‘My thoughts on Sentry’ Lance Corporal A. Gibbons, East India, 1893

3 min readNov 24, 2020

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A friend of mine and fellow Irish veteran recently came across the war time diary of Lance Corporal Alfred John Gibbons, Royal Irish Fusiliers.

The likelihood of a wartime diary over 100 years old ending up in Burlington, Ontario is slim, but the fact that it ended up in the hands of a former Irish soldier is remarkable. Like many Irish men and women, my colleague Eddie (who now lives in Canada) has strong family links with the disbanded Irish Regiments of the British Army and it was this interest that led to the diary being gifted to him.

At the moment of writing I don’t have a lot of detail on Alfred Gibbons, but what I do know is that he served with the 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers in Allahabad, North West Province, East India in 1893 and was a member of the Regimental Band.

During his service Alfred kept a diary and committed poetry and songs to it — this is the diary that Eddie was gifted. But of all the entries included in it, it is Alfred’s piece on Sentry Duty that will resonate with all those who have stood guard. The sentiments are the same — whether one stood guard in Allahabad 1893, the Western Front in 1943 or Afghanistan 2016…. the stillness of night, the thoughts of home, the comfort of family. If you stood watch, you will understand.

Thanks to Eddie Fitzroy for first sharing this diary, and thanks to Lc Cpl. Alfred John Gibbons for the words.