Saturday 25th January 1919

Billets at Grumolo and Montecchia di Crosara

Pte. Joseph Hartley (see 17^th October 1918) was ordered to undergo 14 days’ Field Punishment no.2; the nature of his offence is unknown.

Cpl. Cecil Lloyd (see 26^th August 1918) and Ptes. Clarence Hubert Bolt (see 22^nd November 1918),  John Bundy (see 17^th January), Ernest Heyhirst (see 22^nd March 1918), George William Jameson (see 25^th August 1918), John Starling (see 18^th November 1918) and Victor Alexander Wildman (see 16^th October 1918) completed and signed their ‘Statement as to disability’ forms, which were a precursor to their being posted back to England. The completed forms, which confirmed that they did not claim to have suffered any disability in service, were witnessed by Capt. James Watson Paterson (see 16^th January). Similar forms were completed and signed by Pte. David Doughty Glossop (see 7^th November 1918) who was at 16^th Convalescent Depot in Marseilles, having been wounded on 27^th October 1918. 

2Lt. Bernard Garside (see 17^th January) and Ptes. Fred Atkinson (see 22^nd January), Stanley Hirst (see 23^rd January), Leonard Hurley (see 18^th August 1918), Douglas Mercer (see 13^th December 1918) and Harry Orchard (see 23^rd January) were posted to England to be demobilized; they would all would be formally demobilized from Clipstone Camp.

2Lt. Garside later recalled his departure,

“I was still Battalion Musketry Officer when I got orders, to my immense delight, to prepare to go home to be ‘demobbed’ on the next of the demob trains which were running as an opportunity occurred. I was due for early release as a student at the University, but there had been talk of students being removed from the top of the demob list to the bottom. I soon got notice of the exact time and day I was to go and packed, feeling happy as a king. Then, the very morning I was to go, a note came from the Adjutant (Capt. Leonard Norman Phillips MC, see 19^th January), saying the train was cancelled and I must wait. He didn’t say how long. I felt perfectly miserable and went off to the mess. There I found the Company Commander had orders to instruct me to report to the Adjutant on the musketry range we had been examining. The range was the best available, but dirty and water-logged. This finished me off. I flared up and said, “You can tell the Adjutant to go to Hell and go with him for anything I care!”. The Company Commander, called Paterson (Capt. James Watson Paterson, see above), looked at me and went out. “Oh dear!”, I thought, “Now I’m for it.”. I went off quick to the range and wondered what the Company Commander would report to the Adjutant when he saw him. That lunchtime I waited for the Company Commander to turn up in great anxiety. Should I be court-martialled and kept in the Army? He came in and I looked at him. He smiled and said, “Well, Garside my boy, you were in a bit of a temper this morning weren’t you?” Oh, what a sigh of relief! Actually, I had not to wait long and presently was seated happily in the train and off for ‘Blighty’ and demob.

One of the last things I got was my ‘character’ from the Colonel; a copy of his report on my service. I felt very proud as I read ‘gallant in action’. I forget the rest; nothing extraordinary but nothing at all bad, as far as I remember.

I remember little of the journey back except two things. One of the men on the boat (from Cherbourg I think) tried to frighten us about the mines floating in the Channel. It seemed so horrible to be mined on our demob boat. The second thing was the huge sausage roll amongst the food they gave us to eat in the train going to the Centre at Clipstone where we were to leave the Army; I could not get my mouth round it! Then Chepstow and home and the war was over for us”.

L.Cpl. Albert Nixon (see 11^th January), who was on leave in England, was officially struck off the strength of 10DWR as a precursor to being demobilized.

Pte. Newton Dobson MM (see 24^th January) failed to report to 3DWR at North Shields on the expiry of his leave having been discharged from hospital. He was reported “absent off hospital leave” and would not report to the Battalion until 5.45pm on 3^rd February; he would forfeit nine days’ pay and be ordered to undergo nine days’ Field Punishment no.2.

Cpl. William Foulds (see 7^th December 1918), serving at the Regimental Depot in Halifax, completed and signed his ‘Statement as to disability’ form, which was a precursor to his being demobilized. He stated that, “I was admitted to hospital on June 15^th 1918 and was operated on for swollen glands in the neck, the result of which gives me earache and headache”. The examining Medical Officer reported that Cpl. Foulds had, “A thickened scar to the right side of the neck; some pain in neck” and assessed his disability at less than 20%.

Capt. Frederick Lowther Dawson Barker (see 22^nd January) and 2Lt. Keith Sagar Bain MC (see 18^th December 1918) formally relinquished their commissions and were released from the Army.