IN the annals of Olympic glory, the name of Allen Whitty is not writ particularly large. Not even around here and, seeing as he was born on Martley Hillside the son of a farm labourer and won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics of 1924, we might be considered a bit remiss.

In our defence, I would add that Whitty was not a solo performer.

He was part of the four-man British team which took the rifle shooting gold medal.

But even in this London Olympic year, Whitty’s achievement might still have remained unheralded were it not for the publication of a series of diaries he kept during the First World War.

Allen Whitty, you see, was a soldier. That’s why he was such an excellent shot. But not just any soldier.

From humble beginnings as a boy recruit he was promoted through the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel and was a battalion quartermaster in the Worcestershire Regiment, serving throughout the Great War, mostly at the front.

He was also a skilled diarist with an eye for the unusual, a talent which makes his writings all the more entertaining. Take this entry for October 28, 1914, for example: “Found Gabb (at the time a lieutenant but later a major, who won the Military Cross) in his usual excellent spirits. His only grouse was that he had had to release some livestock from the farm to avoid it being burnt, among which was a young porker, which had shown promise of making fine eating.

“But, on release, it had scampered off in direction of the German trenches. Gabb reckons that, as he had seen that the pig had been fed for 10 days or so, its desertion to the Germans was base ingratitude.”

Whitty’s diaries have been turned into a book by military historian Edwin Astill and published by Reveille Press under the title A Quartermaster at the Front.

At the time of their writing, Whitty was a 47-year-old captain and career soldier, having joined the Worcestershire Regiment at Norton Barracks just before his 17th birthday in April 1884.

He had never intended his words to be published, writing in a note dated September, 1936: “I can see now that the diction is clumsy, but in regard to that, the diary was kept for my own personal use with no thought of its ever being read by anyone else.”

He was being unduly modest, because he tells a good tale.

Witness the entry for the 3rd Division horse show at Busseboom on September 15, 1915: “An amusing thing about the show is that Sergt Lester, the Transport Sergt won a ‘first’ for a pack animal he had scrounged some two months previously. In other words, he found the animal wandering and had annexed it. Battalion was inspected by General Sir H Plumer, Cmdg 2nd Army. Seemed very pleasant. He questioned several men closely as to how they were looked after, and to the concern of all who knew the NCO, he spoke to a CQMS (Lester) who was fond of using long words irrespective of their meaning.

“The General asked, ‘How long have you been in France?’ The CQMS replied, ‘Since the commencement of hospitalities, Sir.’ The General and his staff kept a straight face at the reply, but I was not so successful. The CQMS meant Hostilities, of course.”

While the notes do reflect the horrors of war – in one entry Whitty records the battalion is being urged to press forward 20 officers and 500 men short – they also throw light on gentlemanly behaviour which today would appear to belong to another century, which indeed it did.

On January 12, 1915, Whitty writes: “The 27th Division (new to the trenches) seem anxious to liven things up a bit. Heard a story of them today. They relieved the French near St Eloi last week, and it is said that the French and Germans had arranged among themselves not to fire for a few days to permit both sides clearing the water from their trenches. The French apparently omitted to acquaint the 27th Div of the arrangements, consequently when the Germans were observed at work the 27th opened fire, much to the astonishment of the Germans.

“Another good story. The French in one sector threw a note attached by string to a stone into the German trenches saying, ‘King George has been to see the English, when is the Kaiser coming to see you?’ The Germans replied, ‘As soon as President Poincare comes to visit you.’ ‘That is alright,” said the French, “He is coming tomorrow.’ “Meanwhile, to give semblance of truth to their statement the French made a dummy, topped with a silk hat, and carried it exposed along their trench; and the Germans promptly opened fire on it.”

Whitty had shown his talent as a marksman from his very first course in musketry in 1884 and took every opportunity offered to improve his skill. He had a long connection with Army teams at Bisley, in both rifle and revolver, and shot in international matches there on several occasions.

He was chosen for the British team for the 1924 Paris Olympics in a sporting rifle competition.

Whitty shot with a Holland .240 fired at a running deer target. The British team won, defeating Norway by a single point, and he was the second highest scorer among all the competitions out of the seven international teams that took part.

After active service, Whitty became one of the Army’s chief recruiting officers, a position he held until 1932, when, at the age of 65, and having completed a total service of 48 years, he finally retired. Allen Whitty died on July 22, 1949 aged 82 in Aldermaston, West Berkshire.

In 1998, many of Whitty’s Army and shooting medals were sold by Bosleys, the specialist military and medal auctioneers of Marlow in Buckinghamshire.

However, his Olympic shooting gold was not among them.

Probably like every good quartermaster, who has a place for everything and everything in its place, he tucked it away safely somewhere.