A Typical Day on the Western Front

Friday 21st January 1916: Soldiers expect there to be casualties in battles and may even be able to resign themselves to becoming one. This war, however, is particularly notable for the numbers of men killed and wounded every day merely “holding the line” – a phenomenon known as “daily wastage”.

A good example of this dreary roll call of casual death happened to the 6th Bedfords yesterday. It was a fine day and a German Fokker aeroplane came over their lines and bombed the town of Bienvillers without doing much damage. Later the Germans shelled battalion headquarters in Hannescamps with eleven shells of 77mm shells. Again no material damage was done. Then one of the Bedfords’ trenches was shelled. A corporal – M Brand and three privates – A Prior, C Greenslade and C R Mitchell were wounded. One man, Lance Corporal R Taylor is missing believed killed whilst out on his own sniping at the enemy(1)

Source: X550/7/1

(1) Lance Corporal Robert Taylor, from Hertford, is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. Private Conrad Greenslade died of his wounds at home on 10th October 1916 and is buried at Fort Pitt Military Cemetery, Chatham [Kent] and Private Albert Prior was killed in action on 17th July 1916 and is also commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial

Nosy Aircraft

Wednesday 29th December 1915: Yesterday the 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment were acting as working parties in the vicinity of Hannescamps, being behind the line at Bienvillers-au-Bois. The Germans shelled them all day, on and off, shelling Hannescamps itself in the afternoon. Six German aeroplanes were seen to come over British lines at about this time, four getting through and the other two being turned back by our aircraft. Those that got through were seen to head south-west towards Souastre, up to some mischief no doubt.

Source: X550/7/1

The Thaw Wrecks the Trenches

Wednesday 1st December 1915: The 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment are presently in the front line near Hannescamps on the Somme. The Commanding Officer tells us that conditions are bad because of the snowy weather. They occupy Trenches 56 to 61 inclusive and on a tour of the trenches the CO noted that Trenches 59 and Trench 60 are in a particularly bad state. They are knee deep in mud and the sides of the trenches continually fall in as there has been a sudden thaw and all the snow has melted. The communication trench behind Trenches 56 and 57 is also deep in sticky mud

Source: X550/7/1