The 11th hour of the 11th day
Events always look a little different at the time. I recently found the entry for November 11th 1918 in the diary my paternal grandfather, Samuel Finney, kept during the Great War.
There's nothing special, it would seem. The troops knew it was coming of course but the entry was changed: 'peace' became 'armistice' and perhaps the time was changed ... or maybe just reinforced ... and the commencement time seems to have been added later.
It reads:
Mon 11 11/18
Armistice signed 5.30 am, commenced 11 am.
Left Etaples 7 am arr Calais 3 pm. Reported KIBD about 4 miles out (next day).
Wrote Win [my grandmother], mother.
