Diary of Driver A Bailey (8)

Allan Bailey was born at Clifton-with-Norwood, Yorkshire. On leaving school he became a farm worker.

In 1916 he joined the 66th Brigade R.F.A. and was posted to Mesopotamia. Coming from a farming background Allan was familiar with working with horses. Therefore, he was a driver - of a horse and cart (not motorised transport).

The diary he kept from 1 Jan 1918 to 23 Apr 1919 gives a personal brief account of his experiences.

The diary starts with daily entries, even including 'nothing doing'. It should be remembered that soldiers were not actively engaged in battle every day. Eventually the phrase was replaced by a horizontal stroke, and as the year progressed he only recorded details that he deemed to be relevant.

Possible interesting entries are:
14 Jan 1918 - Samllpox breaking out at the camp.
25 Jan 1918 - Aeroplanes bombed Bagdad.
19 Mar 1918 - Heavy rain. Big flood destroyed a bridge and 2 Indians drowned.
16 Oct 1918 - Letter from home saying Unlce John killed in France. (Note - It took 9 weeks for the news to reach him.)
5 Nov 1918 - Admitted to hospital (with malaria), and discharged on 3 Dec 1918.
17 Mar 1919 - Embark on SS 'Port Darwin' with 17,000 men.

Hence the attachment 'Return Sail'.

Allan Bailey died in 1984, a month after his 90th birthday. His diary is now in the possession of his grandson.

艾伦·贝利（Allan Bailey）出生于英国约克郡的克利夫顿-伴诺伍德（Clifton-with-Norwood）。完成学业离校后，他成为一名农场工人。
1916年，他加入皇家野战炮兵第66旅（Royal Field Artillery，缩写R.F.A.），随后被部署至美索不达米亚。由于出身农场背景，艾伦熟悉马匹驾驭工作，因此担任马车兵——驾驶畜力马车（非机动运输工具）。
他留存的日记撰写于1918年1月1日至1919年4月23日期间，简要记录了个人军旅经历。
该日记最初以每日条目形式留存，即便当日"无所事事"也会进行记录。需注意，士兵并非每日都处于实战状态。随着时间推移，他改用横杠替代该表述，仅记录自认为具有记录价值的细节。
部分值得关注的条目如下：
1. 1918年1月14日：营地爆发天花（原文拼写为Samllpox，应为Smallpox）。
2. 1918年1月25日：空袭巴格达。
3. 1918年3月19日：暴雨引发洪灾，冲毁一座桥梁，两名印度士兵溺水身亡。
4. 1918年10月16日：收到家信，得知约翰叔叔在法国阵亡（注：消息耗时9周才送达他手中）。
5. 1918年11月5日：因疟疾入院治疗，于同年12月3日出院。
6. 1919年3月17日：与17000名士兵一同登上"达尔文港号"（SS "Port Darwin"）运输舰。
据此随附附件《Return Sail》（返程航行记录）。
艾伦·贝利于1984年去世，距其90岁诞辰仅一月。其日记现由其孙子收藏。