This is the diary of my father George John Culpitt, kept whilst he was on active service during the First World War. This typed copy is an exact transcript of the hand written book which he compiled from a number of entries in personal diaries. It has no beginning and no end. It starts after he volunteers the Royal Welsh Fusiliers which he joined in 1915 because he had a Welsh friend who was joining at the same time, and it finished after the last big push culminating in the Armistice on November llth 1918.
Considering the tremendous number of casualties suffered, in the many battles it was in it is amazing that he survived. The conditions under which they had to fight were dreadful, knee deep in liquid mud for days on end with no heat or shelter, in many cases without food and with almost no water. They were issued with thing like a pint of water a day which had to be used for drinking, washing and shaving. Years later he was still proud that he could, if necessary, shave wash all over using only a cupful of water. Some years before he died at the ageof 63, he and I went back to France and Belgium where he had fought. Looking the peaceful green fields it was impossible for me to visualise the battles in which hundreds of thousands of men died.
The medals he won for is service were 1914-15 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Peter Culpitt
Chapter 1 Into France
At length after we had returned from our meagre leave we were officially warned for the front and then began the various preparations such as drawing kit, etc. which every draft had to undergo.
Swiftly the days passed and at last came April 27th 1916 that day being the one on which we were to leave Kimmel Park for France.
We were treated to a good feed In the canteen which commenced at 3.30 pm. and presented by the Proprietors with a bag containing 1/- of assorted stuff. Our Captain also gave us a box of 50 Cigarettes each and we also received various other boxes of fags. Rations for two days in the form of bread, cheese, cake etc. were also dished out and the puzzle was where to put all the stuff we received.
Having made our farewells we fell in and marched out of the canteen and were then joined by the band and rest of the Battalion that was accompanying us to the station. On arrival at Abergele the town turned out to give us a cheer as was the custom as we entered the station. During the short wait for the train, that ensued the Band played popular aires, but the train soon pulled into the platform and we boarded it and made ourselves comfortable: but we only went as far as Crewe for here we ware to catch a troop train that would take us right through to the coast.
While waiting we went to the Church Army that at Crewe was just by the station and indulged in some refreshment which the officer paid for. About 11.30 p.m. we boarded the train and settled down to see the last of England. We soon passed the Midlands and neared London at length, pulling up at Kensington where we changed engines. This, in the half light of the dawn was the last glimpse we had of our native town and we ran right through to Folkestone with only one stop at Maidstone. We pulled into the harbour station about 7.15 a.m. and after a wait of some thirty minutes boarded the boat which was due to leave about 8.45 a.m.
Every man was given a life belt as a precaution against submarine attacks and thus attired we crossed the Channel, most of us for the first time. The journey took 11/2 hours and I was not sea sick. Prompt to time we entered the bay in which Boulogne stands as our escort of two destroyers who had convoyed us across, took their leave. After a couple of tries we succeeded in getting sufficiently near enough to the landing stage to enable us to be made fast, and discarding our life belts put on our equipment and awaited the order to disembark. After this had been done, we made our way down the quay and across the bridge and formed up in the main road. While waiting for stragglers we had our first encounter with French street vendors, our great difficulty being the successful negotiation of the exchange of English money into French but after a time this was overcome with the aid of one or two men who had been out before. For an English shilling we received value to the extent of £1.20 although the proper rate of exchange was £1.40 but the French people always gave this amount thus always standing to gain the difference of 20 cents.
At last we moved off and marched into the town, turning at length up a side street which proved to be the beginning of a very long hill on top of which stood the Camp. With the aid of two halts, which were badly needed for the weather was hot and our packs heavy, we succeeded in reaching the Camp which was composed of a large number o tents divided into sections so many tents to each section.
The camp was fairly full of men going on or returning from leave in addition to numerous drafts awaiting to entrain for the base, and we were allocated at the rate of 10 in a tent, rather crowded perhaps, but nothing to the discomforts we were to suffer later on.
Having settled down rations were served out, tea made, and we partook of as hearty a meal as possible under the circumstances. Our time then being our own we visited the YMCA Hut and here we found that in order to get anything one had to line up and purchase a ticket f or the amount one proposed to spend, then passing on to the Counter and giving the ticket in exchange for the goods purchased. By this system, the order was secured and men served much quicker than would have been the case had there been a scramble for stuff as in some places.
At length we retired for the night, sleeping well in spite of the strange surroundings and were up betimes in the morning. Breakfast composed of tea, bread and butter and bacon. Having finished we collected our kit and prepared to move off somewhere about 9.00 a.m. We left the Camp and made our way to the Station, boarding the train for the Base. Soon we steamed out of the station and settled ourselves down to enjoy the scenery, but there was not much to be seen chiefly sand with strips and patches of vegetation and none too frequent intervals. This was but the first of many journeys by train made during my stay in France, some worse and some better, but at all times travelling was never so comfortable as that at home.
Chapter 2 Etaples Camp
We reached the Base soon after 12.00 noon disentraining at a small station called Etaples. The Camp was a very large one composed of tents, the dining halls etc. being large, marquees with one or two wooden buildings dotted about which were the YMCA's and such like. There were also one or two large Hospitals adjacent to the Camp and these were composed of several wards, each ward consisting of 3 marquees.
From the railway, looking up, the whole place presented one mass of white on the side of the hill, looking clean and white in the sunlight.
From the train we made our way to the stores where we drew rifle and bayonet, both brand new, and then made our way to that part of the Camp allocated to the Welsh Regiments known as the 38th I.B.D. Here we were ten in a tent again but I was lucky in getting in one with only five in it.
After dinner of bully beef stew we showed kit, had the regulations of the Camp read out to us, drew blankets and were then dismissed for the day.
While on parade the officer from Kimmel Park who had brought us across took leave of us much to our regret for although very young he was one of the most popular officers in the Camp.
Having made ourselves at home in our new home we set out to make a tour of inspection of the Camp, visiting the YMCA Church Army Hut and Tipperary Club. This latter together with Lady Angela Forbes rest hut were the two best places in the Camp, for such delicacies as tea, bread and butter, eggs, custard and fruit and such like could be obtained very cheaply.
The next day was Sunday April 30th and we were up early and had roll call about 7.00 a.m. at the same time being warned that we were for the Training ground at 2.00 p.m.
After dinner we fell in and marched to the Ground which was known as the Bull Ring. Passing through the various I.B.D. Is and past the Hospital we got on to the main road to the training area which was some two miles away. On all sides could be seen sand: on the left it stretched away to the sea, while on the right it rose sharply into a large ridge which extended all along the route and was a continuation of the hill on which the Camp stood. Arriving after about 30 minutes marching, hot and perspiring, because it was mid-day and very hot, we turned off the road and made our way to the position set out for the 38th I.B.D. about half way up the ridge and here awaited the coming of the sergeant instructors. These soon made their appearance, three of them accompanied by an officer, all wearing a wide yellow band on their sleeves to denote that they were instructors. During the afternoon under the supervision of the sergeants and closely watched by the officer we went through rapid loading, extended order drill, and bayonet fighting and we were much relieved when we finally made our way back to the road, the instructors took their leave and we made tracks for the Depot.
The next day found us once again on the Bull Ring but this time in the morning from 8.15 a.m. to 12.00 or 1.00 p.m. with a break of half an hour. Bayonet fighting, bombing, and extended order, occupied the morning and we finally arrived back in Camp somewhere about 2.00 p.m.
In this manner the whole of the next ten days with four exceptions were passed. On two days the monotony of training was relieved by a route march. At 8.15 a.m. about 1000 to 1500 men from the various depots fell in at the appointed place and leaving the Camp by the bridge across the railway at Etaples set out on the march. Through Etaples, a dirty, smelly conglomeration of ramshackle houses and mean streets, across the river by the bridge just outside the town and so on to the main road to Paris Plage, passing through some magnificent forests on the way. At length we entered the town which is situated at the mouth of the river on the coast and passed through and on to the wide promenade which overlooked a wide stretch of sand running out to the sea. We did not halt here however but took a halt of some 15 minutes in a street leading off the promenade on our way back. Continuing our journey by a different route through the forest we at last found ourselves on the main about a mile from home which we reached about 12.00 P.M.
On the second occasion the route was practically the same with the exception that we fell out for some 30 minutes on the sands instead of in the town.
One day also was allotted to us for firing at the Sandhills Range just outside the camp. As it's name denotes it was situated amongst some sand hills and consisted of a wooden structure made to represent a trench, as the firing point, while the targets were placed some 75 yards away. About 15 men fired at once and the noise in such a confined space was deafening. After a preliminary round had been fired to tell how the rifle was firing the remainder of 10 rounds were fired and we then went to the targets to examine the result, bringing them back with us to show the Musketry Officer how we had fared. Those who obtained above a certain percentage of hits were passed out while those below had to fire again. I succeeded in passing out first time. As the whole affair did not take long we returned to Camp early, somewhere between 11.30 and 12 o'clock, having finished for the day.
The following Sunday we were permitted to attend divine service as there were no parades on and I went to Non Conformist service at the YMCA.
Chapter 3 To the Front
This was our second and last Sunday at the Base for the following Thursday (May llth) we were warned for the front to join the 10th Battalion Welsh Fusiliers. The next day we had kit inspection etc. and drew 120 rounds of ammunition each. On Saturday morning we were awakened early, reveille being at 2.00 a.m., breakfast at 3.00 a.m. We fell in at 4.00 a.m. for the train, in the pouring rain, and as usual there was a lot of waiting about during which we got slightly wet, but at last we boarded the train and settled down for the journey up the line. Stops were frequent and sometimes lengthy with the result that it was nearly noon before we reached the junction of Hazelbrouck, a French town of medium size. It rained heavily again while we waited about at the station but at length we set out for rest billets in the town as our train did not leave before 7.00 P.m. We reached the billets by 1 o'clock and found them to be a large public building, fairly full of troops, but after some trouble managed to find a small corner where we deposited our packs for the time being while we explored the town, previous to having tea.
The town did not prove very interesting for there was little to be seen in the way of shops and no buildings worth looking at.
Tea over we hung about until 6.30 p.m. when we fell in and made our way to the station and boarded the train for Bailleul, a fair sized town which we reached about 7.45 P.m. Here we were met by the Battalion's Band and our packs taken off us to be carried by transport and soon after we set off with Band playing to join the Battalion in the trenches.
We had not been long on the road before it commenced to rain, putting a damper on our spirits altogether for we were already greatly fatigued by the travelling and still had a long march before us. After we had left Bailleul some three miles in the rear, we got the order to load rifles, and then we felt that our participation in the war had actually begun.
As we marched, on our right could be seen the 'vary lights' rising and falling at irregular intervals marking the line where the two armies faced each other while occasionally a vivid flash denoted the firing of a gun.