RAIN
Didn’t move as it’s been too wet all day. – Went down to the C.R.E.’s – Lunched at VERDREL & walked back. – Slept & took a look round some of the GOUY lines – Fixing it up with the Town Major to get something done here. Regular fighting weather.
MORE RAIN.
BARLIN all morning. – II DIV. M.V.S. – 3rd C.R.T & Town Major. Lunched at the new camp. – It's a miserable place at present. – First news of the war up north in. – About as moist a day as possible. – Looks like winter rains had set in (bingo. – There goes one "agin the govt. – He puts in a couple of those H.V. fellows every night some where near here) – Intended doing some writing to-night only we got into one of our after dinner arguments.
Four sappers on the job to-day. – Salvaging.
More rain, heavy & undiluted.
Disgusted!!!
On the go in the moisture all day. – First to Cup to get a line on material. – Next to Corps to find out how much I can draw. – None. – All held for new standings. – To Barlin – 4 sappers on the job but can't do much without material. – Climbed the hill to VERDREL for lunch. – Walked back to Gouy and spent the aft sizing up some of the places round there. – Ran into the C.R.E. in the yard. – Seemed to have the wind up about something but thought I explained matters satisfactorily. – Any how this eve. Jeff phones up that Gus is to take over the horse-standings and l am to stay over at Gouy and run the yard for Worsley with ½ Co'y while the boss takes the other half to Mt. St. Eloi.
Rain, of course
Rode over to VERDREL as Brick had sent a horse over for me. – Had a hair-cut + finished McCurdy's book. – Came back + spent the rest of the day being sore at myself. – Gus moved down to the 1st A.T. Coy where he will take up his abode.
Nothing doing. – Worsely came around. – First time I'd seen the chap. – Maybe O.K. but don't think we should ever be bosom friends. – S.H.F. doesn't seem to think very highly of him.
Fine, mostly
Fellowes + half the Coy moved to Mt St. Eloi, leaving me in command here, which doesn't mean an awful lot, with Grant on the job. – Lots of time to think. – Want to have a chin with Rolston some day + either get a course or go back to a field Coy.
Fellowes takes half the company to Mt. St. Eloi, leaving Robertson in nominal command of what's left, "which doesn't mean an awful lot," by his own account, with Grant actually running things day to day. His restlessness with rear-area work isn't new (he'd raised the same idea back in May 1917), but it recurs and sharpens from here: he asks to return to an active unit on October 10 and is rebuffed, has the same wish for a Field Co'y recalled on December 10 ("as previously recorded"), and lands on "I'm a back number alright" on December 11.
October 10, 1917 entry →December 11, 1917 entry →
Got up in time to see the boys on 8 A.M. parade. – No danger of them ever being mistaken for guards. – Worsley honoured us with a short call and Rolston was also around for a few moments. – Spent the evening over at the 350th playing Canfield with Butler, + Davison.
Slept mostly. – Salmond, Butler + I went over to Maj. Gale's this evening. He has some very good records.
Warm – Showers
Maj. Rolston + McPhail came around this aft to talk horse-standing material and have tea. – C.R.E. is on leave + Rolston is acting. – Should have coralled him + spilled my troubles I suppose but couldn't just manage it. Introduced "Jap" banker to the 350th.
Very quiet. –
O.C. goes on leave Sunday and wants me to shift down to Mt St. Eloi. – Not extra keen on it. – Butler + I attended the movies.
Rain.
Shifted to Mt. St. Eloi Stn. – Nice enough place but rather isolated – Fine mess and quarters but the 1st A.T. didn't leave much that was movable. Not much work going on. – No issuing stock in the yard at all. 100 coolies for labour
Fine.
The O.C got away to Deauville this A.M. – Spent the day getting a line on things. Ed Garrow called in for me with the car + took me up to the Amm. Park to dinner. – Just he + Dulch there at present.
– No great excitement. – Spent the day laughing at the chinks. – Made the acquaintance of a couple of the officers of the C.L.C. – Sewell + Soothill. – They came up to tea + saved me from eating alone. – Was just starting up to dine by my lonesome when a side-car arrived to take me up to the Amm. Park. – Slim Whitholm was up there too.
MONS - 1914
Warm – showers
O.C. not back yet. – Don't intend to leave here when he does come back. – Much more congenial neighbourhood. – Too hot & dusty in the yard to do much so played cards with Sewell all aft. Did a bit of letter writing & got well into "The 1st Seven Divs".
Robertson's own header marks the third anniversary of the Battle of Mons, the BEF's first major engagement of the war, and Britain's first continental battle since Waterloo. Four British divisions, badly outnumbered, held a canal line against the German 1st Army for most of a day before falling back, opening the two-week "Great Retreat" that wasn't checked until the Marne. Robertson's service didn't begin until 1915; Mons, like the first gas attack at Second Ypres, is a war anniversary that predates him. He marks both anyway, alongside his own enlistment anniversary.
Cool – windy.
The O.C. got back about noon. – Peake & Winter came in to lunch & may shift down here permanently. – Coles is representing the 1st A.T. Coy at Gouy so I don't suppose I shall go back.
Nothing further to report. – The boss seems pretty well fed up with life but I know what it is to come back.
– Rather think I'll make it PARIS myself next time, for even if I could get English leave it hardly seems fair to block men who have been waiting a long time.
Fair.
Nothing at all to do now that the boss is back.
Duchesnay & Squire Greening were both in this aft & helped pass the time by trying to wangle some material. 1st & 2nd Divs are both out of the line now. Went down to the station to watch the trains come in. – Rounded up the R.T.O. & the village cut-ups for tea.
– Went for a wander round the aerodrome & over to ACQ with Cook after dinner.
The 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions Robertson notes as "both out of the line now" had just come through the Battle of Hill 70, a major Canadian action fought August 15–25 near Lens, Arthur Currie's first as Corps commander, intended partly to draw German attention away from Third Ypres further north. It was a costly, largely successful fight: over 9,000 Canadian casualties, and six Victoria Crosses awarded. None of that fighting appears directly in Robertson's own entries this stretch. He's well back in a rear role at the time.
Fair to rain.
Planned a trip over to LORETTE but they told us at the aerodrome that the war was off for a couple of days, so slept all aft. Cook & I went over to see the chinks perform these eve + got caught in the rain. - It did pour, too.
"Planned a trip over to LORETTE but they told us at the aerodrome that the war was off for a couple of days, so slept all aft." It's Robertson's first attempt to visit Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, the hilltop site of a huge French offensive in 1915, and it comes to nothing. He'd get there three and a half weeks later, on September 20, staking out the site of the rebuilt chapel with the Curé of Ranchicourt.
September 20, 1917 entry →
Cold Rain.
Thank the Lord I'm not in the Inf.
Been to[sic] wet to do anything today even if there had been anything to do. – Didn't even go down to the station to watch the trains come in. Morgan (Lt. Ry. Sigs.) came in to lunch. – Cook & I wiled away most of the aft & ev'g at Casino, then I had a brain wave & wrote a long letter home.
Windy.
Went to AUBIGNY with Sewell & 50 of his celestials to unload stone. Met Moon Creaghan and a lot more flying people in the club. – Am more of less getting the fever again.
Heavy showers.
Cook got the Cadillac and we made a trip to St. Pol in the rain this aft. – Didn't find it very exciting. – Bought sundry pots and pans for the mess. – also some Kirchner pictures to brighten things up a bit. Came back via Bruay & Barlin and had dinner at the column.
Chilly.
Peake and Winter moved in. – Len Rainboth, on his way to Camiers, missed his train and spent the aft here. – Sewell and I took in the "archies" after which he came back here for dinner and bridge.
Fine.
Maj. Rolston, Col. Digby-Jones (C.R.E. A.T.) and Stoneham blew in for lunch but our kitchen staff in spite of lack of experience, stood up nobly under the strain.
– Awful shortage of literature.
– Glasen, 16 Sqdn R.F.C. came in for some more stuff this aft. – Must pay them a visit some day.