Private 241934, 1st/5th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment. Born 1897. Died 3 June 1917. Buried in FINS NEW BRITISH CEMETERY, SOREL-LE-GRAND, Somme, France. Plot IV. Row K. Grave 2. Son of William and Annie Whisker of Gravel Hill Farm, Swine. This is an extract of the diary written by Herbert.- Left England 3 March 1916 and landed at Alexandria on the 11th March 1916 afte eight days sailing on the Transilvania, 3,800 were on board. When we landed, it was on a sunday morning, we went to Mustapha’?’ were we stopped a week. After we had a week there, they sent us down the Suez Canal where we joined the battalion at Geneffa Post. We stopped there about a month, and then the whole battalion moved further down to Fort Suez. I was at Fort Suez a month and I went sick with jaun-dice. They took me to eighteenth stationary hospital at Fort ‘?’ were I was kept for two days. Then I went from their to Citadel hospital in Cairo were I spent another month. Then I began to get better and they sent me to Boulac convalesent about a mile out of Cairo, were, I spent another three weeks, then I got alright again, and went to Mustapha detail Garmph and stopped their four days, then I went and joined my battalion again at Gofa-dam were we stopped five weeks doing outposts duties. Then we left their and marched to Garntara with full pack near -ly every man fell out. I was one that stuck it, but the next day I could hardly move a limb. We had a rest about half way at a place called Bala. After we had been a week at Garntara we set off further up the desert to a hill which they call hill seventy were we stopped three days. Then we packed up their and got on train and went further up the line. You would be surprised if you saw how they have got rails laid right out on the desert, they are very useful. We then came in contact with the enemy and captured 5000 of them. Then the Austrailian Light Horse got among and drove them miles away. We also got a German machine gun section 25 of them big fine fellows, they took a lot of capturing, they put the white flag up and when our men went for them they started to fire at them. We had to shoot all the officers they were German and would not give themselves up.
