Sunday June 2nd, 1918
Left transport 8:30 arrived 10:30. Mounted guard 11am till 6pm. Very windy & a little rain. Serbians shooting fish in rivers. Dismounted 6pm cushy guard, good grub. Slept in tent.
‘Rightoh’
The second stage in Frank’s journey to guard the kite balloon seems to have passed without incident. While he is on guard duty for seven hours he seems to regard it as quite a nice role – with good, presumably plentiful, food. He will obviously be there for a few days as he is sleeping in a tent at night.
As such he is missing out on the move of the 13th Battalion to the rear lines where it will become Section Reserve.
According to the Operation Order, the move will be completed between dusk and dawn. The dress for the march will again be ‘fighting order’ – so packs will be transported for the men. Their orders are quite specific, ‘Sun helmets, Jackets and Trousers SD [Service Dress] are to be worn and steel helmets slung on left shoulder. Bivouac poles to be carried, bivouac mosquito nets are to be rolled neatly in Spine Pads and strapped on belt with valise straps below haversack. Drill clothing must be enclosed in packs.’¹
This wonderful photograph shows a soldier from the 51st Highland Infantry Division with an elderly civilian, near Locon in France, April 10th 1918. While the soldier is obviously carrying something unwieldy, the connection with this text is tenuous – but much too atmospheric to be left out.
The Battalion’s first night will be spent at Tertre Vert Camp and then they will move on to La Marraine the following day. The code word to be wired to Sector HQ at the successful completion of the move is ‘Rightoh’. As the move was completed without incident, presumably this coded message was sent promptly.
Shooting Fish
Frank is obviously much impressed by the Serbs’ fishing technique. This is similar to the experience of Captain Stewart, in April 1916, ‘It was also I think at this time that one of the men came one day to the mess with about half a dozen fish he he said he had caught; there are no signs of any hook marks. I strongly suspected a Mills bomb. However, we ate the fish and enjoyed them.’²
13th (Service) Battalion War Diary – 2nd June 1918 – Sporan
The Battalion was relieved in No 4 Sector by the 12th Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers. The relief was complete by 23:00 hrs and the Battalion was all present in Tertre Vert camp by 01:30 hrs 3-6-18 where it came into Divisional Reserve.
References & Further Reading
¹ Operation Order 38, issued by Lt Colonel Morrell, 31st May 1918.
² ‘A Very Unimportant Officer’ by Captain Alexander Stewart & Cameron Stewart, Hodder & Stoughton, 2009, Kindle, locn 450
* Q 6502, copyright Imperial War Museums