Amongst my fathers possessions I found a handwritten diary written by his father, my grandfather during his time at a siege battery during WW1. || A handwritten diary covering a period from November 1917 to May 1918, during which time he was assigned to a siege battery. It covers gas attacks, a number of his compatriots being killed, him being wounded and being shipped back to the UK.

This diary was found in a charity shop in North Yorkshire in c 1994. It lists the movements of the 10 KRRC (10th Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps)from 19 September 1914 to 3 August 1915 with a journal, possibly written in retrospect, from 18 April 1915 to 9 May 1915. (There is also a type-written note in the front dated 30 November 1917). The writer anglicises place names, 'Frelingham' and 'Armentierres'. The note book has also been used as a music theory exercise book. There are no clues as to the writer's name or home. || War diary || || A notebook kept as a war diary by a soldier in the 10th Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, also used as a music note book. || Diary || A soldier's war diary

Before the war John Breed worked in a mill in Leeds that made flags and banners. This was the family mill (E.Riley and Co Ltd, Marsh Lane, Leeds.) His address was 4 Methley Mount, Chapeltown, Leeds. According to his war diary, John Bennington Breed arrived in Le Havre on 30th January 1917 with the Royal Garrison Artillery, 236th Siege Battery. He kept a daily diary of his experiences, including on every page how many shells were fired every day as he was in charge of armaments. He talks about the gas and the planes and airships going over and talks about shooting them down. He was killed on 31st July 1917 - after he had made a last entry in his diary at around 9pm. He was 35 when he was killed. He is presumed to have joined earlier due to his age. It is likely that he enrolled around 1915 as his training diary is dated 1915-16 and includes lots of drawings of guns, ammunitions and instructions for firing distances. He was a Second Lieutenant when he died. A memorial service was held in York on the 12th November, 1921 at Elmfield College York. A memorial card shows that he was buried in Klein Vierstarrt Cemetery, South West of Ypres. He left three children of which the contributor's mother was the middle one, aged seven when he died. The diary makes sad reading due to the references to people getting killed and gassed. Occasionally he got a weekend off in a local town for rest and recouperation. In one exert the general tells them off for shooting when he was passing on his horse and he intends to report them. John Breed wrote that he would tell someone first. There is a great deal in the diary about conditions in the trenches over the 6 month period near Ypres on the Western Front. || Daily trench diary, 1917, Training diary, dated 1915-16, Memorial Service Sheet 1921, Photograph of John Breed, Bronze memorial plaque, Buckingham Palace letter that accompanied the Bronze memorial plaque. Black edged Memorial card || || Following images are of pages from the trench diary kept by John Breed in 1917 || Trench Life || John Breed || Diary || John Breed's daily trench diary || || John Breed || Letter sent by Buckingham Palace (with George R.I. signature) to John Breed's family to accompany the bronze Memorial plaque. || Letter from Buckingham Palace to John Breed's family || Letter || || John Breed || Memorial sheet detailing the service and death date of John Breed, together with the location of his grave. || John Breed memorial sheet || Memorabilia || || Black edged memorial sheet (reverse) for John Breed detailing family's thanks for sympathy on their loss. Dated September 1917. || John Breed || Memorabilia || John Breed memorial sheet (reverse) || || 2 images of the Order of service for the ceremony to unveil a memorial to the WWI dead of Elmfield College, York. The service took place on Saturday November 12th, 1921 at 2pm. || Deutsch || Elmfield College, York war memorial service sheet || Memorabilia || Elmfield College, York service sheet || || Next 90 images are pages from John Breed's training diary dated 1915-16. They include lots of drawings of guns, ammunitions and instructions for firing distances. || Diary || John Breed || John Breed's Training diary || || John Bennington Breed || Photograph || Photograph of John Bennington Breed || || Memorabilia || Memorial Bronze plaque for John Bennington Breed || John Bennington Breed || Bronze memorial plaque. This large bronze memorial plaque was sent with a parchment scroll to the next of kin of those who lost their lives on active service in World War I. They became known as the Dead Man's Penny. The plaque shows Britannia bestowing a laurel crown on a rectangular tablet bearing the full name of the dead in raised lettering. In front, stands the British lion with dolphins in the upper field, an oak branch lower right and a lion cub catching a fallen eagle at the base. The inscription round the circumference reads He died for freedom and honour.