No holiday around here. - Slept in till Smeed came in + bothered me. - Went in town with Smithy to make some final purchases. - After lunch strafed under[?] Bill Powell + Munny at 7’s up. - Walked in town with MKIII. - Rec’d notification of arrival of [?] of apples at Stn. - Also card from Ernie says 3rd Battery at Dover. Wired [?] - Going over tomorrow.
Rain!!! - Turned out early for Sunday. - Beat it down to Sandgate to get a bus at 9A.M. - No bus till 10. - Arr’d Dover 11.45 - Met Ernie & Clint, Castle Bks. - Had lunch at Grand. - Too wet to go out - Took a short stroll on the front + returned to Hotel to tea. Last bus for Folkestone 7 P.M. via Alkham Valley. Got back to bks about 9. - Reeves very agitated. - Orders for us to leave to-morrow. - Packed & wrote letters.
Fine clear day for a starter. - Bid farewell to Sh office 9.15 A.M. - It hit Henshaw pretty hard to be left behind. My holdall split before it was on the boat. Fairly rough crossing. Pope, Bull & Cassels casualties. I was foolish + wouldn’t. - Arr’d Boulogne about 1. - Put up at the Hotel Louvre. - Some dump. Not going up till tomorrow. - Spent the aft being shown around the town by Smeed. - Some town. - Hired a hack with Skinch & Garrow to go up to #3 hospital. - Ca & Fether beat us by walking. Diner at Hotel Folkestone. Smeed shone as a linguist. - Retired early. - Noisiest place on record.
This is the moment nearly a year of training has been building toward. "Warned for France at last" the week before Christmas, Robertson finally crosses the Channel on January 3 (a rough passage that leaves Pope, Bull, and Cassels seasick) and is at Boulogne by early afternoon. The training phase of the diary ends here; the next chapter, at the front itself, begins. Over 1915 he had crossed the Atlantic, trained as a signaller and then an engineer at Shorncliffe, been commissioned an officer that August, and watched the war edge closer to home, a Zeppelin overhead, a raid that killed men just down the road. From here, the diary follows him into it directly.
Some night. - Our first within sight of the big show. - Have just laid out my sleeping bag on the floor. In a room with AyAy at 47 Rue de Lille Bailleuil. Today has been an experience, especially during the latter part of the trip. - Pulled out of Boulogne 9.45 A.M. for Calais. Had lunch & left there 1.30 for Hazebruck. - Arr’d about 3.45. Wandered around looking for a place to eat. Finally got tea at the station. - Bought a mag & sat waiting for the train to pull out at 6.26. - Arr’d Bailleuil 7.15. Met by a London bus which took a load of English officers & left us sitting on our baggage for an hour. - Finally took us up town & after various shifts + waits got us here at 10.30 fed & bedded down. I never expect to have a more weird experience than careening thru a little French town at night on top of bus within sight of the flares.
Clear. - Saw Big Bill at Hdqrs. A & Q and had our choice as to where we should go. Ted & I chose the 3rd F.C. - Buses met us at the Grande Place 10 A.M. - Picked up our baggage & distributed us at our various destinations. - Called in at the 6th F.C. on the way. - Seem to have struck a regular home here. Took a walk around this aft & saw the village. - Are just over the Belgian frontier in Dranoutre.
Dull - Windy. (S.W.)
Found out they are early risers here. Spent the morning going over the front line with Turner & was under fire for the first time. Every thing pretty quiet, so no real experiences altho they landed two or three in our section. Trenches are in an awful state. Thankful that I’m not an Infantry man. Didn’t go in over my knees but that is enough. - Laid out lines for some new breastworks. Attended a lecture at Wood camp by a G.S.O.1 on the early part of the war. Sid Fellowes here to dinner.
Barely three days after landing in France, Robertson is in the front line for the first time under enemy fire. His own account: "Every thing pretty quiet, so no real experiences altho they landed two or three in our section... Thankful that I'm not an Infantry man." Within days of landing he was in it.
Dull - Up with Pepler to shell farm. - Fairly quiet - A few shells dropped around cross-roads at Bgde Hquers. 42nd + R.C.R.’s in Dranoutre. Saw Finley, Briks + Sam Mathewson.
Clear. - N wind. Up with Harrison this morning. Over w. end of section + cut off sniper picked off one of working party in rear support trench. Shelling dressing station + road. They also registered hits on R.C.H.A. battery. - Ted transferred to 1st Field Co’y + Morrow sent up here. 42nd & R.C.R’s going into trenches tonight. - Shelling kept up fairly well all day.
Fine & Clear.
Went up with Pepler + Morrow - 42nd + R.C.Rs went in last night. - Pat’s in reserve at Wood Camp. Saw McHaffy + Louis. - Also called on Hank McKeen + looked over the 4:7 emplacements. - Service in recreation hut 3 P.M. Went up with Capt. Robertson to go over wiring. - Met Irvin + Molson. - One man on Pat’s working party shot. Back about 1 A.M. - Feeling rotten. - Have an attack of grippe coming.
Held as a day in [?]. Slept in till noon. - Went in to Bailleuil with Pepler this aft. - Sapper Mcguinis caught by sniper this morning. - Wrote letters this eve. Feeling a lot better after using the new medical kit. Heavy bombardment up towards Ypres.
Fine this morning. Stormy this aft. - Went over work on Wulgm Sw, Ft. Pinky, Shell farm & Tram line with Pip. Fritz lit into the 42nd with rifle grenades this A.M. - A bunch of casualties. - Sa Richardson. A bunch of aeros up. - Given “Ring 35” as my portion of the work. - Had a working party of “Pats” on it tonight. Allan Gammell & the ex-doorman of the Windsor amongst them. Great night. - Moonlight.
In his first ten days at the front, the losses stop being something Robertson reads about and start happening to people he can name or nearly touch: Sapper McGuinis "caught by sniper," a man on the Patricias' working party shot, and now Sa. Richardson among "a bunch of casualties" when German rifle grenades hit the 42nd. After an entire year of training-camp diary entries, leaves, dinners, socializing, this is the diary's first real taste of what being at the front actually costs, delivered within days of arriving rather than built up to gradually.
Colder. - Slept in this morning. - Bad thing to do. Wrote letters & F.S.P.C’s all aft. - Went up at 6.30 to meet working parties - No parties turned up, change night. - Waited in 49th Hdqrs till 9 P.M. & came home. - Met Bob Moodie at Wood Camp.
Bright A.M. - Stormy P.M. Went up with Mckenzie to lay out section II. Picked up whizz-bang shelling R.C.H.A. again. - Joe bolted with me coming home. - And started home without me tonight - Taylor caught him near Z winebach.
Macdonald got his Military Cross & Turner the D.C.M. Relef night. - No parties. Rode down thru Neuve Eglise to try & locate the 1st & 2nd Bgdes. Art’y. - Met Scully.
Bright. - Aeroplane activity on both sides but for observation only.
A spent shell from an Archie plumped itself down on ring 35 this morning. - Getting a bit thick as I had to drop into my own little trench twice when a couple buzzed close. - Have not decided if I’m in view or not but don’t take chances on the 3rd shot. - Griesbach swears there is a sniper behind the lines.
Not really settled down here yet. - This bunch would be alright if they didn’t take themselves so damn serious. They are a good bunch + have their grievances but they have a one sided view of things. - The whole trouble is that one or two have been expecting III Div jobs + the outlook isn’t so rosy now.
Full moon. Relief night.
Fog. - Sunday & a rotten night. - Foggy as the deuce. - Waggons[sic] stuck and everything lovely. - Slept in till noon. Wrote a couple of letters & started for the job 5.30 - Fog came up at sunset. - Thick as soup. - Traffic blocked. - Wagons stuck, material delayed or lost. - Damn little work done.
Clear. - W. wind. - Borrowed 5 men from Wulgm sw. Party to try & drain sec. II - Not much luck - Laid out dugouts Sec. I with Mackenzie till Fritz started to strafe ft. Pinkey & burst H.E.'s promiscuous when we quit. Visited 6th Fd. Co’y but didn’t stay long. Page arrested as a spy. - Had tea at Field Troop. - Maj. Britton over from 3rd Battery - Large game in progress. - Wrote letters all eve’g. - O.C. went on leave - Tomorrow the Kaiser’s birthday. - Gunners have presentation ready. - Party to start at noon. Relief night.
Misty & cold. - Heavy frost. - Laid out dugouts, Sec. I - Prospecting for shell noses - No luck. Monty (S.C.) & Pringle dropped in this aft. - Going down to visit the gang on Friday. - Very quiet today. Big show postponed - Fog.
Working party back to
Went up to see what sort of mess they made of things last night. - One bay looks to have the sandbags pulled down. - Sgt. Bill Morris up with working party. Had to take cover owing to Fritz’s attention. - They let a few drive at Wulvergnem crossroads as a protest against the racket made by the transports.
Mince pies from home arr’d.
Fair to foggy with drizzly rain. - Prince of Wales visited the D trenches this morning but too early for my clock. - Rose at noon, breakfasting on cocoa & mince pies on the way. Palmer came up for his Br. Warm this aft. - Very quiet up front tonight. - A few shells along towards rt. - Some say today was the Kaiser’s birthday & not Tuesday. I don’t care. - Talbot Papineau I/c working party. - Letter from “La” says 2 F. Co’y for III Div to be formed at C.E.T.D.
The Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, then 21 years old and serving (largely symbolically, given royal protocols keeping him well clear of real danger) with the British Army in France, toured the front-line trenches near Robertson's own sector this morning. Robertson's verdict is characteristically unimpressed: "too early for my clock," he writes, having simply slept through the whole thing after a long night.
Dull. - Rose early to go up & look at my masterpiece. - Can’t let two days pass without seeing it by day light. - Saw Munro Dobson at Wood Camp. - Tour lengthened to 5 days owing to Bgde. change. Relief tomorrow night. - No parties from Bgde reserve tonight. - Rode down to 2nd Art. Bgde. Hdqrs. - Saw Black. Located R.V. Mac in horse lines, 5th Bty. Also Lawton, Jones, Decesere, Smith, Moss. Mac after commish. in C.F.A. - Had a long talk. - Going down to visit 4th Battery tomorrow. - Met Gilman this A.M. - Wants to transfer to us. Surprised to run into Bert Lee, also with 5th pty.
9.30 P.M. - Wind shifted - Standing to in front line for gas.
In one long ride between artillery headquarters, Robertson turns up an entire roster of familiar names from his training days in England (Black, R.V. Mac, Lawton, Jones, Gilman, Bert Lee) now scattered across different batteries and units after everyone crossed to France. The circle of friends he built up over a year at Shorncliffe has dispersed into the war, and he's delighted to keep stumbling across pieces of it.
Artillery racket on left tonight.
Dull. - Wing swung east again tonight. - Gas alert. Having a regular holiday. - No parties tomorrow. - Started out 11 A.M. - Visited 11st Bty. Hhorse lines, 4th Bty Guns. - Saw Pryme, Art, Montgomery & Pete Cornell. - Mac up in front line. - Had lunch in gun pit with Pete & Monty. - Went up to 2nd & 1st Co’ys. - Stock & the others seem to be finding the 1st Div. about the same as I do. - The 3rd Div. won’t see us either. - Saw a bunch of the 6th Hows. - Came back about 5. 30. - I have coming thro’ Neuve Eglise. - It’s like a sepulchre. Macdonald has “Old Virginny” on the gramophone. - Guess I’m homesick.
Foggy & raw all day. - Wind holds east. - 6th Bgde. pulling off an attack at Midnight. This has been a real Sunday. - Slept in till nearly noon. - Held down a chair by the fire all aft. - Divine service 4.30 P.M. - Capt. Gordon preached a good sermon. - Nehemiah must have been a sapper. - Went over to the Y.M. singsong to see Ed. Archibald & get him to sign Mac’s papers.
Capt. Gordon's sermon that Sunday was almost certainly drawn from the Book of Nehemiah, in which Nehemiah organizes and leads the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, managing work crews, materials, and armed guards to protect the job from interruption. To Robertson, an engineer himself, the parallel was too good to pass up, and he made the obvious joke: "Nehemiah must have been a sapper."
Dull & Raw.
Got up in time for parade. 6th Bgde. must have carried out their intention if the noise about 2.30 A.M. is any thing to go by. Someone came in for a strafing. - Went in to Bailleul but Joe refused to accompany me. - Had a look around the town, bought some lace & back for lunch. - Rec’d ‘Tommy’ Cooker from London. - Back on the job tonight, with Pyle only - Sending McCarthy up with day party. - More than usual activity in front line. - Overs falling thick. - Came back about 9. Turner experimented with wire torpedo today.