1st Diary Entry

Dear diary,

Why did i join the army? I’ll tell you why I joined the army. I joined this army for various reasons. The first reason is because I was forced by my mother anyway so even if I didn’t want to go, it would not make a difference. The more my mother kept badgering me, the more I wanted to go. So in the end I was willing to go. Part of this was because of the posters I was seeing around my town. All the posters were linked to the war. They were all saying that as men, we need to fight for our country. As I saw more and more men signing up I was feeling increasingly relieved. I felt proud of myself… I felt like a warrior

2nd Diary Entry

Dear diary,

I just came back from daily training and I am knackered. I’ll try and make this entry quick and snappy. To be honest I hated today’s training. All we done was practiced our fall backs and backups. If you don’t know what that is then I will explain it to you. Fall backs are when you realize you are going to be out numbered and you return to your trench before they attack you. Backups are when you are already out numbered and you cannot fight by yourself so you call your troops to help you. I am tired right now so I am going to bed. See you later.

3rd Diary Entry

Dear diary,

Posters say that trenches are good but it is all part of their trick. Their little plan! The trenches are nothing like four walls protecting you with a roof to keep you dry. With beds and covers to keep you warm. In fact, it is more like a ditch in the floor with sandbags, wood planks and mud to keep the walls from toppling on top of you. It is nothing like what they say it is. One of my mates even cried when he saw what we were staying in. Throughout the whole journey to the trenches he kept reminding us that he wants the top bunk because he does not want anyone wetting themselves though the mattress and dripping on him in the night. Others were just very disappointed. I do not understand how some people in my trench sleep through gunshots, fireworks and grenades being thrown. I am trying to be as clean as can be. I don’t think anybody knows this but very early in the morning I sneak of into the woods where there is a pond. I wash in there unless I’m on night duty. I also wash my boots. Once I wake up in the morning I go and collect my shoes that have dried over night. I do all this so that I don’t get trench foot. That’s enough from me now. I’m off to daily training. See you in my next diary entry.

4th Diary Entry

To start this entry I am going to tell you