Item 03: John Duncan McRae diary, 10 February-6 May 1917 - Page 29

[Page 29]

this during the night. Whilst getting our bucket of tea from the cook-house, "Liverpool" & myself managed to lay our hands on a half-loaf of bread, & a couple of bloaters apiece, & accordingly found for ourselves a pleasant occupation for a few minutes immediately succeeding.

However, despite such variations we were by no means sorry when the new guard relieved us, & I can assure you, I needed no rocking to put me to sleep that night.

March 9

Snow fell fairly thick last night & it was also falling during our morning's parade & as a result we had to resort to the "Dining Hall" & there had a lecture on the service bomb known as the "Mills' Hand Grenade". We then did an hours Physical Training & this was followed by exercises in which we used rifles as dumb-bells.