Sunday 17th December 1916

Winnipeg Camp

In the evening, a party of one officer and 41 other ranks marched to Vlamertinghe and were then taken by train to Ypres, where they worked overnight under the supervision of the Royal Engineers, returning at 2.30am. This same exercise would be repeated on each of the next three evenings.

More men departed to England on ten days’ leave; they would spend Christmas Day at home with their families before leaving on Boxing Day to return to the front. Among them are known to have been Q.M.S. Frank Stephenson (see 8^th December), Cpl. John Matthewson Richard Grieves (see 24^th September); L.Cpls. William Swift (see 7^th October) and Ellis Watson (see 12^th March) and Ptes. William Frederick Ackrill (see 10^th October), James Arthur Heap (see 16^th September) and William (Billy) Hoyle (see 9^th October). In the absence of Stephenson, some of his responsibilities as CQMS passed to Cpl. Fred Swale (see 16^th December). Pte. Harley Bentham (see 27^th October) was also home on leave over Christmas; he had been granted a month’s leave on the expiry of which he would begin an Officer Training course in preparation for his being commissioned. Another of Tunstill’s original recruits to be at home was Pte. Sydney Hoar (see 24^th November); he had been in hospital in Glasgow, after contracting trench fever, but was now fit enough to spend Christmas with his family.

QMS Frank Stephenson

Image by kind permission of Henry Bolton

Cpl. Fred Swale

Image by kind permission of Joan Rigg and family

Pte. Harley Bentham

Ptes. Harry Barraclough MM (see 8^th December) and Donald Stewart (see 6^th October) were formally transferred to 69^th Machine Gun Company, Machine Gun Corps.

Pte. Keith Sagar Bain (see 10^th December), who had recently arrived in France, completed his application for a commission, giving his present address as No.14 Camp, 7^th Infantry Base Depot, BEF, France.

Pte. Joseph Chandler (see 17^th October) was posted from the Regimental Depot in Halifax to 3DWR at North Shields.