Item 01: William Daniel Hardy diary, 9 October 1915-31 December 1916 - Page 107

[Page 107]

21 Monday
Travelling until about midday. Arrived in a rest camp. After disentraining we had to march about three miles to the camp. Never had much sleep during the night & had a splitting headache when I did wake up this morning We had plenty of rations given us on the train. rou pmac si tuoba evlewt slims morf eht tnorf [our camp is about twelve miles from the front]

22 Tuesday
Orders are expected anytime to mch out. Slept nearly all day. Could hear sounds as of a heavy bombardment plainly. A guide & orders came while we were having tea, but as we were lucky we hadn't to march far, about 300 yards, where a Sect of the 12th field Amb is quartered. We pitched tents & camped there for the night

23 Wednesday
As there was no reveille we didn't get up very early, I think it is the first sleep in I have had since I left Liverpool, N.S.W. eleven of our fellows were picked for the twelfth field Amb.so that left 20 of us to be divided between the 4th and 13th field Amb. We marched nine miles to Contay & camped in a barn for the night. Alloted to the fourth field Amb. We are having fine warm weather.
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escapes every few minutes. Two of us were nearly buried by a very big shell. We got a good shaking up.