Diary Four was started on the 22nd March with the Bty still at Tel-el Kebir Camp. They were waiting for their Marching Orders informing him that the were going to entrain, so on the 23rd at 1am they boarded a train and travel back in Alexandria. Ralph also entered into his diary that he had just been made a Lieutenant in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. The Bty left Alexandria aboard the SS Nessian at 8pm and picked up a destroyer escort at 10pm, then it was off towards France. On the 25th the SS Nessian was joined by several other escort ships that were heading the same way. On the way over Ralph was to spend a fare bit of his time down at the stables tending to the horses that were in his care, writing in his diary that ‘Both my charges are doing A1. Phyllis recognises me every time I pass her, but Beauty is still dubious. Phyllis is a most expensive lady. Costs me a small fortune for lumps of sugar’. On the 27th they passed by Malta then came quite close to the coast of Tunisia. The following morning they then passed by Sardinia in the afternoon went by Corsica and into the Gulf of Lyons.

Ralph was to get his first glimpse of France at 7am on the 29th March. Entering into his diary ‘My first impression of same, is that it’s uncommonly like NZ particularly the South Island’. Coming into the harbour at Marseilles the SS Nessian was to tie up at 12am with the Bty disembarking at 4pm. From there they had to walk 2 miles from the wharf to a Rest Camp, only to find out that it was 2/5th under water. While waiting for orders to entrain Ralph was to spend his time at Camp Fournier either tending to the horses, or exercising with the Bty. They also spent a lot of their time dinning out at the local restaurants in Marseilles or at a local residents house that were in the city, residents who had treated the soldiers as their saviours.

Unfortunately on the 6th April Military Orders came through that the Bty were to entrain at 9.30pm. So Ralph had his last dinner at a local residents house then travelled down to the train station to leave Marseilles at 11.15pm. After the Bty had travelled all night their first stop was at a town called Orange, with the next stop being Marcon, as well as a brief stop to fed the horses. Then they travelled on up through the Champagne Districts in the afternoon, (also managing to acquire some drinkables and a cooked pheasant). At 2pm on the 9th they arrived at there destination Le Havre. After they had detrained the horses and stores they left the station at 5am and walked the 6½ miles to camp. No 2 (Sanvic), where they were to met up with several of Ralphs old chums from the 1st Bde. On the 13th Marching Orders came to hand informing the Bty they were to leave camp and go down to the station and start entraining at 7.30am, they finished at 8.45am. Leaving Le Havre at 10pm they travelled all night and pulled up at the town of Auzáville-en-Argonne at 7.30am to water and fed the horses. Ralph was to comment that he had Struck 2 carriages of Australian nurses on a side line, who are going to work near the firing line’ (very brave nurses). Arriving at their destination Borre on the 14th the Bty was billeted in a French farmhouse, from which the sound of the heavy guns were quite audible as they had now entered the War Zone. While waiting for Orders Ralph was to comment on the bad weather that they had experienced for the last couple of days saying that if it was not raining one day it would be snowing with knife-like gales blowing at about 40 knots per hour the next. The Orders that the Bty had been waiting for arrived on the 16th with an entry in the diary Orders to hand tonight for the Major. Myself with 30 men to go into the firing line tomorrow. Have been getting maps and gen prepared in readiness to move off. Look out somebody’.

Leaving Borre on the 17th at 10am in the howling rain the Bty boarded a motor transport and set out for the 12 mile ride to the firing line, getting there at midday with the ride being the "muddiest" and "jolliest" Ralph had had in a long time. The Bty were quartered in some French homestead 1000yds behind the Bty position that they were going to take over on the following day, in which there were 4 complete gun detachments. Visiting the Observation Posts (OP) Ralph was to learn just how slippery the duck boards were to walk on down in the trenches, getting there he found out that one OP was in a ruined house and the other one was up a tree.

On the 21st Orders came through for Ralph to return to Borre on duty, so he left base at 9.30 and walked to Outtersteene (about 6 miles), then boarded a goods train to get out at Hazebrouck and from there he walked to Borre. After receiving his orders Ralph left at 4.30 on the return journey in the midst of pouring rain riding Phyllis down to the station were he boarded a passenger train at 6.30 to arrive in Steenwerck at 7.15. He then bribed a Tomey Ambulance Sergt (with Sunday drinks) and got a motor waggon ride part way back, arriving back at the Bty at 10pm, wet through.

During his diaries Ralph also made numerous entries on the amount and type of planes that were flying overhead, Tons of aeroplane scraps during the day. A plane has hardly time to get up nowadays before it’s got about 30 or 40 shrapnel and stie puffs around it. We brought down one of theirs yesterday and today they equalised the score by winging one of ours. Also a comment was placed into his diary on the 24th April that Its just 12 months back when we were all anxiously waiting for our first scrap, and here now after one year of scrapping we are considered quite veteran soldiers.

The Bty had to collect guns and stores at the waggon line and locate them near Armentieres, so they picked up an officer of the 12th Bty who then guided then to the rendezvous where they handed over the guns, then got back to Fleurbaix at 11.45pm. Between the 25th April (Anzac Day) and the 29th May Ralph was travelling from gun emplacement to gun emplacement in the Flanders mud, making daily entries like No rest for the wicked. Behold in me the ‘‘wicked’’. Got an urgent this morning at 2 a.m. and have been supplying the Huns ‘‘urgently’’ since. Got into a beautiful little ‘‘strafe’’ and started quite a small war on our own. I think we won on points because they ‘‘ceased fire’’ first and from there Ralph would ride into Estaires to have dinner, getting back to the Bty by taking his bearings by the light of the German flares.

Come the 30th May orders come through for a move, so the Bty guns were handed over to the 6th Bty with Ralph leaving Fluerbaix to walk down to the W.L at Bac Saint-Maur, leaving there at 9.15 to arrive at the new W.L. at 11.15 to get billeted in a new farmhouse. He then rode into Estaires where he spent the day with his chums to get home at 11pm. On the 1st June Ralph again rode back into Estaires to collect more stores to return to the Bty then on the 3rd the Major and Ralph left at 9am and went looking for reserve positions, then visited the 2nd Bty and had morning tea with Captains Olding and Sandford, to get back to Estaires at about 2.30pm and had dinner at the Hotel De Ville. Ralph then took the Bty for a 10 mile route march on the 7th and then went into Estaires again for a little diversion. As you can tell Ralph spent many days and evening in Estaires either collecting stores or spending time at various locations in the town having meals.

Constant strafes were had against the Huns day and night then on the 4th July orders came that they were going to leave the Bty position to be relieved by the 37th Bty. Before shifting out Ralph spent some time on the 8th in Doullens, then with great excitement on the 9th Ralph made it known in his diary that he had had a visit from the Colonel who had brought with him the news that Ralphs 2nd star has been confirmed, so from now on he holds the rank of First Lieutenant. Ralph then went and spent some time in Beauval gathering supplies (rain coat and 2 rather decent hand-worked hats) amongst other things, then finally on the 11th marching orders came to hand, so the Bty headed south, leaving the waggon line at 8pm to entrain at Beauval West at 10.45pm to leave the station at 1.24am and arrive at the railway station at Doullens at 6.15am. On the 12th they left the station at 8am and set out for a 16 mile ride to their billets. The following day the Bty moved out towards Harponville and waited for orders to move into Bty positions. In the mean time Ralph spent his time tending to the horses that were still in his care. Ralph was to then ‘play war again’ on the 20th at Becourt commenting that there were constant barrages being sent over day and night in all weathers, with all types of shells being sent. Ralph was also to report that At present I'm in a German officer's dug-out about 30 feet underground. Their beds are still intact so hope to get at least 2 decent hours rest tonight. We’re even cooking with their stores and using their phone wires for our phones. The trenches are just a mass of cracks and blown about earth. One dug-out is full of dead Germans. Fixed up one trench of five for my guns and opened at 3.30 pm.

On the 24th a big attack against the Huns for the town of Pozieres began, as well they were to capture the 3 lines of German defences beyond it, the British troops had already tried and failed. So the 1st Australian Division attacked at night and won, but there was a rotten loss of life. The Bty was relieved on the 7th August after being in constant strafes against the ‘best German regiments on this front’. Moving out onto a road they got shelled to blazes before getting to a waggon line and arriving in the town of Albert, via Maretz Wood. Leaving Albert on the 8th after having the best nights sleep that Ralph and the Bty had had in a long time they arrived at Le Val de Maison in the evening. Leaving the bivouac on the 9th they trekked to their new posy at St Legerles Domant with Ralph writing in his diary that they had lost a lot of good men in the last scrap and in the taking of ‘Pozieres’. One of the last entries in his fourth diary came from a .H.Q. order,

Extracted from Brigade Order issued on the night of the 9th August 1916.

1st Australian Division
3rd Field Artillery Brigade
HQ
St Seger
9/8/1916

To BCs Officers and all other Ranks

Simply expressing, most sincerely, to every one of you my grateful appreciation of your work during the last twenty days.

(signed) W.L.H Bung . . Leuit. Colonel Commanding 3rd FA Bde

Thanking the Artillery who made the taking and holding of Pozieres possible.

H. B. Walker (General)