Transcriptions
1915 B609/9/A/58 World War One, Loos and Gallipoli (John H Bennett diary)
1915 Aug 15 JW Bennett received his orders / for France and left his home never / to return. What memories of / Yacht racing this day revives and now it will always be associated / with the last hours my dear son / spent with me and his mother. Before the call came on that Sunday / evening we both lowered her down / to East Ferry with the Dinghy pulling / a pair of oars each, a thing we / had never done before. My thoughts / were as I put up the boat were that we / might never row together again./ A couple of weeks previously on a / Sunday afternoon we had our last / sail together in the Water Wag.// Landing at Suvla Bay of large / British force well carried out / and Turks surprised but advance / not successfully pushed on the/ instant and the force was held / up when a great victory seemed / almost within our grasp. [new page] 1915 Sept 10 Russians driven back from the / Kabuoo Line – A Russian counter / threat in Gallicia effective. Czar / assumed supreme command of / armies. Grand Duke Nicholas went / to the Caucasian front. // Situation in Gallipoli stationary / with the approach of winter our / Army must succeed at once or / not at all and in the event of / non-success evacuation with ter- / rible losses the only alternative. / Submarine losses heavy. Zeppelin / raids on E Counties and London. // Oct 13 – On this day JW Bennett was / killed by a German shell in the trenches / near Loos held by the Munsters who / lost nearly 200 men at the time / owing to an enfilading bombard- / ment by the enemy. // Sept 24-25 The Great Push so called / being the first big offensive of the / British Army in France also / called the Battle of Loos the gains / accomplished were very costly and / the breaking of German lines which [Page ends]
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