Memoir of Walter Perren, 1914-1917

Manuscript memoir, written by Walter Perren (1914-1917), recounting his experiences serving with the Middlesex Regiment 17th Battalion during the First World War. Includes descriptions of his enlistment in August 1914 and his training in Colchester, Essex, before embarking to Boulogne at the beginning of 1915. Also detailing his impressions of the battlefield, with particular references to being transported to the front in a cattle truck, the sound of exploding shells and the destruction of the surrounding towns and villages, as well as the action that he saw during the Battle of Loos (25 September - 14 October 1915), the Third Battle of Ypres, often referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele (June - November 1917) and then the Battle of Caporetto in Italy (November-December 1917). Please note that the memoir ends abruptly in December 1917. Thus suggesting that some of the memoir is missing. Also with a scanned print of a photograph, showing Walter Perren in uniform with another soldier, Ken Rodgers.

Walter Perren (fl. 1900-1920) was a local man who served with the Middlesex Regiment during the First World War.

This material is open to research and can be viewed at the Barking and Dagenham Archive and Local Studies Centre. To make an appointment to visit the reading room, please telephone 020 8227 2033 or email at localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk.

Catalogued by Clare Sexton, Borough Archivist.

For further information about the contents of this collection, please contact the Barking and Dagenham Archive and Local Studies Centre by telephone 020 8227 2033 or email at localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk.

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