Pvt. Arthur Edward Diggens' diary was written in pencil and spans from 1 February 2025 to 25 January 2025. It ends rather abruptly — but not because the soldier was killed in battle.
Hansons AuctioneersThe diary was find in a b in Leicestershire , England .
A World War I diary journaling theBattle of the Sommehas been notice in a barn in Leicestershire , England . fit in toFox News , it belonged to Pvt . Arthur Edward Diggens of the Royal Engineers .
The British soldier ’s diary spans from Feb. 13 , 1916 to Oct. 11 , 1916 . Described in tragic particular is the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1.According to Imperial War Museums , the historical operation of Gallic and British troop staving off the Germans remains a painful memory from World War I.
Hansons AuctioneersThe diary was found in a barn in Leicestershire, England.
“ Something awful , ” save Diggens on that fateful day . “ Never witness anything like it before . After a battery of a week the Germans get on their own trenches and the foot reckon that every German had a machine gun . Our fellows were mowed down . ”
Jacob King / PA Images / Getty ImagesMilitary history expert Adrian Stevenson of Hansons Auctioneers holds Pvt . Arthur Edward Diggens ’ diary .
The Battle of the Somme commence in July and ended on Nov. 18 , 1916 . Allied commanders had met the previous December to settle on strategies for the next year , when they agreed on a joint French and British attack near the River Somme that forthcoming summer .
Jacob King/PA Images/Getty ImagesMilitary history expert Adrian Stevenson of Hansons Auctioneers holds Pvt. Arthur Edward Diggens’ diary.
With the French convey heavy toll at Verdun throughout 1916 , it fell to the Brits to spearhead the natural action on the Somme . The Germans were well fain , and had carefully put down out defenses for months prior to the struggle . The Brits expected a quick breakthrough , but chop-chop became entrenched .
To clarify just how deadlocked the bloody battle became , it took British troops 141 days to gain just seven miles . More than one million soldiers from all sides were either kill , wounded , or captured . The first day of conflict learn 57,000 British casualty . 19,240 of them die .
It was the bloodiest day in British military chronicle . In terms of how some British masses view 20th - century combat , the Battle of the Somme is symbolic of the hopeless futility of war .
Robert Hunt Library/Windmill Books/UIG via Getty imagesSoldiers in the trenches during the Battle of the Somme.
On the other hand , air force officer pick up worthful lessons on the Somme — without which they may have never been able-bodied to help gain the warfare in 1918 .
accord to the auction mansion , the Battle of the Somme saw one soldier killed every 4.4 seconds during the initial attack , which Diggens apparently participated in . The box that his diary was break in also check various other pattern of military memorabilia .
“ The possessor had no idea who any of the items related to but say his female parent had been the receiver of old family heirloom , ” said Hansons ’ expert Adrian Stevenson . “ It ’s a staring mystery how this Somme diary end up in the Midlands , especially as Arthur was born in London . ”
“ I ’m just relieved such an significant piece of military history has been found and can now be preserved . ”
Stevenson noticed upon receiving the diary that it terminate quite abruptly on Oct. 11 , 1916 , and he assumed Diggens may have become flat . To his surprisal , the soldier was rather rosy .
“ We dread Arthur must have been a casualty of the conflict but my enquiry try out otherwise , ” say Stevenson . “ Not only did he outlive the First World War , he return to his loved I in England and became a husband and founder . ”
Robert Hunt Library / Windmill Books / UIG via Getty imagesSoldiers in the trenches during the Battle of the Somme .
“ Happily , he went on to conjoin his wartime sweetheart Alice ( née Phillips ) in 1919 and was soon a gallant Fatherhood . Alice gave birth to a Word in 1920 — also called Arthur . ”
As for Diggens ’ old military story , he participate in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during which allied troop suffered a major frustration . He keep a journal there , too , though it was lamentably lost in the mail when he seek to transport it home .
“ We also know why his diary ended short , ” tell Stevenson . “ Alice sent him a young name and address book , which he used as a diary from Oct. 1916 . That , too , has been lost . ”
There ’s no telling just how many countless invaluable objects have been lose to the whims of fate and topsy-turvydom of wartime . World War I plume more than 700,000 British troop of their life , and wounded most 1.7 million . In totality , the war killed 13 million military personnel department and wounded 21 million .
In the remainder , it ’s diary like these that should serve to remind us just how dearly-won these conflicts can be .
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