The War Diary of George Culpitt, Royal Welch Fusiliers
Army Life
There are some interesting snippets of information throughout the diary about what it was like to serve in the First World War. Again I have included the information as it occurs in the diary, just follow the links.
Troop Train Travel
Attitude to Officers
Training Camps
Into The Line
Stand To
Dugouts
Accident
Fatigues
Fatalism
Whilst we are all very introspective these days I think my Grandfather was very much a product of his time, mistrusting emotion, keeping a "stiff upper lip" and relying on his religious faith. The diary has very few insights into his emotional state at the time, but there are a few
Rum Ration
Grandad was a strict teetotaller his whole life and a member of the Plymouth Brethren. This passage astonishes me; to be 18 years old, facing fighting in one of the bloodiest battles in history and to stick to your principles about not drinking is inconcievable to me. Grandad wasn't a hero in the conventional sense but this passage makes him one to me.
Thanksgiving
After service during the battle of the Somme I think even the most hardened atheist would have attended this service
Illness & Injury
Grandad seems to have suffered from the full range of Illnesses and Injuries that affected the troops during the war
His first was an incidence of Pannexio of Unknown Origin in 1916 which was later called Trench Fever and resulted from being bitten by lice