47 DIVISION 142 Infantry Brigade, Brigade Machine Gun Company: 10 December 1915 - 28 February 1918 (First World War, War Diary, WO95/2744/3)

Full colour facsimile reprint of the original First World War, War Office war diary of the Brigade Machine Gun Company, 142 Infantry Brigade, 47th Division, covering December 1915 to January 1918 across 181 pages. It names 74 places across 89 dated entries. Alongside the daily entries the volume carries seven reports, narratives and plans, twelve Operation Orders and one map. Among the papers are: 142 M.G. Coy instructions in Accordance with Second Army Offensive scheme; Report on the part Taken by the 142 M.G.Coy the operations in the Canal Sub Sector; Amendment to "C" Machine Gun Company Move order No. 5 Cmdg; C Machine Gun Coy Move orders Comdg; Report on Action of "B" Section. The diary opens at Allouagne on 10 December 1915. 1915 is spent at Allouagne, Sailly-La-Bourse and Noyelles. 1916 is the most travelled year, 59 places against 18 in the next busiest, and is spent at Railway Subsector, Petit Servins, Hersin, Carency and Lahoussoye. 1917 at Canal Sub, Gavrelle, Bluff Sector Ypres, Racquinghem and Murrumbidgee Camp La Ctytte. 1918 at Flesquieres Left Sub, Flesquieres Right Sub and Bertincourt. It closes at Flesquieres Left Sub on 31 January 1918. Railway Subsector is where it spent longest, 109 days across three separate stays, including a single unbroken stay of 96 and it came back to Canal Sub four separate times. Trench and battlefield features named in the diary include Noyelles & Trenches C, Divion And Bouvigny Wood, Fricourt Farm, Mametz Wood, Railway Dugouts and Caterpillar Crater. In 1916 it is also recorded at Noyelles & Trenches C, Noyelles & Verquin, Verquin & Houchin, Houchin, Braquemont & Maroc Sub-Sections B.C.& D, Maroc Sub-Sector B.C.& D, Maroc & Les Brebis, Les Brebis & Loos, Loos and Caucy. A. La Tour. In 1917 it is also recorded at Belgium, Railway Subsector, Halifax Camp, Canal Sub Sector & Ouderdom, Canal Subsector & Heksken, Canal Sub Sector & Caestre, Canal Subsector & Racquinghem, Racquinghem & Heksken, Racquinghem & Silvestre St Cappel and Dammstrasse.