Thursday 18th February 1915- Diary of HV Reynolds
18 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
The Tram Terminus at Mena. PS0561
‘Spent the day practicing tent erecting on the Mena flat near the tram terminus. I have been attached to B section* as a stretcher barer.’
*Organisation of the First AIF is progressively broken down into smaller and smaller groups a ‘section’ being a group of 9-16 men.
Wednesday 17th February 1915 – Diary of HV Reynolds
17 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
A corner in the Base Post Office at camp by the Suez Canal. B00177
‘Mail arrived, received one letter.’
For the classroom: Some days were more active than others. What might happen if the men are inactive for too long?
Tuesday 16th February 1915- Diary of HV Reynolds
16 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
'The Nile from Gezira' By George Lambert ART02821
‘Packed up early this morning ready to move but did not do so until 10am. When we set out to march back to camp, a distance of about 10 miles which we accomplished by 1pm. The road was horribly dusty being one of the main roads in the cultivated country, which are built up about 10 feet above the ordinary level of the country. This is done to prevent one village from being isolated from another when the Nile is in flood and the whole area of flat bed of the Nile Valley is under water. The country through which we passed is extremely picturesque being all under cultivation and splendidly irrigated though some very crude and extremely ancient methods are still in use. The road we used passed through fields of Lucerne etc. and in places run along the banks of irrigation canals. Occasional villages and clusters of date palms are seen on either side and here and there are native with his ancient looking bullock drawn plough at work in on the fields make up a strange but very pretty scene.’
Monday 15th February 1915- Diary of HV Reynolds
15 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
Sand cart and team, Kantara By George Lambert ART02812
‘Spent the morning at stretcher drill. We were all vaccinated* today.’
*ANZACs were vaccinated against a number of illnesses. With so many men already taking ill in Egypt, it was feared disease would spread once the men reached the trenches.
Love Letter Update for Valentine’s Day
13 February 2010 by Nicholas Schmidt.
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Collection,From the collection,News,Of love and war,Personal Stories, Exhibition, Of Love and War, People, Private Records
It has been a year since the first blog entry went up about Marthe Gylbert and her letter. In this time, with the help of some very generous people, I have been able to discover much about Marthe and her wonderful love letter. If you have not seen the previous blog entries, they can be found here and here.
Marthe‘s nephew Jean Marc Gylbert has been very helpful and interested. He has provided much information about his family and his aunt although some part of the story remains a mystery even to him. This blog is based on information Jean Marc Gylbert has provided.
Marthe was born on the 24th April 1901 to Louis and Marie Louise Gylbert. She was the fourth child in the family of six children, two of whom died while very young. The family came originally from Nieppe, a village about 3 km from Armentières, on the left bank of the Lys River. Jean Marc Gylbert describes the family as ‘very poor’ with Marthe’s father working as a farm labourer and her mother employed as a servant.
Marthe met her Australian sweetheart in Armentières not Saint-Sulpice-les-Feuilles as I said before in my previous update. Armentières had been briefly occupied by the Germans, in October 1914, but was taken back by the British, who occupied the village until the 10th April 1918. Amongst the troops in Armentières were Australians and this is when Marthe appears to met her ‘Darling Little Sweetheart’.
Sunday 14th February 1915 – Diary of HV Reynolds
12 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
A group of unidentified troopers marching while undergoing training in Egypt for dismounted service on the Gallipoli Peninsula. C00384
‘We are bivouacked on the edge of the desert here and are about 3 miles from the Sakara Pyramids, the peculiar step pyramid being in plain view. The infantry have been at manoeuvres* upon the hills all day but we have taken no part in them.’
*During the campaign every unit had a specific task and trained accordingly. The infantry would be in the front lines while Herbert as a stretcher bearer was required to transport wounded men from the front, back to aid stations.
For the classroom: How would the training differ between the infantry and the stretcher bearers?
Saturday 13th February 1915 – Diary of HV Reynolds
12 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
‘Headquarters sent for 3 men from those in camp this morning, I happened to be sent so packed up and went to Sakara on one of the wagons, reaching the bivouac at about 7pm, we reported, got some tea and turned in under one of the wagons for the night. A very heavy dew falls on the desert during the night and any sort of shelter is looked for that will keep it off. The sand becomes icy cold after sunset even though the day has been blazing hot*.’
*The conditions felt in the Egyptian desert were not too dissimilar from conditions on the Gallipoli peninsula. During the Gallipoli campaign soldiers had to endure extremes in temperature. Towards the end of the campaign they even had to deal with snow.
Friday 12th February 1915 – Diary of HV Reynolds
12 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds. An unidentified soldier on a horse in front of two tents and the Second Pyramid at Mena, Egypt. J02124
‘The 1st Brigade left camp this morning and went to Sakara for a few days bivouac*, I remained in camp with the guard.’
*Soldiers were sent out to the desert to train. Men had to practice surviving away from the relative comforts of an established camp.
Thursday 11th February 1915- Diary of HV Reynolds
11 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
A general view of bell tents in the tent lines at Mena Camp. C05282
‘I was put on guard from 10am to 10am tomorrow and did picquet duty* from 10am to 2pm.’
*Large camps such as the one at Mena were under 24 hour guard. Soldiers would be rostered on guard duty.
Wednesday 10th February 1915- Diary of HV Reynolds
10 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
‘The reinforcements had a medical inspection. I visited the Sphinx and different tombs around the pyramids, also the valley temple of Khefren. This temple is very much damaged but not to the extent that some others are. The pillars of granite are about 14 ft. by 3 by 3 and are in a fair state of preservation. The price of admission is one piastre.’
Herbert sent many letters and post cards home describing the sights he had seen. War provided an opportunity for young men to see and experience things that would have been unimaginable in their everyday lives.
