Thomas James Richards, Diaries, Transcript Vol. 4, 9 November 1916 - 31 May 1918 - Part 24

- 222 -
taking over the town picket until 9.20.
I am a member of a Court Martial to-morrow and I am
trying to find out something about Court Martials as I have
never been to one yet.
February 22nd.     Friday.
As a member of a Court Martial I took up my duties at 2 p.m
and without a break of any kind went along until 9 p.m. before
finishing the last of 11 cases. I was my first Court experience
and very interesting indeed. But being the junior member I
had to express my opinion and punishment first.
I asked 4 Sisters to dinner at 6 p.m. to-night they came
along alright but I missed dinner and had only 40 minutes with
them. They were from the No. 1 C.C.S. and were jolly fine
especially Nance O'Neill.
February 23rd.     Saturday.
Monkeying around in parade to-day as usual. It is monotonous 

work, but glory be to the fact that the C.0. does not
bother us much. Capt. Walker O.C. B. Coy. is a nuisance always
worrying about little things. He forgot about a picket of 16
men and an officer yesterday but not about the chin straps
and dirty boots. When he is drunk he's remarkably funny.
After practicing with the team Capt. Bootles and I rode
over to the No. 1 C.C.S. Had tea with Nance O'Neill and
came back to dinner and a picture show which I enjoyed
immensely.
February 24th.      Sunday.
A Brigade Church Parade this morning. It went off alright 
as far as I could see.
I walked 10 kilos in the afternoon and went to the Concert
given by the 4th Ammunication Motor Column. It was splendid,
 

- 223 -
the two men dress as women were very good indeed. It was
quite a professional show right through.
February 25th.     Monday.
Wet for parading to-day, but we filled up all shortages
and are now ready for the line, which we expect to be a very
easy part this time again.
The fight for 500 francs aside this afternoon was a very
good one indeed. The lst Bn. man Kirkpatrick won from
Hollingsworth of the Artillery after 20 rounds. The former
was 12 1bs overweight and forfeited 250 francs he was 10-13 lbs.
To-night I am writing though there is a fancy dress supper
for our officers to-night in the anti-room.
My valise lost since August came to hand intact.
February 26th.     Tuesday.
We beat the Engineers to-day by 14 to 0 and are now the
winners of Devisional Competition. The Engineers were not a
very good side but played hard and determined right through.
Our backs Stevenson, Boardman and Donnelly and Carstairs done
splendidly, while the forwards were solid.
My long lost valise came to hand from London to-day. It
has been travelling around for over 6 months and there was
nothing stolen or missing from it at all.
Sat on a Court Martial and done well although I dont know
the first thing about the different kinds of punishments etc.
February 27th.    Wednesday.
We moved up from Meteren to-day. The weather is still
mild and the days drawing out well.
Everybody is in good heart and we do not expect a very
hard time in the line, holding outposts; There is much talk
of the team going to Paris any day. I hope it will not be so
until after our turn in the line.
We camped comfortably to-night.
 

- 224 -
Football Results
at Meteren. Feb. 1918.

1st Bn. v 4th Bn.     won 37 - 0

  "     "       3rd  "            "       8 - 3

  "      "      9th  "            "      13 - 0

  "      "    Artillery          "     24 - 3

  "       "1st Field Amb. "     22 - 0

  "       "  Engineers       "     14 - 0

  "        "    13th Bn.        "     13 - 6

February 28th.     Thursday.        Met Bro. Bert. In front line      
We moved into position. A wet, muddy rough and dark walk
it was too. Never could such a black shell holed track be
imagined. And the guide that led us in was in a terrible
hurry to get us there and complete the leave so that he could
get away out of it. Releif was complete by 12 p.m. and the
5th Devision had moved off. I met Bro. Bert as we moved up
past Hill 60 this evening:--
March 1st.    Friday.
First day in a pill box after a long and restless nights
watch. A position like this one makes a fellow think a whole
lot, as we are underneath the Hun and he could straff the
whole lot of us day or night, The nights are cold, and the
walking about in the dark bogging into shell holes etc. is
trying.
Pill-box about 12 ft. long 6 ft. wide and 4 ft. high, walls
are 3 to 4 ft. thick of concret. Two ventilation holes and a
doorway facing the enemy, and water on the floor.
March 2nd.      Saturday.         Front line. Pill Boxes.
Patroled the front and met with a little adventure before
daylight this morning. I climbed out looking for German
posts and quantity of wire, but was fired on first by rifle
men and then by a machine gun. I had 7 men with me and dont
want so many to look after again.
Its a ticklish job with a good party of scouts and as
mine were bad ones it was a pretty bad job to take on.
 

- 225 -
I had instructions to find and report on Rifle Road which was
nothing but shell holes and trenches.
March 3rd.     Sunday.
I had a shave and a wash in kerosene and water a good
meal and ready for a night's rest now 9 p.m. I had a rough
walk back from the line this morning not getting here until
daylight. It is so easy to lose ones bearings and travel miles
out of ones way. I was making for Kings Castle but got away
to the North was chalenged by a Tommy machine gunner both of
us with revolvers drawn.
March 4th.     Monday.
Nothing doing to-day, we are camped in a tunnel with 

electric light laid on and are comfortable though damp.
March 5th.       Tuesday.  
The line again. My pillboxes (4 in number) are good
protection from machine bullets and keep the fellows out of
sight during the day. But it is a long anxious day and if the
Hun shells or attacks we are like rats in a trap. If we came
out of the "Pillboxes" his machine guns on the ridge in front
would clean us out in quick time, and the artillery knock
the "Pill-boxes" to pieces if we remainded inside. The nights
are dark and very cold, we all stand-to and strain our eyesight 
all night long.
March 6th.     Wednesday.
Our grub is short and the hour of its arrival very uncertain 

on account of the ration party getting lost. Hot
stew and tea should come about 1 a.m. and rice and tea later
on, but a container occasionally gets lost en-route. There is
no movement of any kind during the day time.
March 7th.     Thursday.
I left my little "pillbox” at 4.30 a.m. and came back to
 

- 226 -
breakfast with Capt. Bootles and then went 4 miles back to the
Quarter Masters store; to go on court-martial work to-morrow.
I did not think I could be so worn out by line work as I was.
The Q.M. Padre and people were so considerate to me and made
me very comfortable.
March 8th.     Friday.
Breakfast in bed, and by 10 a.m. shaved and bleeding I got
away to the 3rd Bn. and started in on Court Martials. We got
through 12 cases by 4 p.m. and some of our sentences for A.W.L.
was awfully heavy indeed, but overstaying leave must be stopped.
March 9th.    Saturday
I returned to my Coy, beyond Hill 60 to-day and gave Lieut.
Forrest Q.M. a lively look around midst mud and some shelling
just to see how he would take it.
A 6 p.m. (the light was good still) with a party of ten
men I set off carrying duckboards, we did three trips of 1 /¼
miles each way. Jolly good work over the broken track of worn
duckboards.
March 10th.     Sunday.
I have nothing much to do but "stand-to" both morning and
evening. I am living with Happy George and Johnnie Walker
in Coy. Hqs. and in a safe "pill-box” though wet and smelly.
March 11th.      Monday.
Came back into surface shelters a little distance in front
of our batterys both 8 ins. and 18 lbs. Its a sticky position
as Fritz is after the guns and is continually shelling short.
March 12th.     Tuesday.
The several parcels I have had during the past 10 days
Ruth's Richards Soden and one unknown, have been of very
considerable value. Ruth's golden syrup being especially good.
To-day has been one of the worst I've ever spent, big
 

- 227 -
shells, 8 ins., have been dropping within yards of us all day.
The suspence in having to just wait inactively hour after hour
is awfull. It is said that the shells are British made and
taken from the Russian front; they are wonderfully good shell
anyhow, having a most remarkable bursting effect and no duds
amongst them. The day has been wonderfully bright and warm.
Sneezing gas came over and gave us a bit of a shaking, but its
not harmful, making everybody sneeze only.
March 13th.    Wednesday.                  Mustard Gas.
It has been a lovely day to-day, sunshine and warm and no
enemy shelling though the batteries right behind our camp have
been firing continually. I got home from carrying trench
material this morning at 4.30 and have had a good rest, though
not much sleep all day.
As one sits near Hill 60 and looks back over Ypres its
just wonderful however the Canadians held the German up in 1916.
From this ridge the Hun could command the whole country for
miles and miles.
I saw my ^old man batman's "mustard" gas burns to-day. He does not
know where he got them but they look like as if he were burnt
with a hot iron all being so inflamed and blistered.
March 14th. Thursday.                        In Gas area
                                                                 Mustard, tear and phosgene
With 40 men we had two carrying trips over some 8 miles
of "duckwalks" with the head forward watching every step for
holes and breaks. The gas helmet hanging on ones neck gets
frightfully heavy so that the job was quite tedious.
To-day has been bright and pleasant without any close
shelling to bother us.
Letters are coming to hand in good numbers but my trouble
is going to be answering them as I have clean lost my punch
at writing nowadays and it annoys me very much.
 

- 228-
March 15th.    Friday.
Two splendid pairs of socks came to hand from Jim Miller
to-day. Also a packet of books from Marcia Elvy. The 6
letters I got were all from girls; I don't seem to write anybody 

else much but woman and its hard work to write even to
these good souls.
Out working to-night or rather morning, from 12 to 5 a.m.
I saw the most mysterious bombardment, the sky on our right
was raining small shooting stars like. I cannot find out what it
was but I should say it was a trench motar bombardment with
gas as there were no reports or explosions.
March 16th.     Saturday.
A pretty quite and warm day. This working at night makes
one remain in bed all day and with very little sleep, my hips
all sore lying on the hard boards.
I understand our football team is going to Paris to play,
I hope it wont be long getting away as I am full up of this
place and very "windy."
March 17th.     Sunday                 St. Patricks Day and a little Hell!!
                                                          Visited Bert.
I got to bed at 5 a.m. after a walk of 7 miles along
duckboards to work and back. I think I have done 60 miles of
traveling over duck walks during the past 18 days. I hit off
at mid-day to find the 42nd Battery where I found Bro. Bert and
Jack Pidcock well though still under long range gunfire.
It has been a wonderfully clear day and Hun baloons have
been hanging over-head and shelling freely.
I returned to camp about 6.30 and found it deserted as
the Hun was shelling it and had knocked some of our dugouts
all to pieces and shattered everything but no-body was injured.
 

- 229 -
March 18th.    Monday.    Camped in disused Artillery positions.
An awfull night of shelling and suspense. I am getting
quite sick of it all, and find it jolly hard to keep cool and
collected. Gas shells of all kinds mixed with high explosive
rained down. To-day is again clear for observation and much
gun fire is going on, we have been fairly free but I find myself 
wondering what the night will bring forth.
Later. We have passed a fairly quite night though the
"Tommy's" did cause us a little trouble when their barrage
went down at 2.30 a.m. It was a pretty sight to watch from
1,000 yards back. The bombardment continued for 40 minutes.
March 19th.     Tuesday.
News is good to-day!! News of me going back always is
good, even if the German guns are at this very moment throwing
shells a little overhead onto our batteries 200 yards back.
It is raining heavily to-day. The first for some 3 weeks.
In a way we are glad of a dull day, as our position between
railway lines material dumps and battéries becomes intolerable
when observation is good and the Hun baloons hang over the top
of us.
March 20th.    Wednesday
Another dull day for which we are mighty thankful as we
moved back some miles. I was alright at 2 p.m. when we got
back to Camp but by 5 o'clock I had a temperature of 101 1/2. I
expect to be alright to-morrow, and I think my trouble is due
to reaction after the strain of the line work.
March 21st.      Thursday
A peaceful kind of a day Bro. Bert called this evening and
stayed for an hour. I am feeling fairly good again to-day. I
can't understand going off like this and I am beginning to
think that I am not as good a man as of old and the strain of
 

- 230 -
the line rather too much for me.
Official account from Intelligence Summary. Aeroplanes
brought down by British airmen on Western front for 1918.
Destroyed 316. Disabled 168. total 484. total British loses
117.
March 22nd.     Friday.
A lovely warm summers day. I was thinking last week that
it was a false Spring but now it looks like the real Springtime
though considerably earlier than last year. We had sleet and
snow until near the end of April last year.
It seems the German offensive so long bragged about has
commenced, but to what size we dont yet know although he seems
to be meeting with success of some kind.
March 23rd.     Saturday.
It is a splendid day, the nights are moonlight, wonderfully
pretty with Jupiter Mars Venus Saturn showing brilliantly.
Venus rises late in the morning though. The weather is perfect
for the enemy attack. It seems as if Providence is protecting
the Hun. In the daytime there is a ground mist that would help
to cover his movements at a distance.
It seems the enemy is meeting with success, though our
reports are not clear at all. The 4th Aust. Devision have
been rushed away South. This is a compliment to the Australian
forces. It seems they must have our men in the hardest places.
Berts battery was in its position when I passed by at 3 p.m.
at 7 p.m. it was gone clean away.
March 24th.     Sunday.                    Parcel from California.  
                                                               Bad cough from Phosgene Gas.
D. H. G's parcel has arrived from San Francisco this
morning. It was over 2 ft. long and contained a wonderous
collection of sweets toilet requisits and a cardboard football
full of sweets and hung with our colours, light blue.
 

-231 -
Carrying in the forward area in quite Summer weather. I
walked back from the very forward area to Ridgwood Camp; and
as I have had a hacking cough for 10 days, the walking of 5
miles was either going to make me better or worse. On reaching
Camp my voice was gone I saw the Doc. and went to bed. There
is no doubt that my trouble like dozens of others in the
Battalion is caused by gas, delayed action.
March 25th.     Monday.
I have not been out of bed to-day. I am eating my meals
alright, but its the coughing that gets me down, its the very
devil.
A London paper states the Hun is shelling Paris with a 60
miles gun. This is a great surprise and shows the German to
have something up his sleeve. Some of the reports to hand regarding 
the enemy offensive has been very bad; but the latest
account reads quite alright. I dont expect him to come far
through our lines.
Our 3rd and 4th Devisions have gone to the Somme the 5th
and no doubt the 1st will follow it is quite a compliment to
A.I.F. that they must be in it.
March 26th.     Tuesday               Ridgewood Camp.
I am remaining in bed again to-day. News of the war is
a little more pleasing to-day. We have an excellent chance of
winning this war at last, by cutting in behind him and throwing
our forces against his flanks. If we have neither the grit or
the ability to do this, well its a sorry look out, and we are
going to be well beaten and the best men will win!! Good luck
to them.
I have been writing up a good deal. My cough is mighty
bad it shakes and rattles me to bits, and the Doctor can do
nothing at all for me. There are a whole lot of officers and
men about who have lost their voices and are badly shaken by
gas. This is probably why the 1st Devision has not already
gone South.