Get up 2.0 am, rain & wind, have light breakfast, parade 2.45 am march off about 6.0 am. Arrive at boat about 8.30 am and leave monkey behind. Boat sails about 10.15 am, rather rough journey arrive Folkestone about 11.50 am. Catch 1st train to London arrive Victoria 2.0 pm. Leave Paddington 3.10 pm arrive Weymouth 8.15 pm. L to meet me, get home about 9.30 pm very tired. Saw Red Rocket
Fairly good train journey but uncomfortable. Arrive Boulogne about 6.30 am. Form up & march to St. Martin Camp arriving there about 8.15 am. Get orders for 9.00 to go away 2.0 pm. I get left. Nice day strong wind.
Fine morning, but cloudy later. I feel better & get up about midday. Heavy rain again at night. I get ready to go on leave. Left dug-out about 10.20 pm & walked to Arras Station. Train left at 11.56 pm 3rd Class carriage. Par BONNE.
Claude’s Birthday.
I don’t feel at all well & stay in bed. Temperature remains at 100. I stay in bed all day. Heavy thunderstorm at night.
Fine morning. I feel very bad again & cannot get up, try to do so about midday, but feel very bad & have to go back to bed. D in sports at 2.0 pm our Brigade & Regt do excellent.
p.159: Div sports held on D.A.C. ground St. Catherine. Brigade & Bttn do very well indeed. Pte CLIFFORD 1st in 100x and 400x. Sgt WHITEHOUSE 2nd in 100x. Cpl SHEPPARD wins the mile after a very hard race. Brigade wins relay race in which we have 3 representatives. Sgt WHITEHOUSE, Sgt MURRELL & Pte CLIFFORD. Very good race. Officers of Bde win Lloyd LINDSAY, Chaplain, & Lt MASON out of our Bttn. Brigade take 1st 4 places in Infantry competition v reg: – Seaforths I Fus HB [Household Battalion] & our own Bttn. Seaforths lose to 12 Bgde in final Tug of War, very good pull but choice of ground by toss does the trick. Pte EVANS 4th in obstacle race. Very good day & General very pleased with what has been done.
Fine morning. We do a light mornings work. I feel shaky at night & go to bed early. Slight rain but nothing to hurt.
Fine morning showers later. We do a very hard days training & the men appear quite fit. Quiet night.
Wet morning. We do some training but ground very bad. Finer in the afternoon but rain again in evening. I visit camp. Running shoes arrive from England.
Another wet miserable day. I get up but do nothing until afternoon, when I go down with the boys. Ground very bad. Poor sleep at night. Lt Col FORSTER goes away to 4th Army HQ for Brig General. Tres Bien. Maj LACON assumes command of Bttn.
Wet again & very cold. I feel much better but stay in bed. Temp normal all day. Tres Bien. Poor sleep at night.