Friday March 29th, 1918
Still snowing, stayed in bed to breakfast, which was late 8:30. Sun comes out later on in day. Snow fight for recreation. Write home and H Wild.
Good Friday in Olasli
The Battalion is still resting and it is still snowing. When the sun comes up, Frank and his comrades have a snowball fight. They seem to remain in blissful ignorance of Germany’s Spring Offensive continuing to rage on the Western Front.
Good Friday on the Home Front
All the newspapers report that the celebrations of Easter weekend are muted. In the large London parks, various religious services are held.
Of the festivities in Hollingworth Lake near Rochdale, The Guardian reported: ‘War’s subtraction of youth left only an assembly of girls and small boys to amble about in droves along the lake shores, or wait in queues to mount a few benighted merry-go-rounds or take a boat.’¹
There was some contemplation on whether the mood was being impacted by the news from the Western Front. ‘But perhaps the chief thing that distinguished the day from pre-war Good Friday was the immense amount of work done by thousands of people on the allotments.’¹
In response to the crisis, Winston Churchill, Minister of Munitions, asked workers to keep vital factories open over Easter. He was also gratified by the response. In the munitions factories around Manchester over 50% of the works remained open. Needless to say Lloyd George and the whole War Cabinet also remained in London over the holidays.
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 29th March 1918 – No 1 Sector, Olasli
The Battalion bombers were instructed. 1 OR struck off strength on being taken on strength of 66th Infantry Brigade HQ. 1 OR struck off effective strength under GRO 1011 with effect from 28-3-18 and 2 OR from 29-3-18.
References & Further Reading
¹ Articles in ‘The Guardian’ March 30th, 1918, page 6
* Image from article on exhibition at Manchester’s Museum of Science in The Daily Mail, March 25 2015 (image may be subject to copyright)