Diary of George Booley, 5th Battalion, AIF, 1917, Part 3 of 19

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1917. 
6th Week. 
(41-324) 

Day of raid final preparations 
it should be a great success  
if everything goes off right. 
Raid over & was not a success 
the Bosche were waiting 
for them & put up a fight 
the cause of the failure was 
insufficient artillery preparation 
which we had nothing 
to do with, the Lads 
fought their way in at one 
end & took a few prisoners 
but these were all killed on 
the way over. One of our runners 
failed to return, we 
do not know if he is dead 
or prisoner. 
  
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(42-323) Sexagesima. LESSONS. 
Matins—Genesis iii ; Matthew xxiii. v 13. 
Evensong—Genesis vi. or viii. ; Acts xxvi 

Moved to line our Head 
Quarters is a place known 
as Factory Corner, there was 
once a Factory of some sort 
here now a few broken parts 
of machinery, we live in 
the cellars of a broken house 
& are fairly safe, underneath 
there is dugout room for 
about a Bn of men & there 
they are safe. I am NCO in 
charge now as the Corp is  
away at a school but I  
still carry on as linesman.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(43-322) 

Did line work all day 
& went all round lines 
forward at night, a thaw 
is setting in the day cloudy 
& murky this is about the  
first sign of a thaw since 
about the middle of Jan 
or roughly speaking for a  
month.  
  
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(44-321) 

One of our planes came 
down killing both men. 
Fish tails prevalent & I 
can assure you we did 
not tarry on the lines at  
night, we have to keep 
ourselves moving from 
Machine guns too as they 
can fire all over the country 
we have to work on & 
as soon as a flare comes 
up we get down tout de suite 
& as flares go up at the rate 
of about a dozen in the 
minute that is in 
effective range you can 
see we do not travel 
very fast.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(45-320) 

Our Heavies very busy on our 
left firing on what is known 
as the MAZE this place has 
been attacked time & again 
by the British but each time 
they have been hit back, the 
Butte de Warlencourt seems to 
be the place that does the damage 
it appears to us to be a large 
mound of earth nearly as big 
as one of the pyramids. In the 
afternoon we went to the Artillery 
O.P to mend the lines & got a 
splendid view of the Country also 
the Bombardment. We had a  
rough night on the lines owing 
to some shelling & heavy barrage 
of fishtails. 
  
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(46-319) 

The day has been quiet & 
the night was quiet for the 
line work, we shifted D Coy 
phone into a big dugout in 
what is known as Yarra Bank 
their old dugout got a shell  
through it luckily no one was 
killed although a couple got 
wounds.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(47-318) 

Much warmer today, there appears 
to be a thaw setting in, 
the artillery has been busy 
today also many air fights, 
some of our own heavy shells 
firing short bursting near 
to our head quarters. The 
7^th Bn Linesmen went over 
the line in the night with 
me preparatory to taking over 
from us. 
  
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1917. 
7th Week. 
(48-317) 

Foggy all day, the thaw is 
setting in now making the 
place sloppy again. I did not 
go over the lines tonight. 

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(49-316) Quinquagesima. LESSONS. 
Matins—Genesis ix to v 20 ; Matthew xxvi. v 57 
Evensong—Genesis xii. or xiii. ; Romans ii. v 17 

Had a look over the lines to 
the Support trenches & put 
them in order & had everything 
fixed before night. 
  
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(50-315) 

Relieved by 7^th Bn & 
moved to support known 
as Fleurs line, it was funny 
the Sig Officer we handed 
over to went to Zeitoun School 
with us as a L/cpl & then when 
I wanted to go out in the 
evening & I was detailed as 
mess orderly I used to give 
him & a couple of his mates 
10 Piastres to buy beer & 
do the job for me. We had 
all settled in our new position 
by 4.A.M.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(51-314) Shrove Tuesday. 

Getting ourselves comfortable 
in our new quarters, our 
dugout is a deep one & we 
live down among the Heads. 
I wrote to a friend of Les Hicks 
a Hospital Sister telling her 
of his mishap. We have quiet 
times here. 
  
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(52-313) Ash Wednesday. LESSONS. 
Matins—Isaiah lviii. to v 13 ; Mark ii. v 13 to v 23 
Evensong—Jonah iii. ; Hebrews xii. v 3 to v 18 

All put on fatigue doing 
up the trench, the Sig Officers 
appeared to be doing most 
of the work. Artillery pretty 
busy. I wrote to Les Hicks 
Brother

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(53-312) 

Quiet day, we put in a 
short time cleaning up the 
trench. Bosche shelled 
a bit in the evening. 
  
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(54-311) 

Went to Q. M. in the afternoon & 
on the way passed a chap 
sprinting along the duckboards 
on a Bicycle, this is a tricky 
thing to do, he must know 
his work as a cyclist. Standing 
to in view of some movement 
of Huns, from information 
received they believe he 
is evacuating his trenches 
on our front so we are 
ready to chase him.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1917. 
8th Week. 
(55-310) St. Matthias. LESSONS. 
Matins—1 Samuel ii. v 27 to v 36 ; Mark i. v 21. 
Evensong—Isaiah xxii, v 15 : Romans viii. to v 18. 

Went to Q.M. in afternoon sent away for a 
new Torch, saw a chap scorching along on a 
bike along the duckboards, a very dangerous 
ride, being very tricky to walk on, this 
can be understood as they are only about 3 
feet wide & uneven & slippery, it was one 
of the most daring things I have seen. 
Information to hand about some Enemy 
move & as we are the support Battalion 
have to stand ready to move any minute 
runners dashing everywhere bringing 
up supports, enemy seen leaving trenches 
in small parties, our patrols at once 
went in & occupied some of their trench 
taking a few prisoners, everything very  
quiet hardly a shot fired by morning 
we had advanced over near 1000 yds.  
  
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1917. 
9th Week. 
(56-309) 1st in Lent. LESSONS. 
Matins—Genesis xix. v 12 to v 30 ; Mark ii. to v 23 
Evensong—Genesis xxii. to v 20 or xxiii. ; Romans viii v 18 

Most of today spent trying to fathom 
out why the Enemy evacuated his trenches 
our Battalion are most of them moved up 
closely supporting the 7^th, on the left he 
seems to be putting up some opposition,  
by reports to hand the Lads have made 
good progress & are following close on 
his heels, so far the reason of the evacuation 
is not clear to us, & by the 
talk we have many would be Generals 
in our midst, we may be able to form  
some idea later once we find out just 
how far he is retiring. Day foggy in the 
morning but cleared towards mid day. 
Tommy returned from Leave

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1917. 
9th Week. 
(57-308) 

The Enemy still on the move 
& our chaps following, we move to the 
line tonight so will get some idea for 
ourselves what is doing, everybody in 
great heart, the guns are being pushed 
forward & everything working well. 
Moved in to line during the early hours 
of the morning we put out a new wire 
out near LE. BARQUE, things seem 
very quiet, only bursts of fire now & 
again & the Enemy Artillery firing from 
away back at extreme ranges, 
he shelled fairly freely with gas 
shells during the evening & the 
early hours of the morning both 
tear & poison gas but little damage 
seems to have been done, every one 
nearby was crying & coughing 
but otherwise all O.K. 
  
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1917. 
9th Week. 
(58-307) 

Well and truly settled in 
the trenches or at least I should 
not say settled as the Bosche is 
moving back & we are following 
the fighting being more like that of 
the earlier stages of the War, mostly 
Rifle & Machine Gun work being done 
the Artillery work being more for 
Moral effect, tonight we moved  
forward again in conjunction with 
our right & left flanks, the left 
making some considerable advance 
on their left passing right 
through the Village of  T HILLCOY 
this bringing BAPAUME within 
1000 yards, much blowing up is 
going on & by reports received 
the Bosche blew up the tower of  
the BAPAUME (Church or Town Hall), in 
one of the strong points left by him an 
explosion occurred accidental or other 
wise leaving a large Crater in which 
one of our Corp have their HQ.S now.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1917. 
9th Week. 
(59-306) Ember Day. 

The same old game 
following the Enemy up step by step. 
Capt O'Loughlin killed, our Head 
Quarters is at Yarra Bank a 
pretty well sheltered spot & 
was our first line a few days 
ago, only a line of outposts 
being in front of it, since the 
retirement started  we can 
see where out lines were run 
out, I knew we used to be  
pretty close to their lines of  
a night when going round 
the lines, we find now we  
used to be travelling over 
no mans land & were within 
about 200 yards from the Bosche 
trenches with only the outposts 
between & we used to go  
unarmed. 
  
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1917. 
9th Week. 
(60-305) St. David s Day. 

Rather a nice sunny 
day much aerial work, 6 of us 
moved forward to Lusinhoff 
Farm. to an advanced Head Quarters 
in the early morning the f Enemy 
have a habit of putting up a barrage 
for a short time & making things 
lively. Lusinhoff Farm is only a 
heap of debris now but underneath 
is rather an elaborate 
system of passages & dugouts 
to give some idea, two Battalion 
Head Quarters were established 
in it, the strange part 
of it was that it was not blown 
up, it had the appearance of 
being got ready under the Road 
but were chased too soon to  
carry it out.