Sunday 26th May 1918

Support positions near Cesuna.

Brigadier General Archibald Bentley Beauman DSO, of the South Staffordshire Regiment, assumed command of 69^th Brigade. Aged just 29, he was the third youngest officer to be promoted to the command of a Brigade. He had begun the war as a subaltern with 2^nd South Staffs and had gone to France with the BEF and been involved in the retreat from Mons. He had been invalided back to England, ill, before the end of 1914 but had been promoted Captain and had returned to France to join 1^st South Staffs early in 1915. He had been promoted to command 1^st South Staffs in the Autumn of 1916 and had travelled to Italy in the Autumn of 1917 as part of 7^th Division. He later recalled his impressions of his new Brigade; “My new Brigade consisted entirely of Yorkshire regiments and no county provides finer fighting material. All the battalions had had a lot of hard fighting on the Somme. They were all “New Army” battalions and considering the almost entire lack of regular or even territorial officers and NCOs they were remarkably well disciplined and easy to handle both in and out of the line. They were really a wonderful example of the fine fighting formations that can be evolved from civilian cources in a few years of war”. 

Orders were received that the allied offensive which had been planned for early June, and for which extensive preparations had been made, was to be postponed.

Cpl. Stanley Vyvyan Golledge (see 29^th April) and Pte. Harry Bailey (25198) (see 5^th July 1917) departed on two weeks’ leave to Rome.

Pte. Sidney Powdrill (see 21^st September 1917) was granted two weeks’ ‘special leave’ to the UK; the nature of this ‘special leave’ is unknown, but whilst Powdrill was away it would be extended for a further week, to 17^th June.

The sentence of two years’ imprisonment with hard labour which had been imposed on Pte. Ernest Wilson (11751) (see 17^th May) was remitted on orders from 69^th Brigade.

Pte. Frederick Sharp (see 3^rd May), who had been under treatment for the previous three weeks for scabies and septic sores, was transferred from 69th Field Ambulance, via 39^th Casualty Clearing Station, to 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera.


Pte. Harry Barraclough MM (see 27^th April), who had been serving with 23^rd Battalion  Machine Gun Corps, was transferred, onboard No.10 Ambulance Train, from 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera to hospital in Marseilles; he suffering from venereal disease.

Pte. Alfred Shaw (see 26^th April) was transferred from 62^nd General Hospital at Bordighera to hospital in Marseilles.

Pte. George Bernard Hardy (see 24^th January), serving in France with 2DWR, was admitted to hospital, suffering from boils.