Tuesday April 9th, 1918
Work morning and afternoon in trenches. No work night.
Shot Firing
Frank is working in the trenches today. Meanwhile the Battalion is preparing to select and train some of its men in a variety of new skills.
Eight men, an NCO and a private from each Company, are to be sent to 100th Company Royal Engineers to learn ‘shot firing’. This is nothing to do with rifles or guns, but explosives and blasting. The terrain in Macedonia is rocky and explosives are important ‘landscaping’ tools. Illtyd Davies recalls this when instructed to dig a new gun pit, ‘All day long until sunset, we worked with drill hammers, crowbars, and pick in solid red rocks – drilling eight to ten holes to a depth of fifteen inches. These holes were filled with ammonal and attached length of fuses, and finished the holes off with an inch of damp earth. How we never blew ourselves into eternity was a mystery, as none of us had any previous experience at this type of work. Our crew’s jobs in civilian life, included an architectural student, a pottery worker, two clerks, a tailor and myself a nursery apprentice.’º Luckily for the the 13th, the RE have decided to train some men as shot firers.
HQ Lewis Gun Section
Two NCO and 24 Privates drawn from across the Battalion will form the newly created HQ Lewis Gun Section. They start training with their four allocated Lewis Guns tomorrow.
Battalion Scouts
In December 1917, the General Staff issued a booklet entitled ‘Scouting and Patrolling’. It provides guidance on training of both scouts and snipers about whom it states,‘The distinction between Scouting and Sniping is clear: the primary object of a Scout is to obtain information; of a Sniper, to kill.’ ² However while the duties are different, the skills set are similar and therefore, a soldier could fulfill both roles. For example, a sniper not only had to be an excellent shot but also able to navigate the terrain and observe enemy movements.
Right up front, it states that scouting is an important skill for everyone in the Army. However it also proposes that specialist roles are assigned. Each Section within a Platoon should have two Scouts, each Company, four, and the Battalion, a full-time Scout Officer. The latter, assisted by a Scout Sergeant and a Corporal, is responsible for training the Company Scouts and helping to train the Platoon Scouts.
The booklet provides a stirring description of potential candidates, ‘Scouts should be picked men selected for their character, physique, intelligence and education. They should have good sight and hearing, and be expert shots. Scouts should be men who volunteer for the work, which is often hard and dangerous. They should, therefore, receive encouragement, being excused other duties when possible, and helped in the matter of changing clothes, and obtaining hot coffee or rum or something extra on return from a hard night’s work. The fact of a man being a Scout should never stand in the way of his promotion; rather, it should help him towards promotion.’ ²
The Battalion Diary reports that four men per Company will be trained to become Scouts. Despite being a good shot, it doesn’t look like Frank is in line to become one. Perhaps because he and his working party got lost the other night and had to cut through their own wire to get home…
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 9th April 1918 – Saida
Works and training programme (App No 2). Each Coy will send 1 NCO and 1 man to 100th Coy RE tomorrow to learn Shot Firing. 1 Sgt, 1 Lance Cpl and 24 Pte will form the HQ Lewis Gun Section. They will remain with their Coys at present but will report to Lt Allen daily for training commencing tomorrow. On the days when the Coy training takes place, 4 men per Coy will be trained as Battalion Scouts under Coy arrangements. It is expected that Khaki Drill Clothing will be issued to all troops during the course of the next three weeks or month. With ref to RO No 212 dated 1-11-16, deferred and EFM (weekend) telegrams to and vis the UK cannot be accepted for despatch for the present.
References & Further Reading
º ‘A Little Account’ by Illtyd Davis, collection of Salonika Campaign Society.
¹ Scout / Sniper Section thread on the Great War Forum
² Scouting and Patrolling, issued by General Staff, December 1917, Hathi Trust (original from Harvard University) Pages 5 and 7