Latest batch of First World War unit diaries now online

Latest crowd of First World War unit diaries now online

22 May 2014

Today we are making a third batch of 724 digitised First World War one war diaries from France and Flanders profitable online via our First World War 100 passage-way.

The unit war diaries provide attractive accounts of battles and events, considered in the state of well as insights into the quotidian routines of British troops on the Western Front.

What's included

This third part tranche (WO 95/2432 - WO 95/3154) contains the diaries from the Kitchener Divisions and those of the Territorial Force (later The Territorial Army). This includes: 

the 36th (Ulster) Division, what one had many casualties on 1 July 1916

the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division, that was the last division to adieu the UK for France in March 1917

Also included in the diaries are accounts of legions' sports activities (WO 95/2524) which helped keep them motivated and hold out fighting until the end of the enmity.

William Spencer, author and principal militia records specialist at The National Archives, reported: 'Now that this latest batch of one war diaries is online, people toty around the world can read the officer army accounts to discover more with regard to the troops on the Western Front. The diaries billet successful battles, such as 46th Division fracture the Hindenburg Line, as well as failures and casualties in key battles so as those on the Somme in 1916. They in like manner provide rare insights into how the army maintained the environment in the trenches because well as the sports days what one helped to keep them motivated.'

Highlights from the files

Highlights from the third part batch of unit war diaries take in:

a sports day programme dated 31 October 1917, that notes pillow fighting, wheelbarrow races and contention on mules (WO 95/2524/3)

design in outline of a 'snapshot' view from the rank (which notes 'dead animals' and equable a 'dead Frenchman') (WO 95/2970/3)

couple photos giving a 'how to' and 'by what mode not to' guide to laying in boards (WO 95/2670/1)

three photos of battalion officers from 7th Battalion Black Watch Fife (some of these photos is shown of rectitude too great for) (WO 95/2879/5)

Join Operation War Diary

As interest of the digitisation of the Unit War Diaries and to put under pledge people in the centenary, we are moving with Imperial War Museums (IWM) and Zooniverse in ctinuance Operation War Diary. Launched at the initiation of 2014, this innovative crowdsourcing story project enables the public to learn involved in capturing information, tagging names, places and activities, from our unit war diaries.

Go straight to the website to take charge in Operation War Diary a little while ago.

We recommend you use a novel browser: www.operationwardiary.org uses advanced browser features and is designed to have existence used on a PC with IE version 9 (or higher), or with latest versions of Chrome and Firefox. On a Mac it is designed to drudge with the latest version of Safari.