THE notebook of a First World War soldier from East Lothian has given an extraordinary insight into life in the battlefields.

Charlie Ducat, from Musselburgh, witnessed one of the most startling wartime riots by Allied troops against their own military police, as well as troops sent “over the top” and life in the trenches.

Private Ducat served in the 1st Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers and King’s Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB).

Yet his family remember him as a quiet, modest man, who never talked about his experiences in the war.

Grandson Ian said the notebook was only discovered following his grandfather’s death.

It begins on May 23, 1917, when Private Ducat would have been 19, as he left training camp in England and “embarked the troop ship Austriland”.

There are no more entries until Sunday, July 22, when the young private records: “Under heavy shelling for the first time... very little damage... killed two and wounded three... two or three taken away with shell shock.” Just a couple of months later, the private found himself at the centre of one of the most serious riots which would break out between soldiers and the ‘Red Caps’ or military police on French soil.

Private Ducat refers to a riot which he wrote “took place on Sunday, 9th September, 1917 with the New Zealanders and the Jocks against the Red Caps, caused by a Red Cap running in a New Zealander. Two New Zealanders wounded, one Jock killed and two Red Caps killed”.

The riot, which happened at Etaples Base that day in 1917, was the start of a period of internal problems for those trying to police the massed army of troops.

The base itself was notorious for its harsh training regimes and scant rations, and simmering tensions between the military police broke out when a gunner from the New Zealand Artillery was wrongly arrested, and rumours spread the camp.

As the situation escalated, hundreds of soldiers descended on the bridge, where the Red Caps were attempting to keep them in camp.

According to the account of one soldier, one of the Red Caps lost control and began firing a gun, shooting and killing a corporal.

The military police were overpowered and the men stormed the local town, beginning a week of unrest and rebellion before it was suppressed.

It was the start of 18 months of sporadic riots, strikes and disturbances as the giant army of troops railed against some of the harsher disciplines imposed upon them, and led to army reforms.

But in Private Ducat’s notebook it is a passing mention before he transferred to the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers later that month.

His grandson Ian said Charlie may not have been a good storyteller, but he regrets never asking him more about his time in the war.

Ian said: “I guess too many men who were not natural storytellers, not equipped and not confident enough to unload and share their experiences, went to their graves with untold testimony, of the good times and the horror.

“I can see now we should have facilitated an opportunity for Charlie to talk.” Another example in his diary is his matter-of-fact description of being sent into action on Passchendaele ridge, of which he wrote: “There is no trenches on the Ypres front. All shell holes.” Ian added: “It was typical of the man, his generation and working class origins that throughout his notes there’s no sign of how he felt and frustratingly no detail of what he experienced or what it was like ‘on Passchendaele Ridge’.

“Maybe he thought that would be just too obvious or voyeuristic.” Much of the notebook details the endless travelling, with almost two months where he seemed to be constantly on the move.

However, as a cornet player, he also noted achieving his ambition when he was accepted into the regimental band, and noted a number of concerts in his book.

His little notebook also recorded his pay calculations; dozens of small sums, probably calculating how many days he had worked and how much he should be paid. His final pay packet was £31 and 8 shillings, including a £14 gratuity, £2-12s-6p for a suit and 28 days’ ration allowance of £2-18s-4p.

Charlie returned safe from the war and married his wife Ella in 1921.

Ian said: “As I look at the lovely photograph of him, aged 20, I do so regret that it wasn’t until after his death that we discovered the notebook, the regimental band photo, his uniform and, would you believe, a German Luger pistol in the loft.

“I find it impossible not to wonder what he felt, and for the lucky ones like him, why did it seem to have no visible impact on the rest of his life?

“I ponder also whether he wondered why he was never asked how it was.

“Although thankfully at least we know a little about Charlie’s war, the lesson here is: don’t leave it until it’s too late to talk across the generations.”