| Description | Please note that although Sergeant Hough was originally with the 24th Battalion, the diary does not contain anything relating to that battalion.
Diary dating from 1915. The diary begins with a day to day account of a ten day course of instruction for officers and N.C.Os comprising of lectures, musketry training with tables of target practice, notes regarding weapons training and a hand drawn map of area which includes Casthorpe H.Q. near Grantham. There are notes on bomb throwing with hand drawn diagrams; some of the early pages are interspersed with farming notes from the 1930s which was Sgt. Hough's occupation upon leaving military service. It continues with a more personal account from 24/2/1916 of 1st Garrison Battalion, Manchester Regiment journeying from Prescott to India. The 1st Garrison Battalion were formed at Knowsley Park, Liverpool in September 1915. It composed of officers and men permanently unfit for active service but considered for garrison duty overseas. The Garrison Battalion served from February 1916 in India, Bangalore in 1917 and Singapore from August to December 1919. They then returned to Britain and disbanded 27/2/1919. However, a platoon went to Russia in 1919 to join the British element supporting the White Russian Army. Sgt. Hough covers the journey in February 1916 in his diary describing the surroundings, stories of soldiers, and upon reaching their destination, of other regimental ships guarding the Suez Canal and as part of the British Army of occupation comprising Scottish Regments, York and Lancaster, a Camel Corps, Royal Engineers, and a report of a sighting of three war balloons and an aeroplane. The ship reached Hong Kong on 9/8/1916 having passed through various ports including Bombay and Singapore. The diary continues with a day to day account covering 16 days with faint notes of soldiers names. It then returns to 10/5/1916 with notes of a machine gun course. There is then a list of several pages of individual soldiers and their regimental number, rank, religion, and army numbers and notes regarding operations. There are then some pages relating to the battalion band concert evenings with a list of who played, their instrument and the date. Further on, notes regarding transport; horses, mules, and camels with sketches. It then returns to the 1930s with notes of Hodge Clough Farm, Moorside, including details of animals and lists of figures. The latter part of the diary is written from the back cover inwards and the opposite way up from the rest of the text. It covers the year 1917 and details weapons training and organisation of soldiers, and further lists of rank, character and army employment. The front inside cover lists three ships, possibly the ships Sgt. Hough traveled to India on and later Vladivostok; Nauticus, Princess Elizabeth and Golden Spur. The second inside page lists his movements and rank from 2/9/1918 when Sgt. Hough was promoted to acting Sgt. Major of the reinforcement draft to Hong Kong en route to Spasskoe, Siberia and then on to Vladivostok where he was appointed Detachment Sgt. Major Vice C.S.M. on 20/9/1918, "stationed for duty and proceeding to the front." The diary is in fair condition and legible. It is written in black, blue and red ink with pencil sketches. There is also one small photograph of Sgt. Hough in military uniform with cane in hand; this has been cut from a larger photograph. |
