War Diaries Talk

Gaps in Diary Dates

  • AGJUBA by AGJUBA

    I'm currently working on the 2 DIVISION: 1 Battalion Middlesex Regiment (31 Jul 1914 - 29 Nov 1915). I began with 17 Dec 1914, and the entries proceeded daily until the end of January (when they were "in billets"). From the end of January, though, there is a two-week gap until the next entry of 13 February. The same thing happens in March -- there is a two-week gap in entries from the end of February until the middle of March.

    What was the unit doing in this time? And why isn't it noted anywhere? Or are the pages for those dates somewhere else?

    Thanks -- Annette

    Posted

  • ral104 by ral104 moderator, scientist

    Hi Annette - it could be that those pages were lost and the battalion were not able to recover them. Events were chaotic in the early years of the war, and with units involved in heavy fighting and taking high numbers of casualties, the diaries sometimes couldn't be kept properly, or were damaged or destroyed.

    Otherwise, it may be a case of them having been mis-filed. We'll have to wait and see if they turn up in one of the other diaries. Thanks for letting us know.

    Posted