The Great War Diaries of Stapleton Tench Eachus

Pte Stapleton T. EACHUS enlisted on the 28 January 1913 and served with 'A' Squadron, Warwickshire Yeomanry. In April 1915 the Regiment went to Egypt and in August of that year 2/3rds of the Warwickshire Yeomanry went to Gallipoli whilst the remaining 1/3rd looked after the horses in Egypt, this 1/3rd later became a composite Regiment fighting the Sennusi in the Western Desert. Cpl EACHUS is invalided home on 15 December 1915 and is later posted to the Royal Engineers. His diary commences on 24 May 1916 when he is part of a draft of Royal Engineers going to France.Stapleton Tench Eachus was born in Stafford in 1889 and lived on Marston Road. In 1916 Stapleton was sent to France and over the next 3 years, he wrote in tiny notepads a set of 15 diaries about his adventures in the Great War. The Great War Diaries of Stapleton Tench Eachus - A Signalman at war are a transcription of a set of 15 diaries written during his service as a Signaller with the Royal Engineers, based mainly at the 4th Army Signal Office on the Western Front, May 1916 - January 1919, describing his initial journey to the frontline and signalling duties, visits to YMCA canteens and estaminets, his low opinion of the military leadership and criticism of the way in which the war was being fought (especially with regard to the Battle of the Somme), his views on the architecture of French churches and cathedrals and the French way of life, difficulties with the French language, Army discipline, German air raids and aerial warfare, the prevalence of war rumours, the ruins of Albert and Arras, Christmas celebrations, prostitution in Amiens, a visit to a relative's grave, his billets, the condition of recently-captured German territory, periods of leave back in the United Kingdom, and time spent in a Casualty Clearing Station before evacuation to a rest camp with stomach pains; then with the Army of Occupation in Germany, January - July 1919, referring to post-war conditions in the country including the lack of food, his billets, sightseeing and the local architecture, recreational activities including sports, the German way of life, drunken behaviour by British soldiers, British war graves and his witnessing a military funeral, fraternisation with German civilians and his improper arrest by Military Police.They are now available to purchase in paperback format with a glossy cover. The book contains 274 A4 size pages which cover the full set of 15 diaries that were written in tiny notebooks and posted back to England via the French postal system to avoid censorship by the military.