PRONI have unveiled their January blog which continues to chart the personal stories of men and women who lived during the First World War.

PRONI hold a wide range of records including letters, diaries and memoirs relating to the First World War and to contemporary events in Ireland, providing firsthand accounts of all aspects of war as well as the impact it had on life at home.

The January entry features, amongst others, a comprehensive account from the diary of Captain Gerald Burgoyne who commanded a company of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles near Ypres in Belgium. 

In the January 7 entry he goes into great detail about the experiences and hardships faced by his battalion as they collect and distribute rations.

'And so we shuffle on at about a mile an hour, halting every 100 yards or so to readjust our burdens. And ever round us and over us, sing those blessed bullets, now striking sparks from some flint in the mud alongside, now whistling overhead, sometimes with a wicked 'phit' burying themselves viciously at our very feet.

'For our track lies right along that zone of fire, where unaimed bullets from the German fire trenches to our right, hit the ground.'

Each month, PRONI will continue to publish transcripts from the personal papers and diaries of a range of individuals who lived throughout the period. 

Click here to view the January blog.