Tuesday 19th October 1915

Front line trenches east of Bois Grenier.

Sgt. Arthur Manks (see 2^nd June), was wounded, suffering a (relatively minor) bullet wound to the head; the details of his immediate treatment are unknown.

In the evening the Battalion was relieved by 8^th Yorkshires and marched to billets at Rue Marle. Overnight, further orders were received that the Battalion was to stay only one night at Rue Marle before moving next morning to Fort Rompu, again staying only one night, before proceeding to Estaires, for a temporary attachment as part of the reserve to 20^th Division.

Prior to their departure from the trenches Pte. William Knox (see 18^th October) again wrote to his wife, Ethel. (I am most grateful to Rachael Broadhead and family for allowing me access to William’s letters).

“… I have had toothache very badly since I have been in the trenches but I think it will be caused by getting cold in my gums. We are expecting coming out of the trenches tonight for a few days rest so I shall be able to write you a nice long letter tomorrow, Wednesday. We have had it very quiet while we have been in the trenches. There has been a few shells flying about this morning and they do not half make a row as they go rushing through the air. I am not quite sure whether we are leaving the trenches altogether. We may perhaps be going into the reserve trenches a good way behind the firing line or into billets where we were before. It has been very cold at nights. We have not had above eight hours sleep since Friday night so you may guess how we all feel it. It is sentry work of a night. You do one hour on sentry and one off so you see we cannot get to sleep at all because it makes you feel so rotten because you just about get nicely on when someone comes and gives you a good bump or something like that… You asked me what was the matter with my razor. Well it will not shave me at all. I have not had a shave for three days now and I can tell you I do look like a guy. I shall soon have a beard. You would have laughed at us this morning. There was only eight of us washed in the same lot of water besides others who shaved and there were only just over a pint to start with. It was just like washing yourself with soap by itself ... I never have my overcoat off now so you may guess how cold it is. Fancy the Germans having another air raid on London again. They are trying very hard to smash Little England up but they will never succeed. Jim McMath (Pte. James McMath, see 17^th October) is here with us but not Sugden. He is helping Bonner in the Sergeants’ Mess cookhouse so he will be alright now as he was always trying to get into that all along. I am writing to Sgt. Abslom one day this week just to let him know how we are getting on. He will be ever so pleased to hear from us. I wonder where they will be going to stay this winter? I heard before we came away that they were going into barracks at Lichfield so I don’t expect that will suit them very well…”.

Ptes. William Henry Dobson (see 18^th October), Bob Maunders (see 18^th October) and Henry Wood Thrippleton (see 17^th October), who had been at 70^th Field Ambulance at Erquinghem having been wounded over the previous days, were transferred to 3^rd Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul. All three would, next day, be evacuated onboard no.16 Ambulance Train to Boulogne, but the details of their further treatment are unclear. Pte. Dobson seems to have remained in France and would re-join the Battalion. The wound suffered by Pte. Maunders was not considered severe and Tunstill himself would subsequently write to Maunders’ family, reassuring them that their son was being treated at the Australian Voluntary Hospital at Wimereux, where he was, ‘going on nicely’. From here it becomes difficult to be sure about the nature of Bob’s treatment, recovery and return to the Battalion. It is not clear whether he was evacuated to England or was treated exclusively in France. However at some point he did return to the Battalion. He was promoted Sergeant and was subsequently wounded for a second time. The date of this second incident has not yet been established but it seems that this certainly was sufficient to have Bob invalided back to England. Pte. Thrippleton would remain in France and would spend some time (details unknown) at a Convalescent Depot at Boulogne before re-joining the Battalion.