Monday September 2nd, 1918
Band Practice 9am till 11am and 2pm to 3pm. Firing 6 o’clock.
Good day for Frank?
Frank has enjoyed three hours of band practice today and an hour of musketry. These are probably the two things he likes most about being in the British Army. It must have been a good day for him.
Malaria while on Home Leave?
Today the Battalion Diary mentions that a soldier is taken off the effective strength because he has been admitted to hospital while on home leave. This is the first of many such cases the Battalion will report throughout September.
Since the battalion came to France from Salonika, all the Programmes of Training show a daily ‘Quinine Parade’. This rash of sick soldiers while on home leave makes me wonder if, when they went on home leave, they did so without a continued supply of quinine?
This would also make sense of analysis that showed that over 80% of the troops of the 13th Manchesters were suffering from malaria when they arrived in France in June 1918.¹
The photograph shows British soldiers on parade in Salonika. They are awaiting their daily dose of quinine.^
Infantry Base Depot
The Battalion Diary also mentions today that two other ranks (OR) proceeded to ‘H’ IBD and are struck off in accordance with a circular memo. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find out very much about either the IBD or the circular memo.
It appears that IBD is an abbreviation for Infantry Base Depot. Soldiers who were returning to the Western Front after being wounded or ill, usually came through the Infantry Base Depot and would then be allocated to a (new) battalion.² It could be that these men stayed with the 9th Battalion, until fit to resume duty and then passed through the IBD. However this doesn’t explain why they are only now being taken off the effective strength. Any insights gratefully received.
9th Battalion War Diary – 2nd September 1918 – Haudricourt
Training as per programme (Appendix No 1). 1 OR struck off effective strength on admission to hospital whilst on leave with effect from 20-8-18. 2 OR proceeded to ‘H’ IBD and are struck off effective strength in accordance with DG Circular Memo No 24, dated 10-7-18, with effect from 2-9-18. 4 OR struck off effective strength on proceeding to ‘H’ IBD.
References & Further Reading
¹ ‘Malaria’s contribution to WWI – the unexpected adversary‘ by Bernard J Brabin, in the Malaria Journal
² Thread on Great War Forum
^ Q 32159, copyright Imperial War Museums