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Manuscript copy diary relating to Smith's command of 1 Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Aug-Oct 1914, including: their arrival in France, 13 Aug 1914; the Battle of Mons, 23 Aug 1914; the retreat from Mons to the River Marne, Aug-Sep 1914; the Battle of Le Cateau, 26 Aug 1914; his high opinion of German infantry tactics, and the German use of aerial reconnaissance (5 Sep 1914); the First Battle of the Marne, 5-12 Sep 1914; the First Battle of the Aisne, 13-28 Sep 1914; the death of Major General Sir Hubert Ion Wetherall Hamilton, 14 Oct 1914; the Battle of La Bassee, 18-29 Oct 1914.
Volume also includes: printed messages from King George V and Field Marshal Sir John French; a printed translated extract from an alleged order by Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany for the destruction of 'General French's contemptible little army', 9 Aug 1914; instructions, 22 and 23 Aug 1914, for an anticipated attack, including instructions by Captain R Stevens, 9 Infantry Brigade [Captain Reginald Walter Morton Stevens, died 28 Aug 1914]; a report on 'A' and 'C' companies, 1 Royal Scots Fusiliers, 25-27 Aug 1914, at Vendegies-sur-Ecaillon and Le Cateau, by Major Athel Murray Hay Forbes.

Manuscript copy diary, 16 Jun 1916 – 11 Dec 1917, relating to Smith’s command of 20 Division, Jun 1916 – Mar 1917, 56 Division, Jul-Aug 1917, and 20 Division, Aug-Dec 1917, including: diversionary raids, Jun 1916; the use of vests impregnated with antiseptic to reduce the risk of wound infection, 16-18 Jun 1916; the start of the Battle of the Somme, 1 Jul 1916; inaccurate British press coverage of Western Front operations, 24 Jul 1916; a demonstration of flamethrowers, 18-19 Aug 1916; the aftermath of a successful attack on Guillemont village, 19 Sep 1916, including the shortage of troops available to bury the dead and to salvage equipment; German aerial night time bombing behind Allied lines, 28 Sep 1916; the Battle of Le Transloy, Oct 1916; the lack of aerial intelligence on German positions due to bad weather, 6 Oct 1916; inter-brigade sports competitions, 9-14 Nov 1916; cases of trench foot, 15-24 Dec 1916; four months’ leave, chiefly on medical grounds, Mar-Jun 1917; Smith’s taking command of 56 Division, 23 Jul 1917; Smith’s return to the command of 20 Division, 8 Aug 1917; the Battle of Langemarck, 16-18 Aug 1917; the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 22 Sep 1917; start of planning, Oct 1917, for the Battle of Cambrai, Nov-Dec 1917, including training and extreme secrecy about the planned use of tanks; the start of the Battle of Cambrai, 20 Nov 1917, and the successful use of tanks to clear a way through for infantry; a German counter-attack, 30 Nov 1917.

Also inserted items, including: press cuttings about Western Front operations; letters of congratulation on 20 Division operations; typescript statistics on the issue of rations, 4 Aug1916, and on medals recommended and awarded, 1916; notes on the effectiveness of experimental mortars and flamethrowers, Aug 1916; a detailed account, 7 Sep 1916, of the capture of Guillemont village; snapshot photographs of ruins, abandoned army buildings and battle sites, taken in Feb 1919; report on the capture of the German ‘Au Bon Gite’ blockhouse, Langemarck, by Captain H A Slade, commander of ‘B’ Company, 11 Rifle Brigade, 14 Oct 1917; casualty statistics, Aug and Nov 1917; personal letter to Smith from General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough, 21 Jun 1918, including Gough’s anger at the British government; printed War Office notes on the British Armies of Occupation, 1919; press cutting from the Morning Post , 12 Jan 1937, on Gough and 5 Army, ‘Vindicated by History’.

Manuscript copy diary relating to Smith's command of 9 Infantry Brigade, 23 Apr 1915 - 7 Mar 1916, and of 20 Division, 8 Mar 1916 - 15 Jun 1916, on the Western Front, World War One, including: the Second Battle of Ypres, Apr-May 1915; the German use of chlorine gas, 22 Apr 1915; Smith's anger, 23 Apr 1915, at Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith's assertion that there was no ammunition shortage; the inadequacy of anti-gas equipment, 2-3 May 1915; the destruction of Ypres, May 1915; the news of the German sinking of the British passenger ship Lusitania on 7 May 1915; an improved design of hand grenade, 13 May 1915; the arrival of the first troops of the New Army (Kitchener's Army), 23 May 1915; Smith's personal experience of a German gas attack, 24 May 1915; the Second Battle of Artois, May-Jun 1915; ammunition shortages and the lack of experienced officers, 30 Jun 1915; German and British attacks and counter attacks on the village of Hooge, Jul-Aug 1915; the British attack on the first day of the Battle of Loos, 25 Sep 1915; ammunition shortages and the immense length of communication trenches, 18-21 Oct 1915; fuel shortages and frostbite cases, 28 Nov 1915; German gas attack, 19 Dec 1915; exhaustion caused by prolonged use of gas helmets, 21 Dec 1915; news of the withdrawal from Gallipoli, 23 Dec 1915; the challenges of training and of newly promoted officers risen from the ranks, 21 Feb 1916; demonstration of a Stokes trench mortar, 6 Mar 1916; Smith's appointment as Commander, 2 Division, 8 Mar 1916; the poor state of trenches and cases of trench foot, 9-12 Mar 1916; detailed account of moving gas cylinders into trenches for a British gas attack, 11 Jun 1916.

Also inserted items, including: sketch maps of British and German trenches in the area east of Hooge, Belgium, Jun and Sep 1915; two personal letters to Smith from former 9 Infantry Brigade interpreter M. van Lerberghe, Sep and Nov 1915; typescript order issued by 3 Divisional Artillery for operations on 19 September 1915; typescript instructions issued by 24 Divisional Artillery, 13 Oct 1915, for communications between Artillery and Infantry in frontline trenches; typescript report on a nightime bombing raid by Cheshire Regiment personnel, 6-7 Dec 1915; casualty evacuation statistics for 20 Division, Feb-Apr and Jun 1916; typescript reports on a German attack on 11 Apr 1916; typescript notes on the distribution of German forces along the Western Front, 14 May 1916.

Manuscript copy diary relating to Smith’s command of 9 Infantry Brigade in 3 Division, 2 Corps, British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front, 31 Oct 1914 – 22 Apr 1915, including: the First Battle of Ypres, Nov 1914, with the loss of many named officers serving under Smith; a visit to the troops by King George V, 3 Dec 1914; the waterlogged state of trenches near Kemmel, Belgium, Dec 1914; a demonstration of grenade throwing, 20 Dec 1914, and thoughts on the difficulty of deploying hand grenades from trenches; reference to a meeting of British and German troops on Christmas Day, 25 1914, and Smith's disapproval; initiatives to improve conditions in trenches, Jan 1915; demonstration of a mortar to be used from a trench, 16 Jan 1915; the execution of two deserters, 6 Feb 1915; the deployment of miners from Britain to undermine German trenches, 19-24 Feb 1915; a German counter-attack, 11 Mar 1915, Battle of Neuve Chapelle, with heavy Allied casualties; details of material used to improve trenches, 25 Mar 1915; frequent criticism of British press coverage of the war, Apr 1915.
Also inserted items, including: press cuttings chiefly relating to Smith’s promotions; account of 1 Royal Scots Fusiliers’ operations at Jemappes, 23 Aug 1914, by Captain Thomas Balfour Traill; a detailed account by Smith of 9 Infantry Brigade operations during early Nov 1914, First Battle of Ypres; sketch maps and accounts relating to 9 Infantry Brigade operations, Nov 1914; a letter from Clara Barton, mother of Lieutenant Harold William Ferguson Barton (died 18 Oct 1914), quoting a letter from a German officer praising her son’s bravery; illustrated manuscript poem, ‘New Year’s Eve in the Trenches’, possibly by Major Athol [Athel, Atholl] Murray Hay Forbes, [1914]; letters of praise about 9 Infantry Brigade from Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, Commander of 5 Corps, and Lieutenant General Sir Charles Fergusson, Commander of 2 Corps, Feb 1915; programme for a concert by personnel of 9 Infantry Brigade, 9 Mar 1915.