Diary of Driver A Bailey (6)

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）出生于约克郡（Yorkshire）的克利夫顿-与-诺伍德（Clifton-with-Norwood），离校后以农场工人为业。1916年，他加入皇家野战炮兵第66旅（66th Brigade R.F.A.），随后被调往美索不达米亚（Mesopotamia）。因其出身农场，熟悉驭马工作，他担任了马拉货车（非机动运输工具）的驭手。

艾伦留存的日记时间跨度为1918年1月1日至1919年4月23日，简要记录了他的个人军旅经历。日记初始为每日一记，即便当日无要事也会如实记载——需知晓，士兵并非每日都会亲历战事。后续他改用横杠替代“今日无要事”的表述，随着战事推进，仅记录自认为具有意义的细节。

日记中部分颇具研究价值的条目如下：
1918年1月14日：营地爆发天花；
1918年1月25日：飞机空袭巴格达（Baghdad）；
1918年3月19日：暴雨引发特大洪水，冲毁一座桥梁，两名印度士兵溺亡；
1918年10月16日：家书告知叔父约翰在法国阵亡（注：消息耗时9周才送达他手中）；
1918年11月5日：因疟疾入院治疗，于1918年12月3日出院；
1919年3月17日：与17000名官兵一同登上“达尔文港号”（SS 'Port Darwin'）运输舰。

本次附随附件《Return Sail》。

艾伦·贝利于1984年逝世，距其90岁诞辰仅一月。其日记现由其孙保管。