Description

An exceptional First World War manuscript diary covering a soldier’s service across Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and Sudan between 1916 and 1919. Spanning around 25 pages of entries, supplemented by approximately 105 original photographs and 9 pages of pressed flowers, this is a uniquely complete record of the Middle Eastern campaigns.

The diary begins with embarkation from Devonport in May 1916 and traces the author’s journey through Karachi into Mesopotamia, recording hospitalisation at Amara, duties at Kut, and the march to Baghdad. He describes the climate, cholera outbreaks, and regular firing parties, alongside stark notes of casualties in his regiment — suicides, executions, accidents, and deaths under shelling.

The entries continue through the Palestine and Syria campaigns of 1917–18: Jaffa, Nablus, Samaria, Jenin, and the Sea of Galilee. The author writes of fierce patrols, shellfire, observation balloons brought down, and moments of loss. He names numerous comrades — Private Slade, Private Randall, Private Barrett, Private Lake, Private Shipton, and Private Scorey — some of whom can be matched to known Dorsetshire Regiment casualties of 1918, strongly suggesting the author’s attachment to that regiment. In one particularly poignant note, he records the drowning of Private Scorey in the Sweet Water Canal near Moascar, Suez.

The diary is marked throughout by religious and biblical references, with the author comparing landscapes to scriptural places, culminating in vivid accounts of visiting Jerusalem, the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, Saladin’s Tomb, and the Wailing Wall.

Later sections detail service in Damascus, Cairo, Khartoum, Omdurman, and Gebeit, capturing the transition into colonial garrison life with references to sandstorms, Ramadan, and sermons in Khartoum Cathedral. The journey home is fully chronicled: Port Sudan, Atbara, Luxor, Cairo, Alexandria, Malta, Marseille, Boulogne, Dover, and finally home in November 1919.

The diary is richly illustrated with photographs of military life, officers (including Lt. Col. Clarkson CMG, Captain Payne, and Captain Bishop), local scenes, native markets, and landscapes. The nine pages of pressed flowers are labelled with origins such as “Sea of Galilee” and “Mesopotamia 1916,” adding an intimate, almost pilgrim quality to the record.

A remarkably complete, wide-ranging First World War diary, distinguished by its breadth of geography, its interweaving of the sacred and the military, and the survival of both photographs and floral specimens. 

Condition report

The diary is in sound condition with expected wear consistent with age and use. Binding remains intact. Entries are written in a clear, legible hand. Some pages show handling marks and minor toning, though text is easily readable. Photographs are generally well preserved, with occasional fading or lifting at the edges. Pressed flowers survive across nine pages, with some light brittleness but overall stable. A rare survival combining text, photographs, and botanical specimens in one volume.