Record Number: 32069
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'As I was watching the columns of earth and smoke, there was suddenly a whirring sound and a piece of iron plonked into the mud at my feet, where it lay sizzling. It was six inches long and had jagged edges. I was considerably scared and dived into the dugout to tell Armitage. He thought it was time to haul out his pocket testament and read a chapter or two.'
Century:1900-1945
Date:3 Dec 1914
Country:Belgium
Timen/a
Place:city: Wulverghem
other location: dugout
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:1895
Socio-Economic Group:Unknown/NA
Occupation:Rifleman, 9th County of London Battalion, London Regiment
Religion:n/a
Country of Origin:England
Country of Experience:Belgium
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:The New Testament
Genre:Bible
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication DetailsPocket edition
Provenanceowned
Source Information:
Record ID:32069
Source:Frank Hawkings
Editor:Arthur Taylor
Title:From Ypres to Cambrai: The Diary of an Infantryman 1914-1919
Place of Publication:Morley, Yorks.
Date of Publication:1973
Vol:n/a
Page:25
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Frank Hawkings, Arthur Taylor (ed.), From Ypres to Cambrai: The Diary of an Infantryman 1914-1919, (Morley, Yorks., 1973), p. 25, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=32069, accessed: 04 February 2026
Additional Comments:
The date of birth is based on there being only one "Hugo Armitage" in the 1901 and 1911 censuses, where he is recorded as being 5 and 15 respectively. A "Rifleman H. I. Armitage," also from Yorkshire, and also serving in the London Regiment, is recorded by the Commonwealth Wargraves Commission as dying 30 October 1917, at 22.
