Shorncliffe Camp to Yser Canal 2nd Battle of Ypres

Rainy day, parades off, served out big jack knife. Wrote Lamport.

Folkestone to France.

Paraded for kit inspection with a view. The quartermaster Sergt. making up deficiencies, 2 o'clock musketry instruction.

4 pm suddenly told we are to leave for France. Great excitement. All No 2 & 1 platoon No 1 alone taken. Issued bayonet frog, field dressing & 150 rounds. Paraded with full marching order, entrenching tools. Kept standing till 10:30. marched to Folkstone. Got a good send off. Embarked on "Forward", 2000 troops in all & reached Boulogne 1 am. Marched to camp St Martin & herded together into shelter tents, very cold.

Boulogne

Drew rations and spent day fixing our packs. In my case cutting down. Served out 50 rounds more. Very cold exposed place, nearly frozen. At nightfall marched to Boulogne. People very enthusiastic. "Bonne chance" & " Au revoir" from all sides. Travelled all in 3rd class carriage. I slept or tried to, on the floor. Arrived at Poperinghe on the Belgian frontier early in the morning.

2nd Battle of Ypres

Poperinghe "Head of Steel" - Ambulances crowded with wounded coming in & road choked with stragglers, wounded & refugees in carts & on foot. Marched to Canadian camp thru Vlamertinghe, 7 miles without a stop as halting was dangerous. Very hard as we had 65 lbs. each. Germans get our range & throw in shrapnel, luckily we were paraded at the time & our equipment only suffered. Three men hurt, one killed, all of 16th Canadian Scottish for which we were reinforcements. Dug ourselves in. Talked with 2 French sappers, said they were detailed to bury the spy who had signalled our position. Firing party quite close. After dark moved to part line of trenches along Yser Canal. Dug in under heavy shell fire lasting all night.

BC Archives, MS-0392 Box 1 Volume 4 / FRANK SWANNELL PAPERS / Diary and enclosures, 1915.