Sunday 31st March 1918

Billetted in huts at Granezza

Easter Sunday, “We formed up in the snow for a church parade and gradually froze. I’m afraid there was as much cursing as praying, but the Padre did his best”. Some consolation was a concert held at the military theatre, a neat all-wood building constructed by the Italian army, where the band of the West Yorkshire Regiment provided a concert of popular music, “which was well appreciated by an audience of all ranks”. The Divisional Concert Party (The Dumps) would later perform a review entitled, Niente (Italian for nothing), which was said to have provided “excellent entertainment”.

Ptes. Maurice Paignton (see 4^th March) and Frederick Sharp (see 25^th February) re-joined from two weeks’ leave to England; the reason for their delayed return is unclear.

Pte. Septimus Chapman (see 10^th March) was transferred from 11^th General Hospital at Genoa to 57^th General Hospital at Marseilles.

Pte. Ernest Franklin (25969) (see 8^th March) was transferred from 11^th General Hospital at Genoa to 57^th General Hospital at Marseilles; he was diagnosed as suffering from ‘trench fever'.

L.Cpl. James Barker (12288) (see 28^th March), who had been wounded three days previously while serving in France with 2DWR, was evacuated to England from 2^nd Australian General Hospital, Boulogne; on arrival he would be admitted to Keighley War Hospital.

Pte. Willie Dyson (see 8^th January), who had been in England since having been wounded in September 1917, was posted back to France. He was due to join 5DWR but, having arrived at ‘F’ Infantry Base Depot at Etaples, he was instead transferred to King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and would be posted to 2^nd/4^th battalion on 4^th April.

The Battalion War Diary recorded no casualties for the month; the official cumulative casualty figures since arriving in France in August 1915 remained as:

Killed                                   275

Accidentally killed                5

Died of wounds                  21

Wounded                       1,280

Accidentally wounded      53

Missing                              178