Saturday April 6th, 1918
Reveille 6am. Work in trenches till 12:30. Pay afternoon 25D. Warm again. Got a 20 shilling order from postman. Wiring party night – had a very rough night of it – finished 11:15.
Pay Day
Frank is paid 25 Drachma today. On his last pay day he received Francs. According to the page in his diary which lists foreign exchange rates, 1 Drachma is worth 9.5 pence. This equates to approximately 19 shillings and 9 pence. Either the exchange rate has improved or Frank has to supplement it slightly to buy a 20 shilling postal order to send home to his wife.
Wiring Party
The 13th Battalion has been tasked with improving the defences around Le Commandant and Canteen Hill. The work requires strengthening of both the trenches and the wiring. Major Spielman, commander of the 100th Field Company of the Royal Engineers, is in charge of the works. He wants both wire and trench improvements to be done simultaneously. He instructs, ‘Works, where possible, should be done by day, every precaution being taken however to avoid enemy observation.’
This map of the area accompanied the working instructions. The two together provide details of the work in which Frank is involved today.
A) Wiring
1. Protective wire (2 fences about ten yards apart) in front of E, A and D, leaving counter-attack gaps in front of A, D.
2. Repairing and adding to existing protective wires, so that in all there are at least 2 fences
3. Making blocks at N, O & P
4. Wiring round F, G, I when dug
B) Works
1. Finish fire steps and parapets in all trenches which are already to depth
2. Open up A which has been filled in – fill in L. Improve and deepen A, B, C and D. (C & D will be cut out with rock drills.)*
According the the Battalion’s diary today both Lt-General Wilson, the Corps Commander, and Major-General Duncan, the Divisional Commander, come to the camp to inspect the progress of this work. Such involvement of the top brass seems unusual – but perhaps just shows the strategic importance of the strengthened defences.
Frank works on the trenches during the day and then becomes a member of a wiring party in the evening. Unfortunately the enemy seems to get wind of their activities and gives them a hard time.
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 6thApril 1918 – Saida
The Corps and Divisional Commanders passed through camp about 10:30 hrs on their way to Le Commandant where they inspected the work in progress.
References & Further Reading
* Appendix I of the 13th Battalion War Diary for April 1918
¹ Major-General Sir John Duncan (1872-1948), appointed GOC 22nd Division in 1917, in Wikipedia
See this post for the structure of the British Salonika Force