6th Battalion War Diary, September 1916

6th Border Regiment War Diary Transcriptions (1915-1918) The National Archives WO/95/4299 & WO/95/1817/1
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1914
1915							✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1916	✔						✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1917
1918

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events
CANETTEMONT	1/9/16		Bn in billets in CANETTEMONT, BRUVILLY, & WAMIN. Order for move to LEALVILLERS recd.
LEALVILLERS	2/9/16	9 AM	Bn moved out – arrived FREVENT 10.30 – train left 11.30 – arrived LEALVILLERS 3 PM and marched up. Transport and most of baggage by road. No arrangements made to get baggage from station to village. This difficulty soon overcome by making move to Motor Transport A.S.C – result two lorries. All men in by 6 PM.
	3/9/16		Billets.
	4/9/16		Training – Practicing the attack. Orders for move towards firing line recd.
BOUZINCOURT	5/9/16	10.30 AM	Bde marched to BOUZINCOURT via ACHEAUX and SENLIS – a bad road and some trouble with transport was experienced.
		8 PM	Arrived [?] CENTRAL – Semi bivouac with a few tents and huts. C.O. and one officer per Coy reconnoitred neighbourhood of OVILLERS.
	6/9/16	5 AM	Moved out to relieve 2nd R.I.R in DONNETS POST. After some changing about the battalion eventually distributed as follows. DONNETS POST A.B.C & H.Q. OVILLERS VILLAGE D Coy.
OVILLERS			Bde distributed as follows. 7th South Staffordshire Regt left of firing line from 1st Street – old German first line to 4th street. 9th Sherwood Foresters on right along SKYLINE and BRIMSTONE trench. Borders – support – LINCOLNSHIRE – Bde Reserve BOUINCOURT.
— do —	7/6/16		In support – fatigues.
	8/6/16		— do —      — do —
	9/6/16		— do —      Wire burying fatigues 12hrs per day very irksome.
	10/6/16		— do —      Many [reworks?] by inexperienced officers of Signal Staff.
	11/6/16		— do —      on amount of work done.
FRONT LINE before THIEPVAL	12/6/16		Relived 7th South Staffordshire Regt on the left from X2a39 to X2b59. 6th Lincolnshire relieved Sherwoods on our right. Relief completed 9 AM.
	13/6/16		33rd Inf Bde Order No 26 received and cancelled Bn Organisation Orders attached [?].
	14/6/16	12 NOON	33rd Inf Bde Order No 28 received – our organisation orders No 2 have us quite ready for this.
		6.30 PM	32nd Inf Bde on our left captured WONDER WORK and line down to R31 d 98.
		9 PM to 6 AM	33rd Inf Bde orders No 28 was very successfully carried out – Copy of our Operation Order No 6 attached (B) Ground gained [?] as follows R32[e?]33 – 56 – 03 and communication trench 51 to 66.
Before THIEPVAL	15/9/16	9 PM to 6 AM	Trenches dug on night 14/15 improved and trench run out from R32 c44 - 15 - 65 towards 38, which is to be held, as Brigade on over left cannot be induced to come down towards us from R31 d 98. 33rd Bde summary attached labelled C. This summary is correct. Our covering parties encountered small opposition chiefly owing to the way their Officers handled them. The loss of 2/LT ALLURED who was in charge of the covering party that seized R32 c23 25 14 is felt by all the battalion. He was a very gallant officer and knew what an officer’s work was. Rifle grenades and sniping from WELL and DANUBE TRENCH very annoying, but no actual attack made. One Bosche was captured at point 25. From messages taken from him it would appear that the 213 Reserve Regiment hold DANUBE and the WELL with one company – 120 strong.
	16/9/16	5 AM	Operations finished and parties withdrawn.
		2 PM	Bde operation order No. 30 received – copy attached labelled D of 6 Border Operation No.8.
Before THIEPVAL	16/9/16	9 PM	Operations commenced – DANUBE TRENCH rushed by covering party and occupied up to point 21 as the evening closed.
		9 PM to 6 AM	All our men put on working as our original intention was to establish strong points at 38 and 68 not to occupy the whole of DANUBE.
	17/9/16		Operations progressed very well during the night and are fairly accurately reported in Bde Summary attached and labelled E.
		7 PM	Capt Morris and C. Coy took over WELL position and DANUBE TRENCH. During the night this Coy was subject to heavy H.E and shrapnel almost continuously. The bank at the back made a terrible artillery target and caught every thing. Many 8 inch duds about but plenty more must have gone off. The Coy hung on well and stuck it out. The enemy in JOSEPH trench came down under cover of rifle grenades but never actually attacked. Mention must be made of Capt MORRIS and 2/Lts ADAMS and MCREA for their excellent work that night in encouraging and keeping their men together.

Notes

• National Archives Catalogue Reference: WO/95/1817/1
• The transcription above is available under the National Archives Open Government Licence for public sector information.
• War diary transcribed by Hugh Fulton.