Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-1917-1918 - Part 1

 A cam to operate stricker for 
clearance of the base of
cartridge to be fitted and
bronzed to bolt operating
against cocking piece
A band fixed for of the
bed backsight, with standard
for screw adjusting fusca
spring,
A flat plate brazed to
bolt head with loop for
fitting attacked to fuse

spring
Spring, fusce, size: length 4½

did 5/8, gauge 12
A check lever can he fity
to the body for momentarily
holding a portion of the bold
knot. Suggest M K I pattern
vickers

[[SEE ORIGINAL DOCUEMENT FOR DRAWING]]

An old issue bolt head has
been substituted for the bolt.
head. The difference is the absence
of the tenon groove in the
bolt head thread.
The striker pin is lengthened
 by one turn of the
 bolt head the tenon filed
off, and two recesses cut in
the striker collar
The cam stud on the rear
of the bolt has been removed
also the cam grooves, the
whole recess being squared
A fresh hole, higher up near the
butt of the bolt knob, has
been bored to receive the
bolt locking piece
The resisting lug has been
removed.

[[SEE ORIGINAL DOCUEMENT FOR DRAWINGS]]


 

[[SEE ORIGINAL DOCUEMENT FOR DRAWING]]

11th July
Waddy Guzze, Palestine 1917.
Bolt. cam on rear of
bolt.

[[SEE ORIGINAL DOCUEMENT FOR DRAWING]]
Resisting lug left on. One turn
of bolt head thickness
of metal brazed on to
bolt head. Part of
cam on end of bolt filled up
with metal. And brazed on to
bolt head to fasten fusee
spring attachment. Fuse
spring attached to regulating
screw which is fixed to send
attached to barrel fore of bed
sight plate. Spring Bet
Bradbury bicycle about ½" dia.
Length of Spring 5½" with
hook b" length of fusee
spring attachment. 3"
Regulating screw 4". Total
length of fusee and
attachments when bolt is
home 8½  cranked

[[SEE ORIGINAL DOCUEMENT FOR DRAWING]]
 

[[SEE ORIGIANL DOCUEMENTS FOR DRAWINGS]]
 

12 July
Rifle fired of rounds.
5 Separations
2 extractions, ejections &
reloads.
4 rnds, one slightly split
Fusee 5lbs.
Flat on bottom side

[[DRAWING]] thickness
Width
length
top side
groove
T1/16 depth

[[DRAWING]]
groove
1/8 depth  1/16

[[DRAWING]]

Bottom side.
Hollowed out

 cam groove to
allow cam on
small spring to
grip, so pulling

mechanism backwards
upwards and downwards

slightly cranked
A groove deep at rear
end, to allow end of rear to grip
leach shot for R, once only for A.) 

[[DRAWING]]

Top side

Guide screw and 

guide slot

Adjusting screw

cam

this part is hollowed out Sear

Cam

[[DRAWING]]

[[?]] thickness

The fore end cam, which on its upper
surface is slightly hollowed to allow
of free movement of bolt over it
highest part of
cam

[[DRAWING]]

highest part of cam
These two cams rise from a gradual
slope, and i are pressed on by two
screws which are screwed into the
body, and which, as the trip is
pushed forward until the two
main cam screws are pressing on
the highest portion of cam are
thereby pushed downward, x
lowering the sear with them
thus allowing the cocking piece
to strike forward,

                                
The fore end of body, under
bridge is cut out, to allow of
forward end of trip passing
backwards and forwards. The two
main cam screws are screwed
 

into the body about an 1¼ to
the rear of resisting lug. The
at adjusting screw is
worked on the time the resisting
lug reaches the resisting lug
recess, and is thus just
in the firing position.
 

The thick rear portion is also
filed away, to allow of small
spring with cam on end- to
be placed under rear end of
sear, where it engages in cam
groove, and springs the sear
into place immediately the shot
has been fired and the
resisting lug has left its
recess, thus allowing the
cam on forward end of trip
to spring back when the two
main cams sliding back from
 

the two main screws on to their
smaller planes, allow the sear
on rear end of trip to spring
upwards. Thes small striker
cam spring is screwed into
position on the bottom of the
rear of the body, and in this
case is the a maxim extractor
spring slightly cut away.
 

Alterations Body
Chamber for bolt head
including recess for
extractor, boll head
guide bolt way, to
accommodate, to accommodate
¾" bolt breish
recess for resistance lug
to act as one stop for
bolt projections cams for
automatic sear on the under
side of body recessed for
spring locking bolt and
momentary pause, bridge
raised & [[?]] to the
right for clearance of larger
bolt head with a prolong
[[?]] on left side to get
as carried for locking
spring which will be
held by screws fixing
cut off to be used block
on right side to the rear
 

of bridge, for the stop
bolt device, block to
the rear of bolt way
on the left
 

23 Aug 1917. At Rafa. Landed here
yesterday afternoon and am
waiting for horses to take us to
our Brigade which are camped
on the beach. General Allenby
has put the whole Anzac Division
on B class, as he says they have
been frightfully overworked,
and are only wrecks of men. So
the Division is to get a months
spell on the beach, Meanwhile
our greeting so far is the
Boom - Boom of guns, a
few miles on ahead, where
the Turks are slinging us
their lumps of iron and we
are slinging back ours,
' ' ' ' An Italian from Tripoli
was telling us last night of
how the Arabs put down
an old well two hundred, feet
deep three hundred Italian
 

prisoners. A nice sort of
death, Aug 31st. We are all on
the beach now having a
good time, but the tucker
could be a lot better. A
good stew at night bread
and ham for breakfast
and dinner, and sometimes
short issue at that. The
regiment have had a
good many night stunts
since I,ve been away.
18th Sept. We are moving out
closer to the front today. We
have had a good time on the
beach, the best regulated camp
weve ever had. No idiotic
tent inspections and lining up
of saddles very few duties.
We've even had boxing
tournaments and concerts. In
the paper has appeared
notice that 5000 of the
 

original Australians are to
go back to Australia. Of
course the whole Division
could talk and think of
nothing else. And then
shortly there comes another
paragraph contradicting the
first. The swine who allow
those reports to appear in
the papers should be hung
and quartered. Better still
they should be made to
enlist and after three years
should see in the paper that
they are to go back to Australia
for a spell. Next day they
should be given a paper
contradicting the report:
Of course, the chances are
eighty to one that they
would not live through
the three years. In that
case I would be sorry
The Imperial authorities
 

have finally turned
the rifle invention down.
It appears that the rifle
cannot be made in Egypt
and although the idea created
a big impression in Cairo
it is to be turned down on
that account. ' ' ' ' ' ' '
About [[?]] 14th This camp has
been the devil of a camp. Great
clouds of fine dust choking
the whole camp nearly every
day. Numerous petty duties to do.
By day and night the
mumbling talk of those
damned guns. The only bright
spot on the whole thing was
the arrival of tinned fruit
and a lot of milk from
Brisbane. I believe. it was
the ladies who rung the
"[[?]] Cafe who sent us
the foodsstuff. Good Luck
 

to them for it, anyway, and
so say all of us. A day or so
ago, I forget the date we all
saw a great air duel. One of
our planes and a taube got
into holts right up over the
battle country. They were high
up, and swooped below, above
and to the side of one another
at all conceivable angles. It
was splendid manoeuvring on
both sides. We could hear both
planes machine guns, and see
the smoke as they blazed at
one another: Suddenly the
taube nose dived and then
with terrific speed crashed
straight down to earth. My
pity went out to the poor
devil in the machine, no
matter what nationality he
may be. Of course he was
shapeless when he hit the
ground. Thousands of men,
 

all over the field, watched
that fight, and the Turks in
their trenches at Gaza
watched it. It is the second
machine the same aviator
has brought down within
the last couple of days.
' ' ' ' 22nd Oct. At last we
are in for it, in deadly
earnest. We moved out
last night and are camping
at [[?]] As soon as we
struck here we went on
outpost duty, but I think
there will be plenty of night
work for some time to
come. I wonder if my luck
will pull me through the
next month. 23rd Early morning:
Rifle shots now, pretty close.
Our patrols and the Turkish
patrols having a little argument.
There was a bit of gunfire
too. Old Jacks has just woke
 

up to it that there is something
doing away out on this flank.
Straight north of us is old
Beersheba closed in by its
big grey Judean hills. It is
from there that Jackos
patrols are swarming to
dispute our way. There is
a big feeling of expectancy
among all of us. 25th Last night.
we commenced a very hazardous
march, and one in which I think
we will get plenty of excitement
before it is ended. We got here
without old Jacks taking a tumble
at all but one of his Taubies
has just been over, so I
suppose we can expect things
to happen shortly. This is
one of the little places that are
quite hidden from the eyes of
civilized man, quite a place
unknown. It is on both banks
of a wadi, on a tiny flat,