9th December 1914
For Corporal John Graffham serving with the 2nd
Battalion The Queens, Royal West Surrey Regiment, the reality of life in the
trenches was no doubt a vastly different experience than what anyone could have
imagined the war would be like. The Battalion had just moved into the trenches
West of La Boutillerie, Northern France and 100 years ago today the conditions
for my Great Grand Uncle in law were far from ideal.
Battalion War Diary extract from 9th December.
Trenches. The communication trenches very bad & in some
places up to over knees. Three men had to be dug out of the mud last night (one
man was rescued in the morning having been stuck in the mud all night. One man
was killed by a sniper today whilst cutting branches of a tree). There are
casualties reported daily the men prefer to walk in the open & be shot at
than to walk along these terrible communication trenches. Strict orders have
been issued about men exposing themselves. (A very dark night several messages
came down that enemy were attacking our line eventually a report came in that
the enemy were in our trenches. A star shell was fired & there was no sign
of the enemy).
19 officers. 956 other ranks.
1 Killed 1 wounded 5 to hospital
How quickly the open warfare at the beginning of the War in
1914 had changed to the realities and conditions of trench warfare so
associated with the conflict today. One can only imagine what my ancestors
thoughts and daily experiences were. The constant daily danger and what he needs to do to survive, thoughts of home, Daisy his wife and his young son, Albert, only a few months old...
For reference - The man killed was Private John Holloran
L/8459 he is commemorated on the Ploegsteert memorial (CWGC)
Tony
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