Shropshire soldier's diary of horror

Those sights would, he wrote, stay in his memory forever.

Alf Durnell was in the Royal Garrison Artillery and was pitched into the maelstrom of the Ypres campaign.

Born in Wellington in 1895, he was the son of a policeman, and was living at the time of the conflict at Highley police station. He joined up in December 1916 and served with 113 Siege Battery, firing a 6ins howitzer.

His diaries were passed down to his son John Durnell, who lived at Hirnant, near Oswestry. John , who served in the police before becoming a priest, died in 2014, aged 82.

Alf had many close shaves and was gassed twice, but returned home and resumed his career as a railwayman. He died on December 28, 1980.

These edited 1917 extracts from his diaries give just some idea of what he and other Great War soldiers went through during the mudbath and bloodbath of Ypres.

THURSDAY OCT 4

Left rest camp at 2pm for our new position at Ypres. Got there at 3pm & went to the billets of 123 Bty (i.e. gun battery) who we were relieving. Had my first issue of rum, it was very strong & nearly got over me.

FRIDAY OCT 5th

Went to Bty at 8am & took over all guns. The Bty is in an awful place & in going there I saw some most pitiful sights on the Menin Road, dead horses lying everywhere & smelt awful. Here & there some poor chap was lying on a stretcher dead waiting to be buried. Next we come to the Field Ambulance station, poor wounded lying everywhere, some just coming in, helping each other along as best they could. Over on the right a burial ground & a chaplain is just burying a few dead. That is a sight you see each time you pass.

I was on No 4 gun, we fired 80 Rds (i.e. rounds - shells) in reply to one of our infantry S.O.S. call. No sleep up at Bty & neither can you wash, you just exist & get through the mud as best you can. Rum issue again & my word you want it for it's raining hard & no shelter.

SUNDAY OCT 7th

The day which will remain in my memory as long as I live. Paraded at 7.30 & went to Bty. Got spades & 25 of us, under Lieut Sizeland went another 3 kilos further on to dig a new position. It was an awful journey. Fritz was shelling all round us, but we had to go through it, horses, wagons & men were knocked into the air like bits of wood. It was most pitiful, men were lying dead everywhere, horses all over the place & such a smell. I can say Fritz knocked hundreds out in a few minutes.

Well we pushed on amongst it all, bits flying everywhere & thinking every second would be the last, then one of our wagons skidded & the driver fell off, breaking his leg, so we had to patch him up. I sent him to dressing stn. Well we got to the site of new position at last & what a site too, it made you feel bad to look at it, shell holes everywhere & poor horses which carry shells up were stuck in the mud up to their stomach.

It was raining cats & dogs while working & shells still coming over but no mishap yet. There is not even a blade of grass to get behind when Fritz is shelling.

Went & had a bit of bully & while getting it Wilcox got wounded. Finished work at 4pm & had to wait in the open until 7pm before we could start back. All were wet through & mud up to our knees. Left at 7pm for billets & what a long walk it was. Distance 9 kilos. Landed back at billet at 9pm. Got a cup of hot cocoa at YMCA. That was all we had since 12 o'clock.

As I have said I shall never forget it as long as I live for it was cruel.

TUESDAY OCT 9

Started a big barrage fire at 5am & the infantry went over on a big push. They got all their objectives & a lot of prisoners. Our guns fired 800 Rds between 5am &11am. It was awful hard work on the gun for the mud was up to our knees. A big lot of wounded came down all day long & one case I noticed was two German prisoners helping one of our chaps down the line, they were only boys.

Saw several tanks, they were not as large as I thought they would be. Fritz sent three shells close to No 4 gun. Covered me in mud. Expected to have a Blighty one (i.e. a wound requiring him to return to Britain) every second.

SATURDAY OCT 13

Still on duty at Bty wet through & covered with mud, head to foot. Fritz still shelling heavy. I was hit in the back with a piece of shell, but it did not go through my overcoat. Tired out not having had any sleep for 48 hrs.

SUNDAY OCT 14

Got up at 7.30 feeling better, hardly any breakfast for us. Rations not arrived. Building dugouts to 11am then went to Bty was guide to wagons. Came back through Chateau Wood. It was terrible, shells flying everywhere & the driver had to go at the gallop. Saw lots of tanks & aeroplane there knocked out, in fact it was a most terrible journey & one I can never forget, horses & men are lying everywhere about here unburied & the smell is awful.