Edward Roe in County Westmeath - 5 August, 1914

from Diary of an old contemptible : private Edward Roe, East Lancashire Regiment, from Mons to Baghdad, 1914-1919, page 5:

At 12 noon I made my adieus to all and set out for the station, which is three miles away... The train arrives at 2.40 pm...instead of 2.00 pm. It is crowded with reservists. Every unit in the army is represented; the majority are uproariously drunk... The occupants of every carriage were singing. The crowd of country people who were assembled on the platform were truly amazed, I overheard such observations as, ‘They must all be mad; fancy men singing and they going off to be killed, for killed they will surely be as the English always put the Irish in front of the battle’. ’Twas a…   more >>
cite as

Edward Roe, and Peter Downham (ed.), Diary of an old contemptible : private Edward Roe, East Lancashire Regiment, from Mons to Baghdad, 1914-1919 (Barnsley, 2004), p. 5. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1402474220520 accessed: 12 December, 2024

location of experience: County Westmeath

Listeners

Edward Roe
labourer, Soldier
1886-1952

Experience Information

Date/Time 5 August, 1914
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Notes

Edward Roe was a professional soldier who enlisted in 1905. He served with the East Lancashire Regiment, went onto the Active Reserve list in March 1914, and was recalled to active service at the outbreak of war in August 1914.


Originally submitted by hgb3 on Wed, 11 Jun 2014 09:10:21 +0100