Sunday, 7th February 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Eversley.

Saturday, 6th February 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Eversley.

Pte. Charles Smith (12380) was reported by Sgt.Edward Hunter (see 30^th October 1914) as ‘drunk and creating a disturbance in his barrack room at 9.30pm’; he would be ordered to be confined to barracks for four days. Charles Smith was a 30 year-old labourer; originally from Hull, he had enlisted in Huddersfield in September 1914.

Ptes. Patrick Conley (see 17^th January), Thomas Riding (see below) and Ernest Wilson (11751) (see below) were reported for “making a complaint in an irregular manner”; their offence was reported by Acting CQMS Thomas Doyne (see below) and CSM William Mears (see 29th January). On the orders of Col. George Rainier Crawford (see 25th January) they were all to be confined to barracks for ten days. 

Thomas Riding was 21 years old and from Darwen, where he had worked as a carter. He had enlisted in Halifax on 9^th September 1914 and had been posted to the newly-formed 10DWR nine days later. He had married Mary Almond in May 1914. Ernest Wilson was a 28 year-old labourer, originally from Bradford, but living in Keighley; he was married with two daughters and had previously served with 3^rd (territorial) Battalion. Thomas Doyne was born in Celbridge, County Kildare, and was a career soldier who had first joined the Duke of Wellington’s in 1881. Doyne served much of his time abroad in Nova Scotia, Bermuda, Barbados, South Africa, and in India rising to the rank of Sergeant on 24th June 1897. In 1899 he had married Bridget O’Hara at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Bangalore, India and had retired from the army in 1907 after 20 years service. He returned to Dublin, living at 2 Irvine Cottages, where he worked with the LNWR as a labourer. Although in his fifties and an army pensioner he joined up at the outbreak of war. He had then been an original member of 10DWR, having officially re-enlisted on 9^th September 1914.

Pte. William Johnson Simpson, serving with 12^th West Yorks, was promoted Lance Corporal; he would later be commissioned and serve with 10DWR. He had enlisted on 21^st September 1914, aged 28 (born 3^rd April 1886). He was the eldest of three surviving children of John Richard and Annie Elizabeth Simpson; three other siblings had died and his father had died in 1897. William had been working as a joiner before joining up and was still living with his widowed mother in Bishopthorpe, near York.

Friday, 5th February 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Eversley.


2Lt. Robert Stewart Skinner Ingram, (see 26^th January) wrote home to his parents with news of forthcoming plans for the Battalion, although in actual fact the arrangements would subsequently be revised, with the various moves deferred for a further week beyond the dates which Ingram expected.

5^th Feb. 1915

c/o J.W. Martin Esq.

“Bannisters”

Finchampstead

My Darling Mother and Father


We have just heard our plans for the near future. Next Tuesday, 9/2/15, we return to Oudenarde Barracks. The whole 23^rd Division is to concentrate in Aldershot and on the 14^th and 15^th the whole 18-20,000 moves into huts, billets and barracks in the Hythe-Shorncliffe-Sandgate district. The 10^th Dook’s (sic.) may, therefore, be in any of these places. It is some way up to Town (ie London) but the boat expresses from Folkestone are very good. Motor buses run from Hythe to Folkestone. We shall do our shooting on the Hythe ranges. That will take about 3-4 weeks. After that anything may happen. It hardly seems worthwhile coming home next Sunday for 3-4 hours. The trains here are very bad. But I’ll try to get home next Saturday week, ie. the day before we go to Hythe.

I wonder if I might have some plain chocolate sent to Oudenarde? Sometimes one has a great longing for plain choc, probably because one doesn’t smoke.

We are working extremely hard at present down here. For the last fortnight we have been on the move with one thing or another from 8am to 5pm then an hour’s lecture from the OC for officers, and then a Diary of the day’s work for subalterns. For higher officers an appreciation of the situation of next day’s Special Idea as outlined by the OC.

Would some kind person be good enough to have my private compass sent on to me at Oudenarde, together with its case? Tom brought it back as he has no more use for it.

Love to the family. Tom, I suppose, is now in the trenches. Has Lilian returned to Welford yet? She must have been rather worried at Tom’s departure once more.

Your ever loving son.

Robert

The references to ‘Tom’ are to Ingram’s elder brother, Capt. Thomas Lewis Ingram (see 30^th October 1915); ‘Lilian’ was Tom’s wife.

Thursday, 4th February 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Eversley.

Wednesday, 3rd February 1915

Pte. Walter White, who, although not one of the original recruits, had been attached to Tunstill’s Company when they first arrived at Frensham (see 23^rd September) was awarded ten days’ detention for a breach of military discipline (details unknown).

Tuesday, 2nd February 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Eversley.

Monday, 1st February 1915

Tunstill's Company remained in training at Eversley.