Thursday 16th March 1916

Billets in Bruay

Bruay was a centre for the coal-mining industry, which was still active, and Pte. Irvine Clark (see 14^th March) was clearly delighted that, “we have been to one of the mines to a bath house this morning, and a fine place it was too”. This was part of a longer letter, extracts from which have been referred to in previous entries, which he wrote reflecting on recent events and which was subsequently published in the Craven Herald;

“I received the parcel and letter safely; it came in very handy as we were just behind the firing line in some French huts, and were having short rations. I did fairly enjoy the pastry. We have been having a pretty rough time just lately; we are on a different part of the line and hardly any British Tommies have been here before. We have just had two days in the trenches – one in reserve and the other in the firing line. Twenty four hours is quite long enough in the front line at once, here. In the day time we dare not stir nor show the least sign of ourselves, or the Germans would shell us out of it. One Company of ours gave themselves away and suffered for it; one platoon alone had one killed and 17 wounded; our doctor was also killed after he attended to some of the latter. It is shelling all day long. The trenches are only thirty yards apart; although I am calling them trenches they are only shell holes and ditches. There were six of us in one shell hole during the night time; we dug holes to get into in the day time and some of the chaps had to sit on a dead German all day, and to make matters worse for us it started snowing early in the night.

While we were going, we had to cross over about 250 yards of open ground covered with shell holes; not one yard had been missed by the shells. Talk about mud! Well, a lot of the lads got stuck and had to leave their jack boots behind them and walk in stocking feet; some lost their rifles and equipment, and it was a proper mix-up; they were crawling into the trenches at all times of night. Setting out we had a rougher time than going in; men were sinking up to their waist in mud; the Germans were throwing lights up; we thought they would spot us, and send a few whizz-bangs, but we came through all right.

Six of us had to go back some distance and pull a man out who was nearly overhead in mud, and we had a job I can tell you. When we arrives at our billets at six o’clock next morning we were all about dead beat. Our clothes were covered with mud from head to foot, and we have done nothing but scrape and clean them since we came out. We were all glad when we marched away from that part of the line last Monday. We are now billeted in a pretty little town, but I think we move back to the line again in a few days’ time.

It is the mining district about here, and we have been to one of the mines to a bath house this morning, and a fine place it was too. We are doing a lot of shifting about, and we never know what minute we shall be told to pack up and be off. We may be going to the place where the heavy fighting was last September. The ‘Zeps’ seem to have their own way with you, but their airmen get scared here. A Fokker was brought down here yesterday. I was talking this morning to a lad from Bradley who played cricket against us at Bolton”.

Pte. Robert Moody (see 14^th March) was reported, for the second time in three days, on this occasion by Cpl. Wilfred Blackburn (see below) and L.Cpl. Matthew Best (see 14^th March). His offence was simply ‘not complying with an order’; on the orders of T/Maj. Robert Harwar Gill (see 19^th February) he would be ordered to be confined to undergo seven days Field Punishment No.2.

Wilfred Blackburn had been one of the contingent from the Addingham and Ilkley area who had been added to Tunstill’s original recruits when ‘A’ Company had been created in September 1914. He was born on 27^th May 1893 in Barrowford, the second child and only son of William and Elizabeth Ann Blackburn. His mother had died in 1904 and young Wilfred, aged 11, along with his sister Jessie, had gone to live with his uncle Thomas (William Blackburn’s elder brother) at West Hall, Nesfield, near Addingham. Wilfred worked on his uncle’s farm, while Jessie was employed by another local family. 

Cpl. Wilfred Blackburn

Pte. John Etchells (see 12^th January), who had spent the previous two months under treatment from TB, was discharged from Dalmeny House Hospital, Edinburgh and posted to Northern Command Depot at Ripon.

Cpl. John Robert Dickinson, serving in France with 18^th Royal Fusiliers, completed his application for a temporary commission; he would later serve with 10DWR. Dickinson had been born on 19^th November 1894, the second child, and only son, of Charles and Sarah Jane Dickinson; his father was a self-employed pharmacist, living in Croydon. Dickinson had attended Whitgift School, Croydon, where he had been a member of the OTC, and after leaving school had worked as a bank clerk. He had enlisted on 15^th September 1914, joining 19^th Royal Fusiliers, and had been promoted Lance Corporal on 14^th November and Corporal on 12^th December 1914. He was transferred to the regimental depot on 14^th June 1915, but was then posted to France on 8^th January 1916 and joined 18^th Royal Fusiliers three weeks later.