Saturday 4th May 1918

Billets at Cornedo Vicentino.

Maj. James Christopher Bull MC (see 26^th April), Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips MC (see 18^th April) and Bull’s servant, Pte. Harold Charnock (see 24^th April) departed on ten days’ leave to Rome. 

Pte. Frank Easterby (see 1^st April) was transferred from 29^th Stationary Hospital in Cremona to the Convalescent Depot at Lido d’Albaro, near Genoa.

Pte. Matthew Woodward (see 18^th March), serving in France with 297^th Labour Company, Labour Corps, was transferred to 171^st Labour Company.

At some point in May 2Lt. Norman Roberts MM (see 24^th March), who had been taken prisoner on 24^th March while serving with the Machine Gun Corps, was moved to a new camp, as described in a subsequent account:

“Lt. Roberts was kept at the Rastatt Camp until May, when he was removed to Mayence. This necessitated a three-days journey in a slow travelling train, and during the whole of this time his food consisted of one bowl of soup. Whenever they pulled up at a station the German people jeered at them and at one place a German soldier, on his way back to the Front, spat in his eye and called him a swinehunde. On arrival at Mayence they were provided with a good meal and the English officers were in hopes that it was the forerunner of better treatment. Their hopes were quickly dashed to the ground, however, for their treatment was no better than it had been at the previous camp. Their food consisted of the same old distasteful substitute for coffee, black bread and what in England we should describe as vegetable refuse. A loaf of bread was given out to each man once every five days, and more often than not the famished Englishmen ate the loaf at the first meal and then went without bread during the next four days. Not content with pining their prisoners, the Germans practised all kinds of devilish tricks upon them, and the Englishmen in particular were subjected to petty annoyances of every description”.

A payment of £8 6s. 5d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Samuel Butler (see 3^rd May 1917), who had been killed in action on 3^rd May 1917 while serving with 2DWR; the payment would go to his father, Samuel.

A payment of 6s. 10d. was authorised, being the amount due in pay and allowances to the late Pte. James Jackson (see 13^th March), who had been killed in action on 21^st September 1917; the payment would go to his widow, Rachel.