Saturday 3rd February 1917

Winnipeg Camp

As the fine cold weather continued, so too did traing and the provision of working parties.

Pte. Walter White (see 28^th January), who had been absent without leave from the Regimental Depot at Halifax for the previous week now returned. The nature and extent of his punishment is not known.

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury (see 18^th December 1916) serving with 3DWR at North Shields, who had recently been declared fit for general service, was admitted to 1^st Northern General Hospital in Newcastle suffering from acute appendicitis; he underwent an operation to remove his appendix.

Lt. Paul James Sainsbury

Aidan Nicholson (see 24^th January), who had previously been dismissed from his officer training course, as being “of insufficient physique”, having been called up for service with the RFC, reported for duty at barracks in Newcastle; his appeal to the War Office to be considered for a commission was still pending. He would later serve with 10DWR.

Image by kind permission of the Trustees of the DWR Museum

The official records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission include on this day the death of Pte. Norman Gilks, cited as 10DWR. However, Gilks was killed and buried on the Somme and the evidence of his service record and other sources make it clear that this is a (very rare) error in the official record. Gilks had been serving with 9^th Battalion and had no connection with 10DWR.