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Key dates over December 1916

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Lives lost on this day: 0

31st December 1916 - no Peace expected in 1917 either

Rolling casualty count: 5159

2nd Batt: Church Parade was held in a field at the east end of the village. The Senior Chaplain officiated. The drums beat the old year out at midnight.

4th Batt: Divine Service at 11am. A riding class for officers took place pm.

10th Batt: Batt at Gezaincourt resting and training.

SMD RFA: The remainder of the gunners went in lorries to relieve 240 Brigade. At 12 noon the CO established his HQ at Bazentin-le Petit Cemetery. Battery positions were flooded and very bad. Ammunition supply was coming by railway from Bazentin for A, Band C Batteries but from Peake Wood for D Battery. Wagon lines moved up to relieve240 Brigade wagons, some to Albert and some to Contalmaison

Home Front:

War in 1916 – A year ago we hoped that 1916 would see the war settled in the sense that though fighting might still continue a satisfactory peace would clearly be in prospect. The peace talk of which there is plenty as the year closes – Sweden, Norway and Denmark have weighed in with their Notes – is not the sort we had hoped for and it would be foolish to pretend that our expectations with the expiring of the year have been realised. Possibly another year will elapse before the position is reached, which a year ago, we hope to be now.

Information researched by The Worcestershire World War 100 team