Billets Essars-Lex-Béthune 51

Sets 8h. 17 m]     JUNE, 1915.     [Day 16h 33m. long

Paraded for Court Martial sentence "__Pte ________, ___, charged with theft, pleaded not guilty, found not guilty. Charged with being drunk while on active service. Pleaded guilty, found guilty--sentence

THURSDAY 17 [168-197]

of court was Two years imprisonment with hard labor -- Read by adjutant in hollow square -- Prisoner under corporals guard -- Cap pulled off during reading -- Sorry for for this man -- weak face Other prisoner one year for "refusing to obey an order and being absent from parade" -- Same man given 30 days "Field Punishment No 1" 3 weeks ago Very little artillery fire today Went for ssim in Aire Canal - Dinner chez Denoeds? with Sgt Noville, Campbell, Donaldson The Denoeds -- old man talks of Mars-Le-Tour & Gravelotte -- Mme very tired & worked out -- Boy 32 - corporal -- blesse, pris de Dunkerque -- Prisonnier 6 mois Mlle 28 -- little boy 2 by French captain, killed

Friday 18 [169-196]   Battle of Waterloo, 1815

Still in billets Find garbled accounts of "Orchard Affair in Winnipeg paper - "Colonist" May 23rd -- Led into action, forsooth, by Turner, & Currie. Note that 'suffering from shock' is how they let an an officer down -- Cowardice in a private to have nerves Adjutant's horse takes to the ditch to escape m. transport & we nearly have the delectable spectacle of the Col. in the canal Grand review -- Battalion, company, & section drill.

SATURDAY 19 [179-195]   25th week

Back to the machine gun section under Corp Scougal "for educational purposes"-- Have a feed of strawberries & cream -- 18 sous la livre Building with cloch turret in Béthune Market dates from 1338. Visit Pete at 15th encampment -- Shown huge stack of High Explosive shell 18 pds. --

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