WWI trench diaries covering Somme to be sold
INSIGHT Belshaw’s diary
Barmouth beach
TWO soldiers’ First World War diaries, including one detailing the horrors of the Somme, are set to sell for hundreds at auction.
Gunner H. Belshaw and Captain John Oliver Mark Ashley made notes at the Western Front between
April 1, 1916 until November 11, 1918.
A focal point in Belshaw’s diary is the bloody first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916.
Cpt Ashley, who like Belshaw was a member of the Royal Garrison Artillery, begins writing in January
Police and helicopter at scene 1918, covering his time in Home Service as well as on the front line.
Experts at Hansons Auctioneers, of Etwall, Derbyshire, suspect the pair were related.
A spokesman said the lot includes Cpt Ashley’s “scrap book brimming with photos, maps and papers” relating to his career until retirement in 1945.
The items go under the hammer in an online auction on August 7 with an estimated value of between £300 and £400.