| Place | Europe: Western Front |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2016.30.45 |
| Collection number | PR03112 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | File |
| Item count | 1 |
| Object type | Diary |
| Physical description | 84 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Taylor, Charles Herbert |
| Place made | At sea, France, United Kingdom |
| Date made | 1918 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Diary of Charles Herbert Taylor, 1918
Description
Diary relating to the First World War service of 908 Private Charles Herbert Taylor, 34th Battalion. The entries within the diary span the period 1 January to 31 December 1918, in which Taylor records his daily routine, as well events relating to his battalion and the battalion band, himself a bandsman. He records the conditions in the trenches as well as his thoughts about the conscription referenda. Taylor also records significant events, such as playing at parades before Generals Pershing, Monash and Birdwood, and the fighting at Hangard Wood on 30 March 1918, noting the deaths of three of his comrades: Joseph Miller Stubbs, Robert Charles Daly and Robert William Bruton. Only a few days later, on 4 April 1918, the battalion helped defeat a major German drive on Villers-Bretonneux where Taylor records being wounded in action. He is sent to England for treatment and recovery, and writes of his convalescence there until his eventual return to Australia in December 1918, recording the journey home aboard HMAT Sardinia. This diary also contains a photograph of English actor Ralph Lynn, annotated with the name “Squizzy Taylor”, alluding to supposed physical similarities between the two.