The Doings of the Fifteenth Infantry Brigade: August 1914 to March 1915

This diary gives a direct, day‑by‑day view of a British infantry brigade as it moved from peacetime drills into the early battles of the Great War. Written by the brigade’s commander, the entries are frank and personal, mixing official orders with the small, chaotic moments of mobilisation. The tone is that of a soldier‑officer recording what he sees, not a polished history.

The narrative opens with the frantic August 1914 mobilisation: thousands of men, horses, and equipment gathered in Belfast, boarded ships, and crossed the Channel to France. On arrival the brigade faces soggy ground, mis‑routed transport and the challenge of finding scattered camps in the dark. These early scenes capture the mix of excitement and uncertainty that defined the first weeks.

Interwoven with sketch‑maps and occasional photographs, the account offers vivid details: the clatter of late‑arriving machine‑guns, the chatter of officers coordinating movements, and moments of dry humor that ease the grim surroundings. Listeners get a human portrait of the brigade’s first months, a direct window onto the realities of 1914‑1915.