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You are here: Home / Archives for General Macdonnel;

Tuesday 16 January 1917

January 16, 2017 by jbushey

Brigadier General MacDonnel calls me in to receive a cheque for £5.0.0 in recognition for valuable services rendered. Sorry he could not give me any promotion as Army rules do not permit it, being only attached to Bde.


*Pierre Berton described Macdonell in the book “Vimy”: Macdonell was known as a front-line soldier; indeed, (28 year old intelligence officer Hal) Wallis was to say he spent as much time at the front with his brigadier as he had in his days as a private. Not for nothing did the men of the 7th call Macdonell “Fighting Mac” and sometimes “Batty Mac” because of his eccentricities under fire. Everybody knew the story of how he’d gone so far into No Man’s Land that a sniper put a bullet in his arm. Instead of ducking, Batty Mac had stood up swearing, shaking his unwounded arm angrily at the sniper, who immediately put another bullet in his good arm. And everybody also knew that Macdonell, at the Somme, had insisted on walking among the wounded after the attack on the Regina Trench, unmindful of the enemy shells, to salute the corpses of the Black Watch. A sentimental Scot who sometimes swore in Gaelic in moments of great pressure, Macdonell stopped at every corpse and said “I salute you, my brave Highlander,” until Wallis managed to pull him to safety.(Berton, Pierre: Vimy).

Filed Under: 1917 Entries, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;

Sunday 7 January 1917

January 7, 2017 by jbushey

Attended a church service in officers mess.
Present – General MacDonnel, Brigade Major, McWallis & 5 NCOs & men.
Enemy shelling vigorously on all our fronts.

Filed Under: 1917 Entries, Diary Entries Tagged With: Brigade Major, General Macdonnel;, McWallis

Friday 29 December 1916

December 29, 2016 by jbushey

I lay in bed till’ 1 PM then down to my office. General MacDonnel arrives back from leave & greats me with a handshake & asks several questions. I give him a late map of trenches on tracing lines. The assembly consists of the General, Col Griesbay, the Bde Major & the aide de camp. (Mr[?] Wallis).
Enemy shell our batteries. We have been shelling him all day with heavy shells.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;

Monday 27 November 1916

November 27, 2016 by jbushey

Hard at work on road maps for bringing up reinforcements in case of a barrage.
At 9:50 PM the 1st Div, on our right, blow up a mine. The sight was magnificent. There followed a heavy bombardment of a very severe nature, a raid follows. The enemy blow up one of our dumps (Liverpool) which is a mighty explosion. My Rgt has a scuffle also. General MacDonnel goes on leave to England.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: England, General Macdonnel;

Saturday 25 November 1916

November 25, 2016 by jbushey

Busy with maps all day. Raining hard. General MacDonnel introduces my name to Major General Lipsett of 3rd Division and talk of promotion is mooted- Sergt or Sergt Major in Division.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;

Monday 20 November 1916

November 20, 2016 by jbushey

Very busy making a large 2. 500 map for General MacDonnel.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;

Friday 17 November 1916

November 17, 2016 by jbushey

https://greatwarchronicle.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Friday_November_17_1916.mp3
Working on a large map for General Macdonnel. Have heated argument with Capt Wallis re location of trenches. He is wrong & is not gentlemanly enough to admit it. Refuse to obey him as we are alone in my dugout.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;, mp3

Friday 6 October 1916

October 6, 2016 by jbushey

Make a panoramic sketch for General MacDonnel of country in front of us. Enemy using many naval guns. Explosion of shells very appalling & effective. We are opposed by Marine Infantry Regiment drawn from Ostend & Vicinity. Fresh troops & first time in trenches.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;, Marine Infantry Regiment

Wednesday 13 September 1916

September 13, 2016 by jbushey

Showers. I leave dugout near Albert for USNA Hill & Trenches. Rains and I get soaked. Get my maps from Div and depart for Headquarters at Brickfield where enemy put over 12 or more high explosive shells. Col Lamb & Major Meredith very cold. Little information to give me so I consulted those people who had been in the trenches.
From Brickfield to Albert & find Bde Hdqrs there. Report to General MacDonnel.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: General Macdonnel;, USNA

Tuesday 8 February 1916

February 8, 2016 by jbushey

Up at 5:30 AM, breakfast 7:30. Company works in trenches. I make wind vanes for gas alarms. General Macdonnel, Col Buller, Major A. Gault make tour of the trenches. 2 PM to Battalion HQ. Transport back into trenches. 2:30 PM lively artillery duel goes on.
About 5 PM Huns give us hellish rapid artillery fire, Griggs gets nasty wound in hand, I bandage up, bled very much. Lance Corporal Lightbody and Private Blair go on leave.


* Lt Col H.C. Buller – Colonel Buller took command of the regiment after the death of Colonel Farquhar. He was injured during the Second Battle of Ypres and lost an eye but did return to command the regiment in 1916. Buller was killed in the Battle of Mount Sorrel on June 2nd 1916.

Filed Under: 1916, Diary Entries Tagged With: artillery fire, Battalion HQ, gas alarms, General Macdonnel;, Huns, Lance Corporal Lightbody, Private Blair

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