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In this passage we can see the impact of weather conditions on the routine of the Regiment, with a violent hurricane blowing down numerous tents in the middle of the night. We are also introduced to the 3/11 London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles), which was formed after the outbreak of war. Its purpose was to supply trained soldiers…

Date: 15/1/16 Staff Ride for mounted Officers. Battalion on duty. Routine as usual. Date: 16/1/16 Church parade. Routine as usual. 1 man to hospital. Date: 17/1/16 Normal Camp Routine. Battalion on duty. Date: 18/1/16 Orders received that battn would return to SIDI BISHR following day. Advance party sent over to DAMAN HOUR Location: SIDI BISHR…

This portion of the diary illuminates the routine and repetition which defined much of the soldiers’ experience. The 1/11th London Regiment was not operating in isolation but belonged to the 162nd Brigade, itself part of the larger 54th (East Anglian) Division. Many of the military exercises and duties mentioned in the battalion diary such as route marches,  working parties and…

In this passage we learn about how the Battalion established their camp at Sidi Bishr, including building trenches in the sand. Although taken at a later point in the year, when the Regiment was located at Ashton Post along the Suez Canal, the image below illustrates some of the challenges facing soldiers building trenches in desert conditions, including…

Having arrived in Egypt, from the Gallipoli campaign, the Rifles pitched camp in Sidi Bishr, a large camp near to Alexandria. While the Diary does not log a delousing and cleaning session on arrival in Egypt, Joe Guthrie, Machine Gun Sargent for the Finsbury Rifles, recalls his experiences on arrival in his Oral History recording at…