Isolated until further notice owing to one of our chaps catching measles. Nothing doing therefore.
Tag: War diary
Thursday 15th February, 1917
Out at 4.00 a.m. Breakfast at 5.00 a.m. then learning the road again until 3.00 p.m. Bombs again dropped in the vicinity
Wednesday 14th February, 1917
Out at 4.00 a.m. Breakfast at 5.00 a.m. then learning the road until 12.00 nn. Rest of the day off. At 7.30 a.m. bombs were dropped in the vicinity.
Tuesday 13th February, 1917
A day off. Had a good look round. The French are still here but we take over the railway from them on 20th February. A cigarette will work wonders with them, and we usually cadge bread.
The following additional information is from Martin Farebrother:
Froissy [is] now the museum and yard area of the Froissy-Cappy-Dompierre Heritage railway (Chemin de Fer Cappy Dompierre, CFDS, or Petit train de la haute Somme). At this time the line had been built by the French along the Somme canal to Frise, and probably then across the Somme to the lines west of Cléry. The lines also went north through Bray to Plateau, and back south-west to Proyart, La Flaque and Wiencourt. A pre-WW1 metre gauge line (Albert to Montdidier) also ran north-south through Froissy providing military traffic, and by later 1917 was also providing a civilian service as far as Bray. By this time or very soon after a standard gauge French/British army line was built south-north from Wiencourt to Plateau, joining the west-east line from Albert towards Péronne. So Froissy was a very important railway yard and transhipment.
Monday 12th February, 1917
Another move to Bray South. The river Somme runs through the camp. Thousands of German bodies underneath the ice. In afternoon we move to Froissy, our final depot.
[N.B. it has been plausibly suggested that ‘thousands’ may be an exaggeration, but clearly it was an impressive number and probably a very shocking sight.]
Sunday 11th February, 1917
Unloading wagons all day at loop. Went to service at night at Soldiers Club.
Saturday 10th February, 1917
Same as yesterday. Went to Guards canteen and had a good feed of biscuits.
Friday 9th February, 1917
Unloading wagons all day at loop. Nothing unusual to note.
Thursday 8th February, 1917
Shells flying all around us. We did not know where to go out of it, but it has finished now. A quiet day otherwise.
Wednesday 7th February, 1917
Arrived back from work at 5.30 a.m., then had to wait until 7.30 a.m. for breakfast. Then got in bed for two hours, then unloading wagons again until 8.30 p.m. Had an excellent tea to-day.
On The Track 