JACK Halstead was Royston born and bred. His diary was kept during the First World War while he was serving on the Western Front. Copies of the diary – Jack s War – are available from Royston & District Museum, and by taking this article to the museum it

JACK Halstead was Royston born and bred. His diary was kept during the First World War while he was serving on the Western Front.

Copies of the diary - Jack's War - are available from Royston & District Museum, and by taking this article to the museum it is on sale at the reduced purchase price of £15.

- Morning: We picked the lock of the ammunition store, getting up at 3am for this exploit. At 10am three of use went on a fishing expedition.

Walked to Allis-sur-Somme. We had already seen a boat anchored up the river. Believe me, there wasn't much that escaped us. The boat we borrowed (without asking, of course).

Down stream we went and commenced our fishing. The method I will explain. A Mills bomb is an egg-shaped affair and a split pin is withdrawn. This releases the level, which springs up and strikes the detonator when leaving the hand. A few seconds later, the bomb bursts.

Well, we threw it into the water: a bang and a spurt of water, and we rowed back to collect the dead fish that floated to the surface.

- June 10, 1917