Forsyth, Robert (Sapper, b.1866 - d.1943)

Two handwritten diaries (in notebooks) of 15984 Sapper Robert Forsyth, covering his service in Mesopotamia 1916-1917 in 1st ANZAC Wireless Signals Squadron. The first diary (16 August 1916 to 31 December 1916) details his journey to Basra (Mesopotamia) via Colombo and Bombay and records his arrival near the front line, 10 miles from Kut al Amara. The second diary (1 January to 31 December 1917), provides good descriptions of conditions on the Mesopotamian front, and makes reference to the fall of Kut to British and Indian forces (25 February 1917) and the advance to and occupation of Baghdad, 2 March 1917, including a description of the Baghdad Wireless Station. Short entries for June to October cover his duties in Baghdad. Late November entries detail Sapper Forsyth's trip to Mendali with stores for Russian wireless equipment (8SD) and his meeting with Russian troops, mostly Cossacks. Associated with the diaries is small card witten to a soldier from a member of the Myers Patriotic Workers Society of Bendigo, Victoria. The collection also includes typescript transcripts for both diaries.