Williams, Aneurin Cadwalader (Oral history)

British private served as driver with 285th Bty Royal Field Artillery in GB and on Western Front, 1914-1919

REEL 1: Background in Dinas Powys, Wales, 1898-1914: family; education; father's military service; employment as gardener's boy; story of joining Red Cross at outbreak of war, 8/1914. Aspects of training with Royal Field Artillery in GB, 1914-1915: enlistment with 285th Bty Royal Field Artillery and question of age; reaction of parents; reasons for volunteering; description of enlistment procedure at Penarth; amusing story of cycling through village; issued with Kitchener's blue uniform; story of photographs being taken in borrowed khaki uniforms; attitude to army life and sense of pride; issued with equipment. description of basic training at Deepcut Barracks, Surrey; opinion of accommodation; problem with razors and use of paint brushes for shaving; problem of cold weather; training on 13-pounders; problem of lack of horses and guns; attitude to army life and discipline; pay; description of training in No.3 gun team and leading six horse team; story of promotion while on Salisbury Plain; description of gunnery training and breaking in Argentinian horses; question of relations between officers and other ranks; description of battery drills. REEL 2 Continues: Description of journey to France and arrival at Le Havre, 7/1915; story of last leave and death of mother. Recollections of operations with 285th Bty Royal Field Artillery on Western Front, 1915-1918: story of being injured in accident; further training; memory of inspection; duties working with horses; description of first experience in action at Laventie, 9/1915; description of operations in Ypres area, Belgium; procedure for gun laying and question of camouflaging guns; opinion of 18-pounder guns and comparison of British, French and German artillery; description of journey to Combles, Somme area, France, 8/1916; question of casualties and memory of first dead body; daily routine; question of fear; attitude to wearing of steel helmets; role in operations at Ginchy; problem of delivering ammunition; problem of wet conditions and guns lost in craters; story of death of friends; problem of mud and wet conditions for horses and guns; moved to Arras area; role in preparations for 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), 10/1917; role of 285th Bty in supporting infantry attack on Pilkem Ridge; laying of tracks for guns and problem of heavy rain. REEL 3 Continues: story of death of Commanding Officer at Steenbeek River; problem of gas and effects on horses; comparison of conditions at Ypres and on Somme; problem of moving guns in mud and use of 8-horse teams; comparison of conditions for infantry and artillery; role in operations at Cambrai and memory of tanks; opinion of effectiveness of tanks on Somme and at Cambrai; story of German counter-attacks and withdrawal of 285th Bty; story of shooting own injured horse; problem of replacing horses; description of caring for horses and problem of fodder; role of veterinary services and remount depots; role of grooms in treating wounded horses and blacksmiths; description of operations during German offensive, 3/1918; question of speed of German advance and sense of confusion; memory of German troops advancing in fog; opinion of French troops and organisation; description of living conditions; sleeping arrangements; opinion of rations; water supplies; rum ration; question of ammunition supplies; communications and co-operation with signals laying wire; communication with home. REEL 4 Continues: state of health; memory of influenza epidemic, 1918; washing facilities; latrines; problem of lice and methods of delousing; problem of frozen feet and use of whale oil; question of morale; rest periods and recreational activities; question of punishments including Field Punishment No.1; story of gunner at Pilkem Ridge and attitude to medal awards; opinion of Portuguese troops; opinion of Gurkhas; opinion of Australian troops; memory of attending course in tank warfare; attitude to Germans; story of German POWs digging trench; opinion of senior officers; memory of Colonel Erskine and post-war employment as groom; religious beliefs; question of home leave; memory of Armistice and celebrations in Charleroi, Belgium, 11/1918. Reflections on period of war service. Aspects of post-war life and employment.