Skipman Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 This entry is from the 6th Cameron Highlanders diary, 2nd November 1915. "Quiet day trenches muddy. 1 officer 10 OR went on leave. ????????? (casualties 5 to hospital) It looks like 'frightfulness by artillery' but pretty sure that's not right, what is it? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolt968 Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 45 minutes ago, Skipman said: It looks like 'frightfulness by artillery' but pretty sure that's not right, what is it? It looks like that to me too. I have known the word "frghtfulness" used in WW1. RM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 19 March , 2022 Author Share Posted 19 March , 2022 15 minutes ago, rolt968 said: It looks like that to me too. I have known the word "frghtfulness" used in WW1. RM Thanks RM. It doesn't quite fit with "A quiet day" though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 19 March , 2022 Author Share Posted 19 March , 2022 Here's the full entry. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 (edited) Frightfulness is what it says though. The writer can't seem to make up his mind if it was quiet or not.. Edited 19 March , 2022 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 I think only one OR went on leave. Possibly, "a quiet day" means no troop movement, whereas artillery fire was more or less always on the go. Perhaps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffnut453 Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 Agreed it's a confusing entry, not least because of the "2 wounded 4 to hospital" comment. I could see more there being more wounded than went to hospital, but not the other way round. Unless it's supposed to be read as "Casualties: 2. Wounded: 4 to hospital" which suggests 2 soldiers were killed. Regardless, having a couple of soldiers killed and a few wounded probably would count as a "quiet day" in the front-line trenches. The "frightfulness by artillery" may simply reflect annoyance by the constant grind imposed by enemy artillery. In addition to causing casualties, it also interrupted sleep and damaged defensive positions which then had to be reconstituted, which can't have been fun if, as the writer indicates, the trenches were muddy. Just some idle thoughts for what they're worth... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Brannen Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 Guess it depends whose artillery was "frightfulness". The enemy or theirs? Plus, I have seen the use of the words "quiet day" in war diaries which would not be what I'd call quiet! For example "Quiet day. Hostile shelling very desultory about 100 shells on our front system." Of course, several days later, when 500 rounds were fired on them, no mention of a "quiet day"! The "Casualties 2 wounded 4 to hospital" I would assume to mean the 4 to hospital were sick, rather than wounded, and the 2 wounded would be implied to have gone to hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 19 March , 2022 Author Share Posted 19 March , 2022 Thank you all for taking the time to answer. A strange entry, don't suppose it matters now. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cooper Posted 19 March , 2022 Share Posted 19 March , 2022 I would think that it's just tapping into the general perception of "frightfulness" as a rather common way of describing certain practices on the part of the enemy. Looking at contemporary newspapers, it's a theme that appears quite regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipman Posted 30 March , 2022 Author Share Posted 30 March , 2022 Looking further through it there are a few more instances. It seems to be a term used by one writer as the handwriting changes at the end of the month. Interested if anyone else comes across the use of the term. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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