A manuscript diary compiled by Lieutenant A. L. Mein, whilst a Royal Engineers Officer in Afghanistan 1879-80

An original (or contemporary transcribed copy) manuscript diary, 45pp, compiled by Lieutenant Alexander Lechmere Mein, Royal Engineers, covering the period 28 October 1879 to 30 September 1880, the contents largely recounting his daily routine and possibly intended as a simple aide memoire prior to the intended (but unrealised) publication of a larger account, good condition and the handwriting very readable £200-£240

Alexander Lechmere Mein was born in 1854, the son of Major-General George Mein, and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in April 1873. Posted to India, at the time of the outbreak of the Second Afghan War he was employed with the Public Works Department in Meerut. In the first phase of the War he served as an Assistant Field Engineer with the 2nd Division of the Peshawar Valley Field Force, and was later engaged in building forts along the lines of communication.

Mein returned to Afghanistan, as Assistant Field Engineer with the Khyber Line Force, for the second phase of the war in October 1879, taking part in the Wazir Khugianis Expedition, the Hissarak Expedition in April 1880, and the Lughman Valley Expedition in May 1880. For his services during the War he was Mentioned in Despatches and received the Afghanistan Medal. The existing diary covers this second phase of his service in Afghanistan.

A fairly typical entry reads thus:
‘April 14th: Had a good sleep; not much firing. Two storms of wind and rain - my tarpaulin cover kept me dry. Found our trench a fairly good cover - went out and destroyed a mill. At 12 noon a column went out to burn & destroy - I was to have gone but my Colonel said there was too much work to be done in camp, so had to stop - work nil - so was rather vexed - Our column had some skirmishing - burnt some villages & got back about 6 p.m., the Afghans following us as usual - we saw a good deal of the fight from Camp - how the Afghans fire and then bolt down the hill was very plain - little groups detached here and there - Well they enfiladed the trench where Stafford, self and his men were, so confoundedly, that we made some traverses with sandbags - one Sapper got a contused wound in the knee just up to our right front - lots of bullets about and over our heads - Firing continued up to about 10. 30 p.m. - at least the last I heard, as then slept. Dinner in the dark!!’



Sold with a full typed transcript of the diary.