Last Day!!

Today is the last day to download THE GREAT PROMISE for free at Amazon Kindle.

I want to thank those that took advantage and downloaded my book. I hope you enjoy it and recommend it to your friends. As a self-published author it is very difficult to enter the market and access the distribution channels that are available to traditional publishers. Therefore independent writers must use social media to get their message out that their book is worth reading. If enough readers like the book and recommend it to friends, as well as publish their rating of the book on Amazon, it helps move sales.

Again, thanks to those that support me in my efforts to tell my grandfather's story.

It starts today

The free download of The Great Promise (kindle version) is available on Amazon Kindle starting today. This will be the last opportunity to get a free copy of the book that people will be talking about.

If you're new to my blog, look through the archives to get a feeling of the compelling journal entries that are included in the book. The Great Promise

Book trailer:

About Photo

I discovered that the photo of my grandfather, that I posted yesterday, he was wearing a captain's uniform. Which I found interesting because he must have been promoted to the temporary rank of captain since he wasn't given the permanent rank until near the end of the war.

I have the answer: in this communication he was given the temporary rank of Captain in June 1916 when he was acting Adjutant of the AA batteries. His permanent rank was Lieutenant until he received his permanent Captain's rand in 1919. 

Picture taken 1917

this photograph was taken of my grandfather before he was shipped back to France in 1917.

Free Kindle Download

March 15th- 18th I'm promoting my book by giving away the "Kindle" copy of the book. Those that want to download the full version of the book just go to Amazon.com Kindle or follow this link or check special promotions.

Free: The Great Promise

Getting Gassed

My book contains all the journal entries and much more than my recent posts The Great Promise


April 26th
The battery started to march about 8:30 a.m., halting outside the town of Vlamertinghe. As the battery remained outside of the town, George, Collins, and I went with the CO to reconnoiter a position for the battery.
As we neared Ypres we could hear the hellish bombardment going on. While galloping along the road we witnessed dead horses, overturned Lorries,15 and discarded equipment along both sides of the road. Hundreds of wounded were being carried down, or seen hobbling along, the road the best way they could.
As we directed our horses through the town, some disturbing sights met our eyes. It seemed that along every few yards of the road there was something dead, or bits and pieces of men and horses that had been blown apart during the bombardment.
Shells were still absolutely falling everywhere. The town was an inferno. It seemed that every second man we met was wounded. We said to each other, “I reckon we’re on the last lap of this journey.”
We found a likely position where a few old branches and some dugouts were still intact, about a half mile to the rear of St. Jean. Shells were bursting right over us, so we continued to search for a more favorable position.Yet everywhere we looked seemed to be the same.The captain wasn’t comfortable with the area for there was practically no cover remaining.
We went a little closer to the town where a Canadian Officer stopped us and asked what we were wanting. When we ex- plained that we were looking for a spot to bring the battery into position, he said, “For God’s sakes, don’t bring them here; this corner is hell itself. Get out of it as quick as you can.” Shells were dropping all around us. It seemed astounding that none of us had gotten hit.
Afterwards I learned that this part of the town was called “Dead Man’s Corner”. It deserved the name, for many dead were there about.
We left the Canadian and returned to our prior position.We decided it would have to suffice for all places seemed to be equally vulnerable.
While the remainder of the battery was approaching, we started to lay out a wire to a likely observation spot. George took a couple of chaps to start from the observation station while Collins, Billison, and I ran wire from the battery position through the village of St. Jean. We managed to reach the village unharmed, but like everywhere else, it was being heavily shelled.
I was jumping over a small stream that was by the church when a large shell burst almost on us.We took shelter behind a building.We could not move an inch due to all the shrapnel bullets flying about. It was miserable, for we had to remain there for an hour as shells continued to fall.
I noticed that just a few yards from us an artillery man and his horse were lying dead. Nearby was a smashed motor ambulance with the driver burned to a cinder. The ambulance’s petrol tank must have ignited when it was hit by a shell. A native from one of our battalions lay dead in a ditch. At the end of the building there were several other corpses.
After a time the shelling abated a little, allowing us to start moving again. I met up with George, who had been in much the same terrible show as we had gone through. I was thirsty and thankfully managed to get a drink of water.
As we made our way back, we didn’t get far before the shell- ing started again. We ran for our previous little shelter and gained it just in time. Shells were bursting very near and I asked Collins, “What is that strong, stinking smell?” My eyes were watering and we all three began coughing.We decided to chance it and go anywhere away from where we were.
After an exciting half-hour we got to the guns, but by that time I felt very sick. Afterwards we learned from an officer that it was due to the gas shells the Germans were using.

It was very lucky that we hurried to get out of it when we did or undoubtedly the three of us would have been gassed properly instead of partially.As it was I had enough gas to sufficiently stop me from eating anything for three days.
Shelling around the guns was getting pretty warm but we started to return fire in good style.The wire broke three times, and each time communications was lost with the forward ob- server. Normally in this case the batteries would stop firing. However, it was agreed that if we lost communications, we would raise the range of our guns.
During the afternoon I traveled through St. Jean and while doing so I became uneasy, dreading any further exposure to the gas. The reoccurring images of my previous gas experi- ence made me anxious and tense. By the time I returned at nightfall, I thought I had been very fortunate to make it through the day.
The enemy kept up hard shelling everywhere.

Battle of Neuve Chapelle

he Battle of Neuve Chapelle took place between the 10 th and 13 th of March, 1915. Located in northwestern France, Neuve Chapelle is north of La Bassee and west of Lille.
Sir John French’s plan was to capture Neuve Chapelle then push forwards to the village at Aubers, situated a mile east of Neuve Chapelle. If he successfully captured Aubers, his army would attack the German defenses at Lille, a major communication hub.
To accomplish these goals Sir John French had amassed 374 pieces of artillery. Douglas Haig’s First Corps were to lead the attack after a 35 minute artillery barrage. It was reported that the shelling was so intense, that it resembled machine gun fire.
The focus of the shelling was along the German frontline.The bombardment was so devastating, that when the shelling lifted, only small sections of the enemy’s trench remained.All of the entanglements were in ruin, allowing the British to rush through the opening.
Often there was hand-to-hand fighting as the British and Indian infantry made a rapid advance towards Neuve Chapelle. It took just four hours to secure the village. Nevertheless, the artillery barrage around Aubers was lacking in both scope and intensity, thus causing little dam- age to the enemy’s trench entanglements. Of the 1,000 troops that at- tacked Aubers, no one survived.
Due to the lack of artillery shells, as well as communication problems, the British were unable to maintain the extensive artillery pressure necessary to prevent the enemy from bringing up its reserves.

With the accumulated strength of its reserves, the Germans launched a counterattack on March 12. The British were able to repel the attack and hold the ground they had gained.
This battle was the first offensive undertaken by the British from static, set-piece trenches, where several military innovations were put into place, including timed lifts of artillery barrages. Other strategies newly employed were: color-coded maps marked with objectives to be taken, a concurrent aeroplane bombing sequence, and the maintenance of effective secrecy prior to the bombardment.


March 4th
We started our march at 3:00 a.m. and came into action about 400 yards on the right of the Richebourg Church.
We were informed that we were to bombard Neuve Chapelle, a village that was on our left front. It had been in the hands of the Germans since October.We took a firing position and then engaged in digging a gun pit and fortifying our position as much as possible.

March 5th–9th
Our battery is preparing for the big bombardment that is to take place in a couple of days. We were joined by several other batteries and soon forces were everywhere.There were guns under almost every tree. Our giant 15 inch Howitzer was to make her debut, as well as quite a few of our new 9.2 inch guns. Communications would be critical so George and I made sure that we laid out double lines to our observing sta- tion, as well as lines to various parts of the trenches.
Large amounts of ammunition were distributed at each gun. Every preparation was made to give the Germans the biggest shock they had yet to receive at our hands.

March 10th
The bombardment of Neuve Chapelle commenced at 7:30 a.m. along a four mile front. It was beyond description, listen- ing to the tons of metal going through the air from all 476 guns. Our heavy artillery, a new 18 pound gun, was to con- centrate on the enemy’s trenches in order to cut the enemy’s wire entanglement. All the batteries kept up their fierce rate of firing for three-quarters of an hour.The bombardment was only lifted around the Bois-du-Beiz area to enable our infantry


Our trenches were lined with Garhwalis, Gurkhas, and several other regiments of native troops from India. The Leicestershire Regiment made the first charge, capturing the German trenches in grand style.They were held up on the edge of an orchard outside Neuve Chappell until a regiment of Territorials’ came to their assistance.With reinforcements a horrific battle of hand-to-hand fighting ensued, especially at a spot that we later called “The Street of Hell”.
The massive scale and fierceness of the fighting was more than I can describe. We finally gained control of the village about midday.
While the Leicestershire Regiment made their charge, the natives advanced on the right and captured the trenches in front. However, they were held up by machine guns in a re- doubt that was located on the left edge of the Bois du Biez.
The Gurkhas did grand work, especially with their wicked little knives, which accounted for many slit German heads. When the Germans ran from their trenches the little Gurkhas were right after them. Many of the little chaps would climb on the backs of the big Germans and cut their throats in the style of Sweeney Todd.
The Seaforths were brought up to assist.They made a splen- did charge, which (according to our officers, and many old campaigners observing with us), was the finest sight they had ever witnessed. The Seaforths went into the murderous ma- chine gunfire as though they were going to a picnic. In spite of the enormous losses they captured the redoubt, along with its contents of Germans and the machine guns.