1/7th Battalion Royal Warwickshires War Diary, Part 2

The Personal Diary of Sergeant Edward Brookes Service No: 1168 of 46 Craners Road, Coventry.

Sergeant Brookes gave his life for his country.
His war diary has been transcribed by J Hewitt, Family Tree Researcher

(Continues from the previous page, when Sergeant Brookes left England)

1915

Territorials at camp

Sergt. Edward Brookes
and territorials at camp

March 25th - Winzelee (Slept in Barnes)

March 28th - Left Winzelee Arrived Bailleul (Slept in Warehouse)

March 29th - Company Parade

March 30th - Trenching

March 31st - Trenching

April 1st - Left Bailleul for Armentieres

April 2nd - Rifle Inspections

April 3rd - Manned the Trenches no Casualties

April 4th Manned the Trenches no Casualties (2 Casualties for Battalion 1 each day)

April 5th Lecture on Trench Life

April 6th Left Armentieres for Bailleul

April 6th-11th Company Parades and Inspections

April 12th Left Bailleul for Trenches Relieved Dublin’s who had just been shelled they had lost a whole section from shell fire

April 13th Rather Quiet until about 9 at night when it was like hell in the direction of Ypres must have been in a terrible battle hardly a shot fired from our trenches spent the night repairing trench

April 14th Cannonade at Ypres at about 9pm

April 15th Shelled us Phillips wounded in hand by Rifle fire

April 16th Shelled our Trenches the shells dropped close but did little damage no casualties, relieved by 8th Battalion rotten night hardly see.

April 17th Battle in Ypres distant. Billeted in Barnes at Petit Point

April 18th Nothing doing

April 19th Night Digging

April 20th Back to our Trench

April 21st Had one or two shells over Trench

April 22nd Trench Shelled just heard that where battle been to at Hill 60 been at it now for nearly a fortnight.

April 23rd Shelled us again getting used to it now

April 24th April 24th Shelled again played the devil with our parapets. Relieved by 8th Battalion

April 25th Working party night digging

April 26th Resting, Inspections etc

April 27th Night Digging.

April 28th Back to Trenches

April 29th Rather Quiet

April 30th Brummy Green stopped one in arm

May 1st Shelled worse than ever no casualties in our Coy. D Coy lost 5 men wounded

May 2nd Relieved by 8th coming back to billet where ordered to man reserve trenches so returned at 6am on May 3rd.

(The War Diary continues on the next page, including account from Sergeant Brookes' brother in law, who was present at the end)

Home in Time for Breakfast: A First World War Diary by Stuart Chapman

The shells are nothing in comparison to the everlasting torture of lice and the loathsome mud. To see me trudging along one would take me for an old man of sixty.

Stuart Chapman was one of the lucky ones. A young soldier suffering staunchly through the nightmare of trench life in World War One, he returned to his native shores after the Armistice in one piece, unlike so many of his generation, many of whom never reached majority age.

Chapman faithfully recorded his day-to-day life in France from 1916 to 1919, touching upon not only the squalor, violence, sheer exhaustion and astonishing discomfort but also the valour, comradeship and sacred moments of frivolity. This diary offers a unique perspective - of one who felt, lived and saw what history books can only recount from much-repeated facts. The fight was for the greater good, but set the tone for a century that darkened from there

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