At the outbreak of World War One Quartermaster Sergeant Beck was stationed with the 1st Battalion Warwickshire Regiment at Shorncliffe as part of the 10th Brigade of the 4th Division. The 4th Division was held back from the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF) by a last minute decision to defend England against a possible German landing.
The fate of the BEF in France and the lack of any move by the enemy to cross the Channel reversed this decision and the 1st Warwicks proceeded to France on the 22nd August 1914. They arrived in time to provide infantry reinforcements at the Battle of Le Cateau – the Artillery, Engineers, Field Ambulances and mounted troops being still en route.
The first diary begins with the 1st Battalion Warwickshire Regiment being entrained to Southampton on 21st August 1914 to board the “SS Caledonia” to Boulogne.
You state that the diary is available online but I cannot navigate to it from anywhere on the pages provided and I do not wish to sign up to Twitter. Is there a missing link…?
Hello,
This is the diary- the first post has gone out: https://news.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/rsm-beck-diary/2014/08/21/harrow/
Beck’s entries are being posted live as the diary unfolds, 100 years after they were written.
Thank you for visiting the blog.
The web team.
is it possible to read the whole diary without waiting for the daily account to be blogged?
Hello,
The full diary can be viewed in person at the Dorset History Centre:
https://www.dorsetforyou.com/dorsethistorycentre
If you cannot visit, please follow this blog or on Twitter @RSM_GBeck where the full diary will be posted as it happened 100 years ago.
Kind regards,
The web team
hello on Sunday we recreated that famous football game of the Christmas 1914 in which the 1st batt Warw were involved. Newark Town FC played a game against our German twinning town in Mennines Belgium. There is a connection with Newark as we belive from letters wrote home from the trenches that William Setchfield from Newark supplied the football for the game and also may have played in goal. so my real reason for interest in these diaries are whether there is any mention of William or the football game that was played. Do you know if there was any mention of William or the football? thanks Francis
Hi Francis,
I have checked the transcriptions and Beck does not refer to William Setchfield in any of the diaries. At Christmas 1914 he does mention that a game of football was played, but does not go in to any more detail about it.
I hope you continue to enjoy reading the blog.
Best wishes,
Cassandra, Dorset History Centre
Cassandra many thanks Francis