 miles
out, we started schooling today
Revielle 5.30 am Parade 6am
one hour on  6inch Trench Mortar
Gun, 5 minutes smoko then
an hour or so physical jerks.
The Sergeant Major is a typical
soldier, very strict on parade but
I think a good fellow. We have
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good huts wooden floors, from the
outside, they look like long tanks
on the ground. Judging by breakfast
a little scrap of Bacon & some dry bread,
they don't intend to encourage
indigestion. Breakfast is at 8.30 am
we fall in again at 9.30 am. No
sound of the guns here, we are
evidently well out of range.
Had Gun drill until 11 am & then
knocked off barring a kit
inspection for the day. Dinner a
great improvement on breakfast, roast
beef, tined peas, boiled spuds & rice.
No more parades until 3 oclock, when
we fall in for a hot bath.
4/8/17. Sunday. Received pass
to visit St Omer. We had to

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walk in & out about 8
Kilometres each way (5 miles)
I was disappointed in the place
very poor dilapidated building
narrow streets & some of the
footpaths just wide enough
to hold one person. The only
building is the Cathedral, this
undoubtedly is well worth
seeing. We went right through
its a huge place. They have a
magnificent new organ, which
the priest told us is to be played
for the first time, when peace
declared. The Canal & Park
are nice, in the former you
see laden barges pulled along
by long cables attached to
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horses driven along the bank.
This place is totally undamaged
by Fritz. A large number
of Khaki girls are camped.
in the town, they are mostly
English girls, occupied chiefly
as clerks etc. They have their
own female officers & look very
pretty in their unforms. Worse
luck, they are forbidden to
converse or walk with soldiers
or officers. Not anxious for another
visit in, during our stay at this
school
6 5/8 Augt. Usual routine days
building trenches, gunpits etc
& training on 2 inch, 6 inch &

9.45 inch Mortar guns. We
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knock off at 12.30 each
day, so have a fairly easy
time, although the 2½ hours
before breakfast, are not
always appreciated.
10/8/17. Struck guard today,
falling in for one of 24 hours,
previously they only lasted
12 hours. We heard Hazelbrouck
was badly bombed by Fritz
the other day. Papers are
rather scarc here, you get
an occasional one & then its
a day late
20/8/17. We leave this school
tomorrow. It has been a loafing
three weeks but am not sorry
for a change. Im hoping they

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will send us up to a

Battery, as soon as we get

back to the D.A.C.

Visited Loumbres, a village

about 5 kilos away yesterday.

Like all these places at present

it was absolutely dead. Struck

a number of Portuguese soldiers

they appear a very inferior crowd

generally known as the Pork

& Beans contingents. Saw a baby

lion running loose in a garden,

one of the contingents have it

as a mascot. Near Lumbres

they have a Chinese Laboring Corps

camped. They look a real hardy

lot & much sturdier than the

average chow I've seen.

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22/8/17. Left Lenlingham School

yesterday morning & went as far

as Hazelbrouck. After an hour's

spell we proceeded to Steenwerck
reaching the Reinforcement camp

about 6.30 pm. We were then
instructed to foot it on to the
D.A.C. With all kits up it
was no joke, but we had no
generally known as the Porte
option so started of on the 5 mile
walk. About 10.30 we reached
our destination, as we thought, but
to our surprise we found a
deserted paddock. We were utterly
disgusted, especially considering that
the Reinforcement Depot had.
assured us, the D.A C was on
the same spot. We decided to
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