The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde"

A wartime diary opens with a Scottish doctor‑officer who has just swapped his cavalry shoes for the cramped decks of the transport Marquette. He records the frantic scramble from Coventry to the docks at Avonmouth, the odd comfort of a hotel overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and the nervous embarkation of a thousand men, horses, and mules under strict blackout orders. As the ship slips into the Atlantic, the narrative captures the mix of anticipation and dread that haunted every newcomer to the Great War.

Inside the vessel, the cramped hammocks, the constant cough of seasick officers, and the sardine‑tight quarters become a backdrop for vivid characters—a curmudgeonly ship’s doctor with endless anecdotes, a talkative captain who guards his secret orders, and the whispered humor that keeps morale afloat. The diary’s intimate tone lets listeners hear the clang of iron shutters, the faint glimpse of distant ships, and the uneasy feeling of traveling toward an unknown front. It offers a raw, human glimpse of the early days of service, before any battles erupt, inviting you to experience the ordinary courage of those who set out for a war they barely understood.