Diary of George Booley, 5th Battalion, AIF, 1917, Part 16 of 19

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1917. 
42nd Week. 
(293-72) 

Morning parade as per 
usual, the morning was misty 
& a Hun plane came across a few 
hundred feet up having a good 
look at things in General, we 
heard later that he was drive 
down. In the afternoon the 
football team played the 
2^nd M G. Coy & the 2nd A L T M B. combined 
& beat them, the Artillery 
was very hot during the 
afternoon & night, also 
Bombs from aeroplanes. 

 
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1917. 
43rd Week. 
(294-71) 20th after Trinity. LESSONS. 
Matins--Ezekiel xxxiv. ; 2 Thessalonians i. 
Evensong--Ezekiel xxxvii. or Daniel i. : Luke xv. vII. 

Church parade in the  
morning the Div General was 
in attendance & spoke a few 
words in ref to the recent operations  
& "said the Div left nothing 
undone". In the afternoon 
Gen. Birdwood gave out ribbons 
won recently 4 of our Boys were 
decorated, in a speech 
he said that he considered 
our Div second to nothing 
in the British Forces, 
& that is something for a 
man to say who had 3 
rows of ribbons before he 
saw Australians.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1917 
43rd Week. 
(295-70) 

Left Halifax Camp in 
the morning & went to a 
rough kind of a camp near 
the Menin gate of Ypres, we 
had to build shelters, but 
are expert at that now, in 
moving up we passed a Bde 
of Canadians going up, they 
are taking the place of our 
2^nd Corp who had a miss at 
Paschendale Ridge, it 
rained during the night 
& we awoke to find about 
2 inches of water running 
through, beneath our 
waterproof sheets.
 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1917. 
43rd Week. 
(296-69) 

Moved again & took up 
quarters in pill boxes on the 
slopes of Westhoek Ridge to act 
as reserve for the half Bde in the 
line, we can get a good 
view of the war from here, 
especially the part of most 
importance at present, Paschendale  
Ridge can be seen 
very plainly, & comes in for 
a fair amount of strafe. 
This area is shelled very 
frequently by rather heavy 
guns, causing us to keep 
one eye on the pill box 
while moving about out 
side. The lines are giving 
a fair amount of trouble 
mules getting tangled in it 
& shells.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1917. 
43rd Week. 
(297-68) 

Today was spent 
mostly squatting around 
a small charcoal Brazier 
& feeling miserable to a 
degree, the lines getting 
broken fairly often but 
on the whole we have 
not been overworked.  


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1917. 
43rd Week. 
(298-67) 

The 28^th Anniversary 
of the greatest event of my 
life but I was pleased that 
people refrained from wishing 
me many returns of this 
particular day as ones 
only happy thought is 
that he is alive, the day 
was spent much in the 
same way as yesterday, 
sit inside until we get 
tired of that then walk 
outside until he puts 
a shell a bit too close & 
we look silly & crawl in 
again. 
L 2

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1917. 
43rd Week. 
(299-66)   

At 5.40 this morning the 
guns all opened on a Copse 
fronting Paschendale Ridge 
the Canadians took the place 
& were shelled out, later reoccupying  
it, our Bde took 
a small part in the business 
going forward to straighten 
the line & taking 40 prisoners,  
being a most successful  
operation, they had 
to retire temporaliy when 
the Canadians got out, 
There was a SOS in the 
evening but really what 
happened we dont know, 
so you see being at the war 
does not necessarily mean 
we know all about it. 
 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1917. 
43rd Week. 
(300-65)   

Went into the line in place 
of the 8^th, I went up with a 
party of in advance, the track 
in was rather rough & the 
sight of a few men who had 
been recently killed lying 
on the side of the duckboards 
kept us well on the move 
although we were weary & 
heavy laden. The Bn took 
over in the evening without 
a Casualty which was a 
wonderful thing seeing the 
amount of metal flying 
around, our quarters are some 
pill boxes which appear to 
be much strafed-

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1917. 
44th Week. 
(301-64) 21st after Trinity. SS. Simon & Jude. 
LESSONS--Matins-- Daniel iii, or Isaiah xxviii. v 9 to v 17 ; 1 Timothy v. 
Evensong--Daniel iv. or v. or Jeremiah iii. v 12 to v 19 ; 
Luke xix v 23. 

Settled in the line now 
our domicile is a mass of 
concrete with 3 entrances 
about 2 ft sq. it put one 
in mind of a rabbit hutch 
inside each compartment 
was room for four at a squeeze, 
but not high enough to 
sit up in, on top was about 
6 feet of reinforced concrete 
which made us very pleased 
when suddenly at close intervals  
a barrage of whizz-bangs 
many of which would hit 
direct, in the night we 
were shelled with gas 
shells.  


MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1917. 
44th Week. 
(302-63) 

Just the same old 
things shelling periodically 
then a host of aeroplanes 
would cause some excitement  
& so on through the 
day, during the night we 
were again shelled heavily 
with gas shells.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1917. 
44th Week. 
(303-62) 

Relieved from the line 
in the evening & came back 
to a camp on the Canal of on 
the West side of Ypres, we 
had a fairly rough run 
out, the shelling being a 
bit willing part of the way, 
the after effects of a hop out 
by the Canadians in which 
they took all objectives, 
just as we were coming 
out the SOS went up & 
things got very willing. 
Oct. 31st 
there is not a single 
House in the town that 
it will be possible to rebuild,  
the town in pre war 
days would compare favourably  
with Bendigo. 
  
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1917. 
44th week. 
(304-61) 

Today we scraped the 
mud of likewise the whiskers 
the day we were relieved 
one of the lads said we 
were like the men of pre-historic  
times, living in 
caves & growing a profusion 
of hair, I had not had a 
shave for near a fortnight. 
We were living in a cellar 
of a one time house, Ypres 
is an awful scene of desolation,  
it must have been 
one of Frances most Historic 
towns, it has fine Battlements  
all round surrounded  
by a Canal, I think

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1917. 
44th Week. 
(305-60) All Saints' Day  LESSONS. 
Matins--Wisdom iii. to v 10 ; Hebrews xi. v 33 & xii. to v 7 
Evensong--Wisdom v. to v 17 : Revelation xix. to v 17.
  
Moved to a camp of huts in 
the vicinity of Belgian Chateau 
to make room for the 1st 
Bde moving up, there is 
nothing notable about these 
parts with the exception  
that it is a big wagon 
line & Camp combined 
& the Bosche pays particular 
attention to it 
with Bombs, but so far 
luck seems to be with 
us as the weather is 
dull & the nights dark 
& inclined to be rainy. 
The Boys came back from 
the rest camp. 
 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1917. 
44th Week. 
(806-59) 

In the morning went 
for a walk & in the afternoon 
went to a Concert Party in 
a Hall opposite, the programme  
was a good one 
the chief item being the 
leading Lady, it was the 
best impersonation I have 
seen, the features were 
perfect & his voice would 
not disgrace any females 
rumour has it that the 
same man impersonated 
a woman in Adelaide 
for some time for a bet 
& succeeded until put 
away by the man the bet 
was made with.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1917. 
44th Week. 
(307-58) 

On & off all day our 
Boys were working on 
various jobs, in the afternoon  
I did a bit for once 
shoveling France into 
sandbags & putting them 
round the hut for fear. 
Fritz in one of his more 
frivolous moods drops 
Bombs around the hut, 
it will make it necessary  
to get a direct hit 
to do much damage, 
the weather still continues  
dull & cloudy, 
Corp. M: Hague wounded. 


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1917 
45th Week. 
(308-57) 22nd after Trinity. LESSONS. 
Matins-Daniel vi: Titus i. 
Evensong- Daniel vii. v 9 or xxii.: Luke xxii. v 54 

Church parade in the morning 
in the Kookaburras Hall, as 
usual there was something farcical  
about it, as the appointed 
time the Pardre commenced with 
the first hymn, about half way through 
the acting adjutant came 
tearing in & spoke to the senior 
Officer who transmitted it to the 
Pardre, the hymn finished the 
Pardre & the senior Officer went out & 
argued it out with the C.O, in 
the meantime the Band gave a 
selection, they evidently decided 
to go on without the C.O., & the 
service went along uninterrupted. 
to the finish. Bert McKellor  came  
to see me.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1917. 
45th Week. 
(309-56) 

Sig parade morning & after 
noon, I did nothing on the morning  
parade & went to wagon 
line for some sig gear during 
afternoon parade hours, the 
weather still remains cloudy 
& dull hense no aerial activity 
the Hun threw a few heavy shells 
over searching for big guns 
in the vicinity. 
 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1917. 
45th Week. 
(310-55)

Too damp for parades, so 
did nothing, the Coys are still 
going forward working on Railway 
Construction, it is not the nicest 
of jobs & casualities often occur. 
This morning Paschendale 
ridge & Village was taken I am 
not sure what other troops were 
in it, our Div & the Canadians 
took a big part, late in the 
evening there was a big barrage 
put up no doubt a counter 
attack but I am in hopes of it 
being held this time as apart 
from being valuable to us it is 
more so to the Bosche. In the 
afternoon we went to the to concert 
party & some of the musical 
items were excellent.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1917. 
45th Week. 
(311-54) 

In the early morning a 
Bosche plane came over & dropped 
a few Bombs but none near us. The 
weather appears to be breaking 
up now, it is much later than 
last year as this time last year 
we had put in one of the worst 
months of the year, it is raining 
again today, we will be lucky 
if we see the Sun for the next 
month or so. 

 
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1917. 
45th Week. 
(312-53) 

Today opened up rather 
bright & our planes were up in 
numbers evidently intent on keeping  
Fritz in his place which they 
did pretty well, about midday 
one got over & was knocked down 
very soon, one of our planes just 
chased him & knocked him 
amid cheers from thousands, 
later in the day another came 
down in the distance too far away 
to tell who it belonged to, one of 
our captive balloons also met with 
disaster, during the night 
there was a good deal of Bomb 
dropping but nothing dangerous 
to us.