Welcome

This blog consists of the two manuscript diaries kept by 2nd Lieut. Richard Willis Fleming during World War One. Richard’s, or Dick’s, diaries begin on the 24th February 1916 and follow the 162 days until Dick’s death in Egypt, on the 4th August 1916.

The diary has been revived and enhanced in blog form to create a new online resource concerning many different aspects of World War One. Following the highly personal diary format which makes this source so valuable, we will provide additional information in order to enable the reader to build a clear picture of what life was like for a young man fighting in the war.

2016 marks a century since Dick started, and ended, writing this diary, and by 18th April we will be posting them daily, word for word, as they were written one hundred years ago.