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.

In May 1917, Jack Halstead arrived in Vaux.

- I will describe the place. This was a school for officers. I never know what officers they would be, but should imagine that they were men who had just taken commissions in the Artillery.

Anyway, they were quite new to the game.

The officers were put through it. They had six months training pushed into four weeks.

It amused us to see them. We limber gunners made a holiday of it.

Vaux was a nice little village and the country round was much like the average English countryside, and being in May it looked at its best.

As to food, we did well. We always bought eggs for breakfast. Being hot weather we seldom tackled the stew. It was greasy stuff in hot weather so more rice was prepared and milk we used to buy at the farm house.