Review by Field Marshall Haig - September 1917

For the majority of September the 1/Auckland Battalion was in training with a focus on taking the German pill-boxes and strong points. On the 25th they left again to march to the frontline again.

1st Saturday - Parades, same as yesterday raining like one thing. One thing, our billets are good.

2nd Sunday - Supposed to be a day of rest [but we had] church parade morning, ... parade and clean shirt exchange also ironing lice out of our clothes. After that, our day of rest began.

3rd Monday - Training same as the preceding days. Practicing taking the Hun strong points etc in the open warfare stunts. Feel very weak lately not too much tucker inside. ("Training was commenced at once, and was of a most practical nature. Great stress was laid upon platoon and section tactics, and on the "taking of pill-boxes." Wood-fighting and the counter-attack also received a considerable amount of attention." (Burton, 1922, p.165)

4th Tuesday - Same procedure as yesterday, with the exception of a route march morning and afternoon. If not unfit now should be by the time this training is finished.

5th Wednesday - Early reveille, marched to parade ground five miles away. Practicing stunts for open warfare. Home about 5P.M, about 12 miles.

6th Thursday - Training all day on the parade ground. Open warfare etc. Fairly easy day but do not feel as fit as I have done. Winter getting nearer.

7th Friday - Reveille 4:30A.M. Marched to inspection General Russell five miles away. After inspection practiced fighting in the woods. Home about 4P.M. About 12 miles done today.

8th Saturday - Battalion drill all morning. Holiday in the afternoon. Drill has been very strenuous during the last week. Seems as if they wanted to see the most that could be got out of us on the least possible food. Today was the easiest day we have had since being here.

Church parade preparatory to going over the top. Bath parade in the afternoon. The suspense of waiting is worse than the real thing.

9th Sunday - Church parade and louse parade morning. Afternoon on fatigue getting course ready for Divisional house show.

10th Monday - Working on fatigue all day getting course ready for house show. Pulling up hurdles etc. Letter from Uncle and Aunt Maggie tonight.

11th Tuesday - Fatigue morning on show ground. Divisional house show in afternoon. Mule hurdle race, very funny indeed. Free drinks, smokes and biscuits Y.M.C.A.

12th Wednesday - Louse parade in the morning, clothes all put through the louse traps. Running about in overcoat. Usual training in the afternoon.

13th Thursday - Usual training all day, on Picket in the evening till nine o'clock. Raining a little during the evening. Big N.Z mail this evening also from Win.

14th Friday - Reveille 3:30A.M. Marched off to Divisional inspection by Sir Douglas Haig. March past and home again about 2P.M. Parcel from Dot tonight. Did about ten miles today. Nice cool day. ("During the period of training in the Lumbres area the New Zealand Division had the honour of being reviewed by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. The review took place in a large field outside Fromentelles, and was a most brilliant spectacle. Steel and brass glittered in the sunshine. Platoon by platoon, the Battalions of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Brigades marched past the saluting point. They looked well, and Sir Andrew Russell must have been a proud man as he watched his men go by". (Burton, 1922, p.167)

The British Commander in Chief, General Haig, reviews a march past by New Zealand troops in the Lumbres area of France. Haig and other officers are mounted in the background at left of the lines of troops marching forward. Photograph taken 14 September 1917 by Henry Armytage Sanders. Credit Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

15th Saturday - Usual training all morning. Kit inspection in the afternoon. Rest of the afternoon off. Was to have been leave to Boulogne tomorrow but for some reason or another it was a washout in the evening. Practical farming up in the dark, back home about half past nine. Parcel from Winifred.

16th Sunday - Church parade in the morning, rest of the day to ourselves so spent the afternoon writing home.

17th Monday - Bath parade this morning with a clean change of under clothes thank goodness for that. Usual parades in the afternoon. Parcel from Dot.

18th Tuesday - Usual training all day, shown attacks with smoke bombs etc. Concert in the evening in the Y.M.C.A by the Good Will Society which was very good.

19th Wednesday - Reveille 6A.M March to Divisional stunt in which we took the part of the counter attacking party. Marched about 13 miles in day.

20th Thursday - Usual parades all day, firing live rifle grenades. Also company firing at targets, firing off about 40 rounds, the shooting on the whole very good.

21st Friday - Usual training in the morning. Afternoon off, parade at night, attack in the dark with flares and P.Bombs etc. (Possibly Pineapple grenades). Very realistic and very interesting, finished about 10PM (or 1AM?).

22nd Saturday - Practicing attack work in the morning. Parade for ammunition in the afternoon for one hour. Rest of the day off, football match being played. Some very good news on Thursday, British having pushed and captured about three lines, also some prisoners. Weather getting chilly now.

23rd Sunday - Church parade morning. Afternoon saw St Joan of Arc Catholic procession. Very pretty evening went to service in Y.M.C.A, then after had cup of tea. Home 8-30.

24th Monday - Parade 9:30, firing bombs, rifle range practice throwing bombs and Bayonet fighting. Afternoon parade for bath. Evening concert in Y.M.C.A by Goodwill Society.

25th Tuesday - Off in the early morning, left Quesques on march to front, passed through ... (Unsure what the spelling is for this location. "Training finished, and on September 25th the 1st Brigade marched from Lumbres to Renuscure, and then by Wallon-Cappell and Wardrecques to the Watou area, where the Battalions billetted for two days." (Burton, 1922, p.167).

26th Wednesday - Off again about eleven. Marched to village called Staple. Feeling a little better today. Terrible crowd fell out yesterday, only marched about eight kilos today.

27th Thursday - Marched about twelve miles today to Shu... camp near Poperinge. Had our .... taken about half way. Easy march. Hear big strafe during the night.

28th Friday - In camp all day, the people here seem to be all Dutch, this is Flanders. Expect we shall be into a stunt (another name for an attack) before many days now. May God be merciful to us again.

29th Saturday - Parading Shortages etc preparatory to going up to front. Bombs dropped about during the night fairly close to camp.

30th Sunday - Church parade preparatory to going over the top. Bath parade in the afternoon. The suspense of waiting is worse than the real thing.

Burton, O.E. (1922). XXIII YPRES The Auckland Regiment. Retrieved from http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH1Auck-t1-body-d23.html