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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Q.6.a and Other places, by Francis Buckley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Q.6.a and Other places
+       Recollections of 1916, 1917 and 1918
+
+Author: Francis Buckley
+
+Release Date: May 19, 2008 [EBook #25528]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK Q.6.A AND OTHER PLACES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeannie Howse, David Clarke and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+    | Transcriber's Note:                                       |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has     |
+    | been preserved.                                           |
+    |                                                           |
+    | For the interest of the reader, 'the morning hate' is     |
+    | WWI slang for the "Stand To Arms".                        |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For     |
+    | a complete list, please see the end of this document.     |
+    |                                                           |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Q. 6. A
+
+AND OTHER PLACES
+
+
+
+
+Q. 6. A
+AND OTHER PLACES
+
+RECOLLECTIONS OF
+1916, 1917, 1918
+
+
+
+BY
+FRANCIS BUCKLEY
+
+
+
+LONDON
+SPOTTISWOODE, BALLANTYNE & CO. LTD.
+1 NEW-STREET SQUARE, E.C. 4
+1920
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+In the following pages I have tried to set down as faithfully as I can
+some of the impressions which remain to me now of three years' service
+in France and Flanders.
+
+I have naturally suppressed much of the grim and ghastly horrors that
+were shared by all in the fighting area. A narrative must be written
+from some point of view, and I have had to select my own. I regret
+that so much personal and trivial incident should appear. Perhaps some
+will be able to see through the gross egotistical covering and get a
+glimpse, however faint, of the deeds of deathless heroism performed by
+my beloved comrades--the officers and men of the 7th Northumberland
+Fusiliers, the officers and men of the 149th Infantry Brigade, the
+officers and men of the 50th Division.
+
+The climax of the story is the battle on the Somme where so many dear
+friends have perished. The name is taken from a spot where a small
+party of the 7th N.F. did something long afterwards to avenge their
+fallen comrades.
+
+Finally no criticism of the Higher Command is intended by anything
+that has been written. If such can be read between the lines, it is
+unintentional and a matter for sincere regret.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                             PAGE
+
+      I. WHEN IT BEGAN                                          1
+
+     II. THE MEN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY                           7
+
+    III. ALNWICK                                               12
+
+     IV. THE JOURNEY OUT                                       17
+
+      V. HILL 60                                               22
+
+     VI. MOUNT SORREL AND CANNY HILL                           31
+
+    VII. KEMMEL                                                41
+
+   VIII. DIVISIONAL REST                                       48
+
+     IX. BRIGADE HEAD-QUARTERS                                 52
+
+      X. THE BRIGADE BOMBING SCHOOL                            59
+
+     XI. ST. ELOI AND NEUVE EGLISE                             64
+
+    XII. THE SOMME                                             68
+
+   XIII. HÉNENCOURT                                            72
+
+    XIV. MAMETZ WOOD                                           76
+
+     XV. THE 15TH SEPTEMBER, 1916                              80
+
+    XVI. MILLENCOURT                                           87
+
+   XVII. HOOK SAP                                              90
+
+  XVIII. SECOND LEAVE--BRESLE                                  97
+
+    XIX. BUTTE OF WARLENCOURT--TRENCH WARFARE                 102
+
+     XX. FRANCE AND THE FRENCH                                107
+
+    XXI. SOUTH OF THE SOMME                                   115
+
+   XXII. THE BATTLE OF ARRAS                                  122
+
+  XXIII. WANCOURT TOWER--CROISILLES                           125
+
+   XXIV. MONCHY-AU-BOIS                                       139
+
+    XXV. TRENCH WARFARE--VIS-CHERISY FRONT                    143
+
+   XXVI. THE HOUTHULST FOREST                                 153
+
+  XXVII. DIVISIONAL REST NEAR ST. OMER                        161
+
+ XXVIII. THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE                              165
+
+   XXIX. GOOD-BYE TO THE 50TH DIVISION                        173
+
+    XXX. DIGGING TRENCHES ABOUT LOOS                          176
+
+   XXXI. THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE 1918--SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS    182
+
+  XXXII. TRENCH WARFARE--HÉBUTERNE                            203
+
+ XXXIII. TRENCH WARFARE--THE COLINCAMPS RIDGE                 207
+
+  XXXIV. THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE 1918--BAPAUME RETAKEN          219
+
+   XXXV. THE STORMING OF THE HINDENBURG LINE NEAR TRESCAULT   224
+
+  XXXVI. THE GERMANS' LAST STAND                              230
+
+ XXXVII. THE FINAL RUSH FORWARD                               234
+
+XXXVIII. THE END OF IT ALL                                    238
+
+
+
+
+NOTE
+
+The following abbreviations are used:
+
+    B.H.Q.      = Brigade Head-quarters.
+    C.C.S.      = Casualty Clearing Station.
+    C.O.        = Commanding Officer.
+    C.T.        = Communication Trench.
+    D.A.Q.M.G.  = Deputy-Assistant-Quartermaster-General.
+    D.H.Q.      = Divisional Head-quarters.
+    F.A.        = Field Ambulance.
+    H.Q.        = Head-quarters.
+    L.-C.       = Lance-Corporal.
+    N.C.O.      = Non-commissioned Officer.
+    O.C.        = Officer Commanding.
+    O.P.        = Observation Post.
+    O.T.C.      = Officers' Training Corps.
+    Q.M.        = Quartermaster.
+    R.T.O.      = Railway Transport Officer.
+    Y.M.C.A.    = Young Men's Christian Association.
+
+
+
+
+Q. 6. A
+
+RECOLLECTIONS OF 1916, 1917, AND 1918
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+WHEN IT BEGAN
+
+
+Before the war I was living in London, with chambers at Lincoln's Inn.
+
+I was not surprised when the trouble started. Ever since 1904 it was
+reasonably clear to me that our country would have to fight the
+Germans or go under.
+
+The days before we declared war on Germany were spent in London.
+During the last few of them it was as though a terrible thunderstorm
+was hanging overhead, ready to burst: gloom and foreboding on the
+faces of all. There is no doubt that most of our people were taken by
+surprise and that they were aghast at the sudden gathering of the war
+cloud. But when the stroke of fate fell and we were committed to the
+war, there was a curious sense of relief in many hearts. Better death
+and ruin than dishonour. A shameful peace or neutrality is for most
+Englishmen harder to bear than all the horrors of war. Besides, this
+struggle for freedom had to be fought out, though few can have
+foretold the cost.
+
+I had been rejected for the Territorial Force by the Army authorities
+in 1908 on account of weak eyesight. I had therefore few hopes of
+better luck in August 1914. At first only trained men were enrolled at
+the Inns of Court O.T.C., and this went on for some months--till the
+nation in fact began to realise the size of its task. So after two or
+three vain attempts to find my way into the services, I had to be
+content with the truncheon and armlet of a special constable. With
+this force I had no special adventures, but I learnt a good deal about
+the Vine Street Police area, and about the electric power stations of
+the West End. Christmas Day was spent on duty in the streets, and
+Easter Day found me still there. Then something happened which decided
+my own little fate, as well perhaps as the fate of Europe. This was
+the sinking of the good ship _Lusitania_ on May 7, 1915, under
+peculiarly barbarous and inhuman circumstances. Eventually it brought
+the Americans into the war, when they came to understand that the
+German people gloried in the deed of shame. As for me, it took me once
+again to the doors of the O.T.C. in Lincoln's Inn. If I could not go
+as an officer I would at least go into the ranks. But by this time the
+rush of officer recruits had died down, and they were not so
+particular about eyesight. So on May 10, 1915, I found myself in
+possession of a suit of khaki. It was second-or third-hand and an
+indifferent fit, but it enclosed a glad heart. The die was cast, and
+one little boat fairly launched on its perilous passage. Never have I
+had cause to lament this step. If it has brought me great troubles and
+anguish, it has also given peace of mind and the satisfaction of using
+to the full such energy as I possess. It took me out of the stifling
+heat of the town and gave me at least four years of an open-air life.
+For which God be thanked! If it did not bring much promotion or
+honour, it brought the friendship of real men, and a treasure greater
+than all the stars and ribbons in the world.
+
+A recruit at the Inns of Court O.T.C. had nothing to fear from those
+in charge if he was willing to do his best. There was little
+boisterousness or horse-play among the recruits, the dark shadow was
+too close for that; and the spirit among my new comrades was one of
+great earnestness. For the first two or three weeks we were trained in
+Town near the H.Q. of the Battalion in Lincoln's Inn. After that
+recruits were sent on to the camp at Berkhamsted for field training.
+We were billeted on the local inhabitants. I stayed at the house of
+Mr. Charles Dipple, from whose family I received much kind
+hospitality. It was a sudden change for one who had spent the greater
+part of ten years in London chambers. And at Berkhamsted they worked
+you hard, almost to the last degree of physical endurance. Save once,
+during a dark two weeks in France, I have never before or since felt
+the same fatigue of body. Also the change of food was a little strange
+and startling at first. The drill and discipline could do nothing but
+good to a healthy man. The enthusiasm of nearly all was great, our
+chief idea being to get ready and out to France or elsewhere before
+the war should be over. Little did we know what the future had in
+store.
+
+There is nothing much to tell of this part of one's experience. One of
+the most pleasant incidents was a fortnightly leave of thirty-six
+hours at the week-end, which I used to spend with my friends in Town.
+Night manoeuvres on Wednesdays and Fridays and guard duty were perhaps
+the most unpleasant part of our lot. Some would add the adjutant's
+parade on Saturday morning. But that was short, if not always sweet.
+
+I had the good luck to win an unpaid lance-corporal's stripe towards
+the end of my stay, chiefly, I think, on account of a certain aptitude
+for drill, a clean rifle, and clean boots. Of this small achievement I
+was and still am a little proud.
+
+I left the battalion on getting my commission with respect for the
+officers in charge of the training. The short experience in the ranks
+was to be of great value afterwards, when I came to deal for the first
+time as an officer with men in the ranks. It gave a certain sympathy
+with them and taught what to avoid. It was the custom of our C.O.,
+Lieut.-Col. Errington, to give a few words of advice to those leaving
+the battalion to take up commissions. And I have never forgotten two
+of the principles which he urged upon us. One was the constant
+necessity for a soldier to deny himself in little things. The other
+was the idea that every officer in his own command, however small, had
+a duel to face with another officer in a similar position on the other
+side; and that in this duel the one that used his brain best would
+win. And so this embryo existence came to an end--a careless, happy
+time with no particular thought for the troubles ahead. In the middle
+of July 1915 I obtained a commission in the 3rd line Battalion of the
+7th Northumberland Fusiliers, Territorials, supplying drafts to the
+1st line battalion in France. I had no desire to display my ignorance
+of things military before a group of neighbours and possibly
+relations, so I applied for a commission, not in the Territorials of
+the West Riding Regiment, but in a north-country battalion of
+Territorials, with the 1st line fighting in France. The Territorial
+Force seemed to me most suitable for one who had no military career in
+view. And France, the land of old time romance and chivalry, gave a
+more urgent call than Egypt or the East. The choice of a unit, if one
+can be said to choose it, is fraught with greater consequences to
+oneself than might be supposed. I cannot say after a lapse of three
+years that the choice has proved unfortunate to me. It came about in
+this way. We were doing a rifle parade one day at Berkhamsted, when
+Lieut. Reynolds (N.F.) appeared with our company commander, Capt.
+Clarke, and asked for the names of any men who would like to join the
+3rd line of the 7th N.F. The 1st line battalion, he said, had just
+been badly cut up in France, and we should be out there in four months
+perhaps, certainly in six months. That was all the information we had,
+but it was enough for me. A north-country territorial battalion and
+France in six months--those were the attractions. I had never spent
+more than one night in Northumberland and I knew of Alnwick only by
+name. It was therefore rather a step in the dark; but to one who was
+still ignorant of the meaning of a 'Brigade' or a 'Division' only
+general considerations could appeal. And so on July 30, 1915, I set
+off for Alnwick to join my battalion, with a new uniform and kit, with
+a somewhat nervous feeling inside, but with a determination to do my
+best.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE MEN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY
+
+
+I have a great respect and admiration for the men of Northumberland.
+Especially for those who come from the country towns and villages, the
+farm-lands and mines in the northern parts of the county. As soldiers
+they have gained a name the world over, of which it would be idle for
+me to talk. A cold climate and a fighting ancestry that goes back many
+hundreds of years have produced some marked qualities in the race of
+Northumbrians to-day. There are few of them that are not true to type,
+few that you would not care to have as comrades in a tight corner.
+Their stubborn courage and contempt for danger have been proved again
+and again. The worse the outlook the more cheerful they seem to
+become. Sturdy independence is there, and for this allowance has to be
+made--slow to like and slow to change; if you are known as 'Mister'
+So-and-so, whatever your rank, you have won their respect. No better
+soldiers in the land can be found to hold or to fortify a position.
+But I doubt whether they have quite the same genius for the
+attack.[1] A certain lack of imagination, a certain want of
+forethought, have always, as it seems to me, been a handicap to these
+brave men when they attack. Again and again during an assault they
+have fallen in hundreds, they have shown themselves as willing to die
+in the open as in the trenches. But have they the wild fury that
+carries the Scot, the Irishman, or the Frenchman over 'impossible'
+obstacles? No, they are not an enthusiastic people, nor a very
+imaginative one. And these qualities are needed to press home a
+difficult attack. They are not as a whole a quick or a very
+intelligent race. But for stark grim courage under the most awful
+surroundings they stand second to none. There is a streak of
+ruthlessness, too, in their dealings with the enemy; a legacy from the
+old Border wars with the Scots. They are quite ready, if need be, to
+take no prisoners. A hard and strong, but a very lovable race of men.
+Yes, I think all the world of the men of the north, although I am not
+blind to their faults. Taken as a whole no more handsome or manly set
+of men can be found in the British Isles.
+
+The Northumbrian dialect is difficult to understand until you get the
+trick of it. And the trick of it is in the accent and intonation, and
+not so much in any peculiar form of words. They have a peculiar way of
+dropping their voices, too, which is sometimes disconcerting. But it
+is a clean wholesome language, undefined by the disgusting and
+childish obscenity which is too often a disgrace to other districts in
+England. It reminds me a little of the Scottish tongue, but rather
+more of the country speech in the northern parts of Yorkshire, but in
+some ways it is all its very own. It must indeed be one of the
+earliest surviving types of the Anglo-Saxon speech. I had no great
+difficulty in understanding it, but to this day I am sometimes puzzled
+to pick up what is said owing to that curious drop in the voice.
+
+A word or two as well about the officers of the Northumberlands,
+meaning, of course, the natives of the county. For them as well as for
+the hardy miners and farmers of the north I have a very sincere
+respect and liking. Better comrades on the field of battle no man
+could wish for, better officers for a Territorial battalion it would
+be hard to find. Their unbending courage, their gallant bearing in
+danger, their cheerfulness and their care and thought for their men
+have been responsible in a great measure for the successes won by the
+Northumberland battalions and for the lamentable but noble sacrifices
+when success was denied. Gallant and devoted soldiers they have been,
+and well they have earned the love and admiration of their men. Always
+cheerful whatever was on foot, readiest of all to turn a danger passed
+into a jest. There could not be a better spirit in which to face the
+long delays and the bitter disappointments of the war. Two outstanding
+features in their character are, to my mind, practically universal,
+whatever form they happen to take. An inherent pugnacity, and a
+whole-hearted belief in and love of their county, which amounts to
+something more than clannishness. They know everything about every
+one in Northumberland, and with others they do not trouble themselves
+much. They do not talk about it like the Scots, but it is there all
+the same; and it has a profound influence on their actions and
+judgment. Within this sacred circle, into which no outlandish man can
+break, their pugnacity develops countless local feuds. And these feuds
+can be bitter enough, and I do not think I ever met a north-countryman
+without one. Generally there are two or three on foot at a time. One
+town against another, the men who did against the men who did not.
+Sometimes I have thought that these queer hereditary instincts, for
+such they undoubtedly are, have led the men of the north astray. The
+house has been divided against itself, justice has not been done, or
+it has been delayed, incompetence has been allowed to spread its
+blighting influence. In other words the love of their county and the
+strength of their local feuds have at times blinded the men of the
+north to the real interests of their country, when a united front and
+a concentration of the best effort available were absolutely necessary
+to get on with the war. To me the Northumbrian officer has been
+universally kind, and I have never had the least discourtesy or
+injustice from any of them, but many acts of kindness. But I have seen
+with regret on several occasions a loss of effort and strength through
+the divisions caused by prejudice. Thoroughly cheerful and a generous
+and charming comrade, much given to hospitality, I do not think the
+Northumbrian officer is always a very brilliant person intellectually.
+There are many notable exceptions, but they are notable enough to
+establish the impression.
+
+Beyond these general observations it would be unwise--and I do not
+intend--to enter into the domestic history of any battalion or
+brigade. Better comrades one could not have, and a nobler and more
+devoted body of men I have yet to meet.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] This criticism can of course be made of any troops of English
+nationality.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+ALNWICK
+
+
+A short sketch of my stay at Alnwick may not be out of place. For
+though it did not seem very adventurous at the time it had a great
+influence on my subsequent career, both in France and afterwards. It
+is a most romantic spot, with one of the finest castles in England.
+The heather hills run down through corn-land towards the seashore; and
+the general features of the countryside reminded me much of my own
+home in the West Yorkshire hills. The curious battlements and gates in
+the town and the monuments outside tell of a time when it was one of
+England's front line posts against the raiding Scots. It seemed to me
+to be a fitting spot to train men for the wars.
+
+When I arrived at the end of July 1915 the H.Q. of the 3rd line
+battalion were at the Star Hotel in Fenkle Street--very comfortable
+but rather expensive quarters. Only a few of the officers had arrived
+as yet. Just a few new-comers like myself, very green and raw, and
+about four or five officers of the 1st line battalion who had returned
+wounded from France. These latter had for the most part been wounded
+at the battle of St. Julien in April 1915, during the 2nd Battle of
+Ypres. They were now discharged from hospital and attached to the
+draft battalion for training before going out once more. They were
+very friendly and nice to the new-comers; and indeed we looked upon
+them quite as veterans, although their active service in France had
+not exceeded a few days. Capt. J. Welch, Lieuts. J.W. Merivale, E.
+Nixon, and E. Fenwicke Clennell became special friends of mine, and I
+am grateful for many acts of kindness from them both then and later on
+abroad. The men of the battalion, also raw recruits and wounded men
+returned from hospital, were quartered in the houses in the town. The
+O.C. battalion was Major (afterwards Lieut.-Colonel and Brevet
+Colonel) J.J. Gillespie, T.D., and the Adjutant Capt. W.A.C.
+Darlington. The C.O. was a man of great personality, so much so that
+he is one of the best known and most talked of persons in the
+Northumberlands. A great organiser and a hard worker, who generally
+got his own way with small and great, he has done much to make the
+drafts efficient. I was lucky to find favour in his eyes, and our
+relations were always friendly.
+
+We had as near neighbours in Alnwick the Brigade of Tyneside Scottish,
+who were encamped in the Pastures near the Castle, as fine a body of
+men as you could wish to see. After staying for a while at the Star
+our battalion moved out to Moorlaws Camp and we remained there under
+canvas till the middle of October. In the meantime I was lent for
+about five days to the 21st Provisional Battalion N.F., a home service
+battalion, who were encamped at Cambois ('Cammis') on the sea-coast.
+This was like a picnic for me, for all the officers there treated me
+kindly and did not work me hard. One night I volunteered for night
+duty and had the experience of visiting the sentries (all with loaded
+rifles) at the various posts along the shore. Shortly after returning
+to Alnwick I was sent, on September 2, to the Army School of
+Signalling and Bombing at Tynemouth, and went through the Bombing
+course, which lasted about a week. So primitive were the arrangements,
+even at this date, that we were only taught how to improvise grenades
+out of old jam tins, and how to fire them out of iron pipes as
+trench-mortar bombs. We were indeed allowed to handle precious
+specimens of the famous No. 3 (Hales) and No. 5 (Mills), but there
+were not enough available for live practice. The West Spring Thrower
+had not arrived, but I saw a trench catapult in action; and some dummy
+Stokes bombs were fired off for us to see. At this course there was an
+examination, and I got a first-class certificate as a grenade
+instructor, an event which had considerable influence on my career in
+France, as will appear later on. When I got back to Alnwick I found
+the battalion under canvas at Moorlaws. Here I became 'grenadier
+officer' to the battalion, and I had daily classes of men who had
+volunteered to become bombers, or 'grenadiers' as they were then
+called.
+
+Live practice was carried out entirely with improvised bombs, old jam
+tins and black powder. But we procured a certain number of dummies of
+Nos. 1 and 5 to practise throwing. Major N.I. Wright (who had returned
+wounded) took a great interest in our proceedings and had some dummy
+grenades made for us. A gallant soldier with hard service in South
+Africa and the Great War, he has always been a good friend to me. I
+went on with the bombing till about October 20, when the battalion
+returned to Alnwick and went into wooden huts in the Pastures. The
+officers were billeted at a house called 'Alnbank,' a mansion some
+little distance from the men's quarters. After this move I was
+appointed Company Commander to C Company, a newly formed company with
+only raw recruits in it. My second in command was Lieut. Joseph
+Robinson, a dear friend, who had come all the way from the Argentine,
+and whom I first met at the O.T.C. at Berkhamsted. He was known as
+'Strafer Robinson' on account of being physical drill instructor, and
+a pretty exacting one. I found the recruits in C Company most willing
+and anxious to learn their job; and they never gave me much trouble
+either in orderly room or on parade.
+
+I was kindly treated by every one at Alnwick. My stay there has only
+pleasant memories. Major the Hon. Arthur Joicey, who had returned
+from the 1st line, gave me several glorious days after partridges at
+Longhirst. The number of these birds so far north fairly astonished
+me. The doctors' families in Alnwick were also very kind and
+hospitable to all our officers. Mrs. Scott Jackson, the wife of the
+Colonel of the 1st line battalion, could not do enough for us; and
+many happy evenings have been spent at her house; notably a great New
+Year's Eve party for all the officers, just before I left for the
+front. I took part in a Rugby football match, the first time for
+eleven years. The 3rd line 7th N.F. succeeded in defeating the reserve
+battalion of the Tyneside Scottish, largely through the prowess of
+2nd-Lieut. McNaught at half-back. There was rather a pleasant
+institution towards the end of my stay--namely, a meeting of the
+senior officers for dinner every Wednesday evening at the Plough Inn.
+They did you well there, and it was a pleasant change from the mess
+dinner.
+
+About January 3, 1916, I was warned to proceed with a small draft of
+officers to the front. Four of us were to go, and I was delighted to
+find myself one of those selected. After a splendid farewell dinner
+with the officers of the battalion on January 4, I left the same night
+for London to spend my final leave.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE JOURNEY OUT
+
+
+On Monday, January 10, 1916, I left England with three other officers,
+bound for the Base Camp at Havre. My companions were 2nd-Lieuts.
+Peters, O. Clarke, and Gregson. My final purchases at Southampton
+included an extra haversack and some morphia pills. The latter had
+been strongly recommended for certain kinds of wounds and they were
+still sold without a prescription.[2] The journey across the Channel
+was done at night. The transport left port about 8 P.M. and steaming
+slowly without lights reached Le Havre about 5 A.M. next morning.
+
+My last view of England was the dreary wet dock, and later on a few
+distant and receding lights. Though we got into port at 5 A.M. we were
+not allowed to leave the vessel till 8 A.M. But, at last, as a cold
+and cheerless morning was breaking, I stepped ashore and set foot for
+the first time on foreign soil. We soon found an hotel (? Hôtel de
+Normandy) where they understood the English language and some of our
+ways, and we got breakfast in the English fashion. After a look round
+the shops and a shave in a small establishment in a side street, we
+reported at a large office in the town. Here we signed our names in a
+large register, and were given directions to proceed to a Camp, some
+distance from the town, where reinforcements for the 7th N.F. were
+collected and accommodated till they could be sent 'up the line.' Our
+stay here was a short one, for which I was thankful. They did not seem
+at all pleased to see us; it seems we had arrived a few days later
+than had been expected, and the Camp Commandant appeared to think it
+was our fault. We left Le Havre next day without having tasted the
+joys of the 'Bull Ring' or any other educational entertainment
+prepared for those staying on at the Camp. The train started about
+midnight, and like most troop trains in France moved along in a
+leisurely, dignified manner, with frequent stops and long waits
+between the stations. When we did arrive at Rouen, which was about
+midday on Thursday, we had to change. And feeling unrefreshed by our
+night in the train, we spent the time resting at an hotel instead of
+seeing the sights. But it is a fine looking old town and would be
+worth visiting in more peaceful times.
+
+We left Rouen again at night and wandered along in the same dilatory
+fashion, arriving at Hazebrouck and eventually at Poperinghe.
+
+The latter was railhead for the Ypres Salient. It was not surprising
+then to find the houses near the railway station looking shattered
+from the shells and bombs that had been aimed at the station. We had
+tea with the Y.M.C.A., who had with their usual dauntlessness selected
+a house close to the station. It had been struck by a bomb a few
+nights before, and there was a hole in the roof and in the ceiling and
+floor of one of the rooms; but I understood that no one had been hurt
+by the explosion. These shattered houses and the distant sound of gun
+fire, which we first heard about Hazebrouck, were the first signs of
+war that we noticed. After a long wait a limber arrived at the station
+to take ourselves and our valises to the camp of the 7th N.F. at
+Ouderdom. It was not really a very long journey, I believe, but it
+seemed so to us after our long and wearisome journey in the train.
+
+To make matters worse the military police made us take a roundabout
+road, and the driver lost his way. Of course a limber is not quite the
+vehicle you would select for comfort, especially over roads that are
+stony or pavé. The German flare lights could be clearly seen all the
+way, and they seemed to be on three sides of us. A most brilliant and
+interesting sight the first time you see it.
+
+Eventually we reached the camp at Ouderdom. It was called 'Canada
+Huts' and consisted of a cluster of wooden huts erected just off a
+narrow muddy road. At one time I am told, the mud was thigh deep; but
+now duck boards had been laid down, and though decidedly muddy the
+camp was quite passable. When we arrived it was quite late, and we
+found the camp in total darkness and every one asleep. But some of the
+batmen (or officers' servants) were roused, and they not only showed
+us a place to sleep in, but got us some tea and a scratch meal, very
+welcome after our uncomfortable ride from the station. What wonderful
+people these batmen are! Always so cheery and good to their officers.
+Inside the huts we found wooden bunks in two tiers round three sides
+and also a wooden table and forms in the middle. Not much room to move
+about perhaps, but fairly dry and warm. After two sleepless nights in
+the train we did not need rocking.
+
+We found that we had arrived just in time to go with the battalion to
+the front line trenches next day. For the battalion had just spent
+three days in the rest area and was due to take over the line on the
+fourth day. There was not much time, therefore, to get acquainted with
+our fellow officers or to learn much about the platoons to which we
+were assigned. Several of the officers we had known well at home in
+the 3rd line battalion at Alnwick, and Major N.I. Wright and Capt. J.
+Welch and Lieuts. J.W. Merivale and Fenwicke Clennell were old
+friends. Also we had already met our new battalion commander
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson at Alnwick when he was last on leave. It
+was nice to be greeted by friendly faces when our trials were so soon
+to begin.
+
+The last few hours before going back to the line are always rather
+dreary and unprofitable, spent chiefly in packing up and deciding
+what to leave behind. Valises of course were left behind with all
+'spare parts' in the Q.M.'s stores. But in winter a fairly heavy load
+of things was necessary, and the weather was wet and stormy. We had no
+steel helmets in these days and no gas box-respirators, only two cloth
+respirators of little weight. I found myself in charge of No. 4
+Platoon in A Company, of which Capt. H.R. Smail was commander. There
+were two other 2nd-Lieuts. in the company besides myself. The fighting
+strength of a company did not much exceed 100 men, if as many.
+
+Before we left Canada Huts, I was provided with a batman, coming of
+course from A Company. And a good fellow he was and much I owe to him.
+He has looked after me continuously from the day after I arrived until
+he was demobilised on December 24, 1918--nearly three years. A miner
+from Ashington, wounded at St. Julien in April 1915, he had rejoined
+the battalion some months before in France. At a later stage I had to
+rely much on his skill as a cook. A wonderfully cheerful person and a
+smart and handy man at improvising little comforts for me. His name
+was William Critchlow.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] Fortunately I never had occasion to use them.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+HILL 60
+
+
+When it was beginning to get dark the battalion formed up in the road
+and the roll was called over. At last we set off slowly, squelching
+through the mud on the wet roads, the rain pouring down unceasingly.
+We soon struck the pavé road that runs through Dickebusch, a long
+straggling village, still fairly intact and occupied by Belgian
+civilians. It was shelled now and again but not severely. When we
+reached this place, the battalion opened out considerably, platoons
+keeping 200 yards apart; a precaution necessary on roads that were
+periodically shelled at night. After plodding along for some time we
+reached the Café Belge, a mere ruin now, but a well-known halting
+place for troops on the march. Here we turned off to the right and
+left the pavé road which runs on to Ypres, and after this the roads
+were much more difficult to travel. Shell holes were frequent and
+generally full of water, so that in the dark it was only too easy to
+stumble into them. 'Shell-hole on the right,' 'Shell-hole on the
+left,' 'Shell-hole in the middle,' 'Keep to your right' were being
+passed back continually. Progress was slow of course under these
+conditions and with the heavy loads that we all carried. But it was
+all so novel to me that I had not a moment to feel dull or depressed.
+After a time we reached the notorious 'Shrapnel Corner' and turned
+towards 'Transport Farm,' for we were bound for trenches at Hill 60.
+This place was of course famous for the British attack in 1915, and
+for the German counter-attack with gas a little later on which was all
+too successful. It was also notorious for being one of the hottest
+corners of the British front. Owing to their vantage ground on the
+hill the enemy had little difficulty in sniping and shelling our
+trenches effectively.
+
+   [Illustration: Hill 60.--Official Map, March 1916.]
+
+As we approached Transport Farm I came for the first time under
+indirect rifle fire. A number of bullets fired at our trenches
+carried over and landed not far from the roads at the back. Though
+rather alarming in the dark to one unaccustomed to them, they seldom
+did much damage. Occasionally a man or two got wounded during these
+reliefs. Our company turned to the left again near Zillebeke railway
+station, and then struck off the road and reached the mouth of a C.T.
+which led after about a hundred yards to the support trenches.
+
+A glance at the official plan of the trenches at Hill 60 will give
+some idea of the extraordinary place it was. Whilst the German line
+ran solid along the top of the ridge, there were two complete gaps in
+the British fire trenches between Hill 60 and Mount Sorrel on the
+left. On paper it looks as if there were nothing to stop the German
+from walking across and behind our lines whenever he chose. But I
+imagine that these empty spaces were covered by machine-gun posts, and
+that the artillery were ready to deal with any attempt of that sort.
+Another feature of the place was the awful nature of the ground
+outside the trenches. It was a morass filled with partially buried
+bodies--that is, partially buried by nature in the ooze and mud.
+During a dense mist about seventy identity discs were recovered from
+the ground behind our support lines. And it was worse in front between
+the opposing trenches. It was not likely, then, that the German would
+wish to press us farther down the hill, at any rate for tactical
+purposes.
+
+A Company had two platoons in the front line trench 41, some 100 yards
+from the enemy, and two platoons in a support line called '41
+support.' The trenches themselves were well-built and revetted with
+sand bags, and dry enough even during the wettest weather. We had in
+these days only small shelters--the deep dugout was unknown. The three
+subalterns in A Company took turns at duty in the trenches, four hours
+on and eight hours off, night and day. The duty consisted chiefly of
+visiting the sentries every hour, and keeping a general look-out, and
+seeing that the trench rules were obeyed. A good deal of rifle fire
+went on at night. Sentries on either side would exchange shots, and an
+occasional machine-gun would open out. At close range the bullets make
+a curious crack as they pass overhead. Being tall and having been
+warned of the efficiency of the German sniper, I had to walk in most
+of the trenches with a bend in the back, which soon became tiring.
+
+On Sunday, January 16, I had a decidedly lively time for my first day
+in the trenches. It was always said that the Germans got a fresh
+supply of ammunition at the week-end, and Sunday was scarcely ever a
+day of rest. However that may be, this Sunday was the worst day I had
+for some time. After sending over a few small howitzer shells, the
+German field-guns sent periodical showers of shells, 'whizz-bangs' we
+called them, on to the support trench and C.T.
+
+This went on all morning, and whilst the shoot lasted they came over
+in a perfect stream. After a quieter afternoon a regular trench battle
+opened out at night, rifle grenades and bombs being freely exchanged,
+and a number of trench-mortar bombs--'sausages and rum jars'--coming
+over from the enemy's trenches. Eventually our heavy guns opened out
+with lively retaliation and the enemy quietened down. Rather a big
+dose to get the first day in the trenches, when everything was so
+strange and new. However I was assured that it was not an 'average'
+day even on Hill 60, but something like an organised shoot. One of the
+features of the place was the number and size of the rats; they looked
+the size of rabbits as they scuttered along the trenches at night.
+Another was the awful taste of the water we got to drink. It was
+boiled and it was turned into strong tea, but it had a most
+indescribably horrible taste. The food, on the other hand, was
+excellent and plenty of it. In the light of subsequent rations these
+were indeed the days of plenty. Owing to the kindness of some friends
+of the battalion in England, both officers and men were supplied with
+sheep-skin coats or jackets which were wonderfully good in keeping out
+the cold at night. 'Stand-to' was a regular institution of trench
+warfare, both an hour before dark and an hour before dawn. Naturally
+the latter was the more trying, but at this time the rum ration was
+served out; and it certainly prevented you from being frozen stiff and
+enabled you to get to sleep again if your duties did not keep you to
+the trenches. A very curious life in the trenches, a very small world
+but every bit of it packed full of interest and novelty to me. From
+the trenches, if you looked backwards, there was a splendid view of
+Ypres, with its shattered spires and houses, still a beautiful grey
+ruin, even in death. I was destined to have a much closer acquaintance
+with it later. Beyond the usual rounds of shelling on both sides
+nothing of particular interest happened during the next three days. On
+the evening of January 19 we were relieved by a company of the 5th
+N.F. (Capt. North M.C.), and moved out after dark for a short rest in
+close support.
+
+My career as a platoon commander in the trenches was a short one, for
+as it happened that was my first and last experience as such. We moved
+out and back for about a mile, eventually reaching a house called
+Blauwpoorte Farm.[3] It was not a bad place then, and was not shelled,
+though at night the bullets used to rattle round if you walked abroad.
+Here on the second day I took a small party of men, as a working
+party, to the shelters at the 'Sunken Road,' rather nearer the line. I
+think we were engaged in clearing the road of mud and generally
+cleaning up. On the way there I saw some rather humourous notices
+stuck up at various points. 'This is a dangerous spot.' It was kindly
+meant no doubt, but on the whole no part of the Salient afforded much
+of a rest-cure, and it was practically all under direct observation
+of the enemy. We existed simply through his forbearance.
+
+On January 22, 1916, I became bombing officer to the battalion, or, as
+it was then called, 'grenadier officer.' My predecessor had had bad
+luck, getting his hand shattered by the accidental explosion of a
+detonator. Accordingly I was sent to see Sergt. W. Moffat, the
+battalion bombing sergeant, in order to pick up what I could of the
+routine at so short a notice. Sergt. Moffat was a short withered man
+with sandy hair, a quiet manner, but a cheery twinkle in his eye. He
+had served in the South African war; and had been mentioned in
+despatches for good bombing work during a German attack at Hooge. A
+most conscientious and hard-working fellow, with a passion for all
+sorts of bombs. I could not have fallen into better hands. He was an
+admirable instructor and assistant, and knew all there was to be known
+about trench routine. I could see he was universally respected in the
+battalion. He was a Salvation Army man at home, and wore their red
+woollen jersey under his tunic. Much do I owe him and much do I still
+lament his untimely end.
+
+Capt. Smail returned to England about this time, leaving me his woolly
+coat, a priceless parting gift. Capt. J. Welch came to command A
+Company and a cheerier fellow surely never existed. I was glad to
+accept his offer of messing with A Company. There never was a dull
+moment at mess when Welch presided.
+
+We went back to Hill 60 for four days on January 23. I cannot
+remember much of this stay in the line, and nothing special happened.
+I was too busy learning all I could of the routine of the trenches and
+locating and checking bomb stores. I had to visit all the trenches
+held by the battalion, and thus got the chance of making the
+acquaintance of the other Company commanders, Capt. H. Liddell (B
+Coy.), Capt. C. Davies (C Coy.) and Capt. G.F. Ball, M.C., (D Coy.). I
+remember being asked by our Brigadier-General Clifford to explain some
+part of a derelict West Spring Thrower in the cutting at Hill 60 (I
+had never even seen one before) and being saved by the timely
+intervention of Sergt. Moffat.
+
+On January 27 we were relieved and went back to Canada Huts for a rest
+of four days. Oh, that first rest out of the trenches! The
+accommodation was poor enough seen in the light of home comforts, but
+what a palace of rest and refreshment it seemed to me then, and how
+quickly the time passed. I had to practise the bombers (nineteen from
+each company) in throwing dummy grenades each morning on the mud flat
+(it was once a field) outside the huts. In order to stimulate keenness
+I organised a competition and gave one franc each day as a prize for
+the best score. I soon found out who were the most expert throwers.
+
+We had a Y.M.C.A. hut close to the camp, and it was interesting to
+drop in and have a chat with the men in charge and a cup of cocoa.
+There was an old gentleman there, in command, who was rightly proud
+of being the civilian nearest to the front line. He displayed to us
+with great pride a souvenir found in Ypres, the huge base of a 17-inch
+shell--it was almost too heavy for one man to lift. We had our Church
+Service and our concerts in the marquee attached to the Y.M.C.A. hut.
+
+Most of the officers got leave to go to Poperinghe during these rests
+out of the line, but I never went there myself. There was an
+attraction there in the 'Fancies,' a fine concert party, many of whose
+songs I learnt at second hand.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] Lieut. F.B. Cowen, a very cheery machine-gun officer, also 7th
+N.F., had his quarters here.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+MOUNT SORREL AND CANNY HILL
+
+
+When we went up the line again on January 31, it was to Mount Sorrel,
+on the north of Hill 60. Here we had a good set of trenches, but they
+were practically cut off from our trenches at Hill 60 by a swamp.
+Through the swamp ran a watery sort of drain about four feet deep. It
+was the old front line, now waterlogged and quite untenable. Although
+the drain was not held by day, a patrol of bombers used to pass along
+it at intervals during the night. And it was part of my duties to wade
+through it every night. This was not a pleasant job, because you could
+not show a light and the mud smelt abominably. We were provided,
+however, with rubber boots reaching up to the thigh, so we did not get
+very wet. The officers of A Company occupied an 'elephant' shelter
+just behind the support line. All its occupants were killed by a shell
+bursting in the doorway, just two days after we had left these
+trenches. I first met Lieut. W. Keene here. He was the Brigade
+Grenadier officer and had the supervision of all bombing arrangements
+in the Brigade area, besides being responsible for the supply of
+grenades. I always found him friendly and encouraging, and I was glad
+to learn anything he could tell me. He asked me to send in a daily
+report to B.H.Q.; and I have kept the copies of these reports to this
+day.
+
+During this stay in the trenches the Germans stuck up a notice board
+with the following legend: _Attention Gentlemen_, and below in German,
+'If you send over one more trench-mortar bomb you will get strafed in
+the neck.'
+
+On February 3 we were relieved and A Company stayed four days in the
+railway cutting at Hill 60 in close support. The second day I went
+with Capt. Welch and Lieut. Greene to the trenches north of Mount
+Sorrel which were called Canny Hill. That journey was full of
+incident, we seemed to be shelled or bombed all the way to Mount
+Sorrel and back, and Capt. Welch has often humourously suggested that
+I was the Jonah. It also meant crossing the dismal swamp in daylight,
+and how we did it without being seen and shot I really do not know.
+During our stay in the cutting I explored the old broken trenches
+behind our support line at Hill 60, and found a fine dump of English
+bombs of early types. I spent quite a long time drawing their teeth.
+One little incident I remember at this spot. About 1 A.M. an elderly
+R.E. officer came into our shelter, and told us in a voice shaking
+with joyful emotion that he had just blown up a German counter-mine
+which had been threatening our mine galleries at Hill 60.
+
+On February 8 we marched back to Canada Huts, and had another four
+days' rest. This time the bombers carried out a good deal of live
+practice with Mills bombs at some bombing-pits about half a mile from
+Canada Huts. It was my first experience of the sort; but Sergt. Moffat
+kept me up to the procedure at the firing-pit. Also it was the first
+time I had the chance of throwing a live Mills bomb myself. On
+February 12 we were due to take over the trenches at Canny Hill, and I
+went up early and by myself, riding to Café Belge and thence on foot
+to Hill 60, Mount Sorrel, and so on to Sanctuary Wood. It was a long
+way round but I knew no other way. My dugout was in the wood, rather
+far from the front line and from the H.Q. of A Company in Davison
+Street. Our front line trenches were about quarter of a mile away from
+the German front line, but there were signs that the Germans were
+digging a forward trench along a hedge about 200 yards away from our
+front. This activity gave the Staff some uneasiness, and considerable
+interest was taken in these forward workings. I went out with Capt.
+Welch for a short visit in that direction the first night, but we saw
+nothing of interest. The next night Capt. Welch brought back a
+revetting stake from the new German trench. I believe it was on
+February 13 that the Germans attacked and took the 'Bluff,' some
+trenches south-west of Hill 60. About 3.30 P.M. our own trenches were
+bombarded for about two hours continuously with field artillery, and a
+lot of pieces were blown out of the top of our trenches, but no
+infantry attack developed. After this a small mine was blown up under
+our old trenches at Hill 60 and a platoon was wiped out there. But an
+attempt by the Germans to occupy the crater was frustrated through the
+initiative of a machine-gun officer. I saw and felt the shock of this
+mine going up, and a wonderful sight it was in the evening light. The
+shelling went on for some time after dark, whilst to our right our
+artillery thundered away in support of several fruitless attempts to
+recapture the lost trenches at the 'Bluff.'
+
+On February 14 I was told to organise a series of bombing parties, one
+from each company, to visit the German advanced trench at different
+times during the night and if possible to bomb German parties working
+there. I decided to accompany the first party, from A Company, between
+8 and 10 P.M. Sergt. Dorgan, an experienced patroller, went with me,
+also L.-C. Lowes, Ptes. Austin and Gibson, and two other bombers. As
+it was very wet, I had a sandbag taken by each man to lie down on. The
+scheme was to creep right up to the new trench near the hedge, and
+await the arrival of the German working-party. So we crept out along
+the wet ground and got to the trench, which was about two feet deep.
+We found no one there, and Pte. Austin went on into the hedge to keep
+a look-out. In the hedge were found a German sniper's plate, a steel
+shield with a loop-hole in it, and a German entrenching tool, like a
+small spade. These were at once annexed. Then we lay down again on
+the sandbags and waited with eyes and ears straining for about an
+hour. But no Germans came, though we had one warning from our sentry
+to get ready to fire. After that, cold and thoroughly soaked, we
+returned in triumph with the sandbags and our spoils, which we placed
+in our own trench. The other parties went out later but found no
+Germans at work. Possibly the wet night or the battle on our right
+prevented them from coming out to work that night. The object of these
+forward trenches was afterwards apparent, when four months later the
+Germans attacked and took Mount Sorrel. On February 16 we were
+relieved and went back into support for four days. I have forgotten
+where we went, but I think it was to the Canal Dugouts not far from
+Swan Château.
+
+On February 20 we returned to the same trenches at Canny Hill and held
+them for five days. The first night in, Capt. Welch was badly wounded
+through the shoulder whilst bringing in a wounded man who had been hit
+whilst outside wiring. He was a great loss to the battalion, and was
+sadly missed by the men as well as by the officers. It now turned very
+cold, and we had a fall of snow several inches deep. This made it
+difficult for parties to work in the trenches without being spotted. I
+had an unpleasant experience of this. I was looking for an emplacement
+for a grenade-rifle stand, and I selected a likely-looking spot just
+behind the front line. Then I brought a party of bombers to dig the
+place out. We had not thrown out five shovelfuls of earth before a
+shell came whistling just over our heads. Fortunately I dispersed the
+party at once along the trench. Then the fun began. Shells came
+whizzing in all round the unlucky spot, till a direct hit right in the
+middle of it apparently satisfied the German gunners and the storm
+ceased. After that I chose another place farther along the trench
+where no digging was required.
+
+On February 25 we left Canny Hill and went back to Canada Huts. On
+this occasion we had to make rather a detour to allow the troops of
+the 3rd Division to use the roads; and in so doing we passed Ypres
+railway station.
+
+On March 1 we moved into the support dugouts at Transport Farm, called
+Railway Dugouts. We were told to expect a bombardment by our guns that
+night, as the 'Bluff' was to be attacked and retaken early next day.
+The bombers of the 7th N.F. spent some time detonating grenades by
+candlelight in the bomb store at Transport Farm. Sure enough there was
+a terrific bombardment for half an hour. It was the first of the kind
+that I had seen, and I believe that at least 500 guns of all calibres
+were collected for the occasion. The whole of the landscape seemed to
+be alight, every hedge flickering with flame; whilst away towards the
+'Bluff' there was a sullen red glare where our shells were bursting.
+Nothing further happened that night. But at dawn next morning the 3rd
+Division attacked the 'Bluff' without bombardment and surprised the
+garrison, taking many prisoners and recapturing the lost trenches and
+some more ground besides. I saw one or two droves of prisoners coming
+back past Bedford House, the first time I had seen any live Boches.
+The bombardment by our guns started again soon after the attack, and
+our guns kept up a slow rate of fire all day. In reply the German
+heavy guns shelled the back areas freely, especially the road past
+Transport Farm, and we got a few shells near the railway. We got
+orders to take over the trenches at Mount Sorrel the same night. I
+left with a party of bombers soon after 1 P.M., going along a C.T. to
+Sanctuary Wood and then back through the trenches to Mount Sorrel.
+
+We found the trenches in a sad mess. That morning there had been a
+demonstration with all arms along this part of the front, and the
+enemy had naturally retaliated and done a lot of damage. To increase
+our troubles it became very cold, and the snow fell inches deep. But
+there was no more shelling on either side for the next week. Apart
+from sniping, which was assisted by the snow, we were left in peace to
+bale out the mud and repair the trenches. This cold snap caused a lot
+of sickness, and it was not improved by our having to hold these
+trenches for over a week--a long time under such wintry conditions. At
+last, on March 9, we were relieved and moved back to some dugouts near
+Bedford House. Here we stayed for some days, taking working-parties up
+to Hill 60 at night, from 7 P.M. to 1 A.M. One night we were shelled
+off the roads, and had to come back with nothing done. Another time I
+took a party to mend a breach in the front line at Hill 60. I think we
+went back to Canada Huts about March 16--at any rate we had a longer
+rest than usual. Sir Douglas Haig came over to Canada Huts to inspect
+the battalion. Amongst other things he inspected A Company who were
+drawn up in their hut, 2nd-Lieut. Gregson and myself being the
+subalterns there in charge. The General spoke to Gregson first, and
+asked him how long he had been out. He replied: 'January 14,
+sir'--meaning January 14, 1916. His reply was, however, taken to mean
+'January 1914,' and quite a little discussion took place, which amused
+me much, as Gregson stuck to his point. Afterwards the General came
+round to my end of the hut and asked me how long I had been out.
+'January '16, sir,' I replied. 'That's all right,' he said, 'well, I
+wish you the best of luck.' There was an amused twinkle in his kind
+sympathetic face, as I was still half-smiling over his little
+controversy with Gregson.
+
+After this we moved off to another rest camp not far away, for a few
+days. On March 24 we were due to take over the trenches at Hill 60
+again for three days. I went up early in the day and 'took over' the
+various bombing arrangements. The trenches now included some on the
+south side of the Railway Cutting, and I had my dugout there in the
+top of a small hillock called the 'Mound.' From 7.30 P.M. to 10 P.M.
+that night the trenches and Cutting were heavily bombarded, but the
+relief was not much delayed. The 7th N.F., however, had great luck in
+having only two men wounded whilst coming in. They were unfortunate
+casualties, it is true, 2nd-Lieut. J.H.C. Swinney[4] and Sergt.
+Dorgan, both good men and a loss to the battalion. The next three days
+were bad days for us. The battalion had over fifty casualties, much
+above the average. Four days in the line generally gave about seven or
+eight casualties. On March 25 British mines were exploded at St. Eloi,
+and the mine craters were occupied by the 3rd Division. The explosion
+took place just before dawn, about a mile or more to the south, but it
+woke me all of a shake. I thought at first that I was going to tumble
+down into the Cutting the ground heaved and rocked so much. The German
+heavy artillery took the precaution of bombarding our part of the
+front, and caused many casualties and much damage in the front line.
+The whole of C Company batmen were killed by a shell, and 2nd-Lieut.
+Burt, a new arrival but an old friend, was also killed. Poor lad, he
+was always certain that he would be killed as soon as he got out to
+France! I saw in the trenches a pile of our dead, three or four deep,
+waiting for removal to the rear. The shelling was severe at times
+during the next two days. Lieut. Platt, a forward observing officer of
+the 50th Divisional Artillery and a well known and welcome figure in
+the trenches, was killed by a shell just below my own dugout. We had
+cause, indeed, to remember our last visit to Hill 60. During this
+visit I first met some Canadian officers who were looking over the
+line before taking it over from the 50th Division.
+
+On March 27 we were relieved and I went back with A Company to some
+dugouts near Bedford House. Our first day there we were shelled out of
+these dugouts and had to take refuge for a time in Bedford House. A
+Belgian battery had just arrived close to us, and unfortunately they
+gave the position away. In the afternoon I went a long round to
+various reserve bomb stores to check the stores. Next night I paid a
+last visit to the Cutting at Hill 60 with a working-party.
+Second-Lieut. E.W. Styles was also there on a similar job.
+
+He had just come out; and being anxious to see something of the famous
+Hill 60 trenches he went off by himself into the front line, and, I
+suppose, asked various questions of the sentries. Anyway, when next I
+saw him he was coming back down the Cutting followed at an interval by
+a sentry with a fixed bayonet, who asked me if I knew who he was. My
+reply was no doubt disappointing to the soldier, who thought he had
+really captured a spy this time, and earned his two weeks' leave--the
+reward for arresting a spy.
+
+On March 29, before leaving the area, I acted as guide to some
+Canadian troops, from Café Belge to the Canal Dugouts. They seemed to
+be fine fellows and well up to strength in all their companies. The
+same night our battalion went back to Scottish Lines at Ouderdom, but
+we moved back to Canada Huts next day.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] A special friend, who unhappily was killed at Wancourt in 1917.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+KEMMEL
+
+
+On March 31 I rode over with various company officers to Kemmel, and
+we looked over the trenches H2-K1 below Wytschaete Ridge. We were to
+take over this part of the line from the Canadians in two days' time.
+It was once a quiet spot, and I think we were sent there for that
+reason. But we soon found that we had come out of the frying-pan only
+to go into the fire. The battle that was still raging at St. Eloi
+about a mile to the north was destined to alter the character of the
+once peaceful Kemmel area. I had now changed my mess. All the old
+officers of A Company had disappeared since I first joined the
+battalion; so I accepted an invitation from Capt. G.F. Ball to join D
+Company mess. I was glad to do this, for not only was Capt. Ball the
+kindest and best of fellows, but there were old friends
+there--2nd-Lieuts. Peters and J. Robinson--whom I knew well at
+Alnwick.
+
+On April 1 the battalion set out for the new area, marching first to
+Locre and halting there for the midday meal. Later on, towards night,
+D Company proceeded to R.E. Farm, a support billet just vacated by
+Canadians, and stayed the night there. The Canadians left a lot of
+excellent ration tobacco behind them both here and in the trenches.
+
+   [Illustration: Wytschaete Ridge--Trench Map, April 1916.]
+
+Next day we went forward to the new trenches. They were a change
+indeed from those in the Salient, and it was evident that there had
+not been much heavy shelling there. Instead of the high narrow
+trenches at Hill 60, they were mostly mere breastworks with little or
+no back protection. And the C.T.s were hardly deep enough to afford
+protection from sniping or indirect rifle fire. Fortunately the
+Germans did not snipe these trenches. There were three gaps in the
+front line, and two small posts in No Man's Land. A long winding C.T.
+brought you from Battalion H.Q., which were at Rossignol Farm about a
+mile from the front line trenches. The main features of the landscape
+were the Wytschaete Ridge and Petit Bois--a thick wood on our left
+front. The German trenches were not at first at all close to ours; and
+both their wire and ours was thick and solid. We had a big mine shaft
+in the supports, but a good way back from the front line. The
+Canadians told us that there had been little fighting there except
+between patrols and during raids. And it was evident that they had
+spent more time and labour in draining the trenches than in fortifying
+them. I had my quarters with most of the bombers in a support trench,
+H.5, about 250 yards from our front line. We had the trench all to
+ourselves and during my first visit to these trenches, which lasted
+six days, it was a quiet, happy home, with a green field behind and an
+occasional pheasant crowing in the hedges. Unfortunately for the
+bombers, emplacements for 60-pounder trench-mortars (worked by the
+R.F.A.) were already being dug at either end of our trench, and I knew
+there would soon be trouble for H.5. We had a curious little
+bombing-post outside the front line at H.4, which was only held at
+night. It was inside our wire, but you could only reach it by
+clambering over the top of the parapet after dark. The post was
+connected by a string to a sentry-post in the front line. And various
+signals were arranged to warn the sentry in the front line as to what
+was going on, for example, two jerks on the string: 'Man returning to
+trench,' three jerks: 'Enemy patrol on right,' and so on. A similar
+bombing-post was also held at night for the first time during this
+visit. This was in an old broken-down trench outside our wire, called
+'J.3 Right.' It was more difficult of approach owing to the mud and to
+its distance from the front line, and of course more dangerous because
+it might be attacked by the enemy's patrols. Capt. Hugh Liddell of B
+Company found this old trench whilst patrolling No Man's Land. It was
+probably once part of the front line which had become waterlogged and
+then abandoned. Capt. Liddell had his H.Q. in J.4 at this time. The
+first night he went with me to this trench with a party of bombers,
+and we stayed from 2 A.M. till dawn was breaking. Capt. Liddell was a
+great tower of strength to us in these trenches, one of the most
+fearless and pugnacious of men, with a taste for wandering about No
+Man's Land o' nights. It did you good merely to look at him.
+
+On April 8 we were relieved by the 6th N.F., and D Company moved to a
+billet at R.C. Farm. One of the buildings had recently been fired by a
+shell, and the bodies of several horses that had been cremated inside
+made the air rather pungent. Whilst we were out of the line, the
+German artillery started shelling the trenches severely, inflicting
+heavy casualties on the 6th N.F., and punishing especially the support
+trench at J.4 and the bombers retreat at H.5. During our rest I went
+with Capt. Liddell and a working party of B Company to dig and fill in
+some cable trenches behind the supports of the 'L' Trenches. During
+the work I first made the acquaintance of Lieut. A.E. Odell, the
+Brigade Signalling Officer, who later on became a great friend. We
+went back to the old trenches on April 13, and I found the bombers of
+the 6th N.F. had moved their quarters from H.5 to Turner Town (left),
+two rows of small splinter-proof dugouts behind the mine shaft. The
+trenches were badly knocked about, and the German artillery and
+trench-mortars were still causing trouble. I now messed with D Company
+at their H.Q. in K.1.a. On the evening of April 10, I had to patrol
+the ground near the mine shaft with a party of bombers, to look out
+for a German spy who was thought to be making back this way. We saw
+nothing of him, but I believe that 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson arrested a
+Canadian Mining Officer, who in the dark was unknown to him.
+
+On April 18 we were relieved by the 6th N.F. their Bombing Officer,
+2nd-Lieut. A. Toon, taking over from me. This time we moved back to
+Locre. But I was sent to B.H.Q. at Bruloose with my servant, as Lieut.
+W. Keene was away on leave, and it was intended that I should act for
+him till he came back. However I was not long at B.H.Q. before it
+appeared that Lieut. Keene would be returning that night. Before going
+off to Locre, however, I was asked to stay to dinner with the officers
+of B.H.Q. which I did; and it was a pleasant experience. The battalion
+had good quarters in Locre in the Convent School, and we soon found
+that a good lunch or dinner was served by the Nuns at the convent to
+weary officers. They also let you use the convent baths. On April 20
+we held a battalion dinner there in commemoration of the Battle of St.
+Julien.
+
+On Good Friday we had an Easter service, as we were to be in the
+trenches again on Easter Day. Our padre was Capt. Rev. J.O. Aglionby,
+C.F., whom we came to know and like very well. The bombers had a day's
+training at Bruloose, and we were asked to bring our steel helmets,
+which had just been issued. So I wore mine for the first time. After
+the practice was over, I was asked to come and see the Brigade Bombing
+Officer fire off some Mills rifle-grenades, which were a novelty then.
+Whilst this was going on a grenade burst prematurely soon after
+leaving the rifle, and a piece came back and struck my helmet, cutting
+the lining and scratching the metal. After that I would never part
+with that helmet, though newer ones were issued later on. Our last
+visit to the trenches was to be shorter, and we were to be relieved by
+the 3rd Division in three days. We set off on Saturday, April 22, and
+arrived in the C.T. all right, for the Germans seldom shelled the
+roads in this area. But when we got there we found things rather
+lively. A shell killed two or three men of D Company as they were
+approaching K.1.a; and Capt. Liddell and I had a splinter from another
+shell between us as we passed up Rossignol C.T. On arriving I got a
+message from the Adjutant saying, 'The G.O.C. orders that you use the
+greatest vigilance by day and by night.' The next day, Easter Day, the
+enemy shelled the trenches all day. Capt. G.F. Ball and I had an
+unpleasant experience in K.1.a, after lunch. For nearly two hours a
+howitzer battery shelled the place slowly and methodically, working up
+and down the little trench. Many times dirt and rubbish came flying
+into our shelter, but the only direct hit was on a minor structure
+which of course disappeared. Next day our cook-house was blown in and
+the crockery all smashed, but fortunately it was empty of men at the
+time. In these trenches it was difficult to get artillery retaliation,
+for the fighting at St. Eloi swallowed up most of the spare
+ammunition, and the allowance of shells for the batteries was small;
+so the enemy had a free hand in shelling our defences. Early on the
+Monday morning the enemy fired a shallow mine between his trenches and
+our own. It was a method of gaining ground, for the craters were
+fortified and turned into a trench. In this way the Germans began to
+approach fairly close to us at K.1 and J.3. I had to register with
+Newton rifle-grenades on the crater, but as we were short of
+cartridges it was not possible to fire at night.
+
+On April 25 we were relieved by the 4th Battalion of the Royal
+Fusiliers, and I got away from the trenches with the last of the
+bombers about midnight. There was a big bombardment of these trenches
+next day, causing eighty casualties to the new-comers. My own little
+shelter was blown to pieces by a howitzer shell and the occupants
+killed. Nearly two years elapsed before I was again living in front
+line trenches.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+DIVISIONAL REST
+
+
+In the early hours of April 20 the battalion reached Locre and spent
+the rest of the night in billets. By 8 A.M. we resumed our march, and
+went through Bailleul to Meteren. It was pleasant indeed to see the
+inside of a town again, and to get away from the area that was broken
+to bits. We were to be out of the line, we hoped, for at least a
+month, so naturally every one was feeling light-hearted. The bombers
+of the battalion were collected in a company about eighty strong, and
+they were billeted together under my charge. Our quarters were at a
+large French farm, called on the map 'Fever Farm,' and near to it was
+a fine set of bombing trenches. Lieut. W. Keene was also living at
+this farm, in order to be near the bombing ground. And we had our
+little mess together in the farm parlour, and our bedroom in a nice
+dry attic. No bombing work was done for the first three days, in order
+to give time for the men to get rested and to clean their equipment.
+The bombers were billeted in a large barn just across the yard, with
+plenty of clean straw inside. The French farmer and his wife were
+pleasant bodies, nice and friendly to us, and glad no doubt to be
+able to sell their light beer and eggs to the English soldier-man. The
+other companies of the battalion were billeted in farm-houses near
+Meteren. In case of an attack by the Germans on the Corps front the
+battalion had orders to go forward and man the trenches on Kemmel
+Hill. I received a paper of instructions as to what to do in case of
+alarm. We could tell that the Germans were causing trouble up the
+line, for we heard a heavy bombardment going on beyond Kemmel. About
+1.30 A.M. on Sunday, April 30, the bombers' sentry came and woke me
+up, and I went downstairs to find a messenger had arrived with the
+code warning 'Kemmel Defences.' So I quickly roused the men and warned
+them to be ready to start in half an hour. We hurried into our war kit
+and formed up in the dark outside, and soon marched off to join the
+rest of the battalion outside Meteren. We learned that the enemy had
+loosed off a lot of gas beyond Kemmel, and we were to man the defences
+as soon as possible. The battalion marched along as far as the
+entrance to Bailleul, when just as day was breaking a cyclist orderly
+rode up with orders for us to return to our billets. No infantry
+attack had followed the gas cloud, and we were free to return to rest.
+The Brigade had another alarm next day, but it was quickly cancelled;
+and after that we were not called out again. Every morning was given
+to bombing practice, and I offered a small prize each day for a
+competition in throwing. If it was wet the men stopped in the barn,
+and had a lecture on English or German grenades. One afternoon I
+walked over to Bailleul and had a bath at the Corps baths. They were
+rather primitive but the water was hot.
+
+It made a nice change to get back to civilisation once more and to
+have a meal at a restaurant; and the shops of course were a great
+attraction.
+
+About May 5, just as I was about to set out a second time for
+Bailleul, a letter came in for me from my brother George. It was dated
+the previous day and said that he was billeted with his unit close to
+Meteren. So I set off at once to find him, and had the good luck to
+meet him as he was cycling round on some medical inspection duties.
+His unit had just come out to France and he had no idea I was so near
+at hand; and I think he nearly fell off his bicycle with surprise when
+I first appeared in that country lane. He could not wait long then, so
+I asked him to come to tea with us at Fever Farm next day. And two
+days after that I dined with the H.Q. Mess of his unit, the 15th Hants
+Regiment, which I enjoyed very much. Unfortunately I saw no more of
+him at this time, as I left Fever Farm about May 11.
+
+It was now decided that I should hand over the bombing to 2nd-Lieut.
+E.G. Lawson, a most cheery and energetic bomber, and return to company
+work. So I was put in command of C Company and returned with them to
+Locre, where I stayed for about a week. I had not much to do here,
+except the daily inspection of the company and orderly room. The men
+of the company included many of my old recruits of C Company at
+Alnwick whom I was glad to see again. About May 19 I got my first
+leave, it was for seven clear days. And I suppose there was no happier
+man in France just then. The train started from Bailleul station about
+6 A.M. so I had to leave Locre the night before and stay the night at
+an hotel at Bailleul. I had a comparatively quick journey to the
+coast, for we reached Boulogne at 10.45 A.M. just in time to catch the
+11 o'clock boat. I arrived in Folkestone about 1.45 P.M. and in London
+about 3.30 P.M. the same day. Though short, it was a happy time, and I
+returned on May 26, staying one night in Boulogne and reaching
+Bailleul about midnight on Saturday, May 27. I found that the
+battalion was still at Locre, but the Brigade had gone back to the
+line, holding the same trenches on Wytschaete Ridge. An unfortunate
+accident had just happened in our old trenches. Lieut. W. Keene and
+2nd-Lieut. Toon were both badly injured and an N.C.O. killed in the
+trenches by a Mills rifle-grenade, which, through a defective
+cartridge, fell out of the rifle and burst in the trench. So when I
+got back to the battalion I was told I had to proceed to B.H.Q. at
+Bruloose and take over the office of Brigade Bombing Officer in place
+of Lieut. Keene. This closed my immediate connection with the 7th N.F.
+for twenty months.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+BRIGADE HEAD-QUARTERS
+
+
+An Infantry Brigade Head-quarters in France could be a happy home; but
+only if the Brigadier was liked and respected by the rest of the
+Staff, and tried to make them feel at home. It seems almost an
+impertinence even at this date for me to say anything whether in
+praise or in blame of the man who controlled the immediate destinies
+of the 149th Infantry Brigade when I first joined it. But as I became
+much attached to Brigadier-General Clifford I may perhaps be forgiven
+for describing him rather closely. Tall and dignified, with a cold
+exterior and a penetrating grey eye, he had the power of commanding
+the respect and obedience of all. His fatalistic contempt of danger
+took him into the trenches wherever shelling was hottest; and it is
+difficult to imagine how he escaped being sniped at Hill 60 or on the
+Wytschaete Ridge.
+
+He was loved by the men of the 7th N.F. as one who was willing to
+share their dangers, and always ready with a word of cheer in the
+hottest corner. 'We could have gone anywhere and done anything for
+him, if only he had been there to see it.' Such was the epitaph that
+the gallant Northumberlands gave him when he fell. I found his
+old-world courtesy of manner and aristocratic bearing most inspiring.
+And he knew the right way of getting a thing done without being cross
+or overbearing. A splendid type of chivalrous soldier, he stands out
+in my memory as a beacon of light when I have felt inclined to grumble
+at the Army system. I can call to mind a score of acts to me, which
+revealed the kindly, generous heart beneath that cold exterior. One of
+the first things he said to me when I joined the Brigade was this:
+'Buckley, mind you make your authority felt with these adjutants.
+Remember, for the purposes of bombing, you are the General.' How could
+he have shown more generous confidence or encouraged me more for the
+new rôle I had to play?
+
+Major Rowan, our Brigade-Major, was another typical officer of the old
+Regular Army, who was generally liked. I did not get to know him so
+well, as he left us for higher Staff duties before two months had
+passed. I always found him kind and considerate.
+
+Capt. D. Hill had been Staff-Captain ever since the Brigade came out
+to France, and what he did not know about the job was not worth
+knowing. He often astonished me by his knowledge of what could be
+done, and by his serene confidence when things were looking difficult.
+Never ruffled, the kindest and most genial of men, he often proved a
+good friend and counsellor.
+
+Capt. G.E. Wilkinson stayed with us a short time and then left to join
+a mess of his own Machine-Gun Officers. A man of the brightest
+good-humour and gaiety, he always kept us lively and amused. He went
+far in the war--from 2nd-Lieut. to Colonel of a battalion in eighteen
+months. I need say nothing further of his qualities as a soldier. He
+was at Oxford when I was there, and I remembered seeing him at our Law
+Lectures.
+
+Lieut. G.S. Haggie, the best of fellows too, was always a kind friend
+to me, and made me feel at home in my new surroundings. I saw a lot of
+him both now and later on when we did many a strange hunt together for
+ammunition dumps in the most impossible of places. He was a tremendous
+walker and could get over really bad muddy ground at an amazing speed.
+
+I was destined also to see much of the Brigade Signaller, Lieut. A.E.
+Odell, who was quite a remarkable character. He was a lion in the
+guise of a dove, an autocrat in the guise of a radical, a rigid
+disciplinarian in the guise of an army reformer. He won the M.C. and
+Bar and earned them both. He worked his men hard but himself harder
+still. He had the curious faculty of being able to work for hours by
+day and to spend the whole night in some muddy ditch up in the front
+line. His kindness to and consideration for his signallers, were only
+exceeded by his conscientious devotion to duty. He made me respect and
+like and envy him, even if he occasionally made me smile.
+
+Major Rowan left us, I think, at La Clytte or Dranoutre, and Capt. W.
+Anderson became Brigade-Major in his place. He had joined the 6th N.F.
+at the outbreak of war and got his company and the M.C. at the Battle
+of St. Julien. In January 1916 he was appointed G.S.O. III at 50th
+Division H.Q. 'Bill' Anderson was a great man, and combined the
+fearlessness of the Northumbrian with a great brain. He was probably
+the best 'civilian' tactician in the Army, and had he decided to join
+the Regular Army I should have expected him to rise very high indeed.
+I know what the 149th Infantry Brigade owed to him; but I doubt
+whether many others know quite as well. And I have always thought that
+he was never given full scope for exercising his wonderful ability. A
+tall soldierly figure, with noble features and piercing blue eyes that
+could harden almost to ruthlessness, I carry him in my mind as my
+ideal of a Staff Officer. He could get men to do anything for him; his
+kindly tact and sympathy, his rare appreciation of your efforts,
+however clumsy, made you ready to work for him like a slave. He has
+been a good friend to me throughout, and he has done more for me than
+any other man in France.
+
+At Bruloose the officers of the Brigade had small wooden huts of the
+Armstrong type for offices and sleeping rooms. The mess room was in
+the farm-house. Naturally it was a great change from the rude
+accommodation of a Company Mess. M. Bunge, the French interpreter,
+looked after our comforts well.
+
+Next to B.H.Q. was a large and fairly useful bombing ground, where the
+Brigade Bombing School was carried on; and I spent a good deal of time
+there, as I was in charge of the school. On two days out of every four
+I spent the morning there, and in the afternoon I was free to visit
+the trenches, some four miles away. On the other two days I could go
+up to the trenches in the morning.
+
+I did not miss a day's visit to the trenches and once or twice I went
+up twice in the day.
+
+The journey was done on foot, so I had quite a good day's exercise. My
+duties in the trenches were to see that the battalions in the line had
+a proper supply of grenades; these were taken up by the battalion
+transport at night. Also that the grenades in the trenches and all
+bomb stores were properly stored and cleaned. I had also to see that
+sufficient rifle-grenades were fired at night to harass the enemy's
+working-parties, and that our bombing-posts were properly manned.
+
+During our stay at Bruloose I had nearly 2000 grenades taken out of
+the trenches and replaced by new ones; this was hard work for the
+transport. But the transport officers[5] were very obliging; and I
+found on firing these old grenades at the school that about 30 to 40
+per cent did not burst properly or even at all. The situation in the
+trenches was getting very bad. Shelling by the enemy's artillery was
+now less frequent, but the annoyance from enemy trench-mortars was
+something cruel. Not only large oil-cans, full of explosives, came
+over both by day and by night, but a horrible 9-inch trench-mortar now
+made its appearance and blew large craters in the C.T.s and supports.
+I had two of the oil-cans pretty close to me at different times, and
+they were not pleasant. Eventually the trench-mortaring got so severe,
+that the V Corps had a 12-inch howitzer brought up on the railway, and
+several of these huge shells were fired into Petit Bois when the
+German trench-mortars started. Another feature to be reckoned with was
+the approach of the enemy towards K.1 and J.3 by means of a series of
+fortified mine craters. These craters were worked on at night, and by
+the General's orders they had to be kept under constant fire from
+rifle-grenades. Several nights I went up to the trenches to see this
+carried out, once accompanied by the General himself. I had at the
+Bruloose bomb store a fairly good stock of smoke and incendiary bombs,
+like large cocoa tins, only containing red or white phosphorus. It
+occurred to me that they might be used with effect against the Germans
+working in the craters. So I carried a number of these bombs up to the
+trenches, and they were duly fired from the West spring-thrower or
+from the trench-catapult. The Germans did not seem to like them, as
+their discharge always drew a lot of machine-gun fire in reply. We
+also tried to get some more noxious bombs (e.g. 'M.S.K.'), but no
+supply could be obtained from the Base. The Bombing Officers[6] of the
+6th and 7th N.F. carried on the harassing fire with such effect that
+eventually the Germans took to sending showers of 'fishtails' whenever
+a rifle-grenade was loosed off. The 'fishtail' was a small
+trench-mortar bomb, which the Germans substituted for the
+rifle-grenade and used with great effect. Needless to say our
+demonstrations were not very popular with the infantry in the front
+line. But Capt. Vernon Merivale, M.C., appeared to take a special
+delight in these harassing shoots.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Brigade Transport, Capt. Kinsella; 7th N.F., Capt. B. Neville; 6th
+N.F., Lieut. F. Clayton; 5th N.F., Lieut. M.G. Pape; 4th N.F., Lieut.
+W.M. Turner.
+
+[6] 2nd-Lieuts. Toon and Thompson (6th N.F.) and Lawson and Woods (7th
+N.F.).
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+THE BRIGADE BOMBING SCHOOL
+
+
+The staff of instructors at the Bombing School consisted of three
+highly trained sergeants--two of these had been instructors at the
+50th Divisional Bombing School which was now given up. Sergt. Hogg of
+the 5th N.F. and Sergt. P. Flannigan of the 4th. N.F. took it in turns
+to be at the school and at the Brigade Bomb Store. So with Sergt.
+Moffat, who was now appointed Brigade Bombing Sergeant, I had always
+two to help me at the school.
+
+On the two bombing days sixteen untrained men came from the battalion
+resting at Locre and sixteen others from the battalion resting at R.C.
+Farm.
+
+During the two days these men had to be sufficiently instructed to
+throw three live Mills grenades. Generally they threw one live grenade
+apiece after the first day's instruction, and the two others the
+second day. The first thing was to give a lecture to the men,
+explaining the nature of the Mills grenade and the proper way to hold
+it and throw it.
+
+After this a party of sixteen men were lined up in two lines, about
+forty yards apart, and each of the eight men in turn threw a dummy
+grenade towards the man opposite him. The instructor had to be careful
+that the man threw in the correct way and held his grenade right. The
+action of throwing the grenade was more like bowling overhand than
+throwing. After about an hour of this the first party of men, eight in
+number, went down to the firing-trench, which had to be 200 yards
+clear of any troops. There were two sandbag walls, breastworks, about
+five feet high--the one in front with a small traverse wall. At the
+front wall stood the recruit, the sergeant-instructor, and the Brigade
+Bombing Officer. In front about thirty yards away was a deep pit,
+mostly full of water, which had been excavated by innumerable grenades
+thrown into it. The other seven men took refuge behind the second
+wall, until it was their turn to throw. Before the grenade was thrown
+the officer had to blow two blasts on his whistle. The first meant
+'Get ready to fire'--i.e. draw the safety-pin, the second meant
+'Fire.' Some men of course were more confident than others; but on the
+whole the Northumberlands were easy to teach, for many were miners and
+accustomed to explosives--in fact, it was sometimes difficult to make
+them take cover properly. When the grenade was thrown, every one
+ducked down behind the wall and waited for the explosion. If it went
+off all right, all was well; and the next man came along for his turn.
+If, however, the grenade did not go off, it had if possible to be
+retrieved and the detonator taken out. This was the most exciting
+work I had to do. Generally the sergeant and I took it in turns to
+pick up these 'dud' grenades as they were called. After some
+experience it was possible to tell the moment the grenade was thrown
+why it did not go off, for example the fuse might be damp and never
+light; or the cap might misfire; or, worst of all 'duds,' the striker
+might stick fast through rust or dirt.
+
+Before I gained the experience of picking up these 'duds' and drawing
+their teeth, I had one lucky escape. The grenade in question had a
+'hanging striker' and burst on the ground within five yards of me. It
+was not, I think, a very good explosion, but one of the pieces caught
+me on the thigh--happily it cut into the seam of my breeches and then
+turned, following the seam out and leaving me with a bruise and two
+holes in my clothes. I never liked picking up these 'duds,' but later
+on I got to know from the sound what was the matter with them; and
+then it was just a matter of experience getting them to pieces safely.
+The live grenades when they burst in the pit, sometimes threw out old
+'dud' grenades lying in the mud. One of these latter burst in mid-air,
+but hurt no one; and another time the grenade dropped right into the
+firing-trench but did not go off. Another nasty thing was when the
+grenade burst too quickly; many men have been killed by premature
+bursts during practice. But though some grenades went off too quickly,
+I never had one burst in less than a second, by which time the
+grenade was fairly well away from the trench. Besides these thirty-two
+untrained men, the bombers from the battalion at Locre used to come
+and practise on the ground under their own Bombing Officer. But if any
+of these men wished to pass the live firing test, to qualify them to
+wear the Bombers badge (a red grenade on the right arm), I had to test
+them with six live grenades. Three out of the six had to fall within a
+narrow trench about twenty-five yards from the firing point.
+
+Of course I had to watch the grenade till it reached the ground--and
+pray that it would not burst prematurely. What a blessing those steel
+helmets were during live bombing practice! They were proof against
+bomb splinters and gave you a feeling of confidence.
+
+The battalion bombers were also trained at the school to fire live
+rifle-grenades. No risks were taken with the Newton rifle-grenade;
+during firing all men had to be behind a barricade and the rifle was
+fired off with a string and held in position by an iron stand. But we
+used to think the Hales rifle-grenade quite safe, so that men were
+trained to fire off these grenades holding the rifle to the ground in
+the kneeling position. On one occasion several of us had a lucky
+escape. The grenade burst at the end of the rifle, instead of bursting
+120 yards away on contact with the ground. Sergt. Hogg and another
+bomber of the 5th N.F. were holding the rifle and both got knocked
+over, Sergt. Hogg with a slight cut on the head, the latter shaken but
+unhurt. The Bombing Officer of the 5th N.F. and I both got scratched
+on the face with splinters.
+
+During our stay at Bruloose about 420 men went through the recruits'
+course and over 1700 grenades were fired.
+
+Later on I had to be content with much less elaborate bombing grounds.
+Sometimes they had to be improvised from nothing, at other times a
+bombing-pit of a sort was found, and we had to make the best of it.
+After the battle on the Somme far less attention was paid to bombing;
+but for a time it was thought desirable to have every man trained in
+bombing, even at the expense of the rifle.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+ST. ELOI AND NEUVE EGLISE
+
+
+About July 2 the Brigade came out of the line for a short time, and
+B.H.Q. moved to a camp between Mont Rouge and Westoutre. During this
+stay I was able to carry on the training at the Bruloose Bombing
+School. There was a fine view of the trenches from Mont Rouge. We
+could of course hear the sound of the bombardment on the Somme, but at
+this distance it was more distinct some days than others.
+
+On July 14 the Brigade went into the line again, south of St. Eloi,
+the support trenches being in Ridge Wood. B.H.Q. moved to a camp at La
+Clytte, farther than ever from the front line trenches.
+
+At La Clytte there was a small bombing ground, but it was not very
+safe for live practice, and I was glad when we left it. We did not
+stay long in these trenches; but before we left them the bombers of
+the 6th N.F. killed a German and he was brought back to our trenches.
+It was the first dead German that I had seen.
+
+Our next move was to a quieter part of the line, namely to Wulverghem,
+below the Messines Ridge. B.H.Q. went to a canvas camp at Neuve
+Eglise, but moved soon after to Dranoutre, where we were billeted in
+houses. Lieut.-Col. Turner, O.C. the 5th N.F., came to command the
+Brigade for about a week, in the absence of General Clifford, who went
+to England on leave. He was a regular officer, with a keen sense of
+humour and with an extraordinary dislike of parsons. These new
+trenches were quiet enough, but the sniping of the enemy was far too
+good. I was nearly caught out before I realised that fact. I was
+looking over the parapet the first day with L.-C. Austin, when a
+bullet caught the edge of the parapet just in front of us, tearing the
+sandbag along the top and stopping within a few inches of our heads.
+Of course we dropped down quickly into the trench, but L.-C. Austin
+waved his cap over the top to signal a 'miss.' He told me it would
+never do to let the German sniper think he had scored a hit. The
+'flying pig,' our large trench-mortar, was first used in a bombardment
+of the German trenches here, and I believe our Stokes mortar battery
+did a record rate of fire on the same occasion. We had a lot of gas
+cylinders stored in the front line trenches ready for use. But they
+were not required and we had the pleasant job of removing them. They
+were always talked about as 'rum jars.'
+
+There was no bombing ground at Dranoutre, and I had to make a place
+for live practice in a farmer's field, much to his disgust. 'C'est la
+guerre, monsieur!' was all we could say to his expostulations. We
+could now hear the great cannonade on the Somme going on to the south
+almost day and night.
+
+A large number of wooden ammunition huts were erected along the roads
+near Dranoutre, and heavy gun emplacements were being made about
+Kemmel. Perhaps it was intended that the Fifth Army should make a big
+push here, if the battle on the Somme had been more successful at the
+start.
+
+About August 7 we were relieved by two shattered divisions from the
+Somme, one of them being the Ulster Division that had seen hard
+fighting south of Serre. We had a good idea whither we were bound. But
+at first we moved off to the Meteren area, where B.H.Q. were quartered
+in a camp of wooden huts for about five days. The censorship now
+became very strict, no inkling of our movements was to be given to
+anyone at home. Valises too had to be lightened by sending home all
+spare kit; and all papers and maps relating to the Kemmel area had to
+be destroyed or returned. Amongst other things I sent home my
+'slacks,' and never wore them again in France. About August 11 we
+moved off to Bailleul railway station and entrained there, leaving
+about midnight. Next morning we reached Doullens, where we left the
+train. The R.T.O. at Doullens was Capt. Rearden, whom I knew as a boy
+at Wellington College and had not seen for sixteen years. But he
+recognised me and claimed acquaintance.
+
+We marched that day to Fienvillers, and stayed there two days in a
+French house. The next move was to Naours where we spent one night;
+and the next night we stayed at Pierregot. On August 17 we marched to
+the wood at Hénencourt.
+
+The whole Brigade was encamped in the neighbourhood of the wood. We
+had at last arrived in the rest area of the Somme front, and it could
+only be a matter of days before we were involved in the great battle.
+But before that could happen there was a great deal to do to prepare
+the men for their ordeal, and perhaps not a great deal of time in
+which to do it. The Division was served out with the short rifle for
+the first time. Hitherto we had only had the long rifle such as was
+used in the South African War.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE SOMME[7]
+
+
+The battle on the Somme was to me the great tragedy of the war. A
+glorious noble tragedy, but still a tragedy. Both sides of course have
+claimed the victory, the British a tactical one, the Germans a
+strategic one. The net result to the Allies from a material point of
+view was the recapture of some hundreds of square miles of France, for
+the most part battered to bits and as desolate and useless as a
+wilderness; and the capture or destruction of so many thousands of the
+enemy at a cost altogether out of proportion to their numbers. The
+Germans claim, and claim quite rightly, that they frustrated our
+attempt to break through their line. On the other hand it can be
+little consolation for them to know that a nation of amateur
+soldiers[8] drove them out of the strongest fortress in the world;
+drove them out so completely that they were glad to take refuge,
+morally as well as physically, behind their famous Hindenburg Line.
+
+No doubt our grand attack lasting from July to November 1916 cemented
+the Alliance with France and saved Verdun from falling. No doubt it
+paved the way, in knowledge and morale, for further attacks at a later
+date. The fact remains that before its lessons were learnt the slopes
+of the Ancre and the Somme were sown with the bodies of thousands of
+the finest specimens of the British race. What a cost was paid for the
+example and the lesson! Never again during the war had Britain such
+fine athletic men, such gallant and heroic sons to fight her battles.
+No horror or hardship could subdue their spirit. Again and again,
+through shattered ranks and over ground covered with the fallen, they
+went forward to the supreme sacrifice as cheerfully and as
+light-heartedly as if they were out for a holiday. They knew they
+could beat the enemy in front of them, and they went on and did it
+again and again, in spite of the wire, in spite of the mud, in spite
+of thousands of machine-gun bullets and shells. The tragedy of it all
+is written in one word. _Waste_--waste of lives, waste of effort,
+waste of ammunition. The fact is now clear that in 1916 the resources
+of the British Nation were not sufficiently developed to smash the
+German war machine. That was undoubtedly the hope of every one who
+took part in the battle, to deliver a final knock-out blow. But this
+hope failed, even if it failed by a little. Our artillery, mighty as
+it undoubtedly was, was not mighty enough yet to destroy the enemy's
+defences and to shatter his power of resistance. Alas, it was a blow
+that could never be repeated again with such magnificent human
+resources!
+
+After the supreme effort by all ranks a terrible wave of depression
+naturally followed. And can this be wondered at? For a time there was
+lack of confidence which made itself all too apparent in 1917, a year
+of unparalleled disasters. No one who has not set out with such high
+hopes can know how awful that depression can be.
+
+The effort of the British Army was never so united, never so intense
+as it was in the battle on the Somme. Later on reverses brought
+knowledge and knowledge at last brought victory. But for some that
+victory had its sad side too; for thousands upon thousands of those
+gay and gallant comrades in the Great Endeavour were not there to
+share it.[9]
+
+The part of the 50th Division in the battle was not a small one.
+Briefly the Division went into the Somme area on August 17, 1916, and
+left it about March 10, 1917. Their first attack was launched on
+September 15, 1916, in company with the Guards and some of the finest
+divisions in the British Army. After almost continuous fighting they
+were withdrawn about October 5, and went back to the rest area around
+Hénencourt till October 21--after having advanced their line from High
+Wood Ridge to the edge of Le Sars.
+
+On October 25 they returned to the same front and made two gallant but
+fruitless attacks on the Butte of Warlencourt, in support of larger
+operations about Beaumont Hamel. The hardship of the fighting between
+October 25 and November 16 cannot be realised by those who did not
+actually experience the conditions. From December 28 to January 23 the
+Division held the line south of Le Barque and Ligny-Thilloy. After
+that they moved farther south and held the line in front of Belloy and
+Estrées, trenches that had been captured by the French. No wonder,
+after this hard work, that the 50th Division gained the reputation of
+a hard fighting division.
+
+I can give no very accurate idea of the casualties suffered by the
+Division; but some idea of the losses may be drawn from the casualties
+among the bombers of the 7th N.F. Of these I have fairly accurate
+details. The bombers of the 7th N.F. went into action on September 15,
+1916, about eighty strong--ten N.C.O.s and seventy men. When the roll
+was called at Bresle on November 20, 1916, eleven men alone answered.
+Of the N.C.O.'s two were wounded and the rest were killed. The bombers
+of the 4th N.F. suffered almost as heavily, but I have now no details.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] See Illustration, p. 81.
+
+[8] I allude of course to the New Armies.
+
+[9] These views of the battle, I am told, are unduly pessimistic. But
+I let them stand as a record of personal feelings aroused as a result
+of the battle.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+HÉNENCOURT
+
+
+Brigade Head-quarters were accommodated in wooden huts, but the
+battalions were mostly under canvas. Strenuous efforts had now to be
+made to complete the training of the men, and to initiate them to a
+style of warfare that was quite new and strange to them.
+
+My own task was to train as many men as possible in the use of the
+Mills grenade. Each day I had fifty men to train, and they were kept
+at it all morning and again in the evening, until they had each thrown
+two live grenades. I had the services of three sergeant-instructors,
+who were invaluable in getting the men past the first stage. All the
+live firing I had to supervise myself; that being the rule of the
+Army, that an officer should always be present during live practice.
+All my spare time was spent in going over and testing the grenades to
+be fired next day, or in baling out the bombing trench, which filled
+very rapidly in wet weather. And so it went on day after day. Thirteen
+officers and 671 men who had never previously thrown a live grenade
+went through the course at Hénencourt; and about 1400 live grenades
+were fired. The battalion bombers used the ground in the afternoon in
+charge of their own officers; and they got through another 1000
+grenades. On September 2 I was able to tell the General that every man
+in the Brigade, including machine-gunners and trench-mortar men, had
+been through the course, with which he expressed himself very pleased.
+Towards the end of our stay the General came to see the live throwing
+several times in the evenings, and he always spoke very encouragingly
+to the men.
+
+About September 6 I went with a party of officers from the Brigade to
+view the trenches we were to take over on the Somme battlefield. And
+as this was my first visit there it naturally made a great impression
+on me. We started off in the dark and rode through Hénencourt and
+Millencourt to Albert. Just before we reached Albert we passed through
+a cloud of lachrymatory gas, which made me weep copious tears for
+nearly half an hour. The great sight in Albert was of course the
+ruined cathedral, with its colossal statue of the Virgin and Child
+hanging downwards over the roadway. We rode on to where the front line
+had been at Fricourt then to Fricourt 'Circus,' Mametz, and then to
+the south of Mametz Wood, where we left our horses. First we went
+through the wood to B.H.Q., which were in some deep dugouts there.
+Having obtained guides and a rough sort of map, we went on to
+Battalion H.Q. at the Chalk Quarry east of Bazentin-le-Petit. This was
+about 1000 yards from the front line, which lay just below the ridge
+from Martinpuich to High Wood. A deep C.T. called 'Jutland Alley'
+took us up to the front line--'Clark's Trench.' So far we had little
+trouble from shelling, but we passed over the bodies of two
+unfortunate Highlanders in Jutland Alley who had been recently killed
+by a shell. The entrance to Intermediate Trench on the left was
+terrible, the smell being overpowering. As a matter of fact there were
+scores of dead men just out of sight on both sides of this trench,
+whom it had been impossible to bury. It was not unusual to see an arm
+or leg protruding out of the side of the C.T., so hastily had the
+Germans buried their dead. And there were swarms and swarms of flies
+everywhere. When we had finished looking round in the front line,
+which was a good trench and quite quiet, we turned back down Jutland
+Alley. The German 'heavies' were now shelling the supports and close
+to the C.T. One shell, which seemed not to explode, hit the edge of
+the C.T.; and when we got to the place we found the trench partially
+filled in and an unfortunate man buried up to his neck, much shaken
+but not much hurt. We left him to be extricated by his friends who had
+got spades. I then visited the trenches near the windmill and then
+returned to the south of Mametz Wood. Whilst waiting here I examined
+with interest the many curious little 'cubby holes' that our troops
+had made during the attack on Mametz Wood. I also watched the German
+'heavies' shelling our field batteries near Bazentin-le-Grand, and
+sending up clouds of chalky dust. A few shrapnel shells were also
+fired near the road, and I believe our horses and orderlies were
+nearly hit, but escaped by galloping off when the first shell came.
+The countryside looked very desolate and knocked about till we got to
+Fricourt Circus, only the chalky roads were crammed with limbers and
+lorries taking up supplies. At the Circus there was a remarkable
+sight, a huge camping ground covering several square miles, every
+available spot on it packed with dumps and horse-lines, artillery
+parks, bivouacs, and tents. All the roads round here were full of
+troops on the move, and of lines and lines of lorries either coming or
+going. After passing Albert there was less of interest, but we saw one
+of our aeroplanes stranded in a ploughed field east of Millencourt.
+The pilot told us he had got his machine damaged over the German line,
+but had managed to get back thus far, when he had made a bad landing.
+Such was my first visit to the great battlefield, a dreary looking
+spot with a general aspect of chalk, broken stumps of trees, and
+crowded muddy roads.
+
+Our stay at Hénencourt was drawing to a close, but before we left we
+had an inspection by the III Corps Commander. And on the last day,
+September 9, we held a grand sports day and had a band playing. The
+men looked splendidly fit and well after their month's rest, and they
+displayed a wonderful spirit, talking eagerly of their part in the
+coming attack. Alas and alas! At times I could have wept to see these
+splendid bronzed men go marching by, the very flower of our English
+race. For I knew that very soon I should see few of them again, or few
+indeed of their like.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+MAMETZ WOOD
+
+
+On Sunday September 10, the Brigade left Hénencourt, and B.H.Q. went
+to the deep dugouts in Mametz Wood. I travelled there with Sergts.
+Moffat and Hogg, and we were lucky enough to get good lifts, first in
+a Canadian Staff car and then on a motor-lorry. Capt. Bloomer (5th
+D.L.I. and attached to B.H.Q.) shared a deep dugout with me, and we
+had meals together.
+
+It was the first deep dugout I had entered, and of course it was the
+work of the Germans. There were about twenty steps down at either end,
+the wooden sides of the stairway scarred with bullet holes and
+splinters. Inside there were just two narrow apartments, one for our
+bedroom and the other for meals. Though rather draughty it was
+comfortable enough and practically shell-proof. Capt. Bloomer had an
+unpleasant job, which kept him out late at nights, and I did not envy
+him. In order to make the attack, it was decided to dig a forward
+trench some way in front of Clark's Trench. The digging was done at
+night and cost us a number of casualties from shell and rifle fire.
+Capt. Bloomer used to go up every night to see the work done.
+
+The second morning at Mametz Wood I was greatly shocked to hear that
+our Brigadier had been killed by a sniper from High Wood, as he was
+going out to inspect the forward trench just after dawn. It was nearly
+two days before his body could be brought in, owing to the shelling
+that went on at night. He was buried at Albert. A few days later
+Brigadier-General Ovens, an Irishman, came to take command of the
+149th Infantry Brigade.
+
+My job was now to prepare the Brigade bomb stores and to see that the
+grenades were properly packed into sandbag carriers for taking up the
+line. A special dugout had been prepared as a bomb store near the
+Chalk Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit, but almost at the last moment the
+R.A.M.C. commandeered the place for their forward dressing-station. So
+the boxes of grenades had to lie in the open in large shell-holes,
+covered with German greatcoats, mackintosh sheets, or anything else we
+could get hold of. I spent hours and hours examining the grenades and
+packing them into sandbag carriers. One of our transport-wagons[10]
+had a lucky escape, whilst carrying a load of 2000 Mills grenades, all
+detonated, to one of our dumps. The safety-pin of one of the grenades
+broke with the jolting of the wagon, and the grenade went off,
+bursting its own and several other boxes, but not setting off any
+other of the grenades. I had an anxious time unpacking that
+wagon-load. The brass safety-pins of the Mills grenades were very
+unsatisfactory at this time; but I had collected a large number of
+steel pins from the bombing grounds, and I used to re-pin any that I
+thought had weak brass-pins. This examination of the grenades was
+rather wearisome, but it was time well spent, for we had no accident
+with them when the carrying-parties took them up the line. And other
+units were not so fortunate in that respect. About 24,000 grenades
+went through my hands, and of these perhaps 5000 went into the
+sandbags. On September 14 we first saw the mysterious tanks, which had
+arrived behind the quarry to take part in the great attack next day.
+We had two allotted to our Division. That night we moved from Mametz
+Wood to the Chalk Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. Here one of the
+Divisional Field Co. R.E. had prepared for us excellent H.Q. in the
+side of the Quarry. The offices were well down in the side of the
+Quarry, the mess room was a large shelter covered with sandbags a
+little higher up. We were fairly crowded that night, for a large
+number of 'liaison' officers arrived for duty next day. We were
+sleeping inside the mess shelter, practically shoulder to shoulder all
+over the floor. Officers were sleeping and feeding and working there
+all at the same time. A day and night mess was run for the benefit of
+all that came in.
+
+For the last four or five days our artillery had kept up an almost
+continual fire on the enemy's lines. Now at the last moment the guns
+of the Field Artillery were taken out of their hiding places and
+brought forward into the open. Our chalk pit was practically under the
+muzzles of about a dozen field guns.
+
+Later on that night we heard a curious whistling, puffing sound, it
+was the two tanks clambering up the hill to get into position near the
+front line.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[10] Lieut. F.C. Clayton was now Brigade Transport Officer.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+THE 15TH SEPTEMBER 1916
+
+
+We were all up early next morning, and got some breakfast well before
+dawn. The air outside had a regular autumn chill. At first only an
+occasional gun fired in the distance. But about twenty minutes before
+dawn, our heavy guns opened their bombardment. To one standing in the
+quarry, below the level of the ground, they had the most weird of
+sounds. A dull rumbling in the rear and a continual whizz and hiss
+high overhead. Hardly a sound of the guns firing and no sound of the
+shells bursting. Only that terrible grinding swish in the air above.
+Twenty minutes of that, and then, with a terrific roar, all our field
+guns opened, and we knew that our comrades in front, the 4th N.F. on
+the right and the 7th N.F. on the left, had 'gone over the top.' The
+noise in front of the field batteries was pandemonium, excruciating to
+the nerves. The air shook and quivered with the sound, the quarry
+seemed to shake. You could only hear when the speaker shouted in your
+ear. And so it went on hour by hour all day. The rate of fire
+subsided, but the guns went on all day. I was standing with the
+Staff-Captain in the Quarry, when I got what felt like a stone in
+the face. It proved to be a piece of a shell, but happily for me it
+struck the ground first and caught me on the rebound. A small cut
+about the nose and chin, but I had to go and have it dressed. I got
+well chaffed afterwards on my rather comical appearance. It was an
+anxious time before the first news got back, but when it did it was
+good. Our men had taken the first German trench, and were waiting to
+go ahead again. Unfortunately High Wood was not taken by the 47th
+Division on our right till midday, and meanwhile we lost numerous
+casualties from having our right flank exposed to machine-gun fire. A
+report came in that a large party of Germans were starting a bombing
+attack on our right, so it was decided to send up a supply of
+grenades. I went, therefore, and found Lieut. Mackenzie, who was in
+charge of 100 men acting as carriers, and handed over 2400 grenades.
+This party went up to the front line and back without mishap. But
+shortly afterwards Lieut. Mackenzie was badly wounded by one of our
+own shells bursting prematurely. We had fifty casualties at the Quarry
+from premature bursts. It was not the fault of the gunners, but either
+the guns were worn or the shells were defective.
+
+   [Illustration: Scene of Attacks by 50th Division. Sept. 15-Nov.
+   14, 1916.]
+
+I lost two sergeant-instructors in the Quarry. Sergt. Moffat was badly
+hit in the thigh with a fragment from a premature and died a few days
+after. Sergt. Hogg was wounded in the chest by a bullet, but not
+fatally. The wounded and prisoners began to stream back past the
+Quarry. And as they came we began to get news of our friends in
+front. Though successful the Brigade had to pay a heavy price. The 4th
+N.F. were literally cut to pieces. I lost many friends killed,
+including Capt. J.W. Merivale, 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson, and Sergt.
+Austin, and many more wounded, including Capt. G.F. Ball.[11] During
+the attack thirty-seven out of the eighty bombers of the 7th N.F. were
+killed or wounded, and the bombers of the 4th N.F. paid a still
+heavier price, including their gallant officer killed.
+
+At 4 P.M. the 151st Infantry Brigade took over the operations on our
+front and continued the attack at night. Next day B.H.Q. returned to
+Mametz Wood.[12] I had to pay a visit to the nearest large
+dressing-station to get the anti-tetanus inoculation. This proved more
+troublesome than the small cut I received, and it made me feel fairly
+weak for the next ten days. On September 20 I went with Capt. D. Hill
+to select a place for a dump near High Wood, and we passed over the
+first captured German trench. There were few of our men lying about,
+for the burial parties had been hard at work. But farther back around
+Intermediate Trench there were piles of British and German soldiers
+still lying where they had fallen weeks before. We had now to get a
+number of sandbag carriers made for taking more grenades up the line,
+and I was given a small party from the 5th N.F. to get this done.
+
+About September 22 we returned to the line, and B.H.Q. to the Chalk
+Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. I have but a confused recollection of the
+period from now to the end of our stay in this locality. My servant
+had a lucky escape in the Quarry. He was sitting outside my dugout
+with two others making some tea, when a small shell fell right in the
+middle of their feet. All were thrown over by the explosion, but only
+one was really hurt--Capt. Bloomer's servant. We brought the poor
+fellow into the dugout, with his right arm almost severed at the
+elbow; and we spent the next ten minutes tying him up as best we
+could. He died about a week later. I also remember paying two visits
+to a most unpleasant spot selected as the Brigade ammunition dump, at
+the junction of Crescent Alley and Spence Trench. The German artillery
+never seemed to leave it alone.
+
+About October 3 the 5th N.F., commanded by Lieut.-Col. N.I. Wright
+attacked the Flers Line, and took two trenches. Before this attack
+started a huge howitzer was brought up and placed on the west side of
+Mametz Wood. And during the one and a half hours preceding the attack,
+it fired sixty 15-inch shells into Le Sars, of which only two failed
+to burst. On October 5 the 50th Division was relieved, and B.H.Q.
+moved back to a doctor's house in Albert. That night General Ovens
+gave a dinner to the officers of the Staff at a restaurant in the
+town, where a good repast was served by some French civilians. Next
+day we moved farther back to Millencourt, and we were billeted in a
+nice house.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[11] The two other Company Commanders of the 7th N.F., Capt. V.
+Merivale, M.C., and Capt. E.F. Clennell, M.C., got safely through the
+action.
+
+[12] At this place I first had the opportunity of speaking to our
+Divisional Commander, Major-General Sir P.S. Wilkinson, K.C.M.G.,
+C.B., who was beloved by every one in the Division.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+MILLENCOURT
+
+
+I went off to Millencourt, on October 6, in front of the rest of
+Brigade in order to look for a bombing ground. I found one all right,
+but I cannot say that it was altogether safe or in very good
+condition. The firing-trench was a square emplacement cut into the
+ground and there was no easy exit in case of trouble; also our
+predecessors there obviously had had an accident on the spot, for I
+found a box of Mills grenades lying there, half buried, two or three
+of the grenades exploded and the rest more or less damaged and in a
+dangerous condition. However, the mess was cleared up at last, and I
+had to make the best of the place, such as it was. I had now only
+Sergt. P. Flannigan to help me, but Lieut.-Col. Scott Jackson, D.S.O.,
+my colonel, kindly allowed L.-Sergt. Piercy of the 7th N.F. to come
+and assist in the training at the Brigade Bombing School. After the
+heavy fighting the Brigade was supplied with large drafts of new men.
+They came chiefly from the Fen country and were only partially
+trained. I found them far more difficult to instruct in bombing than
+the Northumberland miners. I had between forty and fifty of these men
+each day, and they had to throw two live grenades before they left.
+One exciting event happened during this training. One of the drafts
+was about to throw his grenade, when he dropped it and of course it
+started to burn. With great quickness and resolution Sergt. Flannigan
+picked it up and got it out of the trench before it burst--and his
+action undoubtedly averted a tragedy. Many men have received
+decorations for similar acts in the trenches, but the Brigade decided
+that nothing could be done in this case except mentioning it in
+Divisional Orders and recording it in the Sergeant's pay book. After
+this I arranged with the Sergeant to keep an undetonated grenade
+handy, and if any man seemed too nervous to throw his first grenade
+safely, we supplied him with this. He went through all the emotions of
+throwing a live grenade, and endangered neither himself nor us. The
+empty grenade was then picked up and treated as a 'dud,' i.e. one that
+had misfired. Between October 7 and October 21, 477 new men went
+through the bombing course, and nearly a thousand grenades were fired.
+Shortly after this Sergt. P. Flannigan went to the Corps School, first
+as a bomber and afterwards as a Lewis gun instructor; and I never had
+his services again.
+
+Brigadier-General Ovens was a pleasant, genial Irishman, who tried to
+make us all feel at home in his mess. But I doubt whether the Irish
+really understand the Northumbrians or vice versa. At this time John
+Coates, the famous tenor singer, came out as a lieutenant in the
+Yorkshire Regiment. He was attached to us for a time. It was a
+sporting thing for him to do, but he was neither young enough nor hard
+enough to stand the severities of the campaign. He acted as General's
+Orderly-Officer for a time and afterwards became Town Major of
+Bécourt, not an easy or a very pleasant job. He sang several times for
+the men, once in the open air, and his singing was certainly top hole.
+
+During this stay at Millencourt I paid a flying visit to Amiens with
+Lieut. A.E. Odell. We went there and back in a Divisional Signal car
+and stopped only a few hours, in fact for dinner.
+
+About October 24 we went to Albert, stopping one night at the same
+house as before, and next day we went back to the line.
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+HOOK SAP
+
+
+On October 25, 1916, we took over from a brigade of the 1st Division
+at the ruined sugar factory at Bazentin-le-Grand. The sleeping
+apartments were in a dugout below ground, but the mess room and
+offices were in the building on the ground floor. After arriving I
+went with a bombing sergeant of the Black Watch to have a look at the
+Brigade Dump, which was a good way from B.H.Q. You got at it by
+walking across country to the west end of High Wood, and then along a
+trench tramway till it ended rather abruptly at the Flers Switch. Like
+most dumps, it was at the end of the tramway and none too healthy a
+spot. It was afterwards moved forward to a sunken road called 'Hexham
+Road,' where the boxes of ammunition were just piled in the open.
+
+The position in front was now as follows. The 1st Division had pushed
+the enemy back to a line along the top of a ridge running from the
+Butte of Warlencourt practically due east. This ridge prevented our
+seeing the enemy's approaches and support positions in Le Barque. On
+the other hand from Loupart Wood the whole of our approaches and
+support trenches were in full view of the enemy, as far back as High
+Wood. Across those two miles no one could move in daylight without
+being seen by the enemy, and there was practically no position to put
+our field guns forward of High Wood. The enemy's front line consisted
+of two trenches--Gird Line and Gird Support--with a forward trench on
+the top of the ridge, called on the left 'Butte Trench' on the right
+'Hook Sap.' Our front line Snag Trench and Maxwell Trench lay this
+side the ridge and about two hundred yards away from the German
+forward trench.
+
+The Butte of Warlencourt, an old Gallic burial place, was a round
+chalk hill, rising about 100 feet above ground level; and had been
+mined with deep dugouts and made into a formidable strong point. From
+the Butte machine-guns defended the approaches to Hook Sap, and from
+Hook Sap and the Gird Line machine-guns defended the approaches to the
+Butte. The ground between and around the opposing trenches had been
+ploughed up with innumerable shells, some of huge calibre, and it was
+now a spongy morass, difficult to cross at a walk and impossible at a
+run. As events proved, unless both the Butte and the Gird Line could
+be taken at the same time, the one would render the other impossible
+to hold. This then was the problem that faced the 50th Division, a
+problem that would have been difficult enough in the driest of
+weather, but rendered four times more so by the rain which fell in
+deluges on three days out of four during the whole of October and
+November. I have dealt with these details rather fully, because this
+phase of the Somme battle has been passed over as a thing of no
+account. The eyes of the public have been directed to the successful
+operations at Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt. They have not been
+directed to the misery and horror that were endured heroically but
+unavailingly on the slopes between Eaucourt L'Abbaye and Le Barque.
+Never have the soldiers of the 50th Division deserved more and won
+less praise than they did during the operations between October 25 and
+November 15. I have no pen to describe the conditions that were faced
+by the brave men, who, after labouring unceasingly in the slimy
+horrors and rain for three weeks without rest or relief, stormed and
+took Hook Sap, only to be cut off and killed to the last man by
+successive counter-attacks. It is a sorrowful page in the history of
+the 7th N.F., but for stark grim courage and devotion to duty it
+cannot be surpassed by anything in the history of the battalion.
+
+The first attack on the Butte and Butte Trench took place about the
+beginning of November and was made by the 151st Infantry Brigade. On
+the right the attack did not succeed; but on the left the troops
+reached the Butte and took or killed many Germans. Unfortunately the
+machine-guns behind the Butte prevented the Brigade from
+consolidating the ground won, and the troops eventually retired to
+their original line. During this operation the men of the 149th
+Infantry Brigade were employed in carrying up stores and as stretcher
+parties. Eventually, about November 12, the Brigade took over the
+front line, with a view to renewing the attack whenever the weather
+should permit. Our H.Q. were established at Seven Elms, about a mile
+from the front line, with rear H.Q. at the sugar factory. At dawn on
+November 14 the Brigade attacked the Hook Sap and Gird Line, the 5th
+N.F. on the right, the 7th N.F. on the left opposite the sap. At the
+same time an Australian Corps attacked farther to the right, but no
+attack was made on the Butte itself. An officer, who was in the
+trenches south-west of the Butte and saw the Northumberlands go
+forward, told me that he had never seen such a strange sight. The men
+staggered forward a few yards, tumbled into shell-holes or stopped to
+pull out less fortunate comrades, forward a few more yards, and the
+same again and again. All the while the machine-guns from the German
+trenches poured a pitiless hail into the slowly advancing line; and
+the German guns opened out a heavy barrage on the trenches and on the
+ground outside. In spite of mud, in spite of heavy casualties, the
+survivors of two companies of the 7th N.F. struggled across that
+spongy swamp and gained the German line. What happened after that can
+only be conjectured, for they never kept touch with the 5th N.F., who
+reached and took the Gird Line. But it is known that the 7th N.F. got
+a footing both in Hook Sap and in the Gird Line behind. The Germans
+barraged the captured trenches twice or three times during the day,
+and are thought to have attacked them in force with fresh reserves
+each time. Owing to the heavy and continuous barrage across No Man's
+Land no news could be got back and no supports could be sent forward.
+Finally, at night, the remnants of the shattered brigade were
+collected, and another attempt made to reach the trenches; but the
+Germans had evidently now got back to their old position and in the
+mud and darkness the fresh attack had little chance of success.
+Nothing more has been seen or heard of the two companies that reached
+Hook Sap. It is believed that they perished to the last man,
+overwhelmed by successive German counter-attacks. Second-Lieut. E.G.
+Lawson fell at Hook Sap, also 2nd-Lieut. R.H.F. Woods, both Bombing
+Officers of the 7th N.F.; also Bombing Sergts. J.R. Richardson and J.
+Piercy.
+
+The 5th N.F. did well indeed, for they succeeded in holding their
+ground in the Gird Line and handed it over next day to the troops that
+relieved them. But that also had to be abandoned at last, owing to its
+isolated position.
+
+The only consolation that can be drawn from this heroic but tragic
+affair is that it may have created a diversion to our successful
+operations at Beaucourt. As an isolated operation it was doomed from
+the start owing to the state of the ground and the exhaustion of the
+men who took part in it.
+
+My own part in the sufferings of the Brigade at this time was so
+insignificant that it is not worth giving many details of my
+experiences. I found walking over the muddy ground most terribly
+exhausting, especially in a trench coat dripping with rain and mud.
+And it was a long way, over three miles, from rear H.Q. to the dump at
+Hexham Road. One morning I went with Major Anderson to the ruins of
+Eaucourt L'Abbaye on a visit of inspection. For months this was a
+terribly shelled place, and it was now nothing but a pile of broken
+sticks and brickdust. We were lucky to get clear of it before the
+morning hate began. There were still large numbers of British and
+German dead lying in heaps round the Flers Line; and two broken down
+tanks completed the picture of muddy desolation. On November 14, the
+day of the battle, I went up to advanced B.H.Q. at Seven Elms, where
+quarters were very crowded. I remember being so tired out that night
+that I fell asleep standing in one of the passages, propped against
+one of the walls. Next day I returned to the sugar factory. And on
+November 17 B.H.Q. moved back to a billet in Albert. Here, on November
+19, I attended the Battalion Church Parade in a barn. A mere handful
+of men, gaunt, hollow-cheeked, and exhausted, their faces dead white
+and their clothes almost in rags, it was one of the saddest parades I
+can remember.
+
+During this visit to the line I first had the services of Pte.
+Fairclough of the 5th N.F. as my Brigade Bombing Orderly, and he
+remained with me in that capacity till I left the Brigade in 1918. I
+found him a most useful, willing man, and he soon gained his lance
+stripe. On November 19, owing to the kindness of Major Anderson, I was
+granted leave to England for ten days. He told the General that I was
+looking rather war-worn and that I should be needed for further
+grenade training on my return.
+
+It was during this visit to Bazentin-le-Grand that I first started
+studying Intelligence work. The Brigade-Major asked me to spend my
+spare time in assisting him with some aeroplane photographs. I had to
+go over the daily series that came in from the Corps, and note
+anything new on our own part of the front. Major Anderson was an
+expert reader of these photographs, and he taught me all I know about
+the subject. I found it an interesting subject, and it was to have a
+great influence over my future career.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+SECOND LEAVE--BRESLE
+
+
+My journey from Albert to England was remarkable for the hardships
+that occurred. It should be remembered that every one was desperately
+tired and worn out already. We were told to appear at Albert station
+at midnight. When we got there we were told to expect the train at
+2.15 A.M. This meant walking about the platform to keep warm, for
+there was no shelter for officers at the station. Capt. J.O. Aglionby,
+C.F., our padre, and Capt. Lidderdale, R.A.M.C, our battalion doctor,
+were both going by the same train, so I was not without company. When
+2.15 A.M. came there was no train, and we kept walking about till dawn
+broke, but still no train. The R.T.O. then told us that there had been
+a breakdown and that the train could not be expected for a long time.
+So we decided to go and get breakfast at our billets and then to go to
+Amiens by motor-lorry, and catch the train there. At least there would
+be less chance of being shelled there, and some food and shelter.
+
+So we set off about 10 o'clock and eventually got to Amiens, where we
+had a decent lunch. We had to keep hanging about the station,
+however, inquiring for the train. It arrived about 9 P.M., about
+eighteen hours late, and we were glad enough to get on board. It is
+difficult enough to sleep sitting in a train, but I think I managed a
+few hours of troubled sleep. And next morning we arrived in Le Havre.
+The first thing there was to march the men down to a rest camp a long
+way from the town, and a good way from the docks. We were told to
+report back at the same place at 2.30 P.M. So we trudged back to Le
+Havre and got shaved and fed. On returning to the Rest Camp we were
+told that the boat would leave in twenty minutes and that, as it was a
+good thirty minutes walk, we had better be quick. Fortunately we got
+hold of a motor-car and got a lift part of the way and hurried along
+after that as fast as we could. When we reached the dock we found the
+boat would not leave for another two hours. The organisation here was
+rotten just at this time, but it improved later. _The Viper_, a fast
+packet-boat, took us across to Southampton. And next morning I
+proceeded to Weston-super-Mare, having taken nearly three days on the
+journey. Most of that leave I spent in bed in the hands of the doctor.
+I was utterly worn out, not only with exhaustion, but with the
+depression naturally caused by losing so many friends and comrades in
+a manner apparently so fruitless.
+
+The company of recruits I had at Alnwick, was practically wiped out, I
+found about two of them with the battalion when I returned. Only
+eleven were left of the battalion bombers, my good comrades of the
+Salient. The Bombing Officers of the four battalions were all
+casualties, four of them killed. There were few trained bombers left
+in the whole brigade. I went back to France on December 2 in anything
+but buoyant spirits.
+
+On returning to Albert I found that the Brigade were billeted at the
+small village of Bresle. And I got there without much difficulty. The
+weather was wet and cold, as it generally is in December; but active
+preparations were soon started for getting the Bombing School open. We
+found a fairly good bombing-pit for the Brigade School, but we had to
+make one for the battalions. I was now without trained instructors and
+I had no Brigade Bombing Sergeant, but I was lent Corp. Munro, a
+bomber from the 6th N.F., and I made what use I could of Pte.
+Fairclough, my orderly. The result was that I had not only to attend
+to all the live firing, but I had to do the sergeants' work as well.
+Afterwards there were the grenades to be sorted out for next day and a
+friendly hand given to the Bombing Officers of the battalions, most of
+whom were new to their work.
+
+During our stay at Bresle 477 fresh men went through the recruits'
+bombing course. And on December 26 and 27 the tests were carried out
+with the battalion bombers, for the purpose of granting the Bombers'
+Badge. These tests were now made much more difficult to pass, and only
+seven men passed the throwing and firing tests. After this period I
+never carried out any further instruction in the hand-grenade. The
+drafts later on came out more fully trained and the Battalion Bombing
+Officers carried on any further instruction that was required. During
+and in preparation for the operations on the Somme 16 officers and
+2106 men went through the course; and at least 5000 live grenades were
+thrown. I was lucky to have no accident with the Mills grenade, and no
+fatal ones even with the rifle-grenade.
+
+General Ovens went on leave at Bresle, and Lieut.-Col. G. Scott
+Jackson, O.C. 7th N.F., came as Brigade Commander to our H.Q. We had
+him several times again in that capacity, and he was always a
+favourite in our mess. His fine record and services are well known; a
+D.S.O. and Bar, he probably commanded a fighting battalion as long as
+any officer in France. From the time when the battalion landed in
+France in April 1915 till he left the battalion for the R.A.M.C. at
+the latter end of 1917, he was only off duty for about three days, in
+a quiet part of the line. He always looked a picture of robust
+strength, never missed his cold bath even with the temperature near
+zero, and was one of the most optimistic men in the whole Brigade. He
+was a most pleasant kindly Brigade Commander, with the supreme virtue
+of leaving the specialists to do their work in their own way.
+
+Before we left Bresle I got a Brigade Bombing Sergeant--Sergeant T.
+Matthewson of the 5th N.F., who had had long experience as Battalion
+Bombing Sergeant, and was a thoroughly trained and reliable man. I
+found him most useful in his new office and I am glad to know that he
+got safely through the war. Amongst other accomplishments he was a
+good wicket-keeper, as I found later on.
+
+On Christmas Day I went to dinner with the 7th N.F. at their H.Q., and
+was very hospitably entertained. The Brigade moved from Bresle to a
+camp at Bécourt on November 28, and stayed there two days; and then
+took over from a Brigade of the 1st Division at Bazentin-le-Petit.
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+BUTTE OF WARLENCOURT--TRENCH WARFARE
+
+
+On December 30, 1916, the Brigade was in the reserve area about
+Bazentin-le-Petit, and ready to take over the line of trenches running
+eastwards from a point south of the Butte of Warlencourt. No material
+change had taken place on this part of the front since the fruitless
+attack of November 11. The 1st Division, however, had done a good deal
+of work in the back areas, and had laid duck-board tracks from High
+Wood to the front line, and increased the number of light railways.
+B.H.Q. were at some dugouts at the 'Cough Drop,' a place about a mile
+north of High Wood. The 149th Infantry Brigade had now decided to make
+use of a party of 'Observers,' and Major Anderson asked me to take
+charge of them. I was a little diffident about this as I had never had
+any experience as a Battalion Intelligence Officer and really knew
+nothing at all about observation. But I was glad to take on the job,
+and I soon got to like it. On December 30, therefore, two trained
+observers from each of the four battalions of the Brigade reported to
+me. And I had two N.C.Os. with this party--a corporal of the 4th N.F.,
+who soon left to take a commission, and L.-C. Amos of the 7th N.F.,
+who afterwards became N.C.O. in charge. On the same day I met the
+Intelligence Officer of the 1st Brigade who took me over the line and
+showed me the two O.P.s. I was lucky to meet at the start an officer
+who understood the business so well. He gave me many useful hints, and
+handed over an excellent panoramic sketch map of the view from one
+O.P., as well as the Log Book. The latter was a notebook containing
+reports of every movement of the enemy seen from the O.P.s. On
+December 31 I took the party of observers up to the Cough Drop where
+they had a shelter near B.H.Q. I had also supervision of the two
+Brigade dumps, one at Hexham Road and the other at the Flers Line
+about half a mile north of B.H.Q. Both places came in for heavy
+shelling at intervals all day and night, for both were situated about
+the end of a trench tramway, an obvious place for dumping stores.
+However I had the latter dump moved to a better place, some distance
+from the tramway, where there was less scrap iron lying about. During
+this tour in the line which lasted eight days, I was employed in
+looking after the observers and the two Brigade bomb stores. Towards
+the close of our stay I started to make a new bomb store in Hexham
+Road. Capt. H. Liddell gave me the general design of it and told me
+what materials I should require. But I had no more time than to get
+the emplacement dug out and the wooden framework erected.[13] I
+remember that we struck two buried Germans in excavating the
+emplacement and had to treat them with some very powerful corrosive
+before the work could be continued.
+
+Also it was rather a warm corner in Hexham Road, and I caught a shell
+splinter on the leg; this, however, struck the steel buckle on my
+trench boot and only raised a bruise. The weather became very cold
+towards the end of our stay, with snow and frost. The Germans opposite
+our trenches were not disposed to be unfriendly about the New Year. On
+the left near the Butte they signalled to our men in the trenches
+before a trench-mortar bombardment started, as if to warn them to take
+cover. On the right they were still more inclined to fraternise. Here
+both sides were holding trenches that would have become impossible if
+any sniping had been done. So both our men and the Germans worked away
+at deepening their own trenches without molesting their opponents;
+although sometimes a crowd of men were exposed from the waist upwards
+at a range of about 200 yards.
+
+It was one of those curious understandings which arise when no violent
+operations are in progress. However, on New Year's Day it went even
+further. A soldier of the 5th N.F., after signals from the Germans,
+went out into No Man's Land and had a drink with a party of them.
+After this a small party of the enemy approached our trenches without
+arms and with evidently friendly intentions. But they were warned off
+and not allowed to enter our trenches. This little affair, I believe,
+led to the soldier being court-martialled for holding intercourse with
+the enemy. After eight days in the line the Brigade returned to a camp
+at the north end of Mametz Wood. B.H.Q. were close to a battery of
+9-inch howitzers, and when these heavy guns fired a salvo, which they
+did occasionally both day and night, it fairly lifted the things off
+the table. We got shelled here one night, but beyond getting a shower
+or two of splinters and stones on to the huts no damage was done. I
+had now time to ramble round, and examine various things of interest.
+I found a regular dump of German bombs at Bazentin-le-Grand, and some
+of these were collected for training purposes.
+
+There were some Divisional baths at Bazentin-le-Petit, and I remember
+having a most cold and miserable bath there one night; but it was
+better than none at all. It was surprising how quickly the heavy
+railway had been brought along. It now reached High Wood, but of
+course did not cross the ridge, which would have been in view of the
+enemy. About January 15 we went back to the line in very cold weather,
+and B.H.Q. stayed at the Cough Drop again for eight days. During this
+time I set to work completing the bomb store at Hexham Road, and
+filling it with grenades. Each morning I got a party of about sixteen
+men, and we collected a lot of filled sandbags to pack round the
+framework and shed which were soon finished. The Brigade observers
+held a post in the old Flers Line, from which good observation was
+obtained on the ground between Loupart Wood and Grevillers. It was not
+difficult to get the heavy gunners to fire on German working-parties
+that were spotted by the observers; and several parties were duly
+dispersed by our shells. Before we left the line this time, the
+Brigade bomb store at Hexham Road was completed and filled. And when I
+visited the district again in June 1917 it was still standing. I also
+began now to write out the Brigade Intelligence Reports which were
+sent in each day, and contained a summary of the events that had
+happened or had been observed on our front. On January 23 we went back
+to the camp north of Mametz Wood.
+
+After a few days we moved off to Albert, and stayed two or three days
+in a house near the railway line. The town got both bombed and shelled
+at times, though not very severely. After this we moved off to the
+village of Dernancourt for a short rest.
+
+Major C.G. Johnson, M.C., who was adjutant of the 7th N.F. when I
+joined the battalion, was now attached to B.H.Q. as
+Assistant-Staff-Captain. He was an exceedingly able man, and had a good
+knowledge of military law. We all liked him well as adjutant of the
+battalion, and our relations at B.H.Q. were always friendly. He left us
+eventually to become D.A.Q.M.G. in a higher Staff formation.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[13] Pte. Slack (7th N.F.), a Brigade pioneer, helped me greatly with
+the carpenter's work.
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+FRANCE AND THE FRENCH
+
+
+The war has done at least one thing for me. It has opened my eyes and
+changed my views with regard to the French. I confess that once I had
+no liking for them and a certain measure of contempt. I suppose the
+average Englishman has started with views like these. There has been
+bad blood between the two races, and that at no very distant date.
+Indeed the Alliance or Entente started much like a marriage of
+convenience. The two partners were joined in interest together against
+a common foe and a common danger.
+
+Personally, I do not think there was much love lost between the two
+nations for some time after the war started. The bond of mutual
+admiration and respect, and I hope of affection, was forged in the
+Battle of the Somme and in the heroic defence of Verdun. This bond has
+been strengthened since on many a stricken field. The clouds of mutual
+mistrust and jealousy have been largely dispelled. We have learnt much
+about the French since the early days of the war, and they much about
+us; otherwise it would have been impossible for a French General to
+be in supreme command of the campaign.
+
+I have often come in contact with the French civilian in town and
+country, but only rarely with French troops. Also I have come to know
+and like a series of French interpreters attached to battalions or
+brigade. The deeds of the French Army speak for themselves, and their
+Staff work has been often beyond praise. When we remember the cruel
+fate that befell the north-eastern corner of France and its unhappy
+citizens, we may sympathise with the fury of the French nation against
+their old oppressors. No one living in England can realise the hideous
+wounds inflicted on this fair country-side. It may explain to some
+extent at least the heroic resistance of the French for over four
+years--a resistance that could scarcely have been predicted before the
+war.
+
+In considering our relations with the French at different times, it is
+well to have a deep sympathy for the cruel wrongs she has suffered.
+Thus they must have regarded with very mixed feelings their harbours,
+railways, and towns being taken over by an alien though friendly
+people.
+
+All things considered the Frenchman may well have said at the first,
+'These English, they are everywhere!' At least, this I noticed when I
+arrived in Le Havre in January 1916, there was no enthusiasm for us
+there. There was no rudeness, it is true, but the atmosphere of the
+place was rather chilly and aloof. The country folk about Meteren
+seemed pleased to see us; I think they had got used to the ways of
+the British soldier and found him not such a bad fellow after all. It
+was pleasant to see the country folks round here after our stay in
+Flanders, comely and straight, members of a thoroughbred race. The
+contrast was rather forcible perhaps.
+
+The Brigade Interpreter in 1916, Monsieur Bunge, a native of Le Havre,
+was a pleasant, lively sort of person, always ready for a joke and an
+admirer of the British. With him I got on very well; and I learnt one
+or two things of the French from him. One of them was how sensitive
+they are in small matters of conversation. If in your heavy English
+way you did not respond at once with animation to his remarks, M.
+Bunge thought he had offended you.
+
+They are a very sensitive race, especially in matters of courtesy. The
+colder manner and bearing of the British must have been a sore trial
+to them till they got to understand them--especially if they were
+laying themselves out to be friendly. It is worth while to let
+yourself go a bit in the matter of speech and bearing when talking to
+them. And, above all things, if you want to please them, try to talk
+to them in French, however badly, for they all take it as a great
+compliment. Another thing I discovered was the unwillingness of the
+French officers to take the initiative in saluting; yet they would
+never fail to return such a courtesy. Perhaps their earlier
+experiences in this little matter had been discouraging. It is much
+the same with the poilus and farmer folk. If you wish them 'Bonjour'
+they would invariably respond and also salute.
+
+Later on I had a day or two in Amiens which provided some impressions
+of the French soldiers. The officers there contrasted rather forcibly
+with our own, I remember. They were very smartly dressed in
+home-parade uniforms, wore their medals, and carried themselves with
+an admirable pride and spirit. Our officers, on the other hand,
+dressed in the homely khaki, often the worse for wear, had generally
+an air of war-weariness. No doubt most of our men had come almost
+straight from the battle-field and were enjoying only a few hours'
+relaxation in this fine city. Still it made one reflect that the
+French are indeed a nation of soldiers which we are not. We obviously
+have not the same pride in the paraphernalia of war, and that shows
+which way the wind blows. I also saw a number of poilus going on leave
+and returning to the line. They looked very quiet and patient, but
+without a great deal of enthusiasm showing on the surface. Later on I
+saw French soldiers on the march several times. They get over the
+ground very fast; but it is more go as you please with them than with
+us. I have often noticed how grave these poilus look, even after the
+war was over. Nothing of the reckless fun and explosive good humour of
+the British soldier. If the latter is not having a rotten time he is
+wonderfully cheerful and often light-hearted.
+
+I have also seen the French soldiers holding the line in a quiet part;
+and indeed we 'took over' from them there. They do not expose
+themselves nearly so much as we do near the trenches. Everything
+seemed to be done with scientific method and every one seemed to know
+exactly what to do on all occasions. They hold their front line
+thinly, trusting in case of accidents to recover it by a
+counter-attack. And if the French are not fighting a battle they
+generally keep their front as quiet as they can. This of course is all
+very different from our own system. If we had a quiet part of the
+line, it was generally because we had silenced the enemy's guns and
+trench-mortars by fighting.
+
+I had one great chance of studying the French officer at home in these
+trenches. Shortly before taking over the French Regimental Commander
+in the line asked our Brigadier, Brigade-Major, and 'one other
+officer' to visit the trenches, but to be sure and call in at
+Regimental H.Q. before proceeding up the line. This was really an
+invitation of goodwill and ceremony rather than an invitation to
+examine the line. But as this was not quite understood at the time I
+was included in the party as Brigade Bombing Officer, rather than the
+Staff-Captain or Machine-Gun Officer, either of whom should have gone
+in my place. So on a terribly cold day at the end of January 1917 we
+set off, and after a long ride from Dernancourt to Fontaine-les-Cappy
+in a motor-car, we arrived near Regimental H.Q. and proceeded there on
+foot. The Brigadier was a fair French linguist, I had about two words
+of French, and the Brigade-Major had none. So it was just as well that
+the junior État-Major happened to be a fluent English speaker.
+Indeed, he had spent a good time in Newcastle and knew not only
+England but the north. We were welcomed by the French Brigadier with
+every mark of courtesy and goodwill. It is the custom for a French
+officer to salute his superior and then to shake hands with him. The
+salute is given even if you do not happen to be wearing a cap.
+
+These worthy and hospitable warriors were in charge of a regiment (or
+as we should say a brigade) from the south of France about Bordeaux. I
+believe they had won for themselves a good reputation as fighting men.
+They knew, however, as well how to take care of themselves; and I
+fancy they had a first-class chef amongst their servants. It was a
+great affair, that meal, which had been prepared to do us honour,
+especially considering that it was served actually in the trenches.
+Quite a number of dishes succeeded one another, and were washed down
+with some excellent red wine. These were followed by several sweets
+and a glass of sweet champagne--the latter to drink to our good luck
+in the new trenches--glasses were solemnly clinked at this stage of
+the proceedings; afterwards cognac, coffee and cigars. The French
+officers expressed considerable interest in the Territorial 'T.'s' on
+my tunic, asking what they stood for. The French 'Territorial' is of
+course a different type to ours, being in the nature of the last
+reserve, elderly men not used as 'storm' or 'shock' troops. The meal
+passed pleasantly indeed; and at the end, a photograph must be taken
+as a souvenir of the meeting, and that was duly done in the winter
+sunlight outside. The French soldiers use small cameras in the
+trenches, a privilege denied to us. I have never before or since been
+in such elaborate trenches as these that we took over from the French.
+Vast communication trenches, six to ten feet deep, ran back for miles
+behind the front line. The same with the forward area, the number of
+deep trenches was simply extraordinary. Their idea may have been to
+make so many trenches that the enemy would not know which to shell.
+Unfortunately the trenches were not revetted, and when the frost broke
+we came to think less of them and travelled as much as possible across
+the open. The inside of the trenches was very clean--not a tin or a
+scrap of paper to be seen. The refuse was all dumped just over the
+parapet or in the shell-holes outside. The French are accustomed to an
+easy system of sanitation. During the day few French soldiers are seen
+outside their dugouts, except parties cleaning the trenches. In the
+front line only a few sentries were kept on duty, and they were
+relieved every two hours. The French speak with great confidence of
+their field artillery, the terrible 75's. A battery of these guns
+handled by French gunners can fire almost like a machine-gun, and the
+noise is deafening.
+
+As a nation the French have their faults. They are exceedingly proud
+and quick to take offence, they are not very stable or constant
+(obstinate shall we say?), and they are about the hardest bargainers
+in the world.
+
+Thrift and making use of the shining hour have been driven to their
+last conclusions. The British soldiers have been made to pay very
+sweetly for their visit to France. I do not think the French ever gave
+the British such a warm welcome as the Belgians did.
+
+But when all is said and done we all have our own faults, and the
+Frenchman's most shining virtue is patriotism.
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+SOUTH OF THE SOMME
+
+
+After staying for about a week or more at Dernancourt, the Brigade
+received orders to go south of the Somme, and to take over part of the
+line won by the French this side of Peronne. We marched, therefore,
+through Bray and stayed two nights at Mericourt and two at
+Fontaine-les-Cappy. At the latter place I was surprised to find some
+graves of British soldiers who had fallen there in the earlier part of
+the war. Also I had one exciting experience at Fontaine-les-Cappy.
+There was a large grenade dump near our camp, and, just as I was
+passing it, an explosion took place. A party of men had been
+detonating grenades, and two or three grenades had gone off in the
+box, killing two of the party and hurling the grenades in a shower all
+round the place. One fell close, and I was lucky not to be riddled by
+it. For the safety-pin was blown out and the lever of the grenade held
+down by a piece of wood from the side of the box, which was jammed by
+the explosion into the shoulder of the grenade. I spent a little time
+picking up such grenades as I could find, and two or three of them
+were in a dangerous condition.
+
+When we got into the line near Belloy I lived for a time at advanced
+B.H.Q. called 'P.C. Hedevaux' ('Post Commandant' _Hedevaux_). The
+dugouts were deep and proof against ordinary shells. The General,
+Brigade-Major, and Staff-Captain resided farther back at 'P.C.
+Buelow.' I was shown over the trenches by the _officier bombardier_
+(Bombing Officer) of a French unit. And I found it fairly easy to talk
+to him without the aid of an interpreter. I told him two English
+expressions which seemed to please him greatly. One was 'dugout,' the
+other 'dump'; the equivalent for the latter in French being 'Depot de
+Munitions.'
+
+I made an entirely new Brigade bomb store in these trenches, using the
+little shelters in a line of disused trenches. After a week in the
+trenches the frost broke, and the trenches which had been hard and dry
+now became nothing but muddy drains. To wade along them even in
+daylight and in gum boots involved the greatest physical exertion. One
+unfortunate man stuck in the mud, and before they got him out he was
+pulled out of his boots and breeches and had his coat torn off his
+back. Finally he was sent to the dressing-station with only his shirt
+on. We stayed about sixteen days in the line, and during the last five
+or six days I retired to P.C. Buelow to assist in the Intelligence
+Work.
+
+This part of the line was quiet and our stay uneventful; but two
+things of interest might be noted. The Brigade observers reported that
+the Germans were employing French prisoners on the roads about a mile
+behind their front line, a cowardly and disgraceful proceeding. The
+Germans were seen working hard on their dugouts behind the line--this
+was of course a 'blind' for our benefit, for the German retreat
+started the day after the 50th Division was relieved.
+
+After our sixteen days in the line B.H.Q. moved back to Foucaucourt
+and remained there till about March 7. Then the 50th Division finally
+left the Somme front and moved back for a rest. B.H.Q. went to
+Warfusée and we had good billets there.
+
+Brigadier-General Ovens, C.M.G., left us at Foucaucourt and
+Lieut.-Col. B.D. Gibson, D.S.O., of the 4th N.F., commanded the
+Brigade for a few days, being succeeded as Brigade Commander by
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson, D.S.O., of the 7th N.F.
+
+Two very startling things were done at this time. All the men of the
+Brigade were told that they were about to be trained for open warfare,
+and they would not have to go into the trenches again. They were to be
+used as part of a Corps de Chasse during the next offensive. This was
+not borne out by events, but it throws some light on the expectations
+of the British Staff. It was also decided at this juncture to change
+the organisation of the British Infantry Company. Each company was in
+future to consist of four sections--one riflemen pure and simple,
+another Lewis gunners, another bombers, and the fourth rifle-bombers.
+
+It was perhaps an unfortunate time to spring this change on the
+B.E.F., just on the eve of a new offensive. The idea appears to have
+been sound enough, but the attempt to rush it through in three weeks'
+time was hardly likely to have good results. To convert a rifleman
+into a rifle-bomber in a week's training was of course out of the
+question. Hitherto only the most expert and steadiest bombers had been
+employed on rifle-grenade work. But now the ordinary infantry were
+expected to become rifle-bombers, although their knowledge of bombs
+was of the most elementary description. Two problems therefore faced
+those responsible for the training and equipment of the rifle-bombers.
+First how to get them even partially trained in the time, and second
+to invent some apparatus for carrying the rifle-grenades. At first it
+was only possible to train the N.C.O.s in charge of the rifle-bombing
+sections--leaving them to instruct their sections as well as they
+could.
+
+It is hard to realise the complete inadequacy of this arrangement,
+without knowing something of the rifle-grenade, and without knowing
+the extraordinary difficulty of training a man to become an instructor
+of others. However that was the best that could be made of the new
+orders at the moment. And so it fell to me to take a class for a week
+of N.C.O'.s drawn from the four battalions. I had not only to teach
+them to fire the rifle-grenade themselves, of which they knew nothing,
+but to teach them to hand their knowledge on to others.
+
+The training went on from March 12 to 17, and thirty-four section
+leaders attended the course. About 1150 rounds were fired. I did not
+attempt any live firing--in fact, I have never thought it serves any
+useful purpose to fire live rifle-grenades in practice.
+
+It is of course much more dangerous than throwing a live hand-grenade,
+and one accident in practice is enough to discourage all the recruits
+who see it from firing live rifle-grenades in actual warfare. On the
+other hand, even where the rifle-grenades are only used as dummies,
+the waste of valuable ammunition is simply appalling. A Hales
+rifle-grenade used to cost 25s. and it came down to 15s. a little
+later, but once fired as a dummy it was not much use to fire again.
+Dummies could have been made for about 1s. at the most, but of course
+no one in England thought about a trifle like that; and so the
+colossal waste went on all the time I had the training in hand. I did
+what I could by straightening the rods to use the grenades again, but
+I could not save much in this way. Thousands of pounds in
+rifle-grenades must have been used where thousands of shillings should
+have been spent.
+
+At Warfusée Brigadier-General H.C. Rees, D.S.O., came to take over
+command of the Brigade. He had seen very heavy fighting in the early
+part of the war, and had since commanded two Brigades before he came
+to the 149th Infantry Brigade. He was liked and respected by every one
+in the Brigade. Very tall and well built, and a soldier who gave you
+the greatest confidence in his ability and leadership, the Brigade
+owed much to him, especially at a time when the trench fighting was
+giving way (as it seemed) to open warfare. He was a first-class
+rifle-shot himself, and never ceased to impress the necessity of
+developing this weapon to the utmost. For the hand-grenade he had the
+greatest contempt, which he was rather fond of expressing. Fortunately
+for me, bombing work was giving way to Intelligence, although for some
+time to come I had to train the men in rifle grenades and to look
+after the Brigade ammunition stores.
+
+After finishing the rifle-grenade work I acted as
+Assistant-Staff-Captain for about a week. It was chiefly office work
+as far as I was concerned, the returns being very voluminous. Work as
+I could there seemed to be no getting to the end of these returns till
+9 or 10 o'clock at night. There were also one or two minor
+court-martial cases, in which my legal training proved some
+assistance. On March 27 I got my third leave granted, for ten days. It
+was perhaps rather quick after my last leave, but the fact of my being
+ill on that occasion was taken into consideration. This time I went to
+Amiens by motor-lorry and thence to Boulogne, reaching Manchester on
+the same day that I sailed from France.
+
+On April 6 I left Folkestone and got to Boulogne about 4 o'clock. Here
+no one could say where the 56th Division was, and I was directed to
+leave by a midnight train and to report to the R.T.O. at Abbéville. I
+got there about 2 A.M. and was told to go back to Étaples by an 8
+o'clock train that morning. I managed to get a few hours' sleep and
+breakfast at the Officers Club at Abbéville, and reached Étaples
+about midday on April 7. On April 9 I was told to proceed to St. Pol
+and get further directions there. I arrived there in time for lunch,
+and then reached Frévent by another train. Here I was told to go by
+the light railway towards Wanquetin and to make inquiries for the 50th
+Division on the way. At Frévent I saw a lot of slightly wounded
+soldiers coming back from Arras; they had been over the top that
+morning on the first day of the great battle which had just started.
+Just before reaching Avesnes-le-Compte I spotted some Divisional
+transport on the roads, and, on making inquiries at Avesnes, I learnt
+that the 149th Infantry Brigade were quartered at Manin about two
+miles away. So I left the train and reached our H.Q. just in time for
+dinner.
+
+The 50th Division had marched from Warfusée, and were now proceeding
+towards Arras to take part in the battle which had started on April
+9.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+THE BATTLE OF ARRAS
+
+
+The Battle of Arras started with a great success. The Vimy Ridge was
+recaptured and the vast fortress between Telegraph Hill and Neuville
+Vitasse, including a substantial part of the famous Hindenburg Line,
+fell in one day. The high ground at Monchy-le-Preux was soon stormed
+and secured. But after this progress became very slow, nothing seemed
+to come of these great tactical successes. The fighting, instead of
+developing into open warfare as we had expected, became again very
+similar in character to the great trench to trench battles on the
+Somme.
+
+The French waited a week before starting their offensive in Champagne,
+and when it did start it failed completely. The weather broke down on
+April 10, as it generally did in 1917 whenever the British commenced
+offensive operations. It became very cold and it rained or snowed
+almost incessantly for over a week. It is hard for one who saw only a
+small sector of this great battle to understand what prevented us from
+taking greater advantage of our great initial success, which certainly
+surprised and disorganised the enemy. But it was not merely the
+weather which broke down at a critical moment. There were other causes
+at work to delay and impede success. I strongly suspect that the
+British infantry units were still suffering from their tremendous
+exertions in 1916; and they certainly had not the confident assurance
+of victory which inspired the terrible sacrifices on the Somme.
+Hitherto our artillery had never been so strong nor had the mechanical
+aids to victory been so numerous or so varied. Gas-projectors and
+oil-drums were first used in this battle, new aeroplanes were first
+launched out in public; the British held the mastery of the air, and
+the Germans had not yet devised any effective remedy for the British
+tanks. But the British troops were not the troops of the Somme. The
+old type of volunteer had largely disappeared, and the same resolution
+and confidence were not displayed by some of the British divisions.
+The very strength of our artillery was sapping the old reliance on the
+rifle, and when the barrage stopped the infantry often seemed to be
+powerless to defend the captured positions.
+
+On the other hand the superior and more lengthy training of the German
+reserves now began to tell. Personally, I never admired the German as
+a fighting man until he was now for the first time driven out of his
+vast defences. On the Somme the Germans had artillery support nearly
+equal to our own, and they were defending superb trenches with
+unbroken roads and country behind them. Now, when they were thrust out
+of their famous stronghold and plastered with every sort of
+projectile, they held up repeated attacks, backed by enormous
+artillery preparation and support, held them up by sheer dogged
+fighting and superior knowledge of war. Their Staff work must have
+been good, and the training and morale of the troops equally good to
+have done it. After the first great success, we gained only small
+local successes, costing thousands of casualties and vast expenditure
+of ammunition. Eventually, after about five weeks of fierce thrusts,
+the Battle of Arras came to an end, giving us, it is true, a much
+improved position in front of Arras, but leaving the main object of
+the attack unaccomplished. The further offensives of 1917 were carried
+on more to the north and south, and the Arras area saw no more big
+fighting till the beginning of 1918.
+
+The 50th Division came into action on April 11, and worked alternately
+with the 14th Division. The enemy were pushed across the Cojeul Valley
+and into the outskirts of Vis-en-Artois and Cherisy. The advance of
+these two Divisions would have been undoubtedly greater, but Guemappe
+on the left and the uncaptured part of the Hindenburg Line on the
+right for a time held up the divisions attacking on either flank. Thus
+both the 50th Division and the 14th Division captured Cherisy in turn,
+but had to abandon the place through having their flanks exposed. By
+their operations in this area both Divisions maintained their already
+worthy reputation.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+WANCOURT TOWER--CROISILLES
+
+
+The 149th Infantry Brigade left Manin on the morning of April 10, and
+marched to Wanquetin, where the troops were billeted in houses. On the
+following day it began to snow heavily about midday and this continued
+far into the night. The Brigade were intended to attack on April 12,
+but, owing to the exhaustion and exposure of the troops, the 151st
+Brigade were substituted when the attack recommenced on April 13. We
+started our march in the snow just as the light was beginning to fail,
+and trudged along through the muddy slush till we reached Arras. Here
+there was a delay of several hours before guides arrived to lead the
+various units to their stations. B.H.Q. marched through the town and
+eventually arrived at the ruined sugar factory at Faubourg Ronville,
+where there were deep dugouts below the ruins. We could not see much
+of the city but it appeared to be badly knocked about by the enemy's
+shells. Not many houses, perhaps, had fallen to bits, but there was
+hardly a house that had not been hit. A great many small shells must
+have been fired into the town. The place of course was full of
+underground passages--though I never had the chance of entering them.
+When morning came I was able to take stock of my surroundings. The
+sugar factory was one of the last buildings at the S.E. end of the
+city, and a trench tramway led to what had once been the front line
+trenches about a quarter of a mile from these H.Q.
+
+My job that morning was to hunt round for the dumps of grenades &c.
+which had been made by our predecessors before their advance. I
+remember finding two of these in fairly good condition in the
+neighbourhood of Telegraph Hill--only of course on the Arras side. The
+cold night on which we arrived had taken heavy toll of the cavalry
+horses, and many of these splendid animals could be seen scattered
+about on the ground, some already dead and others dying. They were too
+fine bred to stand that wintry night in an open bivouac. As far as I
+could make out our lighter siege guns had moved up towards the
+Telegraph Hill ridge and our field guns towards Neuville Vitasse;
+there were still howitzers of heavy calibre in the environs of the
+city itself. I believe the 151st Infantry Brigade attacked on April
+13, and pushed across the Cojeul Valley north of Héninel, and dug in
+just west of the Wancourt Tower ridge. Wancourt was captured but not
+Guemappe, and Marlière was in our hands. On that day I was instructed
+to make a dump at Telegraph Hill, which I had no difficulty in doing
+as the place was quite quiet.
+
+   [Illustration: Scene of Attacks on Cherisy. April 1917.]
+
+The next day this dump was removed to the region of the Elm Trees at
+Wancourt behind the 'Brown Line'; and the Brigade relieved the 151st
+Infantry Brigade. B.H.Q. were at the Elm Trees, and consisted of some
+fine deep dugouts, which the Germans had used as an ammunition store.
+The entrance to them was in a small sunken road. The ammunition was
+mostly stored in large wooden boxes, and we had to pull it out and get
+rid of it. This was done by emptying the boxes into the nearest
+shell-holes; so that the ground outside was littered with German
+ammunition. In one of these shell-holes, amongst a lot of rubbish of
+this kind, I found four old pewter dishes and two pewter spoons. They
+had been heaved out of the dugout along with the rest of its contents.
+One of the plates was dated 1733, and all were marked with the foreign
+maker's stamp. They afforded, when cleaned, a rather unusual
+decoration for the walls of the mess room. This little collection was
+disposed of 'under Divisional and Brigade arrangements,' but I managed
+to secure the spoons.
+
+The position in front was now as follows. A battalion held the
+trenches across the Cojeul Valley, supported by three battalions in
+the Brown Line and in Wancourt itself. The enemy was in Guemappe and
+also in some trenches just over the ridge of Wancourt Tower Hill. It
+was the business of the Brigade to hold the trenches and to make such
+improvement in them as opportunity might offer. General Rees was not
+the man to let any such opportunity slip. Nothing happened during the
+first few days, beyond the usual heavy shelling of the roads and
+batteries and forward positions.
+
+But a patrol of the 5th N.F. pushed out towards Guemappe, and carried
+out a useful daylight reconnaissance.
+
+Also about April 16, 1917, Lieut.-Col. F. Robinson of the 6th N.F.
+discovered the enemy approaching the ruined buildings on the Wancourt
+Tower Hill, and promptly ordered a platoon to attack them. This plan
+succeeded admirably and the Tower and house were captured. The place
+was of vital importance to us as it commanded direct observation on
+all the roads leading to our part of the front. On April 17 the enemy
+shelled the Tower with 8-inch howitzers--generally a sign that he
+meant to attack sooner or later. The Tower contained a formidable
+concrete machine-gun emplacement, facing of course our way, but by
+General Rees' orders it was blown up by the Engineers. Sure enough the
+enemy attacked the Tower that night, and at an unfortunate time for
+us, for the 7th N.F. were in the process of relieving the 6th N.F. in
+the front line, and it was a vile night, with a blizzard of snow.
+
+The German attack succeeded in driving our men out of the Tower and
+buildings, and though several bombing attacks were made that night to
+recover the position it could not be done. General Rees at once
+prepared to storm the position at the earliest opportunity next day,
+the 7th N.F. having completed the relief of the trenches during the
+night. It is difficult to describe the confidence which our General
+inspired at this critical time; he was rather graver and more
+thoughtful than usual, perhaps, but he treated the matter with great
+confidence and made every one feel that the misfortune could and would
+be retrieved at the first attempt. His plans were made in conjunction
+with Major Johnson of the 50th Divisional Artillery; and as a result
+it was arranged to attack across the open supported by a barrage from
+five brigades of field artillery. The hour was fixed for twelve noon
+(German time) just when the enemy is thinking about his dinner.
+Without any preliminary bombardment, the barrage opened out at the
+appointed hour, and fairly drove the enemy off the hill top. The 7th
+N.F. advanced in perfect order and with little opposition recaptured
+the Tower and the neighbouring trenches. Two or three prisoners were
+sent down, who had been unable to get away before the attackers
+reached them. It was a little attack, but carried out with admirable
+precision and practically without loss, and every credit must be given
+to General Rees for the way he handled the problem. As this operation
+was carried out in full view of all the surrounding country it
+attracted considerable attention, and congratulations soon poured in
+from all sides. I was kept indoors or rather underground a good deal
+during this stay in the line, as it was my business to record in a
+log-book every note or message that came in to the Brigade Office,
+either by day or night. I had the chance, too, of hearing the
+Divisional Intelligence Officer examining a few German prisoners who
+were captured on our front. He brought with him three large books
+containing no doubt the previous history of the German Brigades; and
+with the aid of these he was able to check the accuracy of the
+prisoners' statements.
+
+One day I went with General Rees to Marlière, and we went some
+distance down Southern Avenue, which was then between the German
+outpost line and our own. Another day we went to some high ground N.W.
+of Wancourt for the purposes of observation. I remember that on this
+occasion we had to hurry as the Germans were shelling rather close,
+and General Rees got a splinter on the helmet. We were relieved by the
+150th Infantry Brigade on April 21, and I rode back to Arras with
+Capt. Haggie. I was now billeted for two days in a house in Arras,
+where the Brigade Staff-Captain's office was located. The first night
+was quiet enough, but the following night was not so pleasant. For our
+heavy guns were now bombarding the German positions and their
+long-range guns threw a lot of shells in reply into various parts of
+the city. On April 23, St. George's Day, the British resumed the
+attack and the 150th Infantry Brigade attacked from the top of
+Wancourt Tower Hill. A good number of prisoners were made, but
+Guemappe still held out and the Germans launched a heavy
+counter-attack along this part of the front. In the morning I went
+forward to some dugouts east of Telegraph Hill where the General,
+Brigade-Major, and Signalling Officer were stationed for this battle.
+Our Brigade of course was in reserve, except the 4th N.F. who were
+attached to the 151st Infantry Brigade. From this place near Telegraph
+Hill I got a good view of the battle around Guemappe. About midday
+Brigadier-General Cameron of the 151st Infantry Brigade took over
+command of the 50th Divisional front, and at once made preparations to
+renew the attack in the afternoon. I was sent over to the Elm Trees
+dugouts to find out exactly what he proposed to do with the 4th N.F.,
+and he was then busily engaged with the Artillery officers arranging
+the barrages. Before the attack was resumed, Guemappe was heavily
+shelled by our siege guns, a wonderful sight. The whole place seemed
+to disappear in dense clouds of dust and smoke. It had been a
+ding-dong battle all day, attack and counter-attack, and at this point
+neither side had gained much advantage. The Germans had not only
+repelled the attack on our right, but had attempted to push through
+into Héninel, in the Cojeul Valley. Fortunately, however, the 149th
+M.-G. Company, commanded by Major Morris, stopped this movement by a
+well-directed fire to our right flank. When, however, the attack was
+renewed in the afternoon things went better for us. The Germans were
+pushed down the hill from Wancourt Tower and Guemappe was taken. The
+4th N.F. did well, getting to a place called Buck Trench. And the
+Divisional front was advanced to a point not far from the outskirts
+of Cherisy. It was unfortunate that we had no fresh troops at this
+juncture to press home the attack. According to German statements, the
+German troops were practically broken up at the end of the day and
+they had at the moment no reserves available. Our small party remained
+at the H.Q. on Telegraph Hill till the morning of April 25, when we
+returned to the Ronville sugar factory, being relieved by a Brigade of
+the 14th Division.
+
+On April 26 a large Corps dump about a quarter of a mile from the
+factory got on fire, and went on flaring and exploding all day. A good
+many pieces of shells and fragments from this dump came rattling
+against the walls of the sugar factory, making it no place to loiter
+about. I learnt that the 42nd F.A., to which my brother George was
+attached, was due to take over from our F.A. in Ronville; but I did
+not get in touch with him.
+
+On April 26 B.H.Q. moved to a fine château at the west end of Arras,
+where we were much more comfortable than at the sugar factory. That
+night I went to a battalion dinner of the 7th N.F., and it was
+wonderful what a good dinner they managed to procure under the
+circumstances. The next day, April 27, we marched back to a rest area
+near Pommera, going along the Arras-Doullens road. B.H.Q. were
+billeted in a farm at the south end of the village. I shared a billet
+with Lieut. Odell and found the place very comfortable.
+
+We were not left long here. A fresh attack was to be made, and the
+50th Division was to be moved forward, to be ready to press home the
+attack if it succeeded. We left Pommera on May 1 and marched to
+Souastre, where B.H.Q. were billeted in a French château with a nice
+garden. Next day we marched forward again to a bare looking spot at
+Mereatel, where the accommodation was very limited. We managed to rig
+up a few wooden shelters and bivouacs amongst the ruins of the houses.
+This had been a nice village, but the Germans had blown down every
+house and cut down every tree before they left it. They had even
+destroyed the small fruit bushes in the gardens, an unnecessarily
+wanton act.
+
+The big attack was arranged for May 3 and it was preceded by the usual
+heavy bombardment. But nothing came of it but heavy casualties, and it
+was decided to send the Division back to the rest area again. On the
+evening of May 3 I met a Colonel of the R.A.M.C., 14th Division, who
+told me that he had seen my brother George at Neuville Vitasse just
+two hours before, and that he was quite well. I got this information,
+just too late, as we were now under orders to move back to the rest
+area. And on May 4 I marched back with the B.H.Q. transport to
+Souastre, and on May 5 to Pommera.
+
+For the next ten days the Brigade carried out various tactical
+exercises under the directions of General Rees. One day was given to
+field firing practice, on which occasion I acted as one of the
+'casualty' officers--that is to say, I had to select various men
+during the sham attack and order them to drop out as casualties. Live
+ammunition was used in rifles and Lewis guns as well as live
+rifle-grenades; and I remember there were seven slight casualties from
+accidents with the rifle-grenades. These 'live' field days in France
+were not without their own little excitements, especially for those
+who had to keep up with the firing line.
+
+After ten days the Brigade was detached from the 50th Division and
+attached to the 33rd Division, holding the line about Croisilles. The
+idea was to assist the 33rd Division by holding the line for them for
+three days, in the interval between two attacks. So on May 17 the
+Brigade moved from Pommera to Souastre, H.Q. being again at the French
+château. Here, through the good services of our French interpreter, we
+had for dinner a piece of the famous _sanglier_ which lives in the
+woods at Pommera. One of these creatures had been shot, and the
+huntsmen presented a piece of it to B.H.Q. Mess. It tasted much like
+pork, with a more gamy flavour.
+
+On May 18 we moved from Souastre to Boiry St. Martin, where B.H.Q.
+were in some wooden huts, amongst the ruins of the village. On May 19
+I went over to Ayette, a neighbouring village, and spent the morning
+training men of the 7th N.F. in rifle-grenades. Next day I went with
+Capt. Haggie to inspect a Brigade ammunition dump at Croisilles, and
+on May 21 I went to a canvas camp at Hamlincourt and spent the night
+there. I did not get a good night as the enemy shelled the vicinity of
+the camp at intervals during the night. Next day I went forward to
+B.H.Q. which were in some shelters in a sunken road just west of
+Croisilles. We held the line till May 25 and nothing very startling
+happened. But two or three incidents occurred here which I remember
+with interest. The visit of three War Correspondents, including
+Messrs. Beach Thomas and Philip Gibbs. They spent about half an hour
+at our H.Q. and were put in my charge to see the sights. We did not go
+far from H.Q. as the high ground there afforded the best general view
+of the country round.
+
+Both of the English War Correspondents interested me much. Beach
+Thomas, tall and dignified and grave; Philip Gibbs, short and bright
+and cheery: both very sympathetic to and appreciative of the Brigade.
+The other was a Dutch gentleman who told me with a flash of
+inspiration that I should not recollect his name.
+
+Another striking personality appeared in the shape of the Brigade
+Commander of one of the Divisional Artillery Brigades. Col. Fitzgerald
+came to call on us to inquire whether the artillery arrangements were
+to our satisfaction and to know if he could do anything to help us. A
+tall man with glasses and a kindly, gentle face. One morning he
+brought in a great bunch of flowers for our mess room that he had
+gathered near Croisilles. The following story was brought to us by the
+Artillery Liaison Officer. Col. Fitzgerald went to the front line and
+out into the broken trenches in No Man's Land in order to inspect the
+registration of the field guns. Seeing a German sniper at work, he
+borrowed a rifle and commenced a duel with the Boche in which several
+shots were exchanged. Having killed his man he returned with great
+satisfaction, feeling the day had been well spent. This occurred near
+the 'Hump' whilst we were holding these trenches. He told us that his
+guns had had a wonderful target on the Somme in July 1916. They were
+somewhere on the high ground south of Bazentin-le-Grand when the
+German Guard had massed for an attack on Contalmaison. These guns had
+the extraordinary chance of firing with open sights on the dense
+German masses behind Bazentin-le-Petit and they had inflicted terrible
+losses on the Brandenburghers.
+
+It was from our O.P. near B.H.Q. that I first tried to make a
+panoramic sketch of the country in front. It was a crude attempt, no
+doubt, but General Rees was kind enough to speak encouragingly of it,
+and to tell me to try and develop this side of Intelligence.
+
+That advice bore fruit, for in 1918 my observers were trained to
+sketch, and their sketches did more damage to the enemy than any
+reports that were sent in. For the heavy artillery got interested in
+them and fired on the targets with great effect.
+
+About May 25 we came out of the line and stayed one night at
+Moyenneville, returning next day to our Divisional rest area at
+Monchy-au-Bois.
+
+
+
+
+XXIV
+
+MONCHY-AU-BOIS
+
+
+We were now able to settle down to training and manoeuvres. The
+country round Monchy was well suited for this, for there were many old
+German trenches about, and the villages were all smashed to bits,
+giving a realistic touch to field training. B.H.Q. were under canvas,
+but I selected an old German dugout which I thought would be drier
+when the rains set in. It was also cooler in the hot weather, and its
+only drawback was rats. I kept them in check, however, with a small
+trap that the Germans left behind; they were always good at inventing
+killing machines. My own job was now to train as many infantry men as
+possible in the use of the rifle-grenade. And between May 29 and June
+16, 190 men went through the course. Also Lieut. Odell brought his
+signal company of twenty-nine men one evening to be shown the working
+of the rifle-grenade, as it was thought that the rifle-grenade (empty)
+might be used as a message carrier.
+
+The course of instruction was somewhat as follows. In the first place
+I gave a short lecture on the mechanism of the grenade and methods of
+firing it. Then the party of ten was split into two squads and firing
+practice took place. The men were trained to fire kneeling and lying,
+behind cover and without, and also out of a deep fire-trench. I was
+greatly assisted by Sergt. T. Matthewson, who was a really expert
+bomber, and by my orderly--L.-C. Fairclough. This training took all
+morning, and as far as I could judge the men were interested in the
+course and did their best to learn the intricacies of this new weapon.
+In the afternoon I was free to wander round and examine the
+surrounding country. It was of considerable interest, for it was part
+of the ground evacuated by the enemy when he retreated to the
+Hindenburg Line. The trenches were magnificently built, and revetted
+with wood or wattle-work, and provided with deep dugouts and concrete
+machine-gun emplacements. The latter were not only wonderfully strong,
+the forerunners of the German 'pill-box'--but sometimes wonderfully
+decorated with coats of arms and mottoes.
+
+Very little equipment was left behind, and many of the dugouts were
+blown in before leaving. Some of the gun emplacements, too, were very
+cleverly concealed. The guns were kept in shelters in a line of
+reserve trenches and a set of dummy emplacements was dug out a little
+distance away for the benefit of our aeroplane observers.
+
+It was an education in military engineering and fortification to walk
+round these wonderful defences. The wiring too was most ingenious and
+often carefully concealed in the hedges or ditches. Inside the gun
+shelters, you found that the gun was fixed on a central pivot and
+worked round a wooden platform with every degree carefully marked.
+Whilst on the walls stood a painted board with every barrage line and
+target carefully worked out, and the range and code call set out as
+well. The O.P. was sometimes in a high tree, with the ladders to get
+up and the telephone wires still remaining. It had been a quiet part
+of the line, and consequently the patient industry of the German had
+had full scope.
+
+The 50th Division began to take over the line west of Cherisy and Vis
+about the middle of June; but only two brigades were in the front
+trenches together, and it was our turn to remain behind. On June 18
+the Brigade moved from Monchy-au-Bois to Boisleux-au-Mont, where
+B.H.Q. were in a canvas camp. From June 20 to 23 I continued the
+rifle-grenade training. The recruit training was now practically over
+and these days were given to showing the handling of a rifle-grenade
+section in open warfare. Forty-one officers, nine N.C.O.'s and
+sixty-two men took part in these schemes. I had also two or three
+rather important court-martial cases to attend to during the evenings.
+
+Before going back into the line I was given nine men to act as Brigade
+observers; the 6th N.F. sent L.-C. Chappell and Ptes. Wright and Hume;
+the 7th N.F. Ptes. Fail and Ewart; the 4th N.F. Pte. Brook and
+another; the 5th N.F. L.-C. Roxburgh, who had once been in the 7th
+N.F. and Pte. Garnett. Pte. Brook I found came from Meltham, only
+seven or eight miles from my own home. He was a typical lad from these
+parts, with the bright red face and the speech that I knew so well.
+Naturally I took an interest in him and I was sorry when he left us
+about the end of November 1917. He has come through the war safely, I
+am glad to say. Ptes. Fail and Ewart were destined to act as my
+observers both with this brigade and in the 42nd Division in 1918. And
+I cannot speak too highly of the excellent work done by Pte. Fail.
+Owing to exceptional eyesight he was a first-class counter-battery
+observer, and later on his skill with the pencil did the Germans a lot
+of damage. On this front he spotted the flash of a 4-inch gun battery
+that used to shell B.H.Q., with the result that the heavy gunners
+fired on this battery and silenced it completely.
+
+I had also the services of L.-C. J. Cowen and Pte. J. King (both 7th
+N.F.) when the 50th Divisional observers were disbanded. Pte. King
+went shortly afterwards back to the battalion. But both these men did
+magnificent service in collecting intelligence during the remainder of
+the war.
+
+
+
+
+XXV
+
+TRENCH WARFARE--VIS-CHERISY FRONT
+
+
+From June till October 1917 the 50th Division held the line of trenches
+running from the Hindenburg Line west of Fontaine-lez-Croisilles to
+Cavalry Farm on the Arras-Cambrai Road. With heavy fighting going on in
+Flanders this was a comparatively quiet part of the front. Our trenches
+were good and got better every week, and the high ground about Wancourt
+Tower Hill gave us excellent observation on the enemy's country,
+especially towards the left. This part of the front was divided into
+two sectors, and they were held by two out of the three brigades. So
+that each brigade spent sixteen days in the line, and then eight days
+in the rest area about Neuville Vitasse. Also each brigade held in turn
+the trenches on the right, known as the Cherisy sector, and then the
+trenches on the left, known as the Vis sector.
+
+My time was given to Intelligence in the line and to Salvage when out
+of the line.
+
+Intelligence work included, selecting a convenient O.P. for the
+Brigade observers and arranging and supervising the method of holding
+it; making panoramic sketches for the observers; writing out the
+Brigade Intelligence Report between 10 A.M. and noon every day;
+supervising the work of the Battalion Intelligence Officers[14];
+marking the Brigade Intelligence maps with all features of interest;
+studying and cataloguing the aeroplane photographs which came in large
+numbers every few days; destroying obsolete and useless documents (not
+a small part of my job either!); and sending to the Machine-Gun
+Officer, Major Morris, every week the targets for indirect machine-gun
+fire at nights. Field work, i.e. actual observation and sketching,
+formed really a comparatively small part of my duties, though I tried
+to get up to the observation post once every day. The most important
+part was office work--and I had a fair-sized shelter at each
+Head-quarters, the walls covered with maps and the table loaded with
+aeroplane photographs and reports of all kinds.
+
+Besides the Corps and Divisional Intelligence Reports which came in
+daily, there were Daily Reports from the two adjoining brigades, and
+generally a goodly sheaf of miscellaneous papers from the Army
+Intelligence Department. In this way a great deal of interesting
+information came into my hands, as to how things were going on; and I
+have never before or since been so well supplied with information as
+to what was going on and what was intended to take place. When out of
+the line, in a camp near Neuville Vitasse, I had to give the observers
+a certain amount of practical training in the use of the compass and
+protractor, and map reading. But after that I was free to do what I
+liked within reason, and I generally devoted my spare time to salvage.
+The observers often turned out to assist me in this, and Lieut. Odell
+on several occasions gave me most valuable assistance with his
+signallers and orderlies.
+
+Salvage was left very much at this time to the discretion of the
+commanders of infantry units. Naturally when the soldier man got out
+of the line, he was not much inclined to do much salvaging on Army
+Account. Some of the transport officers made a specialty of it, and
+Capt. B. Neville of the 7th N.F., the prince of quartermasters,
+rescued tons of salvage of all kinds. I dare say, however, a good many
+things found their way into his own stores as well, for I never knew a
+quartermaster so well supplied as he. There were certain small parties
+of men employed at Divisional and Corps Salvage dumps, but they never
+seemed to me to take the job very seriously. Perhaps the officers in
+charge were not exactly the sort of men to hustle, or to see that
+their men got busy. Every one knows that there was a vast amount of
+waste, and that the Germans had this matter much better organised than
+we.
+
+The Germans were particularly active against our field artillery on
+this front. Although we had the advantage of ground for most purposes,
+and could carry out infantry reliefs in daylight, there were few
+places satisfactory for concealing our field guns. They were mostly
+concentrated about Wancourt and Héninel, and these two places
+consequently received frequent and heavy punishment from the German
+heavies. It was well to keep your eyes and ears open when passing
+through these villages and not to linger there unnecessarily. The
+pieces from the German 8-inch shell carried a long way, and I had
+L.-C. Chappell wounded through the hand and sent down to hospital
+through a splinter that carried over a quarter of a mile. We saw a lot
+of the 50th Divisional R.F.A. about this time and a fine lot of
+fellows they were. On the left our H.Q. were next door to the B.H.Q.
+of the 251st Artillery Brigade, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Moss
+Blundell. I got to know and like him well, and he did everything he
+could to assist our brigade, and especially in matters of
+intelligence. Any news that he got he sent on to us at once and vice
+versa. I have never known the liaison between Field Artillery and
+Infantry more close or more effective than at this time.
+
+One of the most important operations carried out by the 50th Division
+was a double raid and gas projection on September 15, 1917, and the
+following night. It was carried out by the 151st Infantry Brigade in
+the right sector, and at the time the 140th Infantry Brigade was
+holding the trenches on the left. I believe the 9th D.L.I, supplied
+the raiding parties. It was such a novel and effective raid that some
+account ought to be given of it. The scheme was to deceive the enemy
+as to the exact extent and nature of the attack. For this purpose a
+great many smoke-shells were fired to screen the operations from the
+enemy's observation. Also along the flanks of the actual raid a number
+of dummy figures were arranged to represent an attacking force and so
+to draw the enemy's fire away from the actual raiding parties. The
+dummies were put out in No Man's Land the night before, face
+downwards, and at the right moment they could be raised or lowered by
+means of ropes worked by the men in the trenches. Also a dummy tank
+was prepared and hauled forward 200 yards by means of ropes. The
+combination of smoke-shells and dummies was wonderfully effective, and
+the enemy reported that he had been attacked in great force and with
+tanks along a large part of this front.
+
+What really happened was this. After a preliminary bombardment of
+great intensity by our guns and trench-mortars (including many
+thermite or flame-shells), about 2 P.M. three companies of the 9th
+D.L.I, dashed across and captured the German front and support lines
+covering Cherisy. They killed and captured a number of Germans without
+suffering many casualties themselves, and then returned at once to our
+own trenches. At the same time the dummies in No Man's Land were
+lowered again. After waiting five or six hours, another short
+bombardment started, the dummies were again raised and one company of
+the 9th D.L.I, dashed across into the same trenches and killed or
+captured more Germans. They then returned to our trenches and the
+dummies were again lowered. After dark our men went out and removed
+the dummies, so that the Germans never had a chance of discovering the
+ruse. The same night at 3 A.M. fifty cylinders of gas were projected
+over the German lines. This gas attack cost the Germans dear, probably
+more than the two raids, for the next day they were seen burying or
+removing large numbers of the men caught in the gas cloud. My own
+observers reported 200 gas casualties and the total number reported
+reached a figure between 300 and 400. Gas casualties were easily
+distinguished, as the Germans removed them in blankets slung between
+two men on a pole. Besides, as it happened, the gas cloud drifted
+north and caught the Germans during a relief nearly half a mile away
+from the scene of the two raids. For example, the Germans were burying
+dead all day in the neighbourhood of St. Roharts Factory, which is
+some distance from Cherisy. The German report of this operation showed
+that they had failed entirely to realise the nature of the attack. And
+a similar raid was repeated shortly afterwards near Monchy-le-Preux
+with great success. Our aeroplanes swooped down to 300 feet and took
+photographs of the first raid from that height. And I was lucky enough
+to secure some very interesting copies of these photographs, which
+showed our men crossing No Man's Land and entering the German
+trenches.
+
+I got my fourth leave, ten days, about August 30 and travelled home
+via Boulogne and Folkestone. It was the first leave that took me out
+of the line, which it did for about four days. All the previous
+leaves had occurred during Divisional rests.
+
+We were relieved in these trenches by the 51st Division about the
+beginning of October, and the 50th Division moved out of the line to
+the neighbourhood of Courcelles-le-Compte for a short rest.
+
+Before the relief took place Brigadier-General Rees had to leave us
+much to every one's regret. He was taken ill with a distressing
+internal complaint, which necessitated his return for a while to
+England. He was succeeded by Brigadier-General E.P.A. Riddell, C.M.G.,
+D.S.O.
+
+General Riddell had at one time been Adjutant of the 7th N.F., that is
+to say, long before the war; and he knew all about Alnwick and the
+people there. During the war he had been instructing officers at
+Sandhurst for a time, and later on he commanded a battalion of the
+Cambridgeshires at the Battle of the Somme. This battalion succeeded
+in capturing the Schwaben Redoubt, near Thiepval. Later on he had seen
+service in the battle still raging in Flanders. When he came to
+command the 149th Infantry Brigade at the end of September 1917 he had
+already won the D.S.O. and Bar. To this he subsequently added another
+Bar during the German offensive in March 1918. He was said to be a
+typical Northumbrian. A leader, gallant and war-wise, of whom
+Northumberland is justly proud.
+
+When we left the line at Cherisy we had a good idea what our
+destination was to be. But first of all we moved a short way back in
+the direction of Miraumont. The 149th Infantry Brigade was quartered
+at Courcelles-le-Comte, a shattered village in the area vacated by the
+Germans after the battle on the Somme. Here we stayed for about ten
+days, and the battalions resumed training their men for offensive
+operations. One field day was particularly remarkable for a
+demonstration by the Air Squadron stationed at Moyenneville. We
+commenced operations before dawn, and I was in charge of the messages
+at a spot representing battle H.Q. Just before I left at the
+conclusion of the operations, about 9 A.M., an aeroplane swooped down
+over our improvised H.Q. and left a message saying 'Expect a report at
+B.H.Q. in an hour's time.' We returned to B.H.Q. and, sure enough,
+about 9.40 A.M. an aeroplane again swooped down and dropped a small
+packet. On opening it I was amazed to find a roll of about a dozen
+photographs, taken about an hour before, of the final position reached
+by the Infantry during the sham attack. How they managed to develop
+and print these photographs in the short space of time is almost a
+mystery. But I imagine they must have had some electrical machine for
+drying the negatives and prints. During this short stay out of the
+line I paid two visits to the old Somme battlefield. The first in
+company with Capt. H. Liddell, who had for some time been acting as
+Assistant-Brigade-Major. We rode to Grevillers and went on from there
+on foot to Hexham Road and Eaucourt L'Abbaye. I had visited the
+ground before with Lieut. Odell in June, when we were staying at
+Monchy-au-Bois. A good deal of salvage had been done since then, and
+there were fewer dead men lying about. But the scene of the fighting
+at Hook Sap and round the Butte of Warlencourt was still littered with
+helmets, rifles, and broken equipment of all sorts. Of course by this
+time the trenches had largely fallen in and were covered with rough
+rank herbage. But the wire belts and the duck-board tracks were still
+there. When we approached the entrance to the cellars under the ruined
+abbey at Eaucourt, we noticed traces of men living there. Smoke was
+rising out of the ruins and there were recent footmarks about, and
+some tins of soapy water. The story was, and I believe it was quite
+true, that small parties of deserters dwelt in these old deep cellars
+and dugouts, living on the bully beef which still covered the
+battlefield and on the money received for 'Souvenirs' sold at
+neighbouring canteens. I know of one deserter who lived there from
+November 1916 to June or July 1917. Apart from these slight traces of
+occupation, the battle-field seemed quite deserted from one end to the
+other.
+
+On another occasion I went with General Riddell by car to Thiepval and
+we rode back through Bucquoy. This was a very interesting visit, for
+the General explained on the spot exactly how the Schwaben Redoubt was
+stormed, and how the troops were brought forward and disposed for the
+attack. We went over a lot of the neighbouring ground, and I was able
+to see how the Germans were forced out of St. Pierre Divion,
+Miraumont, and Beaumont Hamel. I little thought as I rode home that
+night through Bucquoy that I should in little more than five months'
+time be commanding a company in the front line in a muddy ditch
+outside Bucquoy. However this stay at Courcelles was invaluable later
+on, for it gave me a general idea of the lie of the land on the enemy
+side, when we were pressed back to Gommecourt and Colincamps.
+
+We left Courcelles about October 18, and entrained at Miraumont
+station. We left the train near Cassel and marched to the village of
+Arneke, where I spent two nights at the house of the curé--a kind
+hospitable old man. After that we marched out of France and arrived at
+a camp about a mile west of Proven, in Belgium.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[14] Lieuts. O. Young (5th N.F.), Jessop (6th N.F.), and Richardson
+(7th N.F.).
+
+
+
+
+XXVI
+
+THE HOUTHULST FOREST
+
+
+I wish I could omit all reference to the operations in Flanders 1917.
+Surely no one can be found to take much pride in the results of this
+part of the campaign. Judged by the map alone between May 1, 1917, and
+May 1, 1918, it will be found that we actually lost ground in
+Flanders, and that we were at the last hard put to it to retain any
+footing there at all.
+
+It is difficult to know what motives, political or military, led to
+our pressing an attack with such colossal fury on this part of the
+line. Perhaps the Channel ports at Ostend and Zeebrugge were the prize
+we hoped to gain. Be that as it may, the result of our attack was to
+bring about a conflict of unparalleled intensity. The bulk of the
+English heavy artillery seemed to be concentrated on the one side and
+the bulk of the enemy's heavy artillery on the other. In a country
+like Flanders the ground is bad enough in foul weather; but where it
+is churned up for miles with the heaviest of shells, it becomes
+impossible to use tanks and next to impossible to use infantry.
+
+Moreover, the Germans had superiority in the air. They had
+concentrated on aircraft the effort which we had expended on
+perfecting the tank. The one can be used effectively in wet weather,
+but the other cannot. The German had another defensive surprise for
+us. Owing to the nature of the ground the deep dugout was practically
+an impossibility. In the place, therefore, of this the German devised
+the concrete blockhouse or 'pill-box' as it was called. For miles
+behind their front line the country was dotted with pill-boxes, which
+could defy the tank and all but the largest kinds of shells. As soon
+as our operations started the rain streamed down, making conditions
+ten times worse for the attacking force.
+
+All honour to those that gallantly stormed the muddy slopes of
+Passchendaele; to the wonderful engineers that conquered the squalid
+quagmires of Langemarck and Zonnebeke; to the gunners that stuck to
+their guns under a rain of bombs and shells, and to the transport
+drivers that fed them. It is a tale of wonderful gallantry and heroic
+endeavour. But when all is said and done, one is bound to look at the
+result.
+
+On reaching the area round Proven the 50th Division was allocated to
+the Fifth Army (General Gough), and received orders to prepare to take
+part in an attack on the enemy's line between the Houthulst Forest and
+Passchendaele. On October 21, the day after our arrival at Proven, I
+went to the Fifth Army H.Q. to get all the maps and information I
+could relating to the new front. The Army H.Q. were in a large château
+north of Poperinghe, and when I got there I was received by the
+Colonel in charge of Intelligence with every kindness. He got me
+several maps, gave me the files of intelligence to glance over, and
+advised me to visit the Air Squadron at Proven for aeroplane
+photographs. He also offered to turn out a Staff car to take me back,
+but this kind offer I declined. My next visit was to the office of the
+Air Squadron, where they had a file of all photographs relating to our
+front. I was able to secure several useful copies, and the promise of
+some more. After this I returned to our camp to work on the air
+photos. On October 23 we marched to Proven and entrained there,
+getting out at Elverdinghe. A short march took us to a camp of wooden
+huts a little south of the château, where the 50th Division had their
+battle H.Q. When we arrived the huts were quite empty of all
+furniture; but in a short time the Brigade pioneers had made a table
+and forms to use in the mess. It was decided that only the General,
+Brigade-Major, and Signalling Officer should go forward to battle
+H.Q., an old German pill-box called Martin's Mill, between Widjendrift
+and Langemarck. The rest of the Brigade Staff were to remain at rear
+H.Q. at Huddersfield Dugouts on the Yser Canal close to Bard's
+Causeway. At this time I was much worried by what appeared to me to be
+an attempt to tap the information of the Brigade as to the details of
+the forthcoming attack. Naturally an Intelligence Officer has to be
+discreet at all times, but especially so at times like this. I simply
+record my impression although I cannot give any details.
+
+On October 24 I went to the rear B.H.Q. at Huddersfield Dugouts. They
+were in the northern bank of the Yser Canal about half a mile south of
+Boesinghe. The front was approached by means of several long duck-board
+tracks, in places more like wooden bridges than the ordinary trench
+footboards. In the morning I did my best to investigate where these
+tracks started, not altogether an easy matter in an entirely strange
+country. In the afternoon I was asked by the Staff-Captain to see that
+the hot food and tea and rum for the use of the troops next morning
+were ready for delivery to the carrying-parties, and that the O.C.
+carrying-party knew exactly what to do. I found that the food &c. was
+ready packed up in the hot food containers by the four transport
+officers, but I had great difficulty in finding the officer in charge
+of the carrying-parties. After waiting about for over two hours I did
+get in touch with him. And by nightfall I had the satisfaction of
+seeing the hot food set off with this carrying-party up one of the
+tracks leading to the front. We obtained guides for this party from the
+50th Divisional Signals, who gave us every assistance in their power.
+
+The attack took place next morning about dawn, after a heavy artillery
+bombardment, and in the rain. Of this attack the Brigade has no need
+to be ashamed, although by the afternoon of the same day the remnants
+of its brave soldiers were withdrawn to the starting point. The 7th
+N.F. on the left had a shorter distance to go than the rest, but on
+their left flank was the Forest of Houthulst full of German snipers.
+On the right were the 4th N.F. and in the centre the 5th N.F.
+
+Each battalion had to attack across a treacherous swamp, and each was
+confronted by a row of unbroken concrete pill-boxes, carefully
+concealed from aerial observation. Each battalion made ground, but
+each battalion was mowed down in heaps by the machine-guns in the
+pill-boxes. I have nothing now to give as an estimate of the
+casualties, except the officer casualties of the 7th N.F. Twelve
+officers of the 7th N.F. went over the top that morning, and one
+returned alive, Lieut Affleck. The others were all killed. It gives
+some idea of the spirit of these gallant fellows, when I relate that
+Lieut Affleck was preparing a further attack on the German pill-boxes
+at the time he was ordered to return with the remnants of the
+shattered brigade. The three battalions all suffered the heaviest
+losses, but I have now no details except those I have given above.
+Lieut. Odell, the Brigade Signalling Officer, and his men did wonders
+in keeping the battalions in touch with B.H.Q. during the battle, and
+for his great personal gallantry on this occasion he received a Bar to
+his M.C. The shattered remnants of the battalions were drawn out of
+the fighting zone and given billets not far from the Yser Canal. Even
+here bad luck followed the 5th N.F., for a long-range shell crashed
+into one of the huts at Rose Camp and caused forty more casualties.
+In the transport lines on the west side of the Yser Canal Capt.
+Neville, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F., was killed by a bomb next day. An
+old soldier with a wonderful record of service, he had preferred to
+stick to his battalion instead of taking promotion. I have already
+called him the prince of quarter masters. I had also to lament him as
+a very kind and generous friend.
+
+We now received orders to retire to the rest area about Ondank, and on
+October 26 I was sent to take over a camp for B.H.Q. On the way I
+called at D.H.Q. at Elverdinghe Château, where I was very courteously
+received by the 'Q' Staff--Col. Cartwright and Major McCracken--who
+made many sympathetic inquiries after the officers in the Brigade.
+
+We were now quartered in some old wooden huts, possibly constructed by
+the French; and though very comfortable inside they were hardly
+bomb-proof. At nights all the back areas round Ypres were heavily
+bombed and a lot of horses were killed every night and a certain
+number of men as well.
+
+On October 27 the poor shattered remnants of my battalion passed
+B.H.Q., very weary and very few in numbers. Besides the Battalion H.Q.
+Company there were just enough men to make one decent-sized company.
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson stopped to speak to me, and the tears
+trickled down his weather-beaten face, as he said 'Buckley, this has
+fairly done me.' Only those who have had a fine battalion cut to
+pieces can realise the feelings of their commander at such a moment.
+
+I set to work with my observers packing a wall of sandbags round the
+wooden huts, as a protection against bomb splinters. It was not
+possible to protect the roof, but these sandbags were effective
+against anything but a direct hit.
+
+I have never known German night bombing more persistent or more heavy
+than it was in the Salient just at this time. And although we never
+got a bomb in the same field as our camp they dropped close enough to
+be disturbing. A camp with some of the Divisional details was struck
+some little way from us, and the same night D.H.Q. at Elverdinghe
+Château were bombed, several motor-lorries being set on fire.
+
+It was too far back for us to be troubled with much shelling, and the
+German long-range guns fired mostly over our heads at the more
+attractive targets of Poperinghe and Proven. One day during this short
+rest, October 29, I had a ride round with Lieut. Odell in search of a
+field-cashier's office where money could be drawn to pay Brigade
+details. After a long ride to different places we landed up at a
+Canadian Cashier's Office near Poperinghe; at this time the Canadians
+were on Passchendaele Ridge. About November 5 the Brigade returned to
+the line for a few days before the Division was taken out. On that day
+I returned with the Staff-Captain and Capt. G. Bell (6th N.F.,
+Assistant-Staff-Captain) to Huddersfield Dugouts. On the following
+day I walked nearly as far as the Steenbeke at Martin's Mill, and the
+ground around Langemarck was about as dreary and shattered as any that
+I have ever seen. It was well described to me once as 'utter squalor.'
+Next day I went to the camp of the 4th N.F. south of Langemarck and to
+Marsouine camp, to arrange certain details of the relief. The same
+night the Brigade was relieved, but I was left in charge at
+Huddersfield Dugouts till the evening of November 8 when I returned to
+the camp at Ondank. On November 12 the Brigade entrained at
+Elverdinghe station and were taken through St. Omer to Watten station.
+We marched from there in the dark to the little village of Serques. We
+were now to have about a month's rest and training before returning
+again to the Salient.
+
+
+
+
+XXVII
+
+DIVISIONAL REST NEAR ST. OMER
+
+
+Serques was quite a pleasant little village to stay at, but the
+arrangements for training were very scanty. I had to search round for
+suitable spots for rifle-ranges, and to agree with the owners for
+suitable compensation. Also I had to make some of the arrangements for
+a ferry boat to convey the troops across the Canal De L'Aa to a good
+training-ground between Watten and St. Momelin. On November 14 I paid
+my first visit to St. Omer, which is a nice town with plenty of good
+shops.
+
+Lieut.-Col. G.R.B. Spain, C.M.G., of the 6th N.F. came to command the
+Brigade during the absence of Brigadier-General Riddell on leave. He
+was a man of remarkable erudition and a collector of prints and other
+things. And I soon found that we had many things in common and many
+interesting talks I had with him on a variety of subjects.
+
+We discovered together several early flint implements and arrow-heads
+about Serques, and he told me a lot about the early Stone Age, which
+interested me greatly and set me looking for these interesting relics
+wherever we happened to be quartered.[15] Shortly after this time
+Lieut.-Col. Scott Jackson left the 7th N.F. to join the R.A.M.C. and
+to take command of a base hospital. He was succeeded by Capt. H.
+Liddell, M.C., who now became Lieut.-Col. in command of the battalion.
+
+After staying at Serques for about two weeks the Brigade moved to the
+area around Tournehem. This was not such a flat watery country; and we
+had better quarters in the house of the curé of the place.
+
+It was decided to hold Brigade Sports here, and I was sent off to
+Boulogne to buy the prizes. I went there and back in a Divisional
+Staff car. I had lunch at the Officers' Club, where the W.A.A.C.'s
+were serving as waitresses; and very nice it was to see their fresh
+English faces again. A visit to Boulogne when you are not going on
+leave brings back rather melancholy feelings, and I was glad to leave
+the place.
+
+An incident happened at Nortleulinghem, which was rather unfortunate
+for it spoilt an unbroken record. The 7th N.F., who were stationed at
+this place, were ordered to provide a field-firing demonstration for
+the Divisional Staff. The demonstration was to include the firing of a
+number of smoke-bombs--rifle-grenades with a small can of phosphorus
+at the end. Their successful discharge required considerable practice
+and nerve.
+
+As Lieut. H. Richardson, the Bombing Officer of the 7th N.F., was away
+I was asked to come over and instruct the men how to fire these new
+weapons off. There were only two mornings in which to instruct them
+before the demonstration came off. Of course it was a very hurried
+proceeding, and I was rather horrified to find that the men knew
+practically nothing about rifle-grenades. (Most of the trained
+rifle-bombers had become casualties in the battle at Houthulst.) I did
+what I could to explain the working of the smoke rifle-bomb; but on
+the first practice taking place one of the men succeeded in blowing
+off the forefinger of another man, through firing too soon. Of course
+that was not a fatal accident, but it put the man out of action for
+the rest of the war--my only serious accident in bombing of any kind.
+When the demonstration came off, there were to my great relief no
+further regrettable incidents of that sort.
+
+On December 9 we began to prepare to return to the Salient, and I went
+with certain advanced details to Watten, where I spent the night in
+one of the houses. I managed to get a very passable dinner at the best
+local inn. We entrained next day at Watten station and were taken by
+rail to Brandhoek; marching to a camp quite close to the station.
+
+I had seen in some of our Intelligence papers that the 14th Division
+was in a Corps immediately on our left, and I therefore knew that I
+might have a chance of getting in touch with my brother George.
+Accordingly I walked to Vlamertinghe next day and heard that his
+battalion was stationed in a camp at St. Jean. On December 12 I was
+sent forward to take over B.H.Q. in Ypres, at a convent at the N.E.
+corner of the city. The higher floors of the convent were all in
+ruins, but the ground floors were more or less intact, and in these we
+had our rooms and offices. The mess room was under a pile of rubbish
+outside. Having made the arrangements with the 150th Infantry Brigade,
+whom we were relieving, I had still an hour to spare before B.H.Q.
+would arrive. So I decided to walk over to St. Jean and inquire for my
+brother's battalion. It took me about twenty minutes to get there, but
+there was no difficulty in finding the battalion or their H.Q. So I
+marched up to the H.Q. hut and asked to see Capt. Buckley. He came out
+at once and was very surprised to see me, for he had no idea where I
+was at this time. It was a hurried but exceedingly pleasant meeting. I
+had only twenty minutes to spare, and he was just going forward to the
+front line that night. So we had to 'swop yarns' very quickly. And he
+walked back part of the way with me towards Ypres. I thought he looked
+very worn out and depressed. He had had a very hard time in the
+Salient, and in a few days he was back in hospital with influenza.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[15] At Coigneux I found a series of early implements in which the
+British Museum took considerable interest.
+
+
+
+
+XXVIII
+
+THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE
+
+
+The 50th Division were holding the line in front of Passchendaele
+Village and a little to the south. On our right were the West Riding
+Territorials, the 49th Division, commanded by Major-General Cameron
+(once one of our brigadiers); on the left the 14th Division. Only one
+brigade was in the line at a time--another remaining in support around
+Ypres and the other back at rest about Brandhoek. Thus a brigade went
+to close support for four days, to the front line for four days, and
+then back to the rest area for four days. This seems to be an easy
+method of holding the line; but, owing to the nature of the ground and
+to the heavy shelling that went on most of the day and night in the
+forward areas, it was impossible to keep a brigade very long in the
+front line. The battle on the ridge had been over for some time, but
+neither side was yet prepared to disperse its heavy concentration of
+guns. But the heavy firing was gradually, very gradually, becoming
+less severe.
+
+Ypres itself had been badly knocked about during the great battle.
+Most of the troops billeted in Ypres lived underground, but whilst I
+was living there it was never severely shelled. Shrapnel was fired
+occasionally at the balloons over the city, and also about the Menin
+Gate and the roads leading towards the east end of the city. But there
+were no heavy guns in Ypres itself, and there was at present no
+particular reason for shelling it. We therefore had not an unpleasant
+time ourselves in the city. I believe that the H.Q. at the convent
+were shelled whilst we were in the front line, but that only happened
+once.
+
+On December 13 I went for a walk of inspection as far as Dan Cottages,
+some old German pill-boxes, where the forward brigade had their H.Q.
+For the first mile or so from Ypres the ground seemed to be recovering
+from the heavy shelling it had received, and there was a good deal of
+grass now growing about the old British front line trenches. But as
+you got farther forward to the area of the heavy guns, the ground was
+badly shattered and every shell-hole full of water. Between this point
+and B.H.Q. the conditions were simply awful. A vast swamp of
+yellow-brown mud divided into craters of large size--all full of
+watery slime. And so it went on as far as the eye could see.
+
+Here and there there were oases of dry ground, generally holding
+several heavy guns and dumps of ammunition. Whilst at intervals the
+swamp was intersected by a wooden road, used by the lorries to bring
+up ammunition, and by two or three duck-board tracks which ran winding
+through the awful mess of mud and water. These tracks were supported
+on wooden piles driven into the mud, and were more like wooden bridges
+than tracks. Sometimes they rested on firm ground, but mostly they
+were held up in the air by the wooden piles. Again right through the
+devastated area ran a good paved road from Ypres towards Zonnebeke.
+Here and there in some of the drier spots you could see queer white
+mounds--the concrete pill-boxes, some of which were still sound
+enough, but others broken in and waterlogged. The pill-boxes and the
+road and the wooden tracks were of course well known to the German
+artillery, who lavished a great deal of ammunition every day on each
+of these targets. But owing to the methodical way in which the Germans
+fired on the tracks, it was always possible to mend them wherever they
+were smashed. Between 2 A.M. and 8 A.M. practically no shells came
+over on to the tracks, and during this time each day gangs of men went
+out and mended the damage done to them.
+
+When the frost came and solidified the mud, travelling became safer if
+not so easy; for it was then possible to leave the tracks and go
+across country by walking round the edges of the shell craters. All
+along the road there was ceaseless activity day and night. Lines and
+lines of lorries going backwards or forwards, limbers, wagons, men.
+When the enemy shelled the road, generally some damage was done, and
+it was not uncommon to see pools of blood in the road and the litter
+of broken vehicles. At intervals along the road there were vast dumps
+of ammunition and stores, and on the side tracks huge piles of every
+sort of salvage.
+
+Forward again of B.H.Q. the country was perhaps not so badly smashed,
+except in the spots most exposed to shell fire. But the shell-holes
+were often full of German dead--I counted nearly 100 within a quarter
+of a mile of Dan Cottages. And on the forward wooden tracks used by
+our transport, the ground reeked like a slaughter-house. Fragments of
+everything just swept off the tracks. The limbs and bodies of the
+pack-mules lying sometimes in heaps sometimes at intervals all along
+the route. Of course the nearer you approached to Passchendaele Ridge
+the drier and firmer was the ground. But that awful swamp behind has
+probably no parallel in the history of war. How the Engineers overcame
+it is really a marvel. And great credit indeed must be given to this
+very efficient branch of the Army, and to the men who laboured there
+under the terrible conditions around them. I have mentioned the German
+dead; there was no doubt little time to give to them. But I hardly saw
+one body of a British soldier who had been left without burial.
+
+On December 15 I went with General Riddell to visit the 5th N.F.
+Battalion H.Q. at Tyne Cottages, some pill-boxes about half-way
+between forward B.H.Q. and Passchendaele. It was a long walk, and we
+went up the Zonnebeke Road till we were in the neighbourhood of that
+village, then along the mule track to Tyne Cottages. Whilst we were
+talking with Major A. Irwin at the pill-box a few light shells came
+over and sprinkled us with earth. It was best to be either inside or
+well away from a pill-box: but as the entrance to this pill-box was
+like a rabbit-hole and close to the ground General Riddell preferred
+to stand outside. After that we paid a visit to Dan Cottages, and
+returned back along the wooden tracks to Ypres.
+
+   [Illustration: Plan of B.H.Q. (Judah House), Dan Cottages.]
+
+Next day B.H.Q. went forward to Dan Cottages and stayed there for four
+days. The Brigade observers were employed in two ways, partly as
+observers and partly as a gas guard for the B.H.Q. pill-box. This
+pill-box had already stood one or two strong blows from shells, but it
+still appeared to be pretty sound. The door of course faced the enemy,
+but was protected by a stout concrete wall and a bank of earth outside
+that.
+
+It will be seen from the above plan that the quarters were very
+confined--the bunks being roughly six feet long and the room rather
+over six feet high.
+
+One observer stood in the narrow passage outside the door as sentry
+and gas guard. He was of course relieved every four hours, and at
+night there were generally two on duty. The other observers who were
+not on this duty held a post about Hillside Farm about a mile forward
+of Dan Cottages. This was not altogether a healthy spot, but a good
+view was obtained towards Moorslede.
+
+In this area observers were asked to pay special attention to the
+enemy's shelling, noticing the direction from which the sound of the
+firing came and the areas shelled and approximately the number of
+rounds. I had of course to write out the Brigade Intelligence Report
+each morning. The last night we were in these quarters a number of
+gas-shells were fired round the batteries and B.H.Q. They made the
+atmosphere very unpleasant; and though they were not thick enough to
+necessitate wearing the respirator, I suffered, especially the
+following night, from their effects.
+
+On December 20 we were relieved and moved back to the rest area at
+Brandhoek, where we were glad to have four days' rest. On Christmas
+Eve we moved to our old quarters at Ypres, and the following night we
+had an excellent Christmas dinner thanks to the good services of
+Lieut. Behrens, our French interpreter, an old machine-gunner of
+Verdun. On December 28 we again went to the front area and held the
+line for four days. It was always the custom for one of the officers
+of the Brigade to keep awake on duty during part of the night. We
+took it in turns and did two-hour shifts. On the morning of December
+31 it happened to be my turn to be awake on duty just about dawn. And
+this saved me from a very rude awakening. That morning the enemy had
+decided on a bombardment of our Divisional front and he commenced
+proceedings by shelling Dan Cottages with a battery of 4-inch naval
+guns, a very accurate weapon. We got a shell on the roof of the
+pill-box which gave a nasty concussion and put all the lights out.
+That woke the rest of the Staff up except the Artillery Officer. I had
+hardly got the lights on again when we got another shell on the roof.
+Again the lights went out, and this time a piece of concrete fell out
+of the roof and crashed on to the floor, knocking over some of our
+belongings, but fortunately missing the officers inside.
+
+A few small fragments of concrete also dropped on the face of the
+Artillery Liaison Officer who had slept peacefully through the first
+concussion. He woke up then with a comical look of surprise, as if some
+one were playing a joke on him. Although another shell struck the bank
+at the doorway we had no more on the roof, and no casualties--only we
+found that all our telephone wires had been cut. I wonder whether our
+roof would have stood another direct hit! Later on in the day I filled
+the holes in the roof outside with blocks of ice and frozen earth, in
+fact anything I could find to act as a 'burster' in case of further
+shelling. At 12 o'clock midnight, being the beginning of New Year's
+Day, our artillery fired their usual reminder at the enemy. It has been
+a point of honour with us to fire off all our guns as soon as possible
+after the New Year came in. On the evening of January 1 we were
+relieved and moved back to Brandhoek. On January 3 the Division was
+taken farther back for a rest, and the Brigade marched to the district
+about Watou on the French border.
+
+Having served for two years abroad I applied for a month's leave--it
+was a privilege granted to Staff Officers who needed a rest. My leave
+warrant reached me on January 5, and next day I left Watou and
+entrained at Poperinghe for Boulogne.
+
+
+
+
+XXIX
+
+GOOD-BYE TO THE 50TH DIVISION
+
+
+When I returned to Ypres on February 8, 1918, I found that some very
+drastic changes had taken place in the grouping of battalions. Instead
+of four battalions to a brigade, there were now to be three; and every
+division was to be provided with a Pioneer battalion. This meant that
+the 50th Division, who already possessed a battalion of pioneers, had
+to part with a battalion from each brigade. And these battalions would
+have to be attached as pioneer battalions to other divisions who
+possessed no pioneer battalion. As the junior battalion in the
+Northumberlands, the 7th N.F. were selected to go from the 149th
+Infantry Brigade; and their companions in misfortune were the 9th
+D.L.I. and the 5th Border Regiment. Major-General Sir P.S. Wilkinson,
+K.C.M.G., our Divisional Commander, was good enough to say that he was
+parting with three of his best battalions.
+
+Although I had been attached to the Staff of the 149th Infantry
+Brigade since May 1916 I was included in the General Order that all
+detached officers should join their respective battalions before they
+left the Division. At the time this looked very hard. I had been a
+specialist for over two years and had got completely out of touch with
+company work. But I have no doubt now that in the events which
+happened I was very lucky to leave the 50th Division at this juncture.
+In six weeks' time I was, through the good offices of the Battalion
+H.Q., given an Intelligence job with our new Division; and the
+experience I had gained with the 50th Division was not wasted as I had
+feared it might be. Also there went with me from the 149th Infantry
+Brigade four highly-trained observers who formed the nucleus and
+backbone of the 42nd Divisional observers. On returning to the 7th
+N.F. I lost my acting-captaincy and became second in command to C
+Company. Also I had to part with many good friends in the old Brigade:
+some of them I was destined never to meet again. Lieut. E.W. Styles
+who was attached to the 149th Trench-Mortar Battery was unhappily
+killed during the German offensive; a great friend whom I shall always
+miss. My bombing orderly, L.-C. Fairclough, was also killed during the
+same operations.
+
+When I joined the 7th N.F. they were stationed at St. Jean--in Alnwick
+Camp. And here the battalion said good-bye to the Brigade.
+
+It was a singular turn of fate that this should occur here. The 7th
+N.F. had fought their first battle with the Brigade on this spot in
+April 1915, and the name of the camp was of course taken from the town
+where their H.Q. were stationed at home. When he came to say farewell
+to the battalion, General Riddell referred to this curious
+coincidence and also bade us remember the regimental motto 'Quo Fata
+Vocant' (' Whither the Fates call'). So we left the Ypres Salient for
+the last time. And although I went into Belgium again with the Army of
+Occupation, I have never set foot in Flanders again. Of all countries
+on earth it is surely the most dismal and unhappy. At least so it
+appeared to me.
+
+
+
+
+XXX
+
+DIGGING TRENCHES ABOUT LOOS
+
+
+Before we left the 50th Division we learnt that we were to join the
+42nd (East Lancashire) Territorial Division, commanded at this time by
+Major-General A. Solly-Flood, C.M.G., D.S.O. The latter Division had
+seen service in Egypt and Gallipoli before coming to France, and they
+were now resting in the Bethune area, having just left the trenches
+between Cambrin and Loos. This was in the I Corps area of the First
+Army. As pioneers to the 42nd Division the 7th N.F. became Divisional
+troops, directly under the command of the Divisional Staff and no
+longer in a brigade. The three brigades of our new division were the
+125th (Lancs. Fusiliers), 126th (East Lancashire), and 127th
+(Manchester)--all Territorial brigades. The Staff of the 42nd Division
+treated their new pioneer battalion with kindness and consideration;
+and I believe we were called on occasion 'Solly-Flood's Pets.' On the
+other hand there was friction at times between the men of the 42nd
+Division and the men of the 7th N.F.
+
+The whole Division had hitherto been drawn from the East Lancashire
+area--Manchester, Oldham, Bury, &c., and they looked upon us rather
+as intruders. The Northumberlands were of course not the people to let
+slip so admirable an opportunity of accepting a feud: and in October
+1918 they committed the unforgivable sin of winning the Divisional
+Association Football Cup, which completed their unpopularity.
+
+And for a battalion which had seen the hard service of the 7th N.F.,
+the stock jests generally levelled at a pioneer battalion were a
+little out of place. The 42nd Division proved themselves a hard
+fighting division in 1918, and lived up to their motto 'Go one
+better.'
+
+The 7th N.F. left the Ypres area about February 11, 1918, and after
+spending a few days at Brandhock they were conveyed in motor-buses to
+the small village of Fouquereuil, west of Bethune.
+
+Here the battalion was instructed to help the pioneers of the 6th
+Division, who were holding the front line trenches between Cambrin and
+Loos. Accordingly three companies of the 7th N.F. were detached from
+the battalion and sent to the forward area. I went with C Company
+(Capt. Herriott) to Philosophe, a small colliery village still partly
+inhabited by civilians, though fairly close to the front line.
+
+Our daily work was making reserve defences, trenches, deep dugouts,
+and machine-gun emplacements between Vermelles and Loos. During our
+stay of about a week at Philosophe the village was quiet. But one
+night the enemy's guns sent a perfect stream of shells just over the
+tops of the cottages for about twenty minutes. About a week after we
+left the village it was completely knocked to bits by the enemy's
+10-inch howitzer shells.
+
+Our next visit was to some reserve trenches at Cambrin, where we
+stayed for about a week, improving the defences. It was a quiet, easy
+time, though not far behind the front line. After this the four
+companies of the 7th N.F. were reduced to three, and I was transferred
+to A Company at Sailly-Labourse. Here we were some distance behind the
+front line, but working-parties were taken up to the forward area, and
+I used to go and inspect them. Shortly after our arrival at Sailly the
+enemy began to shell the back areas, causing great annoyance and some
+casualties to the civilian population, generally to children. They had
+been allowed to live here many months in peace, although not five
+miles away from the enemy's trenches. Even Sailly-Labourse received
+almost daily salvoes from long-range guns.
+
+I had a very unpleasant experience myself in my billet, a brick
+cottage, one night about March 12. I was in bed on the first
+floor--the only person in the cottage except monsieur and madame who
+slept in the cellar. About midnight the enemy's 4-inch naval guns
+started shelling the place. Three shells in succession passed just
+over the roof of my cottage, one smashed the next house to pieces; the
+next fell into our little back garden, eight yards from the cottage;
+and the third struck the road on the other side. After that I got up
+and joined monsieur and madame for ten minutes in the cellar, until
+the shelling had ceased. Then back to bed. But next day I took the
+precaution of changing my billet--going to the cellar of the broken
+house next door.
+
+It was a piteous sight to see the poor French folk as they fled from
+their homes, with their most cherished belongings packed on to small
+carts.
+
+About this time the 42nd Division decided to form a party of
+observers, known as 'Divisional Observers,' who were intended to keep
+a watch on the enemy during a battle and to report all sudden
+movements to the Division. They were really intended to collect
+information for D.H.Q. at times when the ordinary avenues of
+information had broken down. At first the party consisted of one
+officer and nine trained observers: but later on it was increased by
+the inclusion of signallers and one or two additional men.
+
+On March 15, 1918, I was instructed to return to Lapugnoy to Battalion
+H.Q. in order to organise and command this new party of men. I
+obtained this job through the kind recommendation of the Colonel and
+Adjutant of the 7th N.F. Although this side of Intelligence was not
+perhaps the one that I had most experience of, yet I hailed my return
+to an Intelligence job with delight.
+
+When I reached Lapugnoy no observers had yet arrived, but next day I
+went to interview Capt. E.C.B. Kirsopp, M.C., the G.S.O. III, who was
+the officer on the Staff directly responsible for the equipment and
+movements of the observers. Capt. Kirsopp was, I believe, the father
+of the observers, i.e. responsible for their formation, and he showed
+at all times an interest and a kindness which were fully appreciated.
+His faith in the possibilities of the party never wavered, although
+for some time it was difficult to know how to make their information
+quick and effective. However, he never lost hope in us, and he never
+ceased to try to improve the means of communication between the
+observers and D.H.Q. Amongst other things he got for the observers two
+very powerful telescopes, with a magnification of forty-five times.
+And although these glasses could not, owing to their size and the
+weight of their fittings, be used during the moving warfare, at a
+later stage they proved simply invaluable for making target sketches
+of the enemy's defences. Another officer who did us good service was
+Lieut. C.R. Stride, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. Without his aid the heavy
+telescopes would never have gone into action, and the observers would
+often have been without rations. He always took an interest in the
+little party, and provided us with many welcome comforts from his
+store.[16]
+
+On March 19 the following observers reported to me. From the 7th N.F.
+L.-C. J. Cowen and Ptes. J. King, W. Fail, and R. Ewart--all of whom
+were old friends and observers of the 149th Infantry Brigade; from the
+125th Infantry Brigade L.-C. J. Flynn; from the 126th Infantry Brigade
+Ptes. F. Dunkerley and F. Turner; from the 127th Infantry Brigade
+Corp. Walker and Pte. A. Morris. Owing to casualties and to the
+observers being recalled to their battalions the personnel of the
+party was always changing. But of the above, the four men of the 7th
+N.F. and Pte. F. Turner practically remained with the observers from
+first to last.
+
+For about a week I stayed at Lapugnoy, giving lectures to the
+observers and carrying out some field training with the compass and
+protractor. But our peaceful existence in the back area was not
+destined to last long. On Friday, March 22, I was instructed to take
+the observers to the 42nd Division Signal School at Bethune, in order
+that the men might go through a course of signalling. We reached the
+Signal School at 4 P.M. on Friday, and at 10 P.M. the same night, we
+received orders that all officers and men at the school were to be
+ready to move at 6 A.M. next morning. The long expected blow had
+fallen at last. The enemy had already launched the first wave of his
+great offensive.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[16] Lieut.-Col. H. Liddell, D.S.O., M.C., was most generous in
+providing men to replace casualties and in sending us four signallers
+from the 7th N.F. H.Q.
+
+
+
+
+XXXI
+
+THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE 1918--SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS
+
+
+March 23, 1918 was a fine day: and that was lucky for us, for we had a
+long day in the open before us. We got a hurried breakfast about six
+o'clock, and were soon marching by road to the place of assembly on
+the road from Bethune to Hesdigneul. Here we had a wait of several
+hours on the roadside, whilst an unending stream of motor-buses
+hurried past all going southwards. It was rumoured that our
+destination was Basseux, five miles S.W. of Arras; and I hoped it was
+true, for I knew the district better than any other in France. At last
+the buses allotted to the Divisional troops drew up and we got aboard
+and set off on our journey to the south. We went through Labuissière
+to St. Pol, and thence through Frévent to Doullens, and then
+north-east along the road towards Arras. Except for a few large and
+recent shell-holes by the roadside we saw little unusual until we
+began to get near Arras. We stopped for a few minutes near the C.C.S.
+at Laherlière, and I got off and asked one of the hospital orderlies
+how things were going on. We were told that our fellows had had a bad
+day on the 22nd, but that to-day far fewer casualties had passed
+through the station. Soon after that we met a number of French
+civilians with carts streaming back from Arras, guarded by French
+soldiers. We knew then that things were not going too well in front.
+
+When we reached Basseux about 6 P.M. the buses were turned round and
+we went on in an easterly direction till we reached Ayette. Here we
+got down and marched in the darkness to the ruined village of
+Adinfer. Continual flashes in the direction of Monchy-le-Preux and an
+intermittent roar from our long-range guns near at hand showed that
+fighting was still going on. But no shells arrived to add to our
+discomfort. The observers had to bivouac in Adinfer Wood, a cheerless
+proceeding after our long journey down, for we had no blankets and no
+chance of getting a hot meal. Some artillerymen gave me a drink of
+water, which I remember with gratitude, for I had had no chance of a
+drink since 6 A.M., and the roads had been choked with dust. There
+was a keen frost that night, and I could not sleep for long. When
+daylight came I managed to light a small fire and to heat up a tin of
+'Machonchie'; and this put a little more life into me. After that I
+went to Adinfer where the Divisional Staff were quartered in wooden
+huts. Here I got a cup of coffee and had a chat with the Divisional
+Intelligence Officer, Lieut. G.F. Doble, M.C. I found that D.H.Q.
+were moving back to Monchy-au-Bois. My instructions were to
+reconnoitre the roads from Ayette towards Bucquoy, Ablainzevelle,
+and Courcelles-le-Comte. So after getting quarters for my party at a
+ruined cottage in the wood, I set out with most of my men and spent
+the whole afternoon tramping the roads as far as Ablainzevelle and
+back again towards Moyenneville. Unfortunately as events proved this
+was time and labour lost. For when I reported to Capt. Kirsopp at
+Monchy-au-Bois I found that the 42nd Division had received orders
+from the IV Corps to hold the line farther south, towards Behagnies
+and Sapignies. D.H.Q. were to move next day to a camp between Logeast
+Wood and Bucquoy. I was told to send a party of observers to the east
+end of Logeast Wood and to pay a visit myself to the H.Q. near
+Bucquoy. The night was again spent in Adinfer Wood; but it was more
+comfortable for we had collected some rations and blankets and were
+less exposed to the weather.
+
+Next morning (March 25) I moved across country with L.-C. Flynn to the
+camp between Logeast Wood and Bucquoy. The country-side seemed
+deserted and no sound of firing could be heard. L.-C. Cowen took two
+observers to the east end of Logeast Wood and spent the day there, but
+nothing of importance could be seen. They were, however, shelled by
+the enemy for a time in the afternoon. Later on in the day there were
+more signs of the enemy's activity. A large dump exploded at
+Courcelles, but it may have been done by our own R.E.'s. And it was
+reported that the Germans were advancing towards Achiet-le-Grand. I
+found out that evening that D.H.Q. had moved back to the village of
+Fonquevillers; so I decided to move my men more in that direction; and
+after nightfall the observers marched along the road through
+Monchy-au-Bois to Bienvillers.
+
+On this road we saw guns and transport in large numbers, mostly going
+south. It was fairly evident to my mind that the enemy had made
+another advance during the day, but definite news was hard to get.
+Hundreds of shells from the German 4-inch naval guns fell about the
+roads all night, but I heard not one of them explode. They must have
+been a rotten lot of ammunition. On arriving at Bienvillers the
+observers got a billet in the cellars of a shattered house at the
+north end of the village. A little later I went to Fonquevillers to
+get news from D.H.Q.--and instructions for next day. The Divisional
+Staff were quartered in some Nissen huts. When I arrived they had no
+particular news, but I was asked to send a post of observers again, if
+possible, to the east end of Logeast Wood, which was thought to be
+still in our hands. After this I returned to Bienvillers about
+midnight and arranged for an early start next day.
+
+In the morning (March 26) we were cooking tea and bacon about 3.45
+A.M. when a very tired and draggled officer came in. He said he had
+just ridden over from Bapaume on a motor-cycle and he told us a sorry
+tale. He evidently thought that the Germans had broken right through
+on the Fifth Army front (i.e. on our right), and that the British
+forces were about to be surrounded. Bapaume was on fire, and the
+British Army defeated and broken in the south. This was the first
+definite news I had of the misfortunes in the Somme area. It was
+disquieting enough and I determined to approach Logeast Wood with
+caution and to keep a sharp look-out for unusual movement as we went
+forward. Accompanied by Ptes. Fail and Ewart I went across country
+towards Bucquoy as the light was beginning to break. We noticed that
+the large trees on the road to Hannescamps had been prepared by the
+R.E.'s for felling with gun cotton--the charges being ready and tied
+to the trunks so as to throw them across the road. The roads were
+already full, mostly horse transport pouring rapidly through
+Bienvillers towards Souastre. Transport from the south-east coming in
+our direction through Hannescamps appeared to be in a panic and
+expecting pursuit by the German cavalry. Once we got away from the
+road and reached Le Quesnoy Farm there was little movement to be seen.
+A few small parties of our men moving towards us across the open and
+here and there a limber. Nothing in a hurry, nothing at all to
+indicate a retreat on our own front, though it was actually taking
+place at the time. There was no sound of firing, and no shells. A
+battery of field guns still lay in a hollow just west of Bucquoy, and
+this sight rather reassured me; so I decided to push on a bit. Leaving
+my two observers on the ridge west of Dierville Farm I approached the
+ruined buildings of the farm which lie a little west of the road
+between Bucquoy and Ayette. While I was here I saw some of our
+infantry marching along this road out of Bucquoy and forming a line
+along it. One of them asked me where they could get in touch with our
+troops on the left. Though I had been told to expect them east of
+Logeast Wood they had in fact fallen back during the night and were
+even now about to leave Ablainzevelle. The troops I saw on the road
+were in fact taking up a line of resistance, for they were the British
+front line. After this I decided that Dierville Farm could be held as
+an O.P. for the time being; and so sending my two observers on, I
+returned to Bienvillers to get a little much needed rest. As I went
+back there was still no shelling and no sound of rifle fire. Yet it
+afterwards transpired that the enemy had already pushed his outposts
+forward into Ablainzevelle and west of Logeast Wood. Surely it was on
+this part of the front one of the most silent advances made in the
+war. When they returned my observers reported all quiet at Dierville
+Farm, but the two observers that relieved them at 10 A.M. found the
+enemy guns more active. After midday a number of shells were sent into
+the village of Bucquoy and not far from the farm.
+
+When I got back the roads through Bienvillers became more crowded than
+ever with horse transport, and many guns were being moved on the road
+from Monchy-au-Bois. The sides of the road, too, became crowded with
+infantry, who were apparently awaiting orders to move forward. In
+spite of the congestion on the roads the enemy made only one attempt
+that day to harass them. A 10-inch shell from a long-range gun fell in
+an open field about 100 yards short of Bienvillers Church, but it did
+no damage except to the field. The stream of traffic through the
+village continued without ceasing all that day. At 4 P.M. I received
+orders from the Division to join the 7th N.F. near Essarts and to come
+under the command of the O.C. 7th N.F. It was found impossible to make
+any direct use of the observers at the time owing to the
+disorganisation and uncertainty that prevailed; so they were added
+temporarily as a reinforcement to the battalion. It was indeed a
+crisis in the fate of the right wing of the Third Army, though at the
+time we did not realise it. At 6 p.m. the observers left Bienvillers
+and went forward along the road to Hannescamps, meeting many wounded
+on the road and a few other parties of troops returning. We found the
+battalion in a hollow west of Essarts. They were just preparing to
+move. On reporting to Major McLeod, who was in temporary command of
+the battalion, I was told to attach the observers to the H.Q. Company.
+
+The battalion had already had a brush with the enemy. On the preceding
+day, March 25, about midday they had advanced in artillery formation
+from Logeast Wood towards Achiet-le-Grand.
+
+Near that village they had come under direct fire from the enemy's
+field artillery and they had been shelled also with 5.9-inch
+howitzers. One company suffered rather severe casualties, but the
+battalion succeeded in passing through the village and filling a gap
+in the line. Later on in the day they had been relieved by the
+neighbouring Brigade and received orders to fall back first to Logeast
+Wood and later on to Ablainzevelle. The latter place they were ordered
+to leave at 8 A.M. that morning. Eventually they reached the place
+where I found them. The men were all in good spirits and evidently
+pleased with their part in the rearguard action. Very soon after I
+joined them the battalion was moved again, this time about a quarter
+of a mile to the south across the Bucquoy-Bienvillers Road. Here we
+waited till further orders should arrive, and meantime some hot soup
+and rum were served out. Then we all lay down in the open, with
+blankets it is true, but the air was so frosty that little sleep was
+possible. About midnight we got orders to go to some trenches just
+east of the village of Essarts. We marched forward to this place,
+about a mile, without any interference from the enemy. H.Q. were
+established in a small tin hut in the village. Although there were
+still many trees about the place, all trace of the buildings had
+disappeared except one or two cellars and some piles of rubbish. We
+found our field batteries stationed quite close to us, to the west and
+north of Essarts, and one in a small hollow to the east. These
+batteries kept up a pretty constant fire during the night; but so far
+the enemy did not reply. All our heavy guns seem to have been taken
+away, except possibly one battery of 60-pounder guns near Hannescamps.
+
+The two following days, March 27 and 28, were memorable for a
+continuous series of attacks by the enemy along the whole of our
+front.
+
+On the morning of the 27th I went to the east side of the Essarts Wood
+to note what was going on, and I sent a party of observers farther
+north to the high ground at Le Quesnoy Farm. About 10.30 A.M. the
+enemy's artillery opened a scattered fire on the neighbourhood of
+Essarts, apparently searching the hollows for our battery positions.
+But it was not until 11 A.M. that the enemy started to shell our
+forward positions. From 11 A.M. to 11.25 A.M. a heavy barrage of
+flame-shells was put down about Dierville Farm and along the road
+leading from Bucquoy to Ayette. I am told that they did not do much
+damage, but they were certainly a terrible sight. The flames that
+burst from these shells when they reached the ground rose up thirty or
+forty feet in the air, flared on for a few moments, and then
+disappeared into a dirty black smoke. For twenty-five minutes they
+came over fast, and they did not finally cease till 11.45 A.M. At the
+same time Biez Wood on our right was heavily shelled and the area to
+the south of Bucquoy. Our field batteries at Essarts made a gallant
+reply, pouring in an unceasing rain of shrapnel wherever the enemy was
+suspected to be concentrating. This in turn drew a very unpleasant
+fire on to Essarts, which went on without break till 2 P.M. After that
+the enemy's counter-battery guns must have run out of ammunition, for
+they gave little more trouble for the rest of the day. Our field guns
+however continued to fire all that day and through the greater part of
+the night; their fire did not slacken whether shells were bursting
+around them or not. And great credit must be given to these gunners
+for their share in dispersing five enemy attacks. The battery on the
+east side of the wood, belonging to the 41st Division, came in for
+some very severe shelling, but the gunners never ceased to fire or to
+carry ammunition forward to the guns in full view of the enemy. As
+things had become rather hot around our tin hut, H.Q. were moved to a
+cellar, used as a dressing-station, where the doctor, Capt. C.F.
+Lidderdale, made room for us.
+
+During the evening the battalion got orders to be prepared to form a
+defensive flank between Le Quesnoy Farm and Adinfer Wood. The enemy's
+attacks had made progress on our left towards Ayette, and it was
+feared that he might break through in that direction. Next morning,
+however, March 28, still found us at Essarts. The battalion was
+ordered to leave the trenches and to fall back behind the line of
+batteries on the west of the wood. In order to get a view of what was
+going on in front, I was sent by the Adjutant with two observers[17]
+to a point east of the wood, and we dug ourselves in in some
+partly-formed trenches there. In these trenches we stayed till well
+on into the afternoon, sending in reports every half-hour of what we
+could see to the H.Q. of the Infantry Brigade in Essarts. Evidently
+the enemy had renewed his attacks, for there was heavy shelling all
+along the front, and a number of shells again came in amongst the
+batteries about Essarts. During the afternoon the 7th N.F. moved
+forward to some trenches in support, on the ridge east of Essarts. And
+there the observers joined them after dark. The firing had been hot
+all day, but it now died down. And it really looked as if the enemy's
+attacks had become exhausted for the time being.
+
+This forward move by the battalion was, I found, preliminary to taking
+over the front line trenches to the north and east of Bucquoy. And
+shortly before midnight we moved out through the darkness and took
+over these trenches.[18] The front line lay on the high ground beyond
+the village. The H.Q. which we took over were in a mined dugout to the
+west of the village. This dugout had been made by the Germans before
+the end of 1916, and it was small but very deep. It soon became
+unconscionably stuffy, as there was only one entrance. But it was
+better than being in the open.
+
+Next day the enemy kept fairly quiet, but the village was shelled
+occasionally with heavy howitzers. I went out with two observers to
+the high ground west of Dierville Farm. But we saw no movement by the
+enemy's troops. Later on the enemy's guns became more active on the
+roads, and the road leading back to Essarts received salvoes all day.
+Orders came for our relief which was to start after dark. It was not
+until 10 P.M. that the companies in the front line were relieved and
+the H.Q. Company was free to move off. The journey to Fonquevillers,
+where we were going, was not without interference from the enemy.
+Hitherto I had had great luck in escaping being shelled on the roads
+at night, but to-night my luck was out. As we moved back along the
+road to Essarts--the doctor and I at the end of the column--a number
+of gas-shells were dropped on the windward side of the road. They were
+not thick enough to stop us, but they smelt very bad. As we approached
+the cross-roads east of Essarts a 5.9-inch shell fell close by the
+roadside. We had a shower of mud thrown over us by this shell, and
+three more came in quick succession, but not quite so unpleasantly
+close.
+
+An incident also of a disagreeable kind occurred near the end of our
+journey. Between Gommecourt and Fonquevillers we had to halt, until
+the trenches allotted to us had been located. At this point the road
+was packed with troops returning from the line; and some battalions
+brought their cookers here, so that the road was crammed almost tight
+with men and transport. For a long time nothing happened, but
+eventually a German field battery fired several rapid salvoes of
+shells enfilading the road. Fortunately the greater number fell
+slightly wide of the road, but a few men in one of the Manchester
+battalions were hit. It was however a lucky escape. After this the
+road cleared quickly and we moved on into Fonquevillers. This village
+had been badly knocked about in the early days of the war, and few
+houses were in anything but ruins.
+
+But there were still many cellars intact, and also a number of tin
+huts built for the French refugees in 1917. Officers of Battalion H.Q.
+were billeted in a cellar, and this was improved by mattresses,
+tables, and chairs brought in from the huts outside. Here in spite of
+intermittent shelling we got a much needed rest. But Fonquevillers was
+no place for a permanent rest cure. The village was shelled on and off
+all day, and several of our men were hit. I assisted the Adjutant,
+Capt. S.P. Brook-Booth, M.C., to collect a supply of early vegetables
+from the little gardens; and the officers in our reserve camp at
+Souastre thoughtfully sent up a couple of cooked chickens and a few
+other luxuries, so that evening we had something in the nature of a
+feast. Next morning, March 31, Lieut. Johnston, temporarily in command
+of A Company got a shell splinter through his hand and had to be sent
+back. I was then put in command of A Company and left Battalion H.Q.,
+so that for some days the observers were not under my charge. About
+this time L.-C. Flynn, one of the observers, was seriously wounded by
+a shell, and we learnt later on that he died of his wounds. It was an
+unlucky affair, for he was one of the best observers. But I had no
+further casualties for a long time. I found A Company quartered in a
+line of old trenches between Gommecourt Wood and Fonquevillers. I
+believe they were part of the old British front line before the Somme
+battle started. Accommodation was very limited, and I found the other
+officers of A Company,[19] four in number, with their batmen and cook
+all crowded together in a small shelter. It was as may be imagined
+uncomfortably hot at times, especially during the night, part of which
+I spent in the trench outside. We only got a few shells from the enemy
+here, his attention was directed more to the village behind us and
+Gommecourt Wood in front.
+
+On April 1 we got orders to proceed after dark to the front line
+trenches at Bucquoy--A Company was to hold those on the left, with B
+Company to their right. We were also given a route, but in the
+darkness it was difficult to find and it led to a curious incident on
+our journey forward. We assembled the company on the road outside
+Gommecourt and made towards the village as fast as the crowded state
+of the road would allow. Happily we were not shelled here, but there
+were signs on the road that others had not been so fortunate. When we
+reached Gommecourt, a mere ruin now of broken trees and buildings, we
+were clear of the press of transport and troops. We turned south-east
+hoping to strike a tramway running towards Biez Wood. Nothing,
+however, could we see of the tramway, and we could only push on,
+hoping to find it. After going on awhile we certainly seemed to be
+reaching a rather queer place, for we saw our men setting out wire,
+and a rather scared little man appeared out of the darkness and told
+us that 'Jerry was over there,' pointing down the road. We did not
+stop for this, but when a German Verey light shot up almost under our
+noses, we decided that we had indeed come too far and that it was time
+to turn back. This we did without waste of time and retraced our steps
+to Gommecourt. I was expecting any minute to hear a machine-gun open
+on us down the road. But if 'Jerry' was there in any force he had
+decided to keep quiet, and we got safely back to Gommecourt. After
+this experience we took a way that we knew, although it was not the
+one laid down for us. And after a long march in the dark we struck the
+Essarts-Bucquoy Road, and found our guides awaiting us on the road
+near Bucquoy. Whilst this relief was going on our field batteries kept
+up a hot fire on the enemy's front, but he made no reply.
+
+The guides took us by a winding route through the north end of Bucquoy
+to the trenches, which consisted of an old German drain, very straight
+and about six feet deep. It ran parallel to the east side of the
+village and about 200 yards from its outskirts. The Company H.Q. lay a
+little way behind the front line and consisted of a short narrow slit
+in the ground, roofed over with tin--one of the smallest shelters I
+have ever been in. It was possible to sit down, but not to lie down,
+and the floor was inches deep in cold mud. Here I found two very
+disconsolate officers awaiting relief. They seemed to be nearly
+perished with the cold and wet, and quite worn out by their cheerless
+sojourn in the trenches. The trench lay on the slope of a slight hill,
+the crest being about 200 yards away. The enemy were not close, their
+position was out of sight and unknown. But to the left Logeast Wood
+was clearly visible, and the enemy were known to be there. Our trench
+ended abruptly on the left, and the nearest British troops on this
+flank were some way off and more to the east, so that there was a
+considerable gap in the line here. On the right of course we were in
+touch with B Company, who were commanded by Lieut. Affleck, M.C., a
+veteran of the Houthulst Forest battle, and one of our most
+redoubtable warriors in the 7th N.F. I knew that I need not worry
+about my right flank! No smoke from fires could be allowed in the
+trenches, and cooking had to be done over small fires of fine wood
+splinters. When morning came it was possible to have a better look
+round. All the reserve ammunition, about 5000 rounds, had been pulled
+out of the boxes, and the bandoliers were mostly buried in the mud. It
+was a great business clearing the trench of mud and salvaging and
+cleaning the ammunition. The enemy did not know where we were. All
+morning three of his aeroplanes, flying low, hovered about our little
+trench, occasionally firing bursts at us with their machine-guns. We
+only replied with an occasional shot, and of course they could not
+tell where that came from. At any rate the German guns let the trench
+alone and poured a stream of heavy shells all day and night into the
+village behind us and into the hedges at the east end. The fact
+appeared quite clearly later on that the enemy could not locate our
+front line. A messenger dog, belonging to the enemy, was captured at
+this time near Bucquoy, bearing a message in German as follows: 'The
+affair of Bucquoy is off for the present, as we don't know where Tommy
+is.' It was well indeed for our two companies that the drain trench
+was not suspected by the enemy. There were no traverses in it from one
+end to the other, and a very few well-aimed shells would have blown us
+to pieces.
+
+That night (April 2) the British forces made a counter-attack at
+Ayette and drove the enemy as far back as the old hangars at
+Moyenneville. Seen from the trenches at Bucquoy it was a fine sight.
+The enemy put up all kinds of coloured lights, including silhouette
+lights and 'flaming onions' both orange and mauve.
+
+Meanwhile we of the 7th N.F. undertook a small venture against certain
+parties of the enemy that had been seen and sniped at from B Company's
+trench. These parties were busy digging trenches about 400 yards away
+to our front. Soon after dark 2nd-Lieuts. J. Dodds and J.H. Edmunds
+took out a raiding party of over twenty men in order to secure a
+prisoner if possible. As it turned out this was done quickly enough
+and without firing a shot.
+
+For on the party creeping forward to the wire belt at the top of the
+hill, a German N.C.O. walked towards them, was surprised by 2nd-Lieut.
+Dodds, and surrendered without a struggle. He was already slightly
+wounded, and had come forward perhaps to have a look at the wire. He
+was brought back at once to the trench, and it fell to me to examine
+the man and to remove all papers from him except his pay-book and
+identity disc. I went out and examined him in a mixture of such broken
+French and German as I could summon at so short a notice. I also went
+through his papers with the aid of lighted matches. After this he was
+sent down under escort to Battalion H.Q., and thence to D.H.Q.
+
+It proved to be a useful capture, for it showed that a fresh German
+division had arrived opposite our front. Later on 2nd-Lieut. Dodds was
+awarded the Military Cross for the capture. Early next morning (April
+3) the Division sent orders that I should return with the Divisional
+observers to the rear. So I left the trench in charge of 2nd-Lieut. N.
+Holt and went back with my servant through Bucquoy, taking care to
+avoid certain large shells which were falling every now and then about
+the village. Calling at Battalion H.Q. I found that the observers were
+now in some trenches about half a mile farther back in the direction
+of Essarts. I soon found them, however, and whilst waiting for them
+to get ready I was hospitably supplied with some whisky and soda by
+the officers of one of the Lancashire Regiments.
+
+At last we set off in small parties towards Gommecourt, our
+destination being Souastre, a long march for tired men. Whilst passing
+Biez Wood we came in for some rather unpleasant attention from the
+enemy's artillery, whose observers could see movement at this spot all
+too well. However we got away at last without mishap and collected
+again short of Gommecourt, where we halted for a meal of bully and
+biscuit. Eventually after passing through Gommecourt and Fonquevillers
+we struggled on to Souastre, very footsore and completely worn out.
+
+From March 23 onwards it had been one long strain, heavy marching most
+days and, with few exceptions, sleepless nights. For myself I was a
+very tramp, boots worn to pieces, clothes hanging with mud, and thick
+with mud up to the eyes. Undoubtedly it was the most trying experience
+physically that I have ever been through. At Souastre I called at rear
+Battalion H.Q., where Capt. Herriott of B Company kindly lent me his
+rubber boots and some clean socks, a great luxury and comfort. Then I
+went on to the Officers' Hut at the battalion reserve camp, and was
+able to lie down and sleep till well on into the next day. Souastre
+was not a bad place to rest, for it was shelled only very occasionally
+with long-range guns.
+
+The following afternoon (April 4) Capt. Kirsopp came to see me and he
+brought a motor-car. He wished to reconnoitre a 'battle O.P.,' i.e. a
+place in the back area from which to observe enemy shelling of the
+forward areas or enemy attacks on our line. I was told that things
+were expected to happen next day; and I was instructed to find a post
+where I could see what was going on, somewhere in the neighbourhood of
+the Château de la Haie.
+
+In the morning (April 5) I went with Corp. Walker and L.-C. Cowen to
+the Bayencourt Ridge, south of the château, and we got into a small
+trench. Things certainly were happening, for the enemy was scattering
+his heavy high-velocity shells broadcast over the country. He seemed
+to direct them chiefly against our battery positions and the roads and
+trenches in rear of Fonquevillers and Sailly-au-Bois. The number of
+these shells was unusually large; but later on towards 10 A.M. things
+began to quieten down in the back area. What had happened was this.
+The 37th Division with the assistance of tanks made a counter-attack
+on Rossignol Wood. The Germans had prepared to make another of their
+grand attacks that same morning. But it was anticipated by about half
+an hour. The result was a fierce struggle in which we gained a little
+ground and a certain number of prisoners. The German attack therefore
+came to nothing, and this proved to be his last attempt of a serious
+kind on our part of the front. Anxiety was not however, at an end for
+many days to come.
+
+During the next few days the observers held a battle O.P. near the
+orchard in Fonquevillers. It was a long walk from Souastre and back,
+but fairly quiet, for it could be reached by going across country and
+avoiding the sorely harassed roads.
+
+On April 8 the 42nd Division was taken back for a short rest to the
+area round Authie.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[17] Ptes. Fail and Ewart.
+
+[18] Major V. Merivale, M.C. (C Company), Capt. Herriott (B Company),
+and Lieut. P. Cole (A Company) were, I think, in charge of the three
+companies.
+
+[19] Second-Lieuts. N. Holt, C.R. King, J. Dodds, and J. Lassey.
+
+
+
+
+XXXII
+
+TRENCH WARFARE--HÉBUTERNE
+
+
+During Divisional rest the observers were attached for rations and
+accommodation to the H.Q. Company of the 7th N.F. We marched back,
+therefore, with the battalion through Couin and St. Leger to Authie.
+We found nice billets awaiting us in this pleasant French village,
+which was too far from the enemy to be afflicted with shell fire. It
+was full of French civilians, and the small shops had various little
+luxuries to which we had been unused for some time. From Authie Woods
+to Bayencourt ran the 'Red Line' trenches, a sort of 'last-but-one'
+reserve line, which had been hastily dug by Chinese labourers and were
+still only about four feet deep. We did not stay long at Authie, for
+the billets were wanted to accommodate French troops who were being
+hurried northwards to the battle now raging about Kemmel.
+
+On April 12 the 7th N.F. moved forward to the village of Coigneux and
+H.Q. were established in a French estaminet. There were civilians here
+too, but the village was liable to be shelled and half of them had
+gone away. A distressing attack of tooth-ache took me twice to the
+C.C.S. near Doullens. I found that town more deserted than it used to
+be, for the Germans had shelled and bombed it vigorously since their
+offensive started.
+
+On April 16, after a week's rest, the 42nd Division took over the
+trenches running from Gommecourt to Hébuterne. The same day the
+observers moved to some old trenches north of the Château de la Haie.
+It was a cold place in wet weather, and we were occasionally shelled.
+But after a few days through the kindness of Col. Guy, the G.S.O. I,
+billets were found for us in a cottage at Bayencourt, which lies about
+half a mile south of the château. It was indeed a pleasant oasis in a
+badly shelled area. Why the enemy left the place alone I cannot say.
+But when we got there there were still plenty of old French folk, who
+lived quietly on amid the surrounding strife, and continued to keep
+their cows in the fields and to cultivate the land. The church had not
+been shelled, for a wonder, and the clock was still going and striking
+the hours.
+
+The observers sent up two parties of two men every day to an O.P.
+north-east of Hébuterne. The other men manned a battle O.P. on the
+Bayencourt Ridge during the morning.
+
+April 23, St. George's Day, provided a little excitement for three of
+us. We were told to try to find an O.P. near the Quarries at
+Hébuterne, not generally a very healthy spot. As we were shelled
+incessantly all the time we were near the place, the idea of
+establishing a post here was abandoned. And eventually another post
+was fixed on, on the north-east side of Hébuterne. Some useful work
+was done here by the observers; they obtained some valuable
+information about enemy movement and got the artillery to shell a
+relief that was taking place. At the close of our tour in the line,
+which occurred about May 4, the IV Corps directed all Infantry
+observers to take sound bearings of enemy guns and to wire them at
+once to the Counter-Battery Office. This was gratifying, as we had
+made a special effort to report these sound bearings, a system of
+which I had learnt something in the Salient.
+
+From May 4 to June 9 the Division remained in the rest area about
+Couin. The observers left Bayencourt and joined the 7th N.F. at
+Coigneux, where we lived in tents on the high chalky ground south of
+Rossignol Farm. I messed with the officers of A Company, and shared a
+tent with Lieut W.H. Fisher and 2nd-Lieut Dodd. Owing to the bombing
+and shelling in the neighbourhood, we were ordered to fortify our
+tents. So we had a small trench dug for each inside the tent and in
+these we put our valises. It was rather like a shallow grave, but it
+gave you a feeling of security when bits were flying about. During
+this month the observers had a little mild training each day; but the
+G.O.C. sent word to me to rest the men as much as possible. I amused
+myself at the battle O.P. on Bayencourt Ridge and sent in daily
+reports of sound bearings to the IV Corps Counter-Battery Office.
+
+On the whole the enemy let our camp fairly well alone. We had one
+large bomb dropped in the camp, but it failed to do any material
+damage. Latterly the 4-inch naval guns took to sending a few shells
+over daily, but we had only a few men wounded from splinters. Other
+units near us came off worse. During the rest at Coigneux we had a
+visit from some American troops. I think they had come to gain a
+little mild experience of our methods. Anyway a small party of their
+observers came to see how we held our posts. And they were taken to
+the battle O.P. and to the forward O.P. at Hébuterne.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIII
+
+TRENCH WARFARE--THE COLINCAMPS RIDGE
+
+
+No offensive operations on a large scale were undertaken against the
+enemy on the IV Corps front, Bucquoy to Auchonvillers, before the
+middle of August 1918. The period from May onwards was spent in
+strengthening the defences and in wearing down the enemy's strength
+and morale. The latter object was achieved by continual harassing fire
+from our guns, strong counter-battery, periodical gas projections,
+bombing from our aeroplanes, and raids. It was still necessary to work
+hard on our defences, for the German offensive was by no means over,
+and it was impossible to say at what moment the enemy might renew his
+attacks on this part of the front.
+
+The part played by the Divisional observers during this period of
+trench warfare was more important and useful than at any other period
+of their employment. This was partly due to the excellent position for
+ground observation on the ridge between Colincamps and Auchonvillers,
+and partly to the improvement in means of communication with D.H.Q.
+and the artillery. Great credit is due to Capt. Kirsopp for his
+continual efforts to make the information obtained more rapid and
+effective. And also to the men who got the information by patiently
+sticking to their job for ten long weeks, sometimes under trying and
+discouraging conditions.
+
+The observers were quartered in a number of small shelters on the high
+ground between Coigneux and Bus, well back from the shelled and bombed
+area. The shelters were in the side of a green mound, near the Bus
+waterworks; and this place was used as a battle O.P. and became known
+as 'Eve' O.P. From here there was a splendid view of the country just
+behind the British front line. So that the observers stationed here
+could say at once where heavy shelling was going on, either by day or
+by night. A telephone connected 'Eve' O.P. with D.H.Q. and also with
+the forward O.P. The latter post was about four miles away in a small
+trench on the ridge north of Auchonvillers near some apple trees,
+which perhaps suggested the name 'Adam' O.P. In many ways it was an
+admirable place for an O.P. If care was taken it could be approached
+without being seen by the enemy. It was screened by a thick hedge and
+also by a deep belt of wire about thirty yards in front of the hedge.
+The O.P. itself was in the hedge bank, and was roofed over with
+several small 'elephant' shelters, with earth on top of them. There
+was plenty of room for at least three men to work inside. And
+observation was obtained through a small opening in the hedge bank.
+The opening was always further screened by sandbags, so that only
+the end of the telescope was exposed to the enemy and that was always
+in a deep shadow. A few yards away outside the O.P. in the trench was
+a small mined dugout. This was not very deep, about six feet down at
+the most; but it was under the roots of the hedge, a good protection
+against the shells of field guns. In this dugout the observers who
+were not on duty were able to sleep, and the men in the O.P. could
+take refuge in case of heavy shelling. The O.P. was connected by
+telephone with D.H.Q. and also with Eve O.P. Not far away in the same
+trench there were other O.P.'s, one held by the Lovat Scouts (Corps
+Observers) and another, 'Rose' O.P., by the heavy artillery.
+
+   [Illustration: Panorama from Adam O.P., July 1918.]
+
+Our method of working the two O.P.'s was as follows. The N.C.O., L.-C.
+Cowen, remained at Eve O.P. and assisted me with various duties there,
+and with the duty of inspecting the working of Adam O.P. The other
+observers, eight in number, were divided into two groups of four, one
+in charge of Pte. J. King and the other in in charge of Pte. W.O.S.
+Fail. Three observers from No. 1 group went forward to Adam O.P. and
+stayed there for forty-eight hours, drawing their rations each day
+from the nearest Battalion H.Q. After this they were relieved by three
+observers from No 2 group and so on. By this arrangement I was able to
+rest the men and to carry on observation continuously for ten weeks
+without unduly tiring the men. Out of the four observers in a group,
+only three were at Adam O.P. at the same time, the fourth man
+remaining back at Eve O.P. for a rest. Thus during sixteen days each
+observer had three tours of duty at Adam O.P. lasting two days each,
+two rests of two days, and then a rest of six days. This kept all the
+men fresh, an important matter if you wish for good observation.
+
+At Adam O.P. two of the three observers were always at the telescope
+during daylight, and one was resting in the dugout. And at night one
+had to remain awake, to be able to report heavy shelling to D.H.Q. and
+to act as gas sentry for the others. It was of course all done in a
+system of reliefs amongst themselves. During these summer months
+observation was possible in the most favourable circumstances from
+3.45 A.M. to 9.10 P.M., so the night was comparatively short. Adam
+O.P. was visited on alternate days by L.-C. Cowen and myself. I went
+invariably in the early morning, so as to arrive at the O.P. about an
+hour or so after observation had become possible. The enemy exposed
+himself more freely during the two or three hours after dawn than at
+any other time during the day. By going up early I was able to see
+that the men were at their post at this important time, and to get
+their early information, often of importance, as soon as possible. It
+meant starting in the dark, and often a cold wet journey across
+country, but the good fellows at the O.P. always had a cup of tea for
+me--a little act of kindness which illustrates our friendly
+relations.
+
+The most interesting things we could see from Adam O.P. were the
+German front line trenches south and south-west of Serre, two spots
+known as 'L. 33. a. O. 9.' and 'Q. 6. a. 9. 8.' where anyone
+approaching these forward trenches had to cross a ridge and so come
+under our observation, the German transport roads about
+Achiet-le-Petit, Irles, and Loupart Wood. The German front line was
+within 2000 yards, Q. 6. a. within 4000 yards, L. 33. a. rather over
+6000 yards, and the roads well over 10,000 yards away. Near to Pys was
+a German C.C.S., which was narrowly watched, for any increase in its
+size would have probably meant preparation for an attack. And behind
+Irles was a derelict British tank which the Germans used as an O.P.,
+for it was invariably visited by a number of men just before one of
+their reliefs took place, and at no other time.
+
+Every day two reports were sent in to D.H.Q. of all movement seen
+during the preceding twelve hours. And every movement seen was entered
+into a Log Book. This was my special department; and after a time it
+was possible to compile a further book called the Summary Book, with
+coloured charts of daily movement. In a short time we discovered the
+average or normal movement for the twenty-four hours. And after that
+it was quite simple to warn the Division at once whenever any movement
+of an abnormal character was taking place.
+
+Owing to weak eyesight I could not do much telescope work myself--my
+part of the field work was map reading, in which I had considerable
+assistance from aeroplane photographs at D.H.Q. I asked the observers
+to make telescopic sketches, on every compass bearing, of what they
+could see. And then from these sketches and with my own maps and
+protractor I was able to tell them what they were looking at on the
+map, and to prepare a panoramic sketch for their use at Adam O.P. Pte.
+King sent in an admirable series of sketches which were most useful in
+this work of discovery. Later on the more powerful telescope was also
+taken up to Adam O.P., and with this Pte. Fail did some most useful
+work. With his exceptional eyesight and a gift for sketching he made a
+series of excellent artillery target sketches. These I copied out and
+coloured and sent to D.H.Q.; and they were sent on to the IV Corps
+Heavy Artillery. These targets were fired at with great success. For
+example one of the first sent in was of a cook-house and wireless
+station at L. 33. a. On July 11 the heavy artillery carried out a
+successful shoot on the place, using Adam O.P. as their observing
+station. In order to place on record some of the work done by my
+observers at Adam O.P. I will give some of the results of their
+systematic observation.
+
+A Divisional relief on July 3 and 4 was spotted by Capt. Kirsopp on
+information given by the observers of exceptional movement in the
+forward area. Another Divisional relief was detected by largely
+increased movement on July 25. And a battalion relief on August 6,
+with disastrous results for the enemy. At least fifty copies of
+different telescopic sketches were sent in to the Division, including
+a series of eight showing new workings by the Germans in their front
+line system. Reports of nearly seventy gun-flashes were sent in as
+well as many sound bearing reports. The following numbers of German
+infantry and transport vehicles were reported from Adam O.P.
+
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+| Month  | Days |  Days of  | Effective | Infantry | Transport |
+|        |      | Bad Light |   Days    |   Seen   | Vehicles  |
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+|June    |  21  |     8     |    13     |   2,100  |     83    |
+|        |      |           |           |          |           |
+|July    |  31  |     7     |    24     |   5,400  |    413    |
+|        |      |           |           |          |           |
+|August  |  20  |     4     |    16     |   4,650  |    205    |
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+|Total   |  72  |    19     |    53     |  12,150  |    791    |
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+
+Our two best days occurred on August 6 and 12. On the 6th a large
+movement was observed in the early hours, indicating a relief, which
+was reported to the Division at once by wire. So that when the relief
+was continued at night, our artillery were prepared to deal with the
+German parties moving in or out of the trenches. On this day alone
+1126 infantry and 55 transport vehicles were seen on the move. The
+42nd Division Intelligence Report of August 7 reported the matter as
+follows:
+
+    'Relief south of the Serre-Mailly Road which commenced on a
+    large scale on the morning of the 6th was continued during the
+    evening; between 6.50 and 8.20 P.M. 197 men with packs in
+    nineteen parties came towards the front line past Q. 6. a. 95.
+    80. These parties were engaged by H.A. with great success.
+    Casualties caused being estimated to be at least fifty; four
+    direct hits were obtained on a party at 7.15 P.M., and on one
+    occasion an out-going party was seen to have a free fight with
+    an in-going party to gain possession of a sunken track or trench
+    in Q. 6. a. Total hostile infantry seen by Divisional O.P. on
+    the 6th reached the high number of 1126.'
+
+The observers had their share in those fifty casualties, as Pte. F.
+Turner went to Rose O.P. and directed the Sergeant Gunner in charge to
+the proper map reference of the German troops. That 6-inch battery
+shot superbly, and I wish I knew the Sergeant's name. The G.O.C. sent
+his congratulations to the observers on the day's work.
+
+On August 12 at 6 A.M. the observers informed me that the Germans had
+been seen going out of their trenches in large numbers and all
+carrying packs, rifles, and boxes as well. On this I sent a pigeon
+message to the Corps, saying that the enemy might be retiring now. As
+it happened this was quite correct, as the Germans admitted themselves
+a few days later in their communiqué.
+
+I also wish to put on record an act of kindness to the observers by
+the Division and Corps. On August 8 the enemy began to shell the
+neighbourhood of Adam O.P. rather severely with a 5.9-inch howitzer
+battery. As this went on, I rang up D.H.Q. and asked if anything could
+be done in retaliation against the enemy's O.P.'s in L. 33. a. Col.
+Guy told me that he would see what the Corps would do for us; and rang
+up later to tell me to ask the observers at Adam O.P. to note results
+at 2.30 P.M. At the appointed time, every active heavy gun in the
+Corps fired a shell simultaneously against selected targets, including
+L. 33. a. There were at least four brigades of heavies in the Corps
+and the noise was colossal. It must have astonished the enemy as much
+as it did me.
+
+On August 9, 2nd-Lieut. Edmunds of the 7th N.F. came to assist me, and
+to take over command of the observers during my leave which was now
+drawing near. I told him that we had never been shelled at Eve O.P.
+But as luck would have it that very afternoon, about 2 P.M., a
+long-range gun shelled the O.P. for about twenty minutes; and I had to
+clear the men off into the neighbouring Red Line trenches till the
+annoyance ceased.
+
+On August 14 the enemy were attacked all along the IV Corps front and
+a considerable advance was made that day. Pte. King remained at the
+telescope all day, and sent in a number of interesting reports about
+the enemy's movements.
+
+At this point I have to break off the narrative, as my leave warrant
+arrived that night and I left the observers till August 31 in charge
+of 2nd-Lieut. J.H. Edmunds.
+
+One word about the admirable services of my batman, Pte. W. Critchlow.
+For ten weeks and more, in addition to looking after my own personal
+comforts, he cooked for the whole party of observers at Eve O.P. This
+may seem a small matter, but he never had a rest like the other men,
+and his hard work contributed materially to the comfort and efficiency
+of the section.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIV
+
+THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE 1918--BAPAUME RETAKEN
+
+
+On my return to France, I reached Authieule railway station on August
+31, and went on next morning, partly by car and motor-bus and partly
+on foot, to Miraumont. Here I found the observers with B Company
+(Capt. W.N. Craigs, M.C.) of the 7th N.F. near the railway station. It
+had been strange passing over the smitten ground on the Serre Ridge,
+and it was possible then to realise the terrible effects of our heavy
+shell fire. Gangs of men were now mending the road all the way to
+Miraumont; but it must have been in a shocking state. In one place
+part of a transport cart hung suspended from the shattered branches of
+a tree; and everywhere the ground was absolutely churned to pieces.
+
+I learnt that D.H.Q. had moved forward to Grevillers, and on September
+3 I decided to make a move forward to Loupart Wood, in order to get
+the observers more in touch with them.
+
+We were badly handicapped in all the succeeding stages of the campaign
+by having no transport to move our belongings. Besides the ordinary
+infantryman's equipment, no light weight, we had our blankets, three
+telescopes, compasses, and a lot of maps, books, and stationery, and
+our daily ration to carry as well. By good luck, however, we found an
+old German hand-cart in very fair condition about the station yard;
+and we used this hand-cart for getting our gear along for many a weary
+mile. In fact we finally dropped it at Le Quesnoy on November 5, not
+because it was worn out, but because other transport was found for us.
+By the evening of September 3 we got settled into some dugouts at the
+north end of Loupart Wood. There were a few dead Germans scattered
+about, but a lot more dead horses than men. And as the weather was
+hot, the air was none too pleasant.
+
+Next day I visited D.H.Q. who were in some tents outside Grevillers,
+and Capt. Kirsopp told me that the observers were urgently needed. It
+was proposed to send a party of them forward on bicycles to keep in
+touch with the retreating Germans. And so the same day Ptes. King and
+Drake (7th N.F.) and F. Greenwood (10th M.B.) went forward towards
+Havrincourt Wood to get such news as they could. It had been intended
+at first that I should go with them, but it was found impossible to
+provide me with a horse. The British forces had already taken Bapaume,
+Villers-au-Flos, and Riencourt, and the enemy were supposed to be
+retreating fast in the direction of the old Hindenburg Line which lay
+beyond Havrincourt Wood. Pte. King's party did good work; they went
+through Barastre and Bus in front of the advance guards of the
+infantry, and met with no opposition beyond occasional long-range
+machine-gun fire. Their first O.P. was just south of Bertincourt, and
+the following days near Neuville-Bourjonval. For this expedition Pte.
+King was awarded the Military Medal. On September 3 I went with Pte.
+Turner to some high ground just south of Bapaume and stayed there
+several hours. From here little shelling could be seen, the main body
+of the enemy must have retired as far as Havrincourt Wood. Long-range
+shells fell near Bapaume and the railway during the day. The same
+evening I reported at D.H.Q., and found things pretty lively during my
+visit; for two or three German 'planes dropped a number of bombs about
+the place, not a pleasant experience for those living in tents. Next
+day (September 4) the observers moved forward with the hand-cart
+through Grevillers and then to Thilloy and across country to the high
+ground south of Bapaume. Here there were plenty of small German
+shelters and dugouts partially protected by a shallow trench. In these
+we took up our quarters, whilst D.H.Q. moved to some ammunition
+dugouts on the other side of the road from Bapaume to Peronne. Next
+day (September 5) accompanied by Pte. Turner I reconnoitred the high
+ground about Bus. There were many German dead still lying about near
+the approaches to Villers-au-Flos, where a considerable stand must
+have been made by the German machine-gunners to cover the retreat.
+Also we saw on our way back a party of the 7th N.F. preparing to bury
+a number of our own men who had fallen in the advance. The same
+evening I was told that the 42nd Division would be relieved that night
+by the New Zealand Division, and that the observers should stand fast
+until further orders, Pte. King's party joined us the next day. We
+stayed here for the next two weeks, in what proved to be quite
+comfortable quarters. A German soda-water factory was discovered at
+Beaulencourt, and we were in time to secure a few bottles. Training
+was now resumed in the mornings, and the observers practised sending
+and receiving messages with four signallers of the 7th N.F. who were
+attached to us. In the afternoon we were free to roam over the recent
+battle-field, where many souvenirs of the enemy could be picked up. We
+now lay just to the north of the old Somme battle-ground. And on
+September 15 I went to Martinpuich by bus down the Albert-Bapaume Road
+and revisited the scene of our attack on the High Wood Ridge, which
+had taken place just two years before. During our stay at this place
+we had visits every night from German aircraft. But they fared none
+too well. I saw one aeroplane brought down in flames at night near
+Villers-au-Flos by our anti-aircraft guns; and two others shared the
+same fate. This was a great feather in the cap of the anti-aircraft
+gunners; for an aeroplane is particularly difficult to hit at night.
+
+The 42nd Division was ordered to relieve the 37th Division on
+September 22. The latter Division had now reached the old British
+front line east of Havrincourt Wood. And the Germans were now in the
+Hindenburg Line, behind 'the walls of bronze' which had checked us
+once and which they hoped would again stay the pursuit of their beaten
+legions.
+
+One particularly disgusting feature of our journey in pursuit of the
+enemy was the dreadful state of the huts he had occupied. They all
+appeared to be moving with lice and fleas, and it was a most difficult
+matter to keep oneself free from their unpleasant attentions. It was
+the same wherever we stopped.
+
+
+
+
+XXXV
+
+THE STORMING OF THE HINDENBURG LINE NEAR TRESCAULT
+
+
+On September 20 I went with Lieut. G.F. Doble, the Divisional
+Intelligence Officer, to visit the new area in front. We found D.H.Q.
+established in a wonderful series of huts south-west of Vélu Wood.
+These had been the H.Q. of some German Corps, and wonderfully well
+barricaded they were. Inside each hut, which was panelled with wood,
+there was a sliding panel which admitted to a deep shelter dugout
+beneath. Here in case of bombing by our aeroplanes, the German officer
+had been able to retire quickly and without loss of dignity to a place
+of safety. From here we paid a short visit by motor-car to the B.H.Q.
+north-west of Havrincourt Wood. On returning through Bapaume I had the
+great pleasure of meeting Major W. Anderson, D.S.O., M.C., my old
+Brigade-Major, who was now G.S.O. II of the 37th Division.
+
+On September 21 the observers went forward with their hand-cart
+through Riencourt, Villers-au-Flos, and Haplincourt to the outskirts
+of Bertincourt. We first selected some empty huts near Vélu Wood as
+our place of residence. But as we were shelled about five minutes
+after arriving, we decided to move a little farther from the wood.
+Finally we found two useful Nissen huts built into the roadside and
+sheltered by some tall elm trees, just west of Bertincourt. It was not
+a very quiet or healthy spot anywhere near Bertincourt; but we were
+not damaged by the enemy's shells, though occasionally annoyed. The
+same afternoon I went forward by myself to reconnoitre a position for
+the Divisional O.P. And I found a useful place in the north of
+Havrincourt Wood, or rather in the rough thorny scrub that had once
+formed part of the wood.
+
+   [Illustration: Scene of the Attack on the Hindenburg Line, Sept.
+   28, 1918.]
+
+Observation was obtained through the branches of a tree, and a small
+shelter dugout was close at hand. The field of view extended along the
+left flank of the Corps and Divisional front, and went a long way back
+to the high ground between Niergnes and Esnes. Flesquières, Ribécourt,
+Marcoing, Rumilly, and Masnières could all be seen. The next few days
+were spent in locating our surroundings and in reporting the traffic
+seen on the back roads. On September 27 I went with L.-C. Cowen to
+inspect an O.P. in the British front-line system south-east of
+Trescault. We went through the wood and then along a winding C.T.
+which brought us to the front line. Here we found a deep dugout with a
+ladder leading up to an O.P. on ground level. The view in front was
+not altogether satisfactory, but towards the left it was good.
+
+At dawn on September 28 the grand assault on the Hindenburg Line
+began. It was quite successful on our left and on the left of our
+front, but the Division on our right had great difficulty in getting
+forward. By the following day, however, the line was advanced along
+the whole front, and the N.Z. Division, taking over the pursuit from
+us, made good captures of men and guns. L.-C. Cowen and Pte.
+McGarrigle went to the O.P. in the front line on September 28 and had
+rather a rough passage. Pte. Fail had a small party at the other O.P.,
+and obtained a fairly good view of the battle. On September 29 Pte.
+King went with Pte. Chappell in the direction of Ribécourt, but this
+expedition was brought to an end by a shell which wounded Pte.
+Chappell badly in the face. This was the second and, as events turned
+out, the last casualty amongst my observers. I spent a long time the
+second day with the observers at the O.P. in Havrincourt Wood and we
+saw much German transport hurrying back south of Niergnes. On the
+night of September 29 the 42nd Division was relieved, and I received
+instructions to remain at our quarters near Bertincourt. After the
+battle we were no longer troubled with any shells. Second-Lieut.
+Edmunds who had been on leave since we left Miraumont came back to
+assist me, for about another month. Great droves of German prisoners
+now began to pass us several times a day, a cheering sight in one way,
+but not a pleasant one in another. They were truly a desperate-looking
+collection of men, mostly of a very low class.
+
+This halt enabled me to get round the country and make sketches of the
+various battle-fields.
+
+One night I had dinner at D.H.Q. as the guest of Capt. Kirsopp, and
+enjoyed the hospitality of 'Z' Mess. I found a great curiosity in the
+fields near Bertincourt. An old cannon-ball pitted with rust and
+dating possibly from Marlborough's days. As I could not take it away
+with me, I gave it to Major Clarke, the G.S.O. II.
+
+On October 7 the observers moved to some dugouts near Trescault, where
+we remained two days. On October 8 I went on to Welsh Ridge, but
+nothing much could be seen from there. The battle-field was strewn
+with Germans who had fallen in the battle ten days before. On October
+9 we had a long march which took all day. We went through Beaucamp and
+then towards Masnières, finally reaching the shattered village of
+Crèvecoeur. Next morning we moved on again to Esnes, where we had
+billets in a nice farm-house.
+
+At last we had reached the land of vegetables, and for the rest of the
+campaign we had a plentiful supply. We had been very short of this
+kind of food since May.
+
+On October 11 we moved on again and got a billet in a small cottage in
+Fontaine-au-Pire. Next day on again to the next town, Beauvois, which
+was not at all badly smashed. We had billets in a couple of small
+cottages off the main street and we were fairly comfortable here. The
+plague of house-flies was very bad at this place; the whole place was
+full of them.
+
+The 42nd Division relieved the N.Z. Division on October 12 on a front
+extending south of Solesmes and covering Briastre.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVI
+
+THE GERMANS' LAST STAND
+
+
+On October 12 I went with Pte. Firth to a ridge south of Viesly to
+look for an O.P., and selected a spot in the open, but near a sunk
+road. However, the G.O.C. required a post to be held on the high
+ground north of the village. This was only half a mile from the
+enemy's front line and in full view of the enemy, so that I suspected
+we should not be allowed to stop there very long. A regiment of
+Hussars was attached to the Corps and stationed at Caudry.
+
+It was arranged that an officer and six observers from this regiment
+should work in conjunction with the Divisional observers. These
+mounted men were particularly useful in getting messages back quickly
+from the O.P. to a report centre, for during this open warfare it was
+impossible to connect the observers by telephone to D.H.Q.
+
+The first day at the O.P. north of Viesly passed quietly enough, and
+Ptes. King and McGarrigle made a useful sketch of the view in front.
+Next day, when I went up to the O.P. to make additions to the sketch,
+conditions were not very good. Our only cover was a shallow trench
+about one foot deep; and for an hour whilst I was trying to sketch
+the details of the landscape the enemy's 4.2-inch howitzers shelled
+the hill persistently. I told the observers, when I went back, to
+leave this post if things got no better and to man the post south of
+Viesly. And this was done soon afterwards, as the shells began to fall
+very close. Unfortunately from now onwards the light was no good for
+long-range observation. Day after day the country was covered with a
+thick white mist, a common experience in October, which made
+observation quite out of the question. However, from the sketches that
+had been made, I was able to make a drawing of the panorama in front,
+which was printed out for the use of the troops in the line.
+
+It was decided to attack the German positions at midnight on October
+19-20. Taking advantage of the heavy mist the British field artillery
+placed their guns in two long lines, twenty-eight guns in a line and
+almost wheel to wheel, behind the ridges south of Viesly. This was an
+extraordinary sight, for they had no cover whatever except the thick
+white mist overhead. Behind the second row, there was a battery of
+heavy howitzers (8- or 9-inch calibre), and a little farther back
+several batteries of 60-pounder guns. The night attack was carried out
+by the 126th Infantry Brigade and was wonderfully successful.
+
+At 10 A.M. on October 20 I called at B.H.Q., a house in Prayelle, to
+get the latest news. Then I joined Ptes. Fail and Greenwood at the
+O.P., which was now under the muzzles of the field guns. We left this
+post and went towards Briastre, and, crossing the road from Viesly, we
+finally selected a position near the Briastre Cemetery. Just across
+the valley the enemy's guns were pounding the positions we had won
+that morning. It was in preparation for a counter-attack, which,
+however, was crushed by the fire from our own artillery. We sent in
+several situation reports to D.H.Q. through the H.Q. of the 10th
+Manchester Regiment, which were now in a cutting not far from the
+cemetery.
+
+On my way back to Beauvois I met a number of tanks travelling slowly
+forward towards Viesly; but I believe they were unable to get across
+the River Selle that night. For the next two days the observers held a
+post on the north side of Viesly; and on October 23 the 42nd Division
+attacked again, the N.Z. Division taking up the pursuit of the enemy
+about midday. The men of the 42nd Division have every reason to be
+proud of their battle at Solesmes; the Germans were very strongly
+entrenched and they were picked troops, and a night attack is, of
+course, one of the most difficult of all to carry out successfully.
+
+The observers were instructed to remain at their quarters in Beauvois,
+and for the next eleven days training was resumed. I was told that
+great advantages might be obtained from panoramic sketches, if rapidly
+and accurately drawn by the observers. And so I directed most of the
+training here towards making these sketches. There was nothing in
+training that the men liked better than that.
+
+During our rest at Beauvois the New Zealanders had pushed the Germans
+farther back, to the outskirts of Le Quesnoy, and towards the end of
+October we were warned that the 42nd Division would relieve them after
+a further attack.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVII
+
+THE FINAL RUSH FORWARD
+
+
+On November 3 I moved with the observers to the village of Viesly and
+got a billet in a cottage. The village had been badly mauled by the
+German guns during the recent fighting. The German does not behave
+nicely when his nerves are shaken, and we heard stories of
+ill-treatment of women in Solesmes.
+
+Next day we went towards Romeries to reconnoitre the roads, and on
+November 5 we had a long march in the rain. Hitherto we had been lucky
+to have fine weather for trekking, but now it began to rain almost
+every day. We went on over crowded roads through Briastre, Solesmes,
+Romeries, and Beaudignies. At the latter place our heavy guns were
+still firing, for the Germans had only been pushed out of Le Quesnoy
+that morning, and their main body was retreating through the Mormal
+Forest. Our advance party, L.-C. Cowen and Pte. Addinall, who had gone
+forward on bicycles to find a billet in Le Quesnoy, met with a very
+warm reception from the French civilians in the town. After a little
+trouble I managed to get possession of a nice empty house near the
+railway station, where we were glad to turn in and get our clothes
+dry. Next day I went to D.H.Q. at Potelle, a moated farm or château.
+
+There was some idea of disbanding the observers at this time, for
+Capt. Kirsopp found difficulty in getting us forward fast enough to be
+of any use. However the G.O.C. would not hear of it, and said the
+D.A.Q.M.G. must arrange to transport our things.
+
+The same day I went forward to the advanced B.H.Q. at Forester's
+Point, on the N.W. side of the forest, east of Carnoy. And I arranged
+with the Brigade-Major of the 126th Infantry Brigade to send some of
+the observers to help him next day. This, however, was cancelled, as
+the Germans began to retreat towards the River Sambre. I saw some
+French children still about the cottages near the Mormal Forest,
+though there was still shelling going on. Coming back I avoided the
+village of Carnoy, as it was being heavily shelled by the enemy's
+long-range guns. This was the last time I came anywhere near the
+enemy's shell fire. The German dead lay in little clusters in the
+fields east of Le Quesnoy, and at various points along the railway.
+
+On November 7 I moved my quarters to a small house at Herbignies, our
+belongings being brought for us by Divisional transport. Our hand-cart
+was finally dumped at Le Quesnoy. The next day I sent a small party of
+observers through the forest to Petit Bavay, and also detached Ptes.
+Fail, Ewart, and Austin for duty on the following day, sending them
+with bicycles to the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. at Petit Bavay. Also I
+walked through the forest to D.H.Q. at the same place. It was a long
+tramp in the mud, and I was thoroughly tired out when I reached
+Herbignies again that night.
+
+On November 9 we had our final trek forward, some fifteen miles
+through the most glutinous mud. As the observers had been overlooked
+when the Divisional transport left Potelle, we had now to transport
+all our belongings as best we could without the aid of the hand-cart.
+This unfortunately meant dumping all our stores except such as were
+absolutely essential; and I lost a number of interesting records,
+maps, &c., in this way.
+
+We loaded ourselves up then with everything we could take--very full
+packs and a blanket rolled on top, about the heaviest marching-order
+possible. By midday we had got through the forest to Petit Bavay,
+where we halted for a meal on the road side. Then we went on through
+Vieux Mesnil, where we had to ford the river, as the bridge was
+destroyed. On through Neuf Mesnil and at last to Hautmont. I was glad
+to get a billet in the first empty house I came to, 135 Rue de
+Gambetta. No beds, but a moderately clean floor to sleep on. Pte.
+Fail's party rejoined me here. They had gone right on to the firing
+line on the north bank of the River Sambre, where the Guards were
+advancing. They brought back useful information as to what had been
+going on.
+
+After disputing the crossing of the Sambre the Germans fled rapidly
+for about eight miles, and gave no further trouble beyond shelling the
+villages of Quievelon and Ferrière. Cyclists and cavalry were pushed
+out to keep in touch with them, but owing to the difficulties of
+transport the infantry could get no farther. There was now a general
+feeling that the end was not far off.
+
+On November 10 I was told at D.H.Q. that there was a 'holiday air'
+about every one, and that nothing further need be done by the
+observers. Early next morning I heard two transport drivers discussing
+the situation in the road outside. They were quite convinced that the
+war was over. And they were right; a little later I got the message
+from D.H.Q. 'hostilities will cease at 11 A.M. to-day.' Heavy firing
+was still going on to the north, about Mons, and this only ceased at
+11 o'clock. Then the silence and stillness outside were most uncanny.
+It was a silence that could be felt.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVIII
+
+THE END OF IT ALL
+
+
+After the armistice the Divisional observers were not disbanded at
+once. They remained in my charge till December 6, when orders came for
+us all to return to our own units. So ended the most pleasant command
+that I held during the war.
+
+The men who were with me when we were disbanded, were:
+
+  _Observers_ (_7th N.F._)      _Signallers_ (_7th N.F._)
+  L.-C. COWEN                   L.-C. CROZIER, M.M.
+  Pte. KING, M.M.               Pte. WARD
+  Pte. FAIL                     Pte. ROBINSON
+  Pte. EWART                    Pte. PARKIN
+  Pte. DRAKE
+  Pte. ADDINALL
+  Pte. AUSTIN
+  Pte. GREENWOOD (_10th M.R._)
+  Pte. FIRTH (_6th M.R._)
+
+From the nature of the organisation and equipment of Infantry
+observers, they were of more use during trench warfare than moving
+warfare. You cannot turn an observer into a scout at a moment's
+notice. Only a few of the men ever acquired any real knowledge of map
+reading--they did not take the same interest in it as in other parts
+of the training--and for moving warfare it is absolutely essential.
+Another handicap was lack of transport, we were nobody's children and
+left to fend for ourselves. The Q.M. of the 7th N.F. adopted us so far
+as rations were concerned, but the collection of rations alone
+prevented us from being a really mobile force: we could not move far
+away from the source of food supplies.
+
+During the ten weeks on the Auchonvillers Ridge the men did wonders.
+But we never stayed long enough at the same place after that to give
+them a real chance; and they never settled down to moving warfare.
+
+On December 6 I was attached to B Company of the 7th N.F., commanded
+by Major Smail, and living at Boussières; once more I became a platoon
+commander, after nearly three years of continuous warfare.
+
+About December 15 the 42nd Division moved into Belgium, and D.H.Q.
+were established at Charleroi. After arriving here I became
+Demobilisation Officer for the 7th N.F. and continued at that till
+January 19.[20] Then I went on leave to England. On February 10 I got
+back to Charleroi, and on February 13 I left Charleroi for
+demobilisation or rather 'disembodiment.' I reached home at 4.30 P.M.
+on February 22, glad to be back.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[20] I had the greatest assistance from Cpl. Seals (7th N.F.),
+formerly N.C.O. in charge of Brigade Orderlies.
+
+
+
+
+Printed by SPOTTISWOODE, BALLANTYNE & CO. LTD.
+Colchester, London & Eton, England.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+    | Typographical errors corrected in text:                   |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Page   5: similiar replaced with similar                  |
+    | Page  29: keeness replaced with keenness                  |
+    | Page  49: 'man the the defences' replaced with            |
+    |           'man the defences'                              |
+    | Page  61: missfire replaced with misfire                  |
+    | Page  74: 'on both sides this trench' replaced with       |
+    |           'on both sides of this trench'                  |
+    | Page  78: 'one of the the Divisional' replaced with       |
+    |           'one of the Divisional'                         |
+    | Page 134: chateau replaced with château                   |
+    | Page 159: Passehendaele replaced with Passchendaele       |
+    | Page 183: Divisonal replaced with Divisional              |
+    |                                                           |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Q.6.a and Other places, by Francis Buckley
+
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+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Q.6.a and Other places, by Francis Buckley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Q.6.a and Other places
+       Recollections of 1916, 1917 and 1918
+
+Author: Francis Buckley
+
+Release Date: May 19, 2008 [EBook #25528]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK Q.6.A AND OTHER PLACES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeannie Howse, David Clarke and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+<div class="tr">
+<p class="cen" style="font-weight: bold;">Transcriber's Note:</p>
+<br />
+<p class="noin">Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has been preserved.</p>
+<p class="noin">For the interest of the reader, 'the morning hate' is WWI slang for the "Stand To Arms".</p>
+<p class="noin" style="text-align: left;">Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+For a complete list, please see the <span style="white-space: nowrap;"><a href="#TN">end of this document</a>.</span></p>
+<p class="noin">Click on the images to see a larger version.</p>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h2>Q. 6. A</h2>
+
+<h3>AND OTHER PLACES</h3>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+<h1>Q. 6. A</h1>
+
+<h2>AND OTHER PLACES</h2>
+
+<br />
+
+<h3>RECOLLECTIONS OF<br />
+1916, 1917, 1918</h3>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h2><span style="font-size: 60%;">BY</span><br />
+FRANCIS BUCKLEY</h2>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<h5>LONDON<br />
+SPOTTISWOODE, BALLANTYNE &amp; CO. LTD.<br />
+1 <span class="sc">New-Street Square</span>, E.C. 4<br />
+1920</h5>
+
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>INTRODUCTION</h3>
+<br />
+
+<p>In the following pages I have tried to set down as faithfully as I can
+some of the impressions which remain to me now of three years' service
+in France and Flanders.</p>
+
+<p>I have naturally suppressed much of the grim and ghastly horrors that
+were shared by all in the fighting area. A narrative must be written
+from some point of view, and I have had to select my own. I regret
+that so much personal and trivial incident should appear. Perhaps some
+will be able to see through the gross egotistical covering and get a
+glimpse, however faint, of the deeds of deathless heroism performed by
+my beloved comrades&mdash;the officers and men of the 7th Northumberland
+Fusiliers, the officers and men of the 149th Infantry Brigade, the
+officers and men of the 50th Division.</p>
+
+<p>The climax of the story is the battle on the Somme where so many dear
+friends have perished. The name is taken from a spot where a small
+party of the 7th N.F. did something long afterwards to avenge their
+fallen comrades.</p>
+
+<p>Finally no criticism of the Higher Command is intended by anything
+that has been written. If such can be read between the lines, it is
+unintentional and a matter for sincere regret.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span><br />
+<a name="toc" id="toc"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+<br />
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="70%" summary="Table of Contents">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr" width="10%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl" width="70%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdr" width="20%" style="font-size: 80%;">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">I.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#I">When it began</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">1</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">II.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#II">The Men of the North Country</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">7</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">III.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#III">Alnwick</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">12</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">IV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#IV">The Journey Out</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">17</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">V.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#V">Hill 60</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">22</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">VI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#VI">Mount Sorrel and Canny Hill</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">31</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">VII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#VII">Kemmel</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">41</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">VIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#VIII">Divisional Rest</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">48</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">IX.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#IX">Brigade Head-quarters</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">52</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">X.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#X">The Brigade Bombing School</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">59</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XI">St. Eloi and Neuve Eglise</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">64</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XII">The Somme</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">68</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XIII">H&eacute;nencourt</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">72</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XIV">Mametz Wood</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">76</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XV">The 15th September, 1916</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">80</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XVI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XVI">Millencourt</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">87</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XVII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XVII">Hook Sap</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">90</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XVIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XVIII">Second Leave&mdash;Bresle</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">97</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XIX.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XIX">Butte of Warlencourt&mdash;Trench Warfare</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">102</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XX.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XX">France and the French</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">107<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXI">South of the Somme</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">115</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXII">The Battle of Arras</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">122</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXIII">Wancourt Tower&mdash;Croisilles</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">125</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXIV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXIV">Monchy-au-Bois</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">139</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXV">Trench Warfare&mdash;Vis-Cherisy Front</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">143</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXVI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXVI">The Houthulst Forest</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">153</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXVII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXVII">Divisional Rest Near St. Omer</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">161</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXVIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXVIII">The Passchendaele Ridge</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">165</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXIX.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXIX">Good-bye to the 50th Division</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">173</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXX.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXX">Digging Trenches About Loos</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">176</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXI">The German Offensive 1918&mdash;Second Battle of Arras</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">182</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXII">Trench Warfare&mdash;H&eacute;buterne</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">203</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXIII">Trench Warfare&mdash;the Colincamps Ridge</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">207</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXIV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXIV">The British Offensive 1918&mdash;Bapaume Retaken</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">219</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXV.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXV">The Storming of the Hindenburg Line near Trescault</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">224</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXVI.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXVI">The Germans' Last Stand</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">230</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXVII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXVII">The Final Rush Forward</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">234</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">XXXVIII.</td>
+  <td class="tdlsc"><a href="#XXXVIII">The End of it all</a></td>
+  <td class="tdr">238</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span><br />
+<hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>NOTE</h3>
+<br />
+
+<p class="noin">The following abbreviations are used:</p>
+
+<div class="block">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="60%" summary="Abbreviations">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr" width="20%">B.H.Q.</td>
+  <td class="tdl" width="80%">= Brigade Head-quarters.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">C.C.S.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Casualty Clearing Station.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">C.O.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Commanding Officer.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">C.T.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Communication Trench.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">D.A.Q.M.G.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Deputy-Assistant-Quartermaster-General.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">D.H.Q.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Divisional Head-quarters.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">F.A.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Field Ambulance.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">H.Q.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Head-quarters.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">L.-C.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Lance-Corporal.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">N.C.O.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Non-commissioned Officer.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">O.C.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Officer Commanding.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">O.P.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Observation Post.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">O.T.C.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Officers' Training Corps.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">Q.M.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Quartermaster.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">R.T.O.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Railway Transport Officer.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">Y.M.C.A.</td>
+  <td class="tdl">= Young Men's Christian Association.</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="I" id="I"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span><br />
+
+<h2>Q. 6. A</h2>
+
+<h3>RECOLLECTIONS OF 1916, 1917, AND 1918</h3>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h3>I<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>WHEN IT BEGAN</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>Before the war I was living in London, with chambers at Lincoln's Inn.</p>
+
+<p>I was not surprised when the trouble started. Ever since 1904 it was
+reasonably clear to me that our country would have to fight the
+Germans or go under.</p>
+
+<p>The days before we declared war on Germany were spent in London.
+During the last few of them it was as though a terrible thunderstorm
+was hanging overhead, ready to burst: gloom and foreboding on the
+faces of all. There is no doubt that most of our people were taken by
+surprise and that they were aghast at the sudden gathering of the war
+cloud. But when the stroke of fate fell and we were committed to the
+war, there was a curious sense of relief in many hearts. Better death
+and ruin than dishonour. A shameful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>peace or neutrality is for most
+Englishmen harder to bear than all the horrors of war. Besides, this
+struggle for freedom had to be fought out, though few can have
+foretold the cost.</p>
+
+<p>I had been rejected for the Territorial Force by the Army authorities
+in 1908 on account of weak eyesight. I had therefore few hopes of
+better luck in August 1914. At first only trained men were enrolled at
+the Inns of Court O.T.C., and this went on for some months&mdash;till the
+nation in fact began to realise the size of its task. So after two or
+three vain attempts to find my way into the services, I had to be
+content with the truncheon and armlet of a special constable. With
+this force I had no special adventures, but I learnt a good deal about
+the Vine Street Police area, and about the electric power stations of
+the West End. Christmas Day was spent on duty in the streets, and
+Easter Day found me still there. Then something happened which decided
+my own little fate, as well perhaps as the fate of Europe. This was
+the sinking of the good ship <i>Lusitania</i> on May 7, 1915, under
+peculiarly barbarous and inhuman circumstances. Eventually it brought
+the Americans into the war, when they came to understand that the
+German people gloried in the deed of shame. As for me, it took me once
+again to the doors of the O.T.C. in Lincoln's Inn. If I could not go
+as an officer I would at least go into the ranks. But by this time the
+rush of officer recruits had died down, and they were not so
+particular about eyesight. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>So on May 10, 1915, I found myself in
+possession of a suit of khaki. It was second-or third-hand and an
+indifferent fit, but it enclosed a glad heart. The die was cast, and
+one little boat fairly launched on its perilous passage. Never have I
+had cause to lament this step. If it has brought me great troubles and
+anguish, it has also given peace of mind and the satisfaction of using
+to the full such energy as I possess. It took me out of the stifling
+heat of the town and gave me at least four years of an open-air life.
+For which God be thanked! If it did not bring much promotion or
+honour, it brought the friendship of real men, and a treasure greater
+than all the stars and ribbons in the world.</p>
+
+<p>A recruit at the Inns of Court O.T.C. had nothing to fear from those
+in charge if he was willing to do his best. There was little
+boisterousness or horse-play among the recruits, the dark shadow was
+too close for that; and the spirit among my new comrades was one of
+great earnestness. For the first two or three weeks we were trained in
+Town near the H.Q. of the Battalion in Lincoln's Inn. After that
+recruits were sent on to the camp at Berkhamsted for field training.
+We were billeted on the local inhabitants. I stayed at the house of
+Mr. Charles Dipple, from whose family I received much kind
+hospitality. It was a sudden change for one who had spent the greater
+part of ten years in London chambers. And at Berkhamsted they worked
+you hard, almost to the last degree of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>physical endurance. Save once,
+during a dark two weeks in France, I have never before or since felt
+the same fatigue of body. Also the change of food was a little strange
+and startling at first. The drill and discipline could do nothing but
+good to a healthy man. The enthusiasm of nearly all was great, our
+chief idea being to get ready and out to France or elsewhere before
+the war should be over. Little did we know what the future had in
+store.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing much to tell of this part of one's experience. One of
+the most pleasant incidents was a fortnightly leave of thirty-six
+hours at the week-end, which I used to spend with my friends in Town.
+Night man&oelig;uvres on Wednesdays and Fridays and guard duty were
+perhaps the most unpleasant part of our lot. Some would add the
+adjutant's parade on Saturday morning. But that was short, if not
+always sweet.</p>
+
+<p>I had the good luck to win an unpaid lance-corporal's stripe towards
+the end of my stay, chiefly, I think, on account of a certain aptitude
+for drill, a clean rifle, and clean boots. Of this small achievement I
+was and still am a little proud.</p>
+
+<p>I left the battalion on getting my commission with respect for the
+officers in charge of the training. The short experience in the ranks
+was to be of great value afterwards, when I came to deal for the first
+time as an officer with men in the ranks. It gave a certain sympathy
+with them and taught what to avoid. It was the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>custom of our C.O.,
+Lieut.-Col. Errington, to give a few words of advice to those leaving
+the battalion to take up commissions. And I have never forgotten two
+of the principles which he urged upon us. One was the constant
+necessity for a soldier to deny himself in little things. The other
+was the idea that every officer in his own command, however small, had
+a duel to face with another officer in a similar position on the other
+side; and that in this duel the one that used his brain best would
+win. And so this embryo existence came to an end&mdash;a careless, happy
+time with no particular thought for the troubles ahead. In the middle
+of July 1915 I obtained a commission in the 3rd line Battalion of the
+7th Northumberland Fusiliers, Territorials, supplying drafts to the
+1st line battalion in France. I had no desire to display my ignorance
+of things military before a group of neighbours and possibly
+relations, so I applied for a commission, not in the Territorials of
+the West Riding Regiment, but in a north-country battalion of
+Territorials, with the 1st line fighting in France. The Territorial
+Force seemed to me most suitable for one who had no military career in
+view. And France, the land of old time romance and chivalry, gave a
+more urgent call than Egypt or the East. The choice of a unit, if one
+can be said to choose it, is fraught with greater consequences to
+oneself than might be supposed. I cannot say after a lapse of three
+years that the choice has proved unfortunate to me. It came about in
+this way. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>We were doing a rifle parade one day at Berkhamsted, when
+Lieut. Reynolds (N.F.) appeared with our company commander, Capt.
+Clarke, and asked for the names of any men who would like to join the
+3rd line of the 7th N.F. The 1st line battalion, he said, had just
+been badly cut up in France, and we should be out there in four months
+perhaps, certainly in six months. That was all the information we had,
+but it was enough for me. A north-country territorial battalion and
+France in six months&mdash;those were the attractions. I had never spent
+more than one night in Northumberland and I knew of Alnwick only by
+name. It was therefore rather a step in the dark; but to one who was
+still ignorant of the meaning of a 'Brigade' or a 'Division' only
+general considerations could appeal. And so on July 30, 1915, I set
+off for Alnwick to join my battalion, with a new uniform and kit, with
+a somewhat nervous feeling inside, but with a determination to do my
+best.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="II" id="II"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>II<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE MEN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>I have a great respect and admiration for the men of Northumberland.
+Especially for those who come from the country towns and villages, the
+farm-lands and mines in the northern parts of the county. As soldiers
+they have gained a name the world over, of which it would be idle for
+me to talk. A cold climate and a fighting ancestry that goes back many
+hundreds of years have produced some marked qualities in the race of
+Northumbrians to-day. There are few of them that are not true to type,
+few that you would not care to have as comrades in a tight corner.
+Their stubborn courage and contempt for danger have been proved again
+and again. The worse the outlook the more cheerful they seem to
+become. Sturdy independence is there, and for this allowance has to be
+made&mdash;slow to like and slow to change; if you are known as 'Mister'
+So-and-so, whatever your rank, you have won their respect. No better
+soldiers in the land can be found to hold or to fortify a position.
+But I doubt whether they have quite the same genius for the
+attack.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>A certain lack of imagination, a certain want of
+forethought, have always, as it seems to me, been a handicap to these
+brave men when they attack. Again and again during an assault they
+have fallen in hundreds, they have shown themselves as willing to die
+in the open as in the trenches. But have they the wild fury that
+carries the Scot, the Irishman, or the Frenchman over 'impossible'
+obstacles? No, they are not an enthusiastic people, nor a very
+imaginative one. And these qualities are needed to press home a
+difficult attack. They are not as a whole a quick or a very
+intelligent race. But for stark grim courage under the most awful
+surroundings they stand second to none. There is a streak of
+ruthlessness, too, in their dealings with the enemy; a legacy from the
+old Border wars with the Scots. They are quite ready, if need be, to
+take no prisoners. A hard and strong, but a very lovable race of men.
+Yes, I think all the world of the men of the north, although I am not
+blind to their faults. Taken as a whole no more handsome or manly set
+of men can be found in the British Isles.</p>
+
+<p>The Northumbrian dialect is difficult to understand until you get the
+trick of it. And the trick of it is in the accent and intonation, and
+not so much in any peculiar form of words. They have a peculiar way of
+dropping their voices, too, which is sometimes disconcerting. But it
+is a clean wholesome language, undefined by the disgusting and
+childish obscenity which is too often a disgrace to other districts in
+England. It reminds me a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>little of the Scottish tongue, but rather
+more of the country speech in the northern parts of Yorkshire, but in
+some ways it is all its very own. It must indeed be one of the
+earliest surviving types of the Anglo-Saxon speech. I had no great
+difficulty in understanding it, but to this day I am sometimes puzzled
+to pick up what is said owing to that curious drop in the voice.</p>
+
+<p>A word or two as well about the officers of the Northumberlands,
+meaning, of course, the natives of the county. For them as well as for
+the hardy miners and farmers of the north I have a very sincere
+respect and liking. Better comrades on the field of battle no man
+could wish for, better officers for a Territorial battalion it would
+be hard to find. Their unbending courage, their gallant bearing in
+danger, their cheerfulness and their care and thought for their men
+have been responsible in a great measure for the successes won by the
+Northumberland battalions and for the lamentable but noble sacrifices
+when success was denied. Gallant and devoted soldiers they have been,
+and well they have earned the love and admiration of their men. Always
+cheerful whatever was on foot, readiest of all to turn a danger passed
+into a jest. There could not be a better spirit in which to face the
+long delays and the bitter disappointments of the war. Two outstanding
+features in their character are, to my mind, practically universal,
+whatever form they happen to take. An inherent pugnacity, and a
+whole-hearted belief in and love of their county, which amounts to
+something more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>than clannishness. They know everything about every
+one in Northumberland, and with others they do not trouble themselves
+much. They do not talk about it like the Scots, but it is there all
+the same; and it has a profound influence on their actions and
+judgment. Within this sacred circle, into which no outlandish man can
+break, their pugnacity develops countless local feuds. And these feuds
+can be bitter enough, and I do not think I ever met a north-countryman
+without one. Generally there are two or three on foot at a time. One
+town against another, the men who did against the men who did not.
+Sometimes I have thought that these queer hereditary instincts, for
+such they undoubtedly are, have led the men of the north astray. The
+house has been divided against itself, justice has not been done, or
+it has been delayed, incompetence has been allowed to spread its
+blighting influence. In other words the love of their county and the
+strength of their local feuds have at times blinded the men of the
+north to the real interests of their country, when a united front and
+a concentration of the best effort available were absolutely necessary
+to get on with the war. To me the Northumbrian officer has been
+universally kind, and I have never had the least discourtesy or
+injustice from any of them, but many acts of kindness. But I have seen
+with regret on several occasions a loss of effort and strength through
+the divisions caused by prejudice. Thoroughly cheerful and a generous
+and charming comrade, much <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>given to hospitality, I do not think the
+Northumbrian officer is always a very brilliant person intellectually.
+There are many notable exceptions, but they are notable enough to
+establish the impression.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond these general observations it would be unwise&mdash;and I do not
+intend&mdash;to enter into the domestic history of any battalion or
+brigade. Better comrades one could not have, and a nobler and more
+devoted body of men I have yet to meet.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This criticism can of course be made of any troops of
+English nationality.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="III" id="III"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>III<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>ALNWICK</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>A short sketch of my stay at Alnwick may not be out of place. For
+though it did not seem very adventurous at the time it had a great
+influence on my subsequent career, both in France and afterwards. It
+is a most romantic spot, with one of the finest castles in England.
+The heather hills run down through corn-land towards the seashore; and
+the general features of the countryside reminded me much of my own
+home in the West Yorkshire hills. The curious battlements and gates in
+the town and the monuments outside tell of a time when it was one of
+England's front line posts against the raiding Scots. It seemed to me
+to be a fitting spot to train men for the wars.</p>
+
+<p>When I arrived at the end of July 1915 the H.Q. of the 3rd line
+battalion were at the Star Hotel in Fenkle Street&mdash;very comfortable
+but rather expensive quarters. Only a few of the officers had arrived
+as yet. Just a few new-comers like myself, very green and raw, and
+about four or five officers of the 1st line battalion who had returned
+wounded from France. These latter <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>had for the most part been wounded
+at the battle of St. Julien in April 1915, during the 2nd Battle of
+Ypres. They were now discharged from hospital and attached to the
+draft battalion for training before going out once more. They were
+very friendly and nice to the new-comers; and indeed we looked upon
+them quite as veterans, although their active service in France had
+not exceeded a few days. Capt. J. Welch, Lieuts. J.W. Merivale, E.
+Nixon, and E. Fenwicke Clennell became special friends of mine, and I
+am grateful for many acts of kindness from them both then and later on
+abroad. The men of the battalion, also raw recruits and wounded men
+returned from hospital, were quartered in the houses in the town. The
+O.C. battalion was Major (afterwards Lieut.-Colonel and Brevet
+Colonel) J.J. Gillespie, T.D., and the Adjutant Capt. W.A.C.
+Darlington. The C.O. was a man of great personality, so much so that
+he is one of the best known and most talked of persons in the
+Northumberlands. A great organiser and a hard worker, who generally
+got his own way with small and great, he has done much to make the
+drafts efficient. I was lucky to find favour in his eyes, and our
+relations were always friendly.</p>
+
+<p>We had as near neighbours in Alnwick the Brigade of Tyneside Scottish,
+who were encamped in the Pastures near the Castle, as fine a body of
+men as you could wish to see. After staying for a while at the Star
+our battalion moved out to Moorlaws Camp and we remained there <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>under
+canvas till the middle of October. In the meantime I was lent for
+about five days to the 21st Provisional Battalion N.F., a home service
+battalion, who were encamped at Cambois ('Cammis') on the sea-coast.
+This was like a picnic for me, for all the officers there treated me
+kindly and did not work me hard. One night I volunteered for night
+duty and had the experience of visiting the sentries (all with loaded
+rifles) at the various posts along the shore. Shortly after returning
+to Alnwick I was sent, on September 2, to the Army School of
+Signalling and Bombing at Tynemouth, and went through the Bombing
+course, which lasted about a week. So primitive were the arrangements,
+even at this date, that we were only taught how to improvise grenades
+out of old jam tins, and how to fire them out of iron pipes as
+trench-mortar bombs. We were indeed allowed to handle precious
+specimens of the famous No. 3 (Hales) and No. 5 (Mills), but there
+were not enough available for live practice. The West Spring Thrower
+had not arrived, but I saw a trench catapult in action; and some dummy
+Stokes bombs were fired off for us to see. At this course there was an
+examination, and I got a first-class certificate as a grenade
+instructor, an event which had considerable influence on my career in
+France, as will appear later on. When I got back to Alnwick I found
+the battalion under canvas at Moorlaws. Here I became 'grenadier
+officer' to the battalion, and I had daily classes of men who had
+volunteered <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>to become bombers, or 'grenadiers' as they were then
+called.</p>
+
+<p>Live practice was carried out entirely with improvised bombs, old jam
+tins and black powder. But we procured a certain number of dummies of
+Nos. 1 and 5 to practise throwing. Major N.I. Wright (who had returned
+wounded) took a great interest in our proceedings and had some dummy
+grenades made for us. A gallant soldier with hard service in South
+Africa and the Great War, he has always been a good friend to me. I
+went on with the bombing till about October 20, when the battalion
+returned to Alnwick and went into wooden huts in the Pastures. The
+officers were billeted at a house called 'Alnbank,' a mansion some
+little distance from the men's quarters. After this move I was
+appointed Company Commander to C Company, a newly formed company with
+only raw recruits in it. My second in command was Lieut. Joseph
+Robinson, a dear friend, who had come all the way from the Argentine,
+and whom I first met at the O.T.C. at Berkhamsted. He was known as
+'Strafer Robinson' on account of being physical drill instructor, and
+a pretty exacting one. I found the recruits in C Company most willing
+and anxious to learn their job; and they never gave me much trouble
+either in orderly room or on parade.</p>
+
+<p>I was kindly treated by every one at Alnwick. My stay there has only
+pleasant memories. Major the Hon. Arthur Joicey, who had returned
+from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>the 1st line, gave me several glorious days after partridges at
+Longhirst. The number of these birds so far north fairly astonished
+me. The doctors' families in Alnwick were also very kind and
+hospitable to all our officers. Mrs. Scott Jackson, the wife of the
+Colonel of the 1st line battalion, could not do enough for us; and
+many happy evenings have been spent at her house; notably a great New
+Year's Eve party for all the officers, just before I left for the
+front. I took part in a Rugby football match, the first time for
+eleven years. The 3rd line 7th N.F. succeeded in defeating the reserve
+battalion of the Tyneside Scottish, largely through the prowess of
+2nd-Lieut. McNaught at half-back. There was rather a pleasant
+institution towards the end of my stay&mdash;namely, a meeting of the
+senior officers for dinner every Wednesday evening at the Plough Inn.
+They did you well there, and it was a pleasant change from the mess
+dinner.</p>
+
+<p>About January 3, 1916, I was warned to proceed with a small draft of
+officers to the front. Four of us were to go, and I was delighted to
+find myself one of those selected. After a splendid farewell dinner
+with the officers of the battalion on January 4, I left the same night
+for London to spend my final leave.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="IV" id="IV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>IV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE JOURNEY OUT</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On Monday, January 10, 1916, I left England with three other officers,
+bound for the Base Camp at Havre. My companions were 2nd-Lieuts.
+Peters, O. Clarke, and Gregson. My final purchases at Southampton
+included an extra haversack and some morphia pills. The latter had
+been strongly recommended for certain kinds of wounds and they were
+still sold without a prescription.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> The journey across the Channel
+was done at night. The transport left port about 8 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> and
+steaming slowly without lights reached Le Havre about 5 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span>
+next morning.</p>
+
+<p>My last view of England was the dreary wet dock, and later on a few
+distant and receding lights. Though we got into port at 5
+<span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> we were not allowed to leave the vessel till 8
+<span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> But, at last, as a cold and cheerless morning was
+breaking, I stepped ashore and set foot for the first time on foreign
+soil. We soon found an hotel (? H&ocirc;tel de Normandy) where they
+understood the English language and some of our ways, and we got
+breakfast in the English fashion. After <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>a look round the shops and a
+shave in a small establishment in a side street, we reported at a
+large office in the town. Here we signed our names in a large
+register, and were given directions to proceed to a Camp, some
+distance from the town, where reinforcements for the 7th N.F. were
+collected and accommodated till they could be sent 'up the line.' Our
+stay here was a short one, for which I was thankful. They did not seem
+at all pleased to see us; it seems we had arrived a few days later
+than had been expected, and the Camp Commandant appeared to think it
+was our fault. We left Le Havre next day without having tasted the
+joys of the 'Bull Ring' or any other educational entertainment
+prepared for those staying on at the Camp. The train started about
+midnight, and like most troop trains in France moved along in a
+leisurely, dignified manner, with frequent stops and long waits
+between the stations. When we did arrive at Rouen, which was about
+midday on Thursday, we had to change. And feeling unrefreshed by our
+night in the train, we spent the time resting at an hotel instead of
+seeing the sights. But it is a fine looking old town and would be
+worth visiting in more peaceful times.</p>
+
+<p>We left Rouen again at night and wandered along in the same dilatory
+fashion, arriving at Hazebrouck and eventually at Poperinghe.</p>
+
+<p>The latter was railhead for the Ypres Salient. It was not surprising
+then to find the houses near the railway station looking shattered
+from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>shells and bombs that had been aimed at the station. We had
+tea with the Y.M.C.A., who had with their usual dauntlessness selected
+a house close to the station. It had been struck by a bomb a few
+nights before, and there was a hole in the roof and in the ceiling and
+floor of one of the rooms; but I understood that no one had been hurt
+by the explosion. These shattered houses and the distant sound of gun
+fire, which we first heard about Hazebrouck, were the first signs of
+war that we noticed. After a long wait a limber arrived at the station
+to take ourselves and our valises to the camp of the 7th N.F. at
+Ouderdom. It was not really a very long journey, I believe, but it
+seemed so to us after our long and wearisome journey in the train.</p>
+
+<p>To make matters worse the military police made us take a roundabout
+road, and the driver lost his way. Of course a limber is not quite the
+vehicle you would select for comfort, especially over roads that are
+stony or pav&eacute;. The German flare lights could be clearly seen all the
+way, and they seemed to be on three sides of us. A most brilliant and
+interesting sight the first time you see it.</p>
+
+<p>Eventually we reached the camp at Ouderdom. It was called 'Canada
+Huts' and consisted of a cluster of wooden huts erected just off a
+narrow muddy road. At one time I am told, the mud was thigh deep; but
+now duck boards had been laid down, and though decidedly muddy the
+camp was quite passable. When we arrived it was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>quite late, and we
+found the camp in total darkness and every one asleep. But some of the
+batmen (or officers' servants) were roused, and they not only showed
+us a place to sleep in, but got us some tea and a scratch meal, very
+welcome after our uncomfortable ride from the station. What wonderful
+people these batmen are! Always so cheery and good to their officers.
+Inside the huts we found wooden bunks in two tiers round three sides
+and also a wooden table and forms in the middle. Not much room to move
+about perhaps, but fairly dry and warm. After two sleepless nights in
+the train we did not need rocking.</p>
+
+<p>We found that we had arrived just in time to go with the battalion to
+the front line trenches next day. For the battalion had just spent
+three days in the rest area and was due to take over the line on the
+fourth day. There was not much time, therefore, to get acquainted with
+our fellow officers or to learn much about the platoons to which we
+were assigned. Several of the officers we had known well at home in
+the 3rd line battalion at Alnwick, and Major N.I. Wright and Capt. J.
+Welch and Lieuts. J.W. Merivale and Fenwicke Clennell were old
+friends. Also we had already met our new battalion commander
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson at Alnwick when he was last on leave. It
+was nice to be greeted by friendly faces when our trials were so soon
+to begin.</p>
+
+<p>The last few hours before going back to the line are always rather
+dreary and unprofitable, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>spent chiefly in packing up and deciding
+what to leave behind. Valises of course were left behind with all
+'spare parts' in the Q.M.'s stores. But in winter a fairly heavy load
+of things was necessary, and the weather was wet and stormy. We had no
+steel helmets in these days and no gas box-respirators, only two cloth
+respirators of little weight. I found myself in charge of No. 4
+Platoon in A Company, of which Capt. H.R. Smail was commander. There
+were two other 2nd-Lieuts. in the company besides myself. The fighting
+strength of a company did not much exceed 100 men, if as many.</p>
+
+<p>Before we left Canada Huts, I was provided with a batman, coming of
+course from A Company. And a good fellow he was and much I owe to him.
+He has looked after me continuously from the day after I arrived until
+he was demobilised on December 24, 1918&mdash;nearly three years. A miner
+from Ashington, wounded at St. Julien in April 1915, he had rejoined
+the battalion some months before in France. At a later stage I had to
+rely much on his skill as a cook. A wonderfully cheerful person and a
+smart and handy man at improvising little comforts for me. His name
+was William Critchlow.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Fortunately I never had occasion to use them.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="V" id="V"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>V<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>HILL 60</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>When it was beginning to get dark the battalion formed up in the road
+and the roll was called over. At last we set off slowly, squelching
+through the mud on the wet roads, the rain pouring down unceasingly.
+We soon struck the pav&eacute; road that runs through Dickebusch, a long
+straggling village, still fairly intact and occupied by Belgian
+civilians. It was shelled now and again but not severely. When we
+reached this place, the battalion opened out considerably, platoons
+keeping 200 yards apart; a precaution necessary on roads that were
+periodically shelled at night. After plodding along for some time we
+reached the Caf&eacute; Belge, a mere ruin now, but a well-known halting
+place for troops on the march. Here we turned off to the right and
+left the pav&eacute; road which runs on to Ypres, and after this the roads
+were much more difficult to travel. Shell holes were frequent and
+generally full of water, so that in the dark it was only too easy to
+stumble into them. 'Shell-hole on the right,' 'Shell-hole on the
+left,' 'Shell-hole in the middle,' 'Keep to your right' were being
+passed back continually. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>Progress was slow of course under these
+conditions and with the heavy loads that we all carried. But it was
+all so novel to me that I had not a moment to feel dull or depressed.
+After a time we reached the notorious 'Shrapnel Corner' and turned
+towards 'Transport Farm,' for we were bound for trenches at Hill 60.
+This place was of course famous for the British attack in 1915, and
+for the German counter-attack with gas a little later on which was all
+too successful. It was also notorious for being one of the hottest
+corners of the British front. Owing to their vantage ground on the
+hill the enemy had little difficulty in sniping and shelling our
+trenches effectively.</p>
+
+<div class="img">
+<a href="images/imagep023.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep023.jpg" width="85%" alt="Hill 60" /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Hill 60.&mdash;Official Map, March 1916.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>As we approached Transport Farm I came for the first time under
+indirect rifle fire. A <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>number of bullets fired at our trenches
+carried over and landed not far from the roads at the back. Though
+rather alarming in the dark to one unaccustomed to them, they seldom
+did much damage. Occasionally a man or two got wounded during these
+reliefs. Our company turned to the left again near Zillebeke railway
+station, and then struck off the road and reached the mouth of a C.T.
+which led after about a hundred yards to the support trenches.</p>
+
+<p>A glance at the official plan of the trenches at Hill 60 will give
+some idea of the extraordinary place it was. Whilst the German line
+ran solid along the top of the ridge, there were two complete gaps in
+the British fire trenches between Hill 60 and Mount Sorrel on the
+left. On paper it looks as if there were nothing to stop the German
+from walking across and behind our lines whenever he chose. But I
+imagine that these empty spaces were covered by machine-gun posts, and
+that the artillery were ready to deal with any attempt of that sort.
+Another feature of the place was the awful nature of the ground
+outside the trenches. It was a morass filled with partially buried
+bodies&mdash;that is, partially buried by nature in the ooze and mud.
+During a dense mist about seventy identity discs were recovered from
+the ground behind our support lines. And it was worse in front between
+the opposing trenches. It was not likely, then, that the German would
+wish to press us farther down the hill, at any rate for tactical
+purposes.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>A Company had two platoons in the front line trench 41, some 100 yards
+from the enemy, and two platoons in a support line called '41
+support.' The trenches themselves were well-built and revetted with
+sand bags, and dry enough even during the wettest weather. We had in
+these days only small shelters&mdash;the deep dugout was unknown. The three
+subalterns in A Company took turns at duty in the trenches, four hours
+on and eight hours off, night and day. The duty consisted chiefly of
+visiting the sentries every hour, and keeping a general look-out, and
+seeing that the trench rules were obeyed. A good deal of rifle fire
+went on at night. Sentries on either side would exchange shots, and an
+occasional machine-gun would open out. At close range the bullets make
+a curious crack as they pass overhead. Being tall and having been
+warned of the efficiency of the German sniper, I had to walk in most
+of the trenches with a bend in the back, which soon became tiring.</p>
+
+<p>On Sunday, January 16, I had a decidedly lively time for my first day
+in the trenches. It was always said that the Germans got a fresh
+supply of ammunition at the week-end, and Sunday was scarcely ever a
+day of rest. However that may be, this Sunday was the worst day I had
+for some time. After sending over a few small howitzer shells, the
+German field-guns sent periodical showers of shells, 'whizz-bangs' we
+called them, on to the support trench and C.T.</p>
+
+<p>This went on all morning, and whilst the shoot <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>lasted they came over
+in a perfect stream. After a quieter afternoon a regular trench battle
+opened out at night, rifle grenades and bombs being freely exchanged,
+and a number of trench-mortar bombs&mdash;'sausages and rum jars'&mdash;coming
+over from the enemy's trenches. Eventually our heavy guns opened out
+with lively retaliation and the enemy quietened down. Rather a big
+dose to get the first day in the trenches, when everything was so
+strange and new. However I was assured that it was not an 'average'
+day even on Hill 60, but something like an organised shoot. One of the
+features of the place was the number and size of the rats; they looked
+the size of rabbits as they scuttered along the trenches at night.
+Another was the awful taste of the water we got to drink. It was
+boiled and it was turned into strong tea, but it had a most
+indescribably horrible taste. The food, on the other hand, was
+excellent and plenty of it. In the light of subsequent rations these
+were indeed the days of plenty. Owing to the kindness of some friends
+of the battalion in England, both officers and men were supplied with
+sheep-skin coats or jackets which were wonderfully good in keeping out
+the cold at night. 'Stand-to' was a regular institution of trench
+warfare, both an hour before dark and an hour before dawn. Naturally
+the latter was the more trying, but at this time the rum ration was
+served out; and it certainly prevented you from being frozen stiff and
+enabled you to get to sleep again if your duties did not keep you to
+the trenches. A very curious life in the trenches, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>a very small world
+but every bit of it packed full of interest and novelty to me. From
+the trenches, if you looked backwards, there was a splendid view of
+Ypres, with its shattered spires and houses, still a beautiful grey
+ruin, even in death. I was destined to have a much closer acquaintance
+with it later. Beyond the usual rounds of shelling on both sides
+nothing of particular interest happened during the next three days. On
+the evening of January 19 we were relieved by a company of the 5th
+N.F. (Capt. North M.C.), and moved out after dark for a short rest in
+close support.</p>
+
+<p>My career as a platoon commander in the trenches was a short one, for
+as it happened that was my first and last experience as such. We moved
+out and back for about a mile, eventually reaching a house called
+Blauwpoorte Farm.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> It was not a bad place then, and was not shelled,
+though at night the bullets used to rattle round if you walked abroad.
+Here on the second day I took a small party of men, as a working
+party, to the shelters at the 'Sunken Road,' rather nearer the line. I
+think we were engaged in clearing the road of mud and generally
+cleaning up. On the way there I saw some rather humourous notices
+stuck up at various points. 'This is a dangerous spot.' It was kindly
+meant no doubt, but on the whole no part of the Salient afforded much
+of a rest-cure, and it was practically all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>under direct observation
+of the enemy. We existed simply through his forbearance.</p>
+
+<p>On January 22, 1916, I became bombing officer to the battalion, or, as
+it was then called, 'grenadier officer.' My predecessor had had bad
+luck, getting his hand shattered by the accidental explosion of a
+detonator. Accordingly I was sent to see Sergt. W. Moffat, the
+battalion bombing sergeant, in order to pick up what I could of the
+routine at so short a notice. Sergt. Moffat was a short withered man
+with sandy hair, a quiet manner, but a cheery twinkle in his eye. He
+had served in the South African war; and had been mentioned in
+despatches for good bombing work during a German attack at Hooge. A
+most conscientious and hard-working fellow, with a passion for all
+sorts of bombs. I could not have fallen into better hands. He was an
+admirable instructor and assistant, and knew all there was to be known
+about trench routine. I could see he was universally respected in the
+battalion. He was a Salvation Army man at home, and wore their red
+woollen jersey under his tunic. Much do I owe him and much do I still
+lament his untimely end.</p>
+
+<p>Capt. Smail returned to England about this time, leaving me his woolly
+coat, a priceless parting gift. Capt. J. Welch came to command A
+Company and a cheerier fellow surely never existed. I was glad to
+accept his offer of messing with A Company. There never was a dull
+moment at mess when Welch presided.</p>
+
+<p>We went back to Hill 60 for four days on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>January 23. I cannot
+remember much of this stay in the line, and nothing special happened.
+I was too busy learning all I could of the routine of the trenches and
+locating and checking bomb stores. I had to visit all the trenches
+held by the battalion, and thus got the chance of making the
+acquaintance of the other Company commanders, Capt. H. Liddell (B
+Coy.), Capt. C. Davies (C Coy.) and Capt. G.F. Ball, M.C., (D Coy.). I
+remember being asked by our Brigadier-General Clifford to explain some
+part of a derelict West Spring Thrower in the cutting at Hill 60 (I
+had never even seen one before) and being saved by the timely
+intervention of Sergt. Moffat.</p>
+
+<p>On January 27 we were relieved and went back to Canada Huts for a rest
+of four days. Oh, that first rest out of the trenches! The
+accommodation was poor enough seen in the light of home comforts, but
+what a palace of rest and refreshment it seemed to me then, and how
+quickly the time passed. I had to practise the bombers (nineteen from
+each company) in throwing dummy grenades each morning on the mud flat
+(it was once a field) outside the huts. In order to stimulate keenness
+I organised a competition and gave one franc each day as a prize for
+the best score. I soon found out who were the most expert throwers.</p>
+
+<p>We had a Y.M.C.A. hut close to the camp, and it was interesting to
+drop in and have a chat with the men in charge and a cup of cocoa.
+There was an old gentleman there, in command, who was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>rightly proud
+of being the civilian nearest to the front line. He displayed to us
+with great pride a souvenir found in Ypres, the huge base of a 17-inch
+shell&mdash;it was almost too heavy for one man to lift. We had our Church
+Service and our concerts in the marquee attached to the Y.M.C.A. hut.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the officers got leave to go to Poperinghe during these rests
+out of the line, but I never went there myself. There was an
+attraction there in the 'Fancies,' a fine concert party, many of whose
+songs I learnt at second hand.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Lieut. F.B. Cowen, a very cheery machine-gun officer,
+also 7th N.F., had his quarters here.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="VI" id="VI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>VI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>MOUNT SORREL AND CANNY HILL</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>When we went up the line again on January 31, it was to Mount Sorrel,
+on the north of Hill 60. Here we had a good set of trenches, but they
+were practically cut off from our trenches at Hill 60 by a swamp.
+Through the swamp ran a watery sort of drain about four feet deep. It
+was the old front line, now waterlogged and quite untenable. Although
+the drain was not held by day, a patrol of bombers used to pass along
+it at intervals during the night. And it was part of my duties to wade
+through it every night. This was not a pleasant job, because you could
+not show a light and the mud smelt abominably. We were provided,
+however, with rubber boots reaching up to the thigh, so we did not get
+very wet. The officers of A Company occupied an 'elephant' shelter
+just behind the support line. All its occupants were killed by a shell
+bursting in the doorway, just two days after we had left these
+trenches. I first met Lieut. W. Keene here. He was the Brigade
+Grenadier officer and had the supervision of all bombing arrangements
+in the Brigade area, besides being responsible for the supply of
+grenades. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>I always found him friendly and encouraging, and I was glad
+to learn anything he could tell me. He asked me to send in a daily
+report to B.H.Q.; and I have kept the copies of these reports to this
+day.</p>
+
+<p>During this stay in the trenches the Germans stuck up a notice board
+with the following legend: <i>Attention Gentlemen</i>, and below in German,
+'If you send over one more trench-mortar bomb you will get strafed in
+the neck.'</p>
+
+<p>On February 3 we were relieved and A Company stayed four days in the
+railway cutting at Hill 60 in close support. The second day I went
+with Capt. Welch and Lieut. Greene to the trenches north of Mount
+Sorrel which were called Canny Hill. That journey was full of
+incident, we seemed to be shelled or bombed all the way to Mount
+Sorrel and back, and Capt. Welch has often humourously suggested that
+I was the Jonah. It also meant crossing the dismal swamp in daylight,
+and how we did it without being seen and shot I really do not know.
+During our stay in the cutting I explored the old broken trenches
+behind our support line at Hill 60, and found a fine dump of English
+bombs of early types. I spent quite a long time drawing their teeth.
+One little incident I remember at this spot. About 1 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> an
+elderly R.E. officer came into our shelter, and told us in a voice
+shaking with joyful emotion that he had just blown up a German
+counter-mine which had been threatening our mine galleries at Hill 60.</p>
+
+<p>On February 8 we marched back to Canada <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>Huts, and had another four
+days' rest. This time the bombers carried out a good deal of live
+practice with Mills bombs at some bombing-pits about half a mile from
+Canada Huts. It was my first experience of the sort; but Sergt. Moffat
+kept me up to the procedure at the firing-pit. Also it was the first
+time I had the chance of throwing a live Mills bomb myself. On
+February 12 we were due to take over the trenches at Canny Hill, and I
+went up early and by myself, riding to Caf&eacute; Belge and thence on foot
+to Hill 60, Mount Sorrel, and so on to Sanctuary Wood. It was a long
+way round but I knew no other way. My dugout was in the wood, rather
+far from the front line and from the H.Q. of A Company in Davison
+Street. Our front line trenches were about quarter of a mile away from
+the German front line, but there were signs that the Germans were
+digging a forward trench along a hedge about 200 yards away from our
+front. This activity gave the Staff some uneasiness, and considerable
+interest was taken in these forward workings. I went out with Capt.
+Welch for a short visit in that direction the first night, but we saw
+nothing of interest. The next night Capt. Welch brought back a
+revetting stake from the new German trench. I believe it was on
+February 13 that the Germans attacked and took the 'Bluff,' some
+trenches south-west of Hill 60. About 3.30 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> our own
+trenches were bombarded for about two hours continuously with field
+artillery, and a lot of pieces were blown <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>out of the top of our
+trenches, but no infantry attack developed. After this a small mine
+was blown up under our old trenches at Hill 60 and a platoon was wiped
+out there. But an attempt by the Germans to occupy the crater was
+frustrated through the initiative of a machine-gun officer. I saw and
+felt the shock of this mine going up, and a wonderful sight it was in
+the evening light. The shelling went on for some time after dark,
+whilst to our right our artillery thundered away in support of several
+fruitless attempts to recapture the lost trenches at the 'Bluff.'</p>
+
+<p>On February 14 I was told to organise a series of bombing parties, one
+from each company, to visit the German advanced trench at different
+times during the night and if possible to bomb German parties working
+there. I decided to accompany the first party, from A Company, between
+8 and 10 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> Sergt. Dorgan, an experienced patroller, went
+with me, also L.-C. Lowes, Ptes. Austin and Gibson, and two other
+bombers. As it was very wet, I had a sandbag taken by each man to lie
+down on. The scheme was to creep right up to the new trench near the
+hedge, and await the arrival of the German working-party. So we crept
+out along the wet ground and got to the trench, which was about two
+feet deep. We found no one there, and Pte. Austin went on into the
+hedge to keep a look-out. In the hedge were found a German sniper's
+plate, a steel shield with a loop-hole in it, and a German entrenching
+tool, like a small spade. These were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>at once annexed. Then we lay
+down again on the sandbags and waited with eyes and ears straining for
+about an hour. But no Germans came, though we had one warning from our
+sentry to get ready to fire. After that, cold and thoroughly soaked,
+we returned in triumph with the sandbags and our spoils, which we
+placed in our own trench. The other parties went out later but found
+no Germans at work. Possibly the wet night or the battle on our right
+prevented them from coming out to work that night. The object of these
+forward trenches was afterwards apparent, when four months later the
+Germans attacked and took Mount Sorrel. On February 16 we were
+relieved and went back into support for four days. I have forgotten
+where we went, but I think it was to the Canal Dugouts not far from
+Swan Ch&acirc;teau.</p>
+
+<p>On February 20 we returned to the same trenches at Canny Hill and held
+them for five days. The first night in, Capt. Welch was badly wounded
+through the shoulder whilst bringing in a wounded man who had been hit
+whilst outside wiring. He was a great loss to the battalion, and was
+sadly missed by the men as well as by the officers. It now turned very
+cold, and we had a fall of snow several inches deep. This made it
+difficult for parties to work in the trenches without being spotted. I
+had an unpleasant experience of this. I was looking for an emplacement
+for a grenade-rifle stand, and I selected a likely-looking spot just
+behind the front line. Then I brought a party <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>of bombers to dig the
+place out. We had not thrown out five shovelfuls of earth before a
+shell came whistling just over our heads. Fortunately I dispersed the
+party at once along the trench. Then the fun began. Shells came
+whizzing in all round the unlucky spot, till a direct hit right in the
+middle of it apparently satisfied the German gunners and the storm
+ceased. After that I chose another place farther along the trench
+where no digging was required.</p>
+
+<p>On February 25 we left Canny Hill and went back to Canada Huts. On
+this occasion we had to make rather a detour to allow the troops of
+the 3rd Division to use the roads; and in so doing we passed Ypres
+railway station.</p>
+
+<p>On March 1 we moved into the support dugouts at Transport Farm, called
+Railway Dugouts. We were told to expect a bombardment by our guns that
+night, as the 'Bluff' was to be attacked and retaken early next day.
+The bombers of the 7th N.F. spent some time detonating grenades by
+candlelight in the bomb store at Transport Farm. Sure enough there was
+a terrific bombardment for half an hour. It was the first of the kind
+that I had seen, and I believe that at least 500 guns of all calibres
+were collected for the occasion. The whole of the landscape seemed to
+be alight, every hedge flickering with flame; whilst away towards the
+'Bluff' there was a sullen red glare where our shells were bursting.
+Nothing further happened that night. But at dawn next morning the 3rd
+Division attacked the 'Bluff' <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>without bombardment and surprised the
+garrison, taking many prisoners and recapturing the lost trenches and
+some more ground besides. I saw one or two droves of prisoners coming
+back past Bedford House, the first time I had seen any live Boches.
+The bombardment by our guns started again soon after the attack, and
+our guns kept up a slow rate of fire all day. In reply the German
+heavy guns shelled the back areas freely, especially the road past
+Transport Farm, and we got a few shells near the railway. We got
+orders to take over the trenches at Mount Sorrel the same night. I
+left with a party of bombers soon after 1 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>, going along a
+C.T. to Sanctuary Wood and then back through the trenches to Mount
+Sorrel.</p>
+
+<p>We found the trenches in a sad mess. That morning there had been a
+demonstration with all arms along this part of the front, and the
+enemy had naturally retaliated and done a lot of damage. To increase
+our troubles it became very cold, and the snow fell inches deep. But
+there was no more shelling on either side for the next week. Apart
+from sniping, which was assisted by the snow, we were left in peace to
+bale out the mud and repair the trenches. This cold snap caused a lot
+of sickness, and it was not improved by our having to hold these
+trenches for over a week&mdash;a long time under such wintry conditions. At
+last, on March 9, we were relieved and moved back to some dugouts near
+Bedford House. Here we stayed for some days, taking working-parties up
+to Hill 60 at night, from 7 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> to 1 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> One
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>night we were shelled off the roads, and had to come back with nothing
+done. Another time I took a party to mend a breach in the front line
+at Hill 60. I think we went back to Canada Huts about March 16&mdash;at any
+rate we had a longer rest than usual. Sir Douglas Haig came over to
+Canada Huts to inspect the battalion. Amongst other things he
+inspected A Company who were drawn up in their hut, 2nd-Lieut. Gregson
+and myself being the subalterns there in charge. The General spoke to
+Gregson first, and asked him how long he had been out. He replied:
+'January 14, sir'&mdash;meaning January 14, 1916. His reply was, however,
+taken to mean 'January 1914,' and quite a little discussion took
+place, which amused me much, as Gregson stuck to his point. Afterwards
+the General came round to my end of the hut and asked me how long I
+had been out. 'January '16, sir,' I replied. 'That's all right,' he
+said, 'well, I wish you the best of luck.' There was an amused twinkle
+in his kind sympathetic face, as I was still half-smiling over his
+little controversy with Gregson.</p>
+
+<p>After this we moved off to another rest camp not far away, for a few
+days. On March 24 we were due to take over the trenches at Hill 60
+again for three days. I went up early in the day and 'took over' the
+various bombing arrangements. The trenches now included some on the
+south side of the Railway Cutting, and I had my dugout there in the
+top of a small hillock called the 'Mound.' From 7.30 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> to
+10 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> that night the trenches and Cutting were heavily
+bombarded, but the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>relief was not much delayed. The 7th N.F.,
+however, had great luck in having only two men wounded whilst coming
+in. They were unfortunate casualties, it is true, 2nd-Lieut. J.H.C.
+Swinney<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> and Sergt. Dorgan, both good men and a loss to the
+battalion. The next three days were bad days for us. The battalion had
+over fifty casualties, much above the average. Four days in the line
+generally gave about seven or eight casualties. On March 25 British
+mines were exploded at St. Eloi, and the mine craters were occupied by
+the 3rd Division. The explosion took place just before dawn, about a
+mile or more to the south, but it woke me all of a shake. I thought at
+first that I was going to tumble down into the Cutting the ground
+heaved and rocked so much. The German heavy artillery took the
+precaution of bombarding our part of the front, and caused many
+casualties and much damage in the front line. The whole of C Company
+batmen were killed by a shell, and 2nd-Lieut. Burt, a new arrival but
+an old friend, was also killed. Poor lad, he was always certain that
+he would be killed as soon as he got out to France! I saw in the
+trenches a pile of our dead, three or four deep, waiting for removal
+to the rear. The shelling was severe at times during the next two
+days. Lieut. Platt, a forward observing officer of the 50th Divisional
+Artillery and a well known and welcome figure in the trenches, was
+killed by a shell just below my own dugout. We had cause, indeed, to
+remember our last visit to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>Hill 60. During this visit I first met
+some Canadian officers who were looking over the line before taking it
+over from the 50th Division.</p>
+
+<p>On March 27 we were relieved and I went back with A Company to some
+dugouts near Bedford House. Our first day there we were shelled out of
+these dugouts and had to take refuge for a time in Bedford House. A
+Belgian battery had just arrived close to us, and unfortunately they
+gave the position away. In the afternoon I went a long round to
+various reserve bomb stores to check the stores. Next night I paid a
+last visit to the Cutting at Hill 60 with a working-party.
+Second-Lieut. E.W. Styles was also there on a similar job.</p>
+
+<p>He had just come out; and being anxious to see something of the famous
+Hill 60 trenches he went off by himself into the front line, and, I
+suppose, asked various questions of the sentries. Anyway, when next I
+saw him he was coming back down the Cutting followed at an interval by
+a sentry with a fixed bayonet, who asked me if I knew who he was. My
+reply was no doubt disappointing to the soldier, who thought he had
+really captured a spy this time, and earned his two weeks' leave&mdash;the
+reward for arresting a spy.</p>
+
+<p>On March 29, before leaving the area, I acted as guide to some
+Canadian troops, from Caf&eacute; Belge to the Canal Dugouts. They seemed to
+be fine fellows and well up to strength in all their companies. The
+same night our battalion went back to Scottish Lines at Ouderdom, but
+we moved back to Canada Huts next day.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> A special friend, who unhappily was killed at Wancourt in
+1917.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="VII" id="VII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>VII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>KEMMEL</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On March 31 I rode over with various company officers to Kemmel, and
+we looked over the trenches H2-K1 below Wytschaete Ridge. We were to
+take over this part of the line from the Canadians in two days' time.
+It was once a quiet spot, and I think we were sent there for that
+reason. But we soon found that we had come out of the frying-pan only
+to go into the fire. The battle that was still raging at St. Eloi
+about a mile to the north was destined to alter the character of the
+once peaceful Kemmel area. I had now changed my mess. All the old
+officers of A Company had disappeared since I first joined the
+battalion; so I accepted an invitation from Capt. G.F. Ball to join D
+Company mess. I was glad to do this, for not only was Capt. Ball the
+kindest and best of fellows, but there were old friends
+there&mdash;2nd-Lieuts. Peters and J. Robinson&mdash;whom I knew well at
+Alnwick.</p>
+
+<p>On April 1 the battalion set out for the new area, marching first to
+Locre and halting there for the midday meal. Later on, towards night,
+D Company proceeded to R.E. Farm, a support <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>billet just vacated by
+Canadians, and stayed the night there. The Canadians left a lot of
+excellent ration tobacco behind them both here and in the trenches.</p>
+
+<div class="img">
+<a href="images/imagep042.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep042.jpg" width="85%" alt="Wytschaete Ridge" /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Wytschaete Ridge&mdash;Trench Map, April 1916.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next day we went forward to the new trenches. They were a change
+indeed from those in the Salient, and it was evident that there had
+not been much heavy shelling there. Instead of the high narrow
+trenches at Hill 60, they were mostly mere breastworks with little or
+no back protection. And the C.T.s were hardly deep enough to afford
+protection from sniping or indirect rifle fire. Fortunately the
+Germans did not snipe these trenches. There were three gaps in the
+front line, and two small posts in No Man's Land. A long winding C.T.
+brought you from Battalion H.Q., which were at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>Rossignol Farm about a
+mile from the front line trenches. The main features of the landscape
+were the Wytschaete Ridge and Petit Bois&mdash;a thick wood on our left
+front. The German trenches were not at first at all close to ours; and
+both their wire and ours was thick and solid. We had a big mine shaft
+in the supports, but a good way back from the front line. The
+Canadians told us that there had been little fighting there except
+between patrols and during raids. And it was evident that they had
+spent more time and labour in draining the trenches than in fortifying
+them. I had my quarters with most of the bombers in a support trench,
+H.5, about 250 yards from our front line. We had the trench all to
+ourselves and during my first visit to these trenches, which lasted
+six days, it was a quiet, happy home, with a green field behind and an
+occasional pheasant crowing in the hedges. Unfortunately for the
+bombers, emplacements for 60-pounder trench-mortars (worked by the
+R.F.A.) were already being dug at either end of our trench, and I knew
+there would soon be trouble for H.5. We had a curious little
+bombing-post outside the front line at H.4, which was only held at
+night. It was inside our wire, but you could only reach it by
+clambering over the top of the parapet after dark. The post was
+connected by a string to a sentry-post in the front line. And various
+signals were arranged to warn the sentry in the front line as to what
+was going on, for example, two jerks on the string: 'Man returning to
+trench,' three jerks: 'Enemy patrol on right,' and so on. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>A similar
+bombing-post was also held at night for the first time during this
+visit. This was in an old broken-down trench outside our wire, called
+'J.3 Right.' It was more difficult of approach owing to the mud and to
+its distance from the front line, and of course more dangerous because
+it might be attacked by the enemy's patrols. Capt. Hugh Liddell of B
+Company found this old trench whilst patrolling No Man's Land. It was
+probably once part of the front line which had become waterlogged and
+then abandoned. Capt. Liddell had his H.Q. in J.4 at this time. The
+first night he went with me to this trench with a party of bombers,
+and we stayed from 2 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> till dawn was breaking. Capt.
+Liddell was a great tower of strength to us in these trenches, one of
+the most fearless and pugnacious of men, with a taste for wandering
+about No Man's Land o' nights. It did you good merely to look at him.</p>
+
+<p>On April 8 we were relieved by the 6th N.F., and D Company moved to a
+billet at R.C. Farm. One of the buildings had recently been fired by a
+shell, and the bodies of several horses that had been cremated inside
+made the air rather pungent. Whilst we were out of the line, the
+German artillery started shelling the trenches severely, inflicting
+heavy casualties on the 6th N.F., and punishing especially the support
+trench at J.4 and the bombers retreat at H.5. During our rest I went
+with Capt. Liddell and a working party of B Company to dig and fill in
+some cable trenches behind the supports of the 'L' Trenches. During
+the work <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>I first made the acquaintance of Lieut. A.E. Odell, the
+Brigade Signalling Officer, who later on became a great friend. We
+went back to the old trenches on April 13, and I found the bombers of
+the 6th N.F. had moved their quarters from H.5 to Turner Town (left),
+two rows of small splinter-proof dugouts behind the mine shaft. The
+trenches were badly knocked about, and the German artillery and
+trench-mortars were still causing trouble. I now messed with D Company
+at their H.Q. in K.1.a. On the evening of April 10, I had to patrol
+the ground near the mine shaft with a party of bombers, to look out
+for a German spy who was thought to be making back this way. We saw
+nothing of him, but I believe that 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson arrested a
+Canadian Mining Officer, who in the dark was unknown to him.</p>
+
+<p>On April 18 we were relieved by the 6th N.F. their Bombing Officer,
+2nd-Lieut. A. Toon, taking over from me. This time we moved back to
+Locre. But I was sent to B.H.Q. at Bruloose with my servant, as Lieut.
+W. Keene was away on leave, and it was intended that I should act for
+him till he came back. However I was not long at B.H.Q. before it
+appeared that Lieut. Keene would be returning that night. Before going
+off to Locre, however, I was asked to stay to dinner with the officers
+of B.H.Q. which I did; and it was a pleasant experience. The battalion
+had good quarters in Locre in the Convent School, and we soon found
+that a good lunch or dinner was served by the Nuns at the convent to
+weary officers. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>They also let you use the convent baths. On April 20
+we held a battalion dinner there in commemoration of the Battle of St.
+Julien.</p>
+
+<p>On Good Friday we had an Easter service, as we were to be in the
+trenches again on Easter Day. Our padre was Capt. Rev. J.O. Aglionby,
+C.F., whom we came to know and like very well. The bombers had a day's
+training at Bruloose, and we were asked to bring our steel helmets,
+which had just been issued. So I wore mine for the first time. After
+the practice was over, I was asked to come and see the Brigade Bombing
+Officer fire off some Mills rifle-grenades, which were a novelty then.
+Whilst this was going on a grenade burst prematurely soon after
+leaving the rifle, and a piece came back and struck my helmet, cutting
+the lining and scratching the metal. After that I would never part
+with that helmet, though newer ones were issued later on. Our last
+visit to the trenches was to be shorter, and we were to be relieved by
+the 3rd Division in three days. We set off on Saturday, April 22, and
+arrived in the C.T. all right, for the Germans seldom shelled the
+roads in this area. But when we got there we found things rather
+lively. A shell killed two or three men of D Company as they were
+approaching K.1.a; and Capt. Liddell and I had a splinter from another
+shell between us as we passed up Rossignol C.T. On arriving I got a
+message from the Adjutant saying, 'The G.O.C. orders that you use the
+greatest vigilance by day and by night.' The next day, Easter Day, the
+enemy shelled the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>trenches all day. Capt. G.F. Ball and I had an
+unpleasant experience in K.1.a, after lunch. For nearly two hours a
+howitzer battery shelled the place slowly and methodically, working up
+and down the little trench. Many times dirt and rubbish came flying
+into our shelter, but the only direct hit was on a minor structure
+which of course disappeared. Next day our cook-house was blown in and
+the crockery all smashed, but fortunately it was empty of men at the
+time. In these trenches it was difficult to get artillery retaliation,
+for the fighting at St. Eloi swallowed up most of the spare
+ammunition, and the allowance of shells for the batteries was small;
+so the enemy had a free hand in shelling our defences. Early on the
+Monday morning the enemy fired a shallow mine between his trenches and
+our own. It was a method of gaining ground, for the craters were
+fortified and turned into a trench. In this way the Germans began to
+approach fairly close to us at K.1 and J.3. I had to register with
+Newton rifle-grenades on the crater, but as we were short of
+cartridges it was not possible to fire at night.</p>
+
+<p>On April 25 we were relieved by the 4th Battalion of the Royal
+Fusiliers, and I got away from the trenches with the last of the
+bombers about midnight. There was a big bombardment of these trenches
+next day, causing eighty casualties to the new-comers. My own little
+shelter was blown to pieces by a howitzer shell and the occupants
+killed. Nearly two years elapsed before I was again living in front
+line trenches.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>VIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>DIVISIONAL REST</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>In the early hours of April 20 the battalion reached Locre and spent
+the rest of the night in billets. By 8 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> we resumed our
+march, and went through Bailleul to Meteren. It was pleasant indeed to
+see the inside of a town again, and to get away from the area that was
+broken to bits. We were to be out of the line, we hoped, for at least
+a month, so naturally every one was feeling light-hearted. The bombers
+of the battalion were collected in a company about eighty strong, and
+they were billeted together under my charge. Our quarters were at a
+large French farm, called on the map 'Fever Farm,' and near to it was
+a fine set of bombing trenches. Lieut. W. Keene was also living at
+this farm, in order to be near the bombing ground. And we had our
+little mess together in the farm parlour, and our bedroom in a nice
+dry attic. No bombing work was done for the first three days, in order
+to give time for the men to get rested and to clean their equipment.
+The bombers were billeted in a large barn just across the yard, with
+plenty of clean straw inside. The French farmer and his wife were
+pleasant bodies, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>nice and friendly to us, and glad no doubt to be
+able to sell their light beer and eggs to the English soldier-man. The
+other companies of the battalion were billeted in farm-houses near
+Meteren. In case of an attack by the Germans on the Corps front the
+battalion had orders to go forward and man the trenches on Kemmel
+Hill. I received a paper of instructions as to what to do in case of
+alarm. We could tell that the Germans were causing trouble up the
+line, for we heard a heavy bombardment going on beyond Kemmel. About
+1.30 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> on Sunday, April 30, the bombers' sentry came and
+woke me up, and I went downstairs to find a messenger had arrived with
+the code warning 'Kemmel Defences.' So I quickly roused the men and
+warned them to be ready to start in half an hour. We hurried into our
+war kit and formed up in the dark outside, and soon marched off to
+join the rest of the battalion outside Meteren. We learned that the
+enemy had loosed off a lot of gas beyond Kemmel, and we were to man
+the defences as soon as possible. The battalion marched along as far
+as the entrance to Bailleul, when just as day was breaking a cyclist
+orderly rode up with orders for us to return to our billets. No
+infantry attack had followed the gas cloud, and we were free to return
+to rest. The Brigade had another alarm next day, but it was quickly
+cancelled; and after that we were not called out again. Every morning
+was given to bombing practice, and I offered a small prize each day
+for a competition in throwing. If it was wet the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>men stopped in the
+barn, and had a lecture on English or German grenades. One afternoon I
+walked over to Bailleul and had a bath at the Corps baths. They were
+rather primitive but the water was hot.</p>
+
+<p>It made a nice change to get back to civilisation once more and to
+have a meal at a restaurant; and the shops of course were a great
+attraction.</p>
+
+<p>About May 5, just as I was about to set out a second time for
+Bailleul, a letter came in for me from my brother George. It was dated
+the previous day and said that he was billeted with his unit close to
+Meteren. So I set off at once to find him, and had the good luck to
+meet him as he was cycling round on some medical inspection duties.
+His unit had just come out to France and he had no idea I was so near
+at hand; and I think he nearly fell off his bicycle with surprise when
+I first appeared in that country lane. He could not wait long then, so
+I asked him to come to tea with us at Fever Farm next day. And two
+days after that I dined with the H.Q. Mess of his unit, the 15th Hants
+Regiment, which I enjoyed very much. Unfortunately I saw no more of
+him at this time, as I left Fever Farm about May 11.</p>
+
+<p>It was now decided that I should hand over the bombing to 2nd-Lieut.
+E.G. Lawson, a most cheery and energetic bomber, and return to company
+work. So I was put in command of C Company and returned with them to
+Locre, where I stayed for about a week. I had not much to do here,
+except the daily inspection of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>company and orderly room. The men
+of the company included many of my old recruits of C Company at
+Alnwick whom I was glad to see again. About May 19 I got my first
+leave, it was for seven clear days. And I suppose there was no happier
+man in France just then. The train started from Bailleul station about
+6 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> so I had to leave Locre the night before and stay the
+night at an hotel at Bailleul. I had a comparatively quick journey to
+the coast, for we reached Boulogne at 10.45 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> just in time
+to catch the 11 o'clock boat. I arrived in Folkestone about 1.45
+<span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> and in London about 3.30 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> the same day.
+Though short, it was a happy time, and I returned on May 26, staying
+one night in Boulogne and reaching Bailleul about midnight on
+Saturday, May 27. I found that the battalion was still at Locre, but
+the Brigade had gone back to the line, holding the same trenches on
+Wytschaete Ridge. An unfortunate accident had just happened in our old
+trenches. Lieut. W. Keene and 2nd-Lieut. Toon were both badly injured
+and an N.C.O. killed in the trenches by a Mills rifle-grenade, which,
+through a defective cartridge, fell out of the rifle and burst in the
+trench. So when I got back to the battalion I was told I had to
+proceed to B.H.Q. at Bruloose and take over the office of Brigade
+Bombing Officer in place of Lieut. Keene. This closed my immediate
+connection with the 7th N.F. for twenty months.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="IX" id="IX"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>IX<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>BRIGADE HEAD-QUARTERS</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>An Infantry Brigade Head-quarters in France could be a happy home; but
+only if the Brigadier was liked and respected by the rest of the
+Staff, and tried to make them feel at home. It seems almost an
+impertinence even at this date for me to say anything whether in
+praise or in blame of the man who controlled the immediate destinies
+of the 149th Infantry Brigade when I first joined it. But as I became
+much attached to Brigadier-General Clifford I may perhaps be forgiven
+for describing him rather closely. Tall and dignified, with a cold
+exterior and a penetrating grey eye, he had the power of commanding
+the respect and obedience of all. His fatalistic contempt of danger
+took him into the trenches wherever shelling was hottest; and it is
+difficult to imagine how he escaped being sniped at Hill 60 or on the
+Wytschaete Ridge.</p>
+
+<p>He was loved by the men of the 7th N.F. as one who was willing to
+share their dangers, and always ready with a word of cheer in the
+hottest corner. 'We could have gone anywhere and done anything for
+him, if only he had been there to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>see it.' Such was the epitaph that
+the gallant Northumberlands gave him when he fell. I found his
+old-world courtesy of manner and aristocratic bearing most inspiring.
+And he knew the right way of getting a thing done without being cross
+or overbearing. A splendid type of chivalrous soldier, he stands out
+in my memory as a beacon of light when I have felt inclined to grumble
+at the Army system. I can call to mind a score of acts to me, which
+revealed the kindly, generous heart beneath that cold exterior. One of
+the first things he said to me when I joined the Brigade was this:
+'Buckley, mind you make your authority felt with these adjutants.
+Remember, for the purposes of bombing, you are the General.' How could
+he have shown more generous confidence or encouraged me more for the
+new r&ocirc;le I had to play?</p>
+
+<p>Major Rowan, our Brigade-Major, was another typical officer of the old
+Regular Army, who was generally liked. I did not get to know him so
+well, as he left us for higher Staff duties before two months had
+passed. I always found him kind and considerate.</p>
+
+<p>Capt. D. Hill had been Staff-Captain ever since the Brigade came out
+to France, and what he did not know about the job was not worth
+knowing. He often astonished me by his knowledge of what could be
+done, and by his serene confidence when things were looking difficult.
+Never ruffled, the kindest and most genial of men, he often proved a
+good friend and counsellor.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>Capt. G.E. Wilkinson stayed with us a short time and then left to join
+a mess of his own Machine-Gun Officers. A man of the brightest
+good-humour and gaiety, he always kept us lively and amused. He went
+far in the war&mdash;from 2nd-Lieut. to Colonel of a battalion in eighteen
+months. I need say nothing further of his qualities as a soldier. He
+was at Oxford when I was there, and I remembered seeing him at our Law
+Lectures.</p>
+
+<p>Lieut. G.S. Haggie, the best of fellows too, was always a kind friend
+to me, and made me feel at home in my new surroundings. I saw a lot of
+him both now and later on when we did many a strange hunt together for
+ammunition dumps in the most impossible of places. He was a tremendous
+walker and could get over really bad muddy ground at an amazing speed.</p>
+
+<p>I was destined also to see much of the Brigade Signaller, Lieut. A.E.
+Odell, who was quite a remarkable character. He was a lion in the
+guise of a dove, an autocrat in the guise of a radical, a rigid
+disciplinarian in the guise of an army reformer. He won the M.C. and
+Bar and earned them both. He worked his men hard but himself harder
+still. He had the curious faculty of being able to work for hours by
+day and to spend the whole night in some muddy ditch up in the front
+line. His kindness to and consideration for his signallers, were only
+exceeded by his conscientious devotion to duty. He made me respect and
+like and envy him, even if he occasionally made me smile.</p>
+
+<p>Major Rowan left us, I think, at La Clytte or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>Dranoutre, and Capt. W.
+Anderson became Brigade-Major in his place. He had joined the 6th N.F.
+at the outbreak of war and got his company and the M.C. at the Battle
+of St. Julien. In January 1916 he was appointed G.S.O. III at 50th
+Division H.Q. 'Bill' Anderson was a great man, and combined the
+fearlessness of the Northumbrian with a great brain. He was probably
+the best 'civilian' tactician in the Army, and had he decided to join
+the Regular Army I should have expected him to rise very high indeed.
+I know what the 149th Infantry Brigade owed to him; but I doubt
+whether many others know quite as well. And I have always thought that
+he was never given full scope for exercising his wonderful ability. A
+tall soldierly figure, with noble features and piercing blue eyes that
+could harden almost to ruthlessness, I carry him in my mind as my
+ideal of a Staff Officer. He could get men to do anything for him; his
+kindly tact and sympathy, his rare appreciation of your efforts,
+however clumsy, made you ready to work for him like a slave. He has
+been a good friend to me throughout, and he has done more for me than
+any other man in France.</p>
+
+<p>At Bruloose the officers of the Brigade had small wooden huts of the
+Armstrong type for offices and sleeping rooms. The mess room was in
+the farm-house. Naturally it was a great change from the rude
+accommodation of a Company Mess. M. Bunge, the French interpreter,
+looked after our comforts well.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>Next to B.H.Q. was a large and fairly useful bombing ground, where the
+Brigade Bombing School was carried on; and I spent a good deal of time
+there, as I was in charge of the school. On two days out of every four
+I spent the morning there, and in the afternoon I was free to visit
+the trenches, some four miles away. On the other two days I could go
+up to the trenches in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>I did not miss a day's visit to the trenches and once or twice I went
+up twice in the day.</p>
+
+<p>The journey was done on foot, so I had quite a good day's exercise. My
+duties in the trenches were to see that the battalions in the line had
+a proper supply of grenades; these were taken up by the battalion
+transport at night. Also that the grenades in the trenches and all
+bomb stores were properly stored and cleaned. I had also to see that
+sufficient rifle-grenades were fired at night to harass the enemy's
+working-parties, and that our bombing-posts were properly manned.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay at Bruloose I had nearly 2000 grenades taken out of
+the trenches and replaced by new ones; this was hard work for the
+transport. But the transport officers<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> were very obliging; and I
+found on firing these old grenades at the school that about 30 to 40
+per cent did not burst properly or even at all. The situation in the
+trenches was getting very bad. Shelling by the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>enemy's artillery was
+now less frequent, but the annoyance from enemy trench-mortars was
+something cruel. Not only large oil-cans, full of explosives, came
+over both by day and by night, but a horrible 9-inch trench-mortar now
+made its appearance and blew large craters in the C.T.s and supports.
+I had two of the oil-cans pretty close to me at different times, and
+they were not pleasant. Eventually the trench-mortaring got so severe,
+that the V Corps had a 12-inch howitzer brought up on the railway, and
+several of these huge shells were fired into Petit Bois when the
+German trench-mortars started. Another feature to be reckoned with was
+the approach of the enemy towards K.1 and J.3 by means of a series of
+fortified mine craters. These craters were worked on at night, and by
+the General's orders they had to be kept under constant fire from
+rifle-grenades. Several nights I went up to the trenches to see this
+carried out, once accompanied by the General himself. I had at the
+Bruloose bomb store a fairly good stock of smoke and incendiary bombs,
+like large cocoa tins, only containing red or white phosphorus. It
+occurred to me that they might be used with effect against the Germans
+working in the craters. So I carried a number of these bombs up to the
+trenches, and they were duly fired from the West spring-thrower or
+from the trench-catapult. The Germans did not seem to like them, as
+their discharge always drew a lot of machine-gun fire in reply. We
+also tried to get some more noxious bombs (e.g. 'M.S.K.'), but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>no
+supply could be obtained from the Base. The Bombing Officers<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> of the
+6th and 7th N.F. carried on the harassing fire with such effect that
+eventually the Germans took to sending showers of 'fishtails' whenever
+a rifle-grenade was loosed off. The 'fishtail' was a small
+trench-mortar bomb, which the Germans substituted for the
+rifle-grenade and used with great effect. Needless to say our
+demonstrations were not very popular with the infantry in the front
+line. But Capt. Vernon Merivale, M.C., appeared to take a special
+delight in these harassing shoots.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Brigade Transport, Capt. Kinsella; 7th N.F., Capt. B.
+Neville; 6th N.F., Lieut. F. Clayton; 5th N.F., Lieut. M.G. Pape; 4th
+N.F., Lieut. W.M. Turner.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> 2nd-Lieuts. Toon and Thompson (6th N.F.) and Lawson and
+Woods (7th N.F.).</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="X" id="X"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>X<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE BRIGADE BOMBING SCHOOL</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>The staff of instructors at the Bombing School consisted of three
+highly trained sergeants&mdash;two of these had been instructors at the
+50th Divisional Bombing School which was now given up. Sergt. Hogg of
+the 5th N.F. and Sergt. P. Flannigan of the 4th. N.F. took it in turns
+to be at the school and at the Brigade Bomb Store. So with Sergt.
+Moffat, who was now appointed Brigade Bombing Sergeant, I had always
+two to help me at the school.</p>
+
+<p>On the two bombing days sixteen untrained men came from the battalion
+resting at Locre and sixteen others from the battalion resting at R.C.
+Farm.</p>
+
+<p>During the two days these men had to be sufficiently instructed to
+throw three live Mills grenades. Generally they threw one live grenade
+apiece after the first day's instruction, and the two others the
+second day. The first thing was to give a lecture to the men,
+explaining the nature of the Mills grenade and the proper way to hold
+it and throw it.</p>
+
+<p>After this a party of sixteen men were lined <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>up in two lines, about
+forty yards apart, and each of the eight men in turn threw a dummy
+grenade towards the man opposite him. The instructor had to be careful
+that the man threw in the correct way and held his grenade right. The
+action of throwing the grenade was more like bowling overhand than
+throwing. After about an hour of this the first party of men, eight in
+number, went down to the firing-trench, which had to be 200 yards
+clear of any troops. There were two sandbag walls, breastworks, about
+five feet high&mdash;the one in front with a small traverse wall. At the
+front wall stood the recruit, the sergeant-instructor, and the Brigade
+Bombing Officer. In front about thirty yards away was a deep pit,
+mostly full of water, which had been excavated by innumerable grenades
+thrown into it. The other seven men took refuge behind the second
+wall, until it was their turn to throw. Before the grenade was thrown
+the officer had to blow two blasts on his whistle. The first meant
+'Get ready to fire'&mdash;i.e. draw the safety-pin, the second meant
+'Fire.' Some men of course were more confident than others; but on the
+whole the Northumberlands were easy to teach, for many were miners and
+accustomed to explosives&mdash;in fact, it was sometimes difficult to make
+them take cover properly. When the grenade was thrown, every one
+ducked down behind the wall and waited for the explosion. If it went
+off all right, all was well; and the next man came along for his turn.
+If, however, the grenade did not go off, it had if possible to be
+retrieved <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>and the detonator taken out. This was the most exciting
+work I had to do. Generally the sergeant and I took it in turns to
+pick up these 'dud' grenades as they were called. After some
+experience it was possible to tell the moment the grenade was thrown
+why it did not go off, for example the fuse might be damp and never
+light; or the cap might misfire; or, worst of all 'duds,' the striker
+might stick fast through rust or dirt.</p>
+
+<p>Before I gained the experience of picking up these 'duds' and drawing
+their teeth, I had one lucky escape. The grenade in question had a
+'hanging striker' and burst on the ground within five yards of me. It
+was not, I think, a very good explosion, but one of the pieces caught
+me on the thigh&mdash;happily it cut into the seam of my breeches and then
+turned, following the seam out and leaving me with a bruise and two
+holes in my clothes. I never liked picking up these 'duds,' but later
+on I got to know from the sound what was the matter with them; and
+then it was just a matter of experience getting them to pieces safely.
+The live grenades when they burst in the pit, sometimes threw out old
+'dud' grenades lying in the mud. One of these latter burst in mid-air,
+but hurt no one; and another time the grenade dropped right into the
+firing-trench but did not go off. Another nasty thing was when the
+grenade burst too quickly; many men have been killed by premature
+bursts during practice. But though some grenades went off too quickly,
+I never had one burst in less than a second, by which time the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>grenade was fairly well away from the trench. Besides these thirty-two
+untrained men, the bombers from the battalion at Locre used to come
+and practise on the ground under their own Bombing Officer. But if any
+of these men wished to pass the live firing test, to qualify them to
+wear the Bombers badge (a red grenade on the right arm), I had to test
+them with six live grenades. Three out of the six had to fall within a
+narrow trench about twenty-five yards from the firing point.</p>
+
+<p>Of course I had to watch the grenade till it reached the ground&mdash;and
+pray that it would not burst prematurely. What a blessing those steel
+helmets were during live bombing practice! They were proof against
+bomb splinters and gave you a feeling of confidence.</p>
+
+<p>The battalion bombers were also trained at the school to fire live
+rifle-grenades. No risks were taken with the Newton rifle-grenade;
+during firing all men had to be behind a barricade and the rifle was
+fired off with a string and held in position by an iron stand. But we
+used to think the Hales rifle-grenade quite safe, so that men were
+trained to fire off these grenades holding the rifle to the ground in
+the kneeling position. On one occasion several of us had a lucky
+escape. The grenade burst at the end of the rifle, instead of bursting
+120 yards away on contact with the ground. Sergt. Hogg and another
+bomber of the 5th N.F. were holding the rifle and both got knocked
+over, Sergt. Hogg with a slight cut on the head, the latter shaken but
+unhurt. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>Bombing Officer of the 5th N.F. and I both got scratched
+on the face with splinters.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay at Bruloose about 420 men went through the recruits'
+course and over 1700 grenades were fired.</p>
+
+<p>Later on I had to be content with much less elaborate bombing grounds.
+Sometimes they had to be improvised from nothing, at other times a
+bombing-pit of a sort was found, and we had to make the best of it.
+After the battle on the Somme far less attention was paid to bombing;
+but for a time it was thought desirable to have every man trained in
+bombing, even at the expense of the rifle.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XI" id="XI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>ST. ELOI AND NEUVE EGLISE</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>About July 2 the Brigade came out of the line for a short time, and
+B.H.Q. moved to a camp between Mont Rouge and Westoutre. During this
+stay I was able to carry on the training at the Bruloose Bombing
+School. There was a fine view of the trenches from Mont Rouge. We
+could of course hear the sound of the bombardment on the Somme, but at
+this distance it was more distinct some days than others.</p>
+
+<p>On July 14 the Brigade went into the line again, south of St. Eloi,
+the support trenches being in Ridge Wood. B.H.Q. moved to a camp at La
+Clytte, farther than ever from the front line trenches.</p>
+
+<p>At La Clytte there was a small bombing ground, but it was not very
+safe for live practice, and I was glad when we left it. We did not
+stay long in these trenches; but before we left them the bombers of
+the 6th N.F. killed a German and he was brought back to our trenches.
+It was the first dead German that I had seen.</p>
+
+<p>Our next move was to a quieter part of the line, namely to Wulverghem,
+below the Messines Ridge. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>B.H.Q. went to a canvas camp at Neuve
+Eglise, but moved soon after to Dranoutre, where we were billeted in
+houses. Lieut.-Col. Turner, O.C. the 5th N.F., came to command the
+Brigade for about a week, in the absence of General Clifford, who went
+to England on leave. He was a regular officer, with a keen sense of
+humour and with an extraordinary dislike of parsons. These new
+trenches were quiet enough, but the sniping of the enemy was far too
+good. I was nearly caught out before I realised that fact. I was
+looking over the parapet the first day with L.-C. Austin, when a
+bullet caught the edge of the parapet just in front of us, tearing the
+sandbag along the top and stopping within a few inches of our heads.
+Of course we dropped down quickly into the trench, but L.-C. Austin
+waved his cap over the top to signal a 'miss.' He told me it would
+never do to let the German sniper think he had scored a hit. The
+'flying pig,' our large trench-mortar, was first used in a bombardment
+of the German trenches here, and I believe our Stokes mortar battery
+did a record rate of fire on the same occasion. We had a lot of gas
+cylinders stored in the front line trenches ready for use. But they
+were not required and we had the pleasant job of removing them. They
+were always talked about as 'rum jars.'</p>
+
+<p>There was no bombing ground at Dranoutre, and I had to make a place
+for live practice in a farmer's field, much to his disgust. 'C'est la
+guerre, monsieur!' was all we could say to his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>expostulations. We
+could now hear the great cannonade on the Somme going on to the south
+almost day and night.</p>
+
+<p>A large number of wooden ammunition huts were erected along the roads
+near Dranoutre, and heavy gun emplacements were being made about
+Kemmel. Perhaps it was intended that the Fifth Army should make a big
+push here, if the battle on the Somme had been more successful at the
+start.</p>
+
+<p>About August 7 we were relieved by two shattered divisions from the
+Somme, one of them being the Ulster Division that had seen hard
+fighting south of Serre. We had a good idea whither we were bound. But
+at first we moved off to the Meteren area, where B.H.Q. were quartered
+in a camp of wooden huts for about five days. The censorship now
+became very strict, no inkling of our movements was to be given to
+anyone at home. Valises too had to be lightened by sending home all
+spare kit; and all papers and maps relating to the Kemmel area had to
+be destroyed or returned. Amongst other things I sent home my
+'slacks,' and never wore them again in France. About August 11 we
+moved off to Bailleul railway station and entrained there, leaving
+about midnight. Next morning we reached Doullens, where we left the
+train. The R.T.O. at Doullens was Capt. Rearden, whom I knew as a boy
+at Wellington College and had not seen for sixteen years. But he
+recognised me and claimed acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>We marched that day to Fienvillers, and stayed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>there two days in a
+French house. The next move was to Naours where we spent one night;
+and the next night we stayed at Pierregot. On August 17 we marched to
+the wood at H&eacute;nencourt.</p>
+
+<p>The whole Brigade was encamped in the neighbourhood of the wood. We
+had at last arrived in the rest area of the Somme front, and it could
+only be a matter of days before we were involved in the great battle.
+But before that could happen there was a great deal to do to prepare
+the men for their ordeal, and perhaps not a great deal of time in
+which to do it. The Division was served out with the short rifle for
+the first time. Hitherto we had only had the long rifle such as was
+used in the South African War.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XII" id="XII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE SOMME<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>The battle on the Somme was to me the great tragedy of the war. A
+glorious noble tragedy, but still a tragedy. Both sides of course have
+claimed the victory, the British a tactical one, the Germans a
+strategic one. The net result to the Allies from a material point of
+view was the recapture of some hundreds of square miles of France, for
+the most part battered to bits and as desolate and useless as a
+wilderness; and the capture or destruction of so many thousands of the
+enemy at a cost altogether out of proportion to their numbers. The
+Germans claim, and claim quite rightly, that they frustrated our
+attempt to break through their line. On the other hand it can be
+little consolation for them to know that a nation of amateur
+soldiers<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> drove them out of the strongest fortress in the world;
+drove them out so completely that they were glad to take refuge,
+morally as well as physically, behind their famous Hindenburg Line.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt our grand attack lasting from July <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>to November 1916 cemented
+the Alliance with France and saved Verdun from falling. No doubt it
+paved the way, in knowledge and morale, for further attacks at a later
+date. The fact remains that before its lessons were learnt the slopes
+of the Ancre and the Somme were sown with the bodies of thousands of
+the finest specimens of the British race. What a cost was paid for the
+example and the lesson! Never again during the war had Britain such
+fine athletic men, such gallant and heroic sons to fight her battles.
+No horror or hardship could subdue their spirit. Again and again,
+through shattered ranks and over ground covered with the fallen, they
+went forward to the supreme sacrifice as cheerfully and as
+light-heartedly as if they were out for a holiday. They knew they
+could beat the enemy in front of them, and they went on and did it
+again and again, in spite of the wire, in spite of the mud, in spite
+of thousands of machine-gun bullets and shells. The tragedy of it all
+is written in one word. <i>Waste</i>&mdash;waste of lives, waste of effort,
+waste of ammunition. The fact is now clear that in 1916 the resources
+of the British Nation were not sufficiently developed to smash the
+German war machine. That was undoubtedly the hope of every one who
+took part in the battle, to deliver a final knock-out blow. But this
+hope failed, even if it failed by a little. Our artillery, mighty as
+it undoubtedly was, was not mighty enough yet to destroy the enemy's
+defences and to shatter his power of resistance. Alas, it was a blow
+that could never be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>repeated again with such magnificent human
+resources!</p>
+
+<p>After the supreme effort by all ranks a terrible wave of depression
+naturally followed. And can this be wondered at? For a time there was
+lack of confidence which made itself all too apparent in 1917, a year
+of unparalleled disasters. No one who has not set out with such high
+hopes can know how awful that depression can be.</p>
+
+<p>The effort of the British Army was never so united, never so intense
+as it was in the battle on the Somme. Later on reverses brought
+knowledge and knowledge at last brought victory. But for some that
+victory had its sad side too; for thousands upon thousands of those
+gay and gallant comrades in the Great Endeavour were not there to
+share it.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+<p>The part of the 50th Division in the battle was not a small one.
+Briefly the Division went into the Somme area on August 17, 1916, and
+left it about March 10, 1917. Their first attack was launched on
+September 15, 1916, in company with the Guards and some of the finest
+divisions in the British Army. After almost continuous fighting they
+were withdrawn about October 5, and went back to the rest area around
+H&eacute;nencourt till October 21&mdash;after having advanced their line from High
+Wood Ridge to the edge of Le Sars.</p>
+
+<p>On October 25 they returned to the same front and made two gallant but
+fruitless attacks on the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>Butte of Warlencourt, in support of larger
+operations about Beaumont Hamel. The hardship of the fighting between
+October 25 and November 16 cannot be realised by those who did not
+actually experience the conditions. From December 28 to January 23 the
+Division held the line south of Le Barque and Ligny-Thilloy. After
+that they moved farther south and held the line in front of Belloy and
+Estr&eacute;es, trenches that had been captured by the French. No wonder,
+after this hard work, that the 50th Division gained the reputation of
+a hard fighting division.</p>
+
+<p>I can give no very accurate idea of the casualties suffered by the
+Division; but some idea of the losses may be drawn from the casualties
+among the bombers of the 7th N.F. Of these I have fairly accurate
+details. The bombers of the 7th N.F. went into action on September 15,
+1916, about eighty strong&mdash;ten N.C.O.s and seventy men. When the roll
+was called at Bresle on November 20, 1916, eleven men alone answered.
+Of the N.C.O.'s two were wounded and the rest were killed. The bombers
+of the 4th N.F. suffered almost as heavily, but I have now no details.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> See Illustration, p. 81.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> I allude of course to the New Armies.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> These views of the battle, I am told, are unduly
+pessimistic. But I let them stand as a record of personal feelings
+aroused as a result of the battle.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XIII" id="XIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>H&Eacute;NENCOURT</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>Brigade Head-quarters were accommodated in wooden huts, but the
+battalions were mostly under canvas. Strenuous efforts had now to be
+made to complete the training of the men, and to initiate them to a
+style of warfare that was quite new and strange to them.</p>
+
+<p>My own task was to train as many men as possible in the use of the
+Mills grenade. Each day I had fifty men to train, and they were kept
+at it all morning and again in the evening, until they had each thrown
+two live grenades. I had the services of three sergeant-instructors,
+who were invaluable in getting the men past the first stage. All the
+live firing I had to supervise myself; that being the rule of the
+Army, that an officer should always be present during live practice.
+All my spare time was spent in going over and testing the grenades to
+be fired next day, or in baling out the bombing trench, which filled
+very rapidly in wet weather. And so it went on day after day. Thirteen
+officers and 671 men who had never previously thrown a live grenade
+went through the course at H&eacute;nencourt; and about 1400 live grenades
+were fired. The battalion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>bombers used the ground in the afternoon in
+charge of their own officers; and they got through another 1000
+grenades. On September 2 I was able to tell the General that every man
+in the Brigade, including machine-gunners and trench-mortar men, had
+been through the course, with which he expressed himself very pleased.
+Towards the end of our stay the General came to see the live throwing
+several times in the evenings, and he always spoke very encouragingly
+to the men.</p>
+
+<p>About September 6 I went with a party of officers from the Brigade to
+view the trenches we were to take over on the Somme battlefield. And
+as this was my first visit there it naturally made a great impression
+on me. We started off in the dark and rode through H&eacute;nencourt and
+Millencourt to Albert. Just before we reached Albert we passed through
+a cloud of lachrymatory gas, which made me weep copious tears for
+nearly half an hour. The great sight in Albert was of course the
+ruined cathedral, with its colossal statue of the Virgin and Child
+hanging downwards over the roadway. We rode on to where the front line
+had been at Fricourt then to Fricourt 'Circus,' Mametz, and then to
+the south of Mametz Wood, where we left our horses. First we went
+through the wood to B.H.Q., which were in some deep dugouts there.
+Having obtained guides and a rough sort of map, we went on to
+Battalion H.Q. at the Chalk Quarry east of Bazentin-le-Petit. This was
+about 1000 yards from the front line, which lay just below the ridge
+from Martinpuich to High Wood. A deep C.T. called 'Jutland Alley'
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>took us up to the front line&mdash;'Clark's Trench.' So far we had little
+trouble from shelling, but we passed over the bodies of two
+unfortunate Highlanders in Jutland Alley who had been recently killed
+by a shell. The entrance to Intermediate Trench on the left was
+terrible, the smell being overpowering. As a matter of fact there were
+scores of dead men just out of sight on both sides of this trench,
+whom it had been impossible to bury. It was not unusual to see an arm
+or leg protruding out of the side of the C.T., so hastily had the
+Germans buried their dead. And there were swarms and swarms of flies
+everywhere. When we had finished looking round in the front line,
+which was a good trench and quite quiet, we turned back down Jutland
+Alley. The German 'heavies' were now shelling the supports and close
+to the C.T. One shell, which seemed not to explode, hit the edge of
+the C.T.; and when we got to the place we found the trench partially
+filled in and an unfortunate man buried up to his neck, much shaken
+but not much hurt. We left him to be extricated by his friends who had
+got spades. I then visited the trenches near the windmill and then
+returned to the south of Mametz Wood. Whilst waiting here I examined
+with interest the many curious little 'cubby holes' that our troops
+had made during the attack on Mametz Wood. I also watched the German
+'heavies' shelling our field batteries near Bazentin-le-Grand, and
+sending up clouds of chalky dust. A few shrapnel shells were also
+fired near the road, and I believe our horses and orderlies were
+nearly hit, but escaped <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>by galloping off when the first shell came.
+The countryside looked very desolate and knocked about till we got to
+Fricourt Circus, only the chalky roads were crammed with limbers and
+lorries taking up supplies. At the Circus there was a remarkable
+sight, a huge camping ground covering several square miles, every
+available spot on it packed with dumps and horse-lines, artillery
+parks, bivouacs, and tents. All the roads round here were full of
+troops on the move, and of lines and lines of lorries either coming or
+going. After passing Albert there was less of interest, but we saw one
+of our aeroplanes stranded in a ploughed field east of Millencourt.
+The pilot told us he had got his machine damaged over the German line,
+but had managed to get back thus far, when he had made a bad landing.
+Such was my first visit to the great battlefield, a dreary looking
+spot with a general aspect of chalk, broken stumps of trees, and
+crowded muddy roads.</p>
+
+<p>Our stay at H&eacute;nencourt was drawing to a close, but before we left we
+had an inspection by the III Corps Commander. And on the last day,
+September 9, we held a grand sports day and had a band playing. The
+men looked splendidly fit and well after their month's rest, and they
+displayed a wonderful spirit, talking eagerly of their part in the
+coming attack. Alas and alas! At times I could have wept to see these
+splendid bronzed men go marching by, the very flower of our English
+race. For I knew that very soon I should see few of them again, or few
+indeed of their like.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XIV" id="XIV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XIV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>MAMETZ WOOD</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On Sunday September 10, the Brigade left H&eacute;nencourt, and B.H.Q. went
+to the deep dugouts in Mametz Wood. I travelled there with Sergts.
+Moffat and Hogg, and we were lucky enough to get good lifts, first in
+a Canadian Staff car and then on a motor-lorry. Capt. Bloomer (5th
+D.L.I. and attached to B.H.Q.) shared a deep dugout with me, and we
+had meals together.</p>
+
+<p>It was the first deep dugout I had entered, and of course it was the
+work of the Germans. There were about twenty steps down at either end,
+the wooden sides of the stairway scarred with bullet holes and
+splinters. Inside there were just two narrow apartments, one for our
+bedroom and the other for meals. Though rather draughty it was
+comfortable enough and practically shell-proof. Capt. Bloomer had an
+unpleasant job, which kept him out late at nights, and I did not envy
+him. In order to make the attack, it was decided to dig a forward
+trench some way in front of Clark's Trench. The digging was done at
+night and cost us a number of casualties from shell and rifle fire.
+Capt. Bloomer used to go up every night to see the work done.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>The second morning at Mametz Wood I was greatly shocked to hear that
+our Brigadier had been killed by a sniper from High Wood, as he was
+going out to inspect the forward trench just after dawn. It was nearly
+two days before his body could be brought in, owing to the shelling
+that went on at night. He was buried at Albert. A few days later
+Brigadier-General Ovens, an Irishman, came to take command of the
+149th Infantry Brigade.</p>
+
+<p>My job was now to prepare the Brigade bomb stores and to see that the
+grenades were properly packed into sandbag carriers for taking up the
+line. A special dugout had been prepared as a bomb store near the
+Chalk Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit, but almost at the last moment the
+R.A.M.C. commandeered the place for their forward dressing-station. So
+the boxes of grenades had to lie in the open in large shell-holes,
+covered with German greatcoats, mackintosh sheets, or anything else we
+could get hold of. I spent hours and hours examining the grenades and
+packing them into sandbag carriers. One of our transport-wagons<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>
+had a lucky escape, whilst carrying a load of 2000 Mills grenades, all
+detonated, to one of our dumps. The safety-pin of one of the grenades
+broke with the jolting of the wagon, and the grenade went off,
+bursting its own and several other boxes, but not setting off any
+other of the grenades. I had an anxious time unpacking that
+wagon-load. The brass safety-pins of the Mills grenades were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>very
+unsatisfactory at this time; but I had collected a large number of
+steel pins from the bombing grounds, and I used to re-pin any that I
+thought had weak brass-pins. This examination of the grenades was
+rather wearisome, but it was time well spent, for we had no accident
+with them when the carrying-parties took them up the line. And other
+units were not so fortunate in that respect. About 24,000 grenades
+went through my hands, and of these perhaps 5000 went into the
+sandbags. On September 14 we first saw the mysterious tanks, which had
+arrived behind the quarry to take part in the great attack next day.
+We had two allotted to our Division. That night we moved from Mametz
+Wood to the Chalk Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. Here one of the
+Divisional Field Co. R.E. had prepared for us excellent H.Q. in the
+side of the Quarry. The offices were well down in the side of the
+Quarry, the mess room was a large shelter covered with sandbags a
+little higher up. We were fairly crowded that night, for a large
+number of 'liaison' officers arrived for duty next day. We were
+sleeping inside the mess shelter, practically shoulder to shoulder all
+over the floor. Officers were sleeping and feeding and working there
+all at the same time. A day and night mess was run for the benefit of
+all that came in.</p>
+
+<p>For the last four or five days our artillery had kept up an almost
+continual fire on the enemy's lines. Now at the last moment the guns
+of the Field Artillery were taken out of their hiding places <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>and
+brought forward into the open. Our chalk pit was practically under the
+muzzles of about a dozen field guns.</p>
+
+<p>Later on that night we heard a curious whistling, puffing sound, it
+was the two tanks clambering up the hill to get into position near the
+front line.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Lieut. F.C. Clayton was now Brigade Transport Officer.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XV" id="XV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE 15TH SEPTEMBER 1916</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>We were all up early next morning, and got some breakfast well before
+dawn. The air outside had a regular autumn chill. At first only an
+occasional gun fired in the distance. But about twenty minutes before
+dawn, our heavy guns opened their bombardment. To one standing in the
+quarry, below the level of the ground, they had the most weird of
+sounds. A dull rumbling in the rear and a continual whizz and hiss
+high overhead. Hardly a sound of the guns firing and no sound of the
+shells bursting. Only that terrible grinding swish in the air above.
+Twenty minutes of that, and then, with a terrific roar, all our field
+guns opened, and we knew that our comrades in front, the 4th N.F. on
+the right and the 7th N.F. on the left, had 'gone over the top.' The
+noise in front of the field batteries was pandemonium, excruciating to
+the nerves. The air shook and quivered with the sound, the quarry
+seemed to shake. You could only hear when the speaker shouted in your
+ear. And so it went on hour by hour all day. The rate of fire
+subsided, but the guns went on all day. I was standing with the
+Staff-Captain in the Quarry, when I got what felt like a stone in
+the face. It proved to be a piece of a shell, but happily for me it
+struck the ground first and caught me on the rebound. A small cut
+about the nose and chin, but I had to go and have it dressed. I got
+well chaffed afterwards on my rather comical appearance. It was an
+anxious time before the first news got back, but when it did it was
+good. Our men had taken the first German trench, and were waiting to
+go ahead again. Unfortunately High Wood was not taken by the 47th
+Division on our right till midday, and meanwhile we lost numerous
+casualties from having our right flank exposed to machine-gun fire. A
+report came in that a large party of Germans were starting a bombing
+attack on our right, so it was decided to send up a supply of
+grenades. I went, therefore, and found Lieut. Mackenzie, who was in
+charge of 100 men acting as carriers, and handed over 2400 grenades.
+This party went up to the front line and back without mishap. But
+shortly afterwards Lieut. Mackenzie was badly wounded by one of our
+own shells bursting prematurely. We had fifty casualties at the Quarry
+from premature bursts. It was not the fault of the gunners, but either
+the guns were worn or the shells were defective.</p>
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span><br />
+
+<div class="img"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+<a href="images/imagep081.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep081.jpg" width="85%" alt="Scene of Attacks by 50th Division" /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Scene of Attacks by 50th Division. Sept. 15-Nov. 14, 1916.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>I lost two sergeant-instructors in the Quarry. Sergt. Moffat was badly
+hit in the thigh with a fragment from a premature and died a few days
+after. Sergt. Hogg was wounded in the chest by a bullet, but not
+fatally. The wounded and prisoners began to stream back past the
+Quarry. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>And as they came we began to get news of our friends in
+front. Though successful the Brigade had to pay a heavy price. The 4th
+N.F. were literally cut to pieces. I lost many friends killed,
+including Capt. J.W. Merivale, 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson, and Sergt.
+Austin, and many more wounded, including Capt. G.F. Ball.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> During
+the attack thirty-seven out of the eighty bombers of the 7th N.F. were
+killed or wounded, and the bombers of the 4th N.F. paid a still
+heavier price, including their gallant officer killed.</p>
+
+<p>At 4 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> the 151st Infantry Brigade took over the operations
+on our front and continued the attack at night. Next day B.H.Q.
+returned to Mametz Wood.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> I had to pay a visit to the nearest large
+dressing-station to get the anti-tetanus inoculation. This proved more
+troublesome than the small cut I received, and it made me feel fairly
+weak for the next ten days. On September 20 I went with Capt. D. Hill
+to select a place for a dump near High Wood, and we passed over the
+first captured German trench. There were few of our men lying about,
+for the burial parties had been hard at work. But farther back around
+Intermediate Trench there were piles of British and German soldiers
+still lying where they had fallen weeks before. We had now to get a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>number of sandbag carriers made for taking more grenades up the line,
+and I was given a small party from the 5th N.F. to get this done.</p>
+
+<p>About September 22 we returned to the line, and B.H.Q. to the Chalk
+Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. I have but a confused recollection of the
+period from now to the end of our stay in this locality. My servant
+had a lucky escape in the Quarry. He was sitting outside my dugout
+with two others making some tea, when a small shell fell right in the
+middle of their feet. All were thrown over by the explosion, but only
+one was really hurt&mdash;Capt. Bloomer's servant. We brought the poor
+fellow into the dugout, with his right arm almost severed at the
+elbow; and we spent the next ten minutes tying him up as best we
+could. He died about a week later. I also remember paying two visits
+to a most unpleasant spot selected as the Brigade ammunition dump, at
+the junction of Crescent Alley and Spence Trench. The German artillery
+never seemed to leave it alone.</p>
+
+<p>About October 3 the 5th N.F., commanded by Lieut.-Col. N.I. Wright
+attacked the Flers Line, and took two trenches. Before this attack
+started a huge howitzer was brought up and placed on the west side of
+Mametz Wood. And during the one and a half hours preceding the attack,
+it fired sixty 15-inch shells into Le Sars, of which only two failed
+to burst. On October 5 the 50th Division was relieved, and B.H.Q.
+moved back to a doctor's house in Albert. That night General <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>Ovens
+gave a dinner to the officers of the Staff at a restaurant in the
+town, where a good repast was served by some French civilians. Next
+day we moved farther back to Millencourt, and we were billeted in a
+nice house.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The two other Company Commanders of the 7th N.F., Capt.
+V. Merivale, M.C., and Capt. E.F. Clennell, M.C., got safely through
+the action.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> At this place I first had the opportunity of speaking to
+our Divisional Commander, Major-General Sir P.S. Wilkinson, K.C.M.G.,
+C.B., who was beloved by every one in the Division.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XVI" id="XVI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XVI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>MILLENCOURT</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>I went off to Millencourt, on October 6, in front of the rest of
+Brigade in order to look for a bombing ground. I found one all right,
+but I cannot say that it was altogether safe or in very good
+condition. The firing-trench was a square emplacement cut into the
+ground and there was no easy exit in case of trouble; also our
+predecessors there obviously had had an accident on the spot, for I
+found a box of Mills grenades lying there, half buried, two or three
+of the grenades exploded and the rest more or less damaged and in a
+dangerous condition. However, the mess was cleared up at last, and I
+had to make the best of the place, such as it was. I had now only
+Sergt. P. Flannigan to help me, but Lieut.-Col. Scott Jackson, D.S.O.,
+my colonel, kindly allowed L.-Sergt. Piercy of the 7th N.F. to come
+and assist in the training at the Brigade Bombing School. After the
+heavy fighting the Brigade was supplied with large drafts of new men.
+They came chiefly from the Fen country and were only partially
+trained. I found them far more difficult to instruct in bombing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>than
+the Northumberland miners. I had between forty and fifty of these men
+each day, and they had to throw two live grenades before they left.
+One exciting event happened during this training. One of the drafts
+was about to throw his grenade, when he dropped it and of course it
+started to burn. With great quickness and resolution Sergt. Flannigan
+picked it up and got it out of the trench before it burst&mdash;and his
+action undoubtedly averted a tragedy. Many men have received
+decorations for similar acts in the trenches, but the Brigade decided
+that nothing could be done in this case except mentioning it in
+Divisional Orders and recording it in the Sergeant's pay book. After
+this I arranged with the Sergeant to keep an undetonated grenade
+handy, and if any man seemed too nervous to throw his first grenade
+safely, we supplied him with this. He went through all the emotions of
+throwing a live grenade, and endangered neither himself nor us. The
+empty grenade was then picked up and treated as a 'dud,' i.e. one that
+had misfired. Between October 7 and October 21, 477 new men went
+through the bombing course, and nearly a thousand grenades were fired.
+Shortly after this Sergt. P. Flannigan went to the Corps School, first
+as a bomber and afterwards as a Lewis gun instructor; and I never had
+his services again.</p>
+
+<p>Brigadier-General Ovens was a pleasant, genial Irishman, who tried to
+make us all feel at home in his mess. But I doubt whether the Irish
+really understand the Northumbrians or vice <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>versa. At this time John
+Coates, the famous tenor singer, came out as a lieutenant in the
+Yorkshire Regiment. He was attached to us for a time. It was a
+sporting thing for him to do, but he was neither young enough nor hard
+enough to stand the severities of the campaign. He acted as General's
+Orderly-Officer for a time and afterwards became Town Major of
+B&eacute;court, not an easy or a very pleasant job. He sang several times for
+the men, once in the open air, and his singing was certainly top hole.</p>
+
+<p>During this stay at Millencourt I paid a flying visit to Amiens with
+Lieut. A.E. Odell. We went there and back in a Divisional Signal car
+and stopped only a few hours, in fact for dinner.</p>
+
+<p>About October 24 we went to Albert, stopping one night at the same
+house as before, and next day we went back to the line.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XVII" id="XVII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XVII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>HOOK SAP</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On October 25, 1916, we took over from a brigade of the 1st Division
+at the ruined sugar factory at Bazentin-le-Grand. The sleeping
+apartments were in a dugout below ground, but the mess room and
+offices were in the building on the ground floor. After arriving I
+went with a bombing sergeant of the Black Watch to have a look at the
+Brigade Dump, which was a good way from B.H.Q. You got at it by
+walking across country to the west end of High Wood, and then along a
+trench tramway till it ended rather abruptly at the Flers Switch. Like
+most dumps, it was at the end of the tramway and none too healthy a
+spot. It was afterwards moved forward to a sunken road called 'Hexham
+Road,' where the boxes of ammunition were just piled in the open.</p>
+
+<p>The position in front was now as follows. The 1st Division had pushed
+the enemy back to a line along the top of a ridge running from the
+Butte of Warlencourt practically due east. This ridge prevented our
+seeing the enemy's approaches and support positions in Le Barque. On
+the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>other hand from Loupart Wood the whole of our approaches and
+support trenches were in full view of the enemy, as far back as High
+Wood. Across those two miles no one could move in daylight without
+being seen by the enemy, and there was practically no position to put
+our field guns forward of High Wood. The enemy's front line consisted
+of two trenches&mdash;Gird Line and Gird Support&mdash;with a forward trench on
+the top of the ridge, called on the left 'Butte Trench' on the right
+'Hook Sap.' Our front line Snag Trench and Maxwell Trench lay this
+side the ridge and about two hundred yards away from the German
+forward trench.</p>
+
+<p>The Butte of Warlencourt, an old Gallic burial place, was a round
+chalk hill, rising about 100 feet above ground level; and had been
+mined with deep dugouts and made into a formidable strong point. From
+the Butte machine-guns defended the approaches to Hook Sap, and from
+Hook Sap and the Gird Line machine-guns defended the approaches to the
+Butte. The ground between and around the opposing trenches had been
+ploughed up with innumerable shells, some of huge calibre, and it was
+now a spongy morass, difficult to cross at a walk and impossible at a
+run. As events proved, unless both the Butte and the Gird Line could
+be taken at the same time, the one would render the other impossible
+to hold. This then was the problem that faced the 50th Division, a
+problem that would have been difficult enough in the driest of
+weather, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>but rendered four times more so by the rain which fell in
+deluges on three days out of four during the whole of October and
+November. I have dealt with these details rather fully, because this
+phase of the Somme battle has been passed over as a thing of no
+account. The eyes of the public have been directed to the successful
+operations at Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt. They have not been
+directed to the misery and horror that were endured heroically but
+unavailingly on the slopes between Eaucourt L'Abbaye and Le Barque.
+Never have the soldiers of the 50th Division deserved more and won
+less praise than they did during the operations between October 25 and
+November 15. I have no pen to describe the conditions that were faced
+by the brave men, who, after labouring unceasingly in the slimy
+horrors and rain for three weeks without rest or relief, stormed and
+took Hook Sap, only to be cut off and killed to the last man by
+successive counter-attacks. It is a sorrowful page in the history of
+the 7th N.F., but for stark grim courage and devotion to duty it
+cannot be surpassed by anything in the history of the battalion.</p>
+
+<p>The first attack on the Butte and Butte Trench took place about the
+beginning of November and was made by the 151st Infantry Brigade. On
+the right the attack did not succeed; but on the left the troops
+reached the Butte and took or killed many Germans. Unfortunately the
+machine-guns behind the Butte prevented the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>Brigade from
+consolidating the ground won, and the troops eventually retired to
+their original line. During this operation the men of the 149th
+Infantry Brigade were employed in carrying up stores and as stretcher
+parties. Eventually, about November 12, the Brigade took over the
+front line, with a view to renewing the attack whenever the weather
+should permit. Our H.Q. were established at Seven Elms, about a mile
+from the front line, with rear H.Q. at the sugar factory. At dawn on
+November 14 the Brigade attacked the Hook Sap and Gird Line, the 5th
+N.F. on the right, the 7th N.F. on the left opposite the sap. At the
+same time an Australian Corps attacked farther to the right, but no
+attack was made on the Butte itself. An officer, who was in the
+trenches south-west of the Butte and saw the Northumberlands go
+forward, told me that he had never seen such a strange sight. The men
+staggered forward a few yards, tumbled into shell-holes or stopped to
+pull out less fortunate comrades, forward a few more yards, and the
+same again and again. All the while the machine-guns from the German
+trenches poured a pitiless hail into the slowly advancing line; and
+the German guns opened out a heavy barrage on the trenches and on the
+ground outside. In spite of mud, in spite of heavy casualties, the
+survivors of two companies of the 7th N.F. struggled across that
+spongy swamp and gained the German line. What happened after that can
+only be conjectured, for they never kept <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>touch with the 5th N.F., who
+reached and took the Gird Line. But it is known that the 7th N.F. got
+a footing both in Hook Sap and in the Gird Line behind. The Germans
+barraged the captured trenches twice or three times during the day,
+and are thought to have attacked them in force with fresh reserves
+each time. Owing to the heavy and continuous barrage across No Man's
+Land no news could be got back and no supports could be sent forward.
+Finally, at night, the remnants of the shattered brigade were
+collected, and another attempt made to reach the trenches; but the
+Germans had evidently now got back to their old position and in the
+mud and darkness the fresh attack had little chance of success.
+Nothing more has been seen or heard of the two companies that reached
+Hook Sap. It is believed that they perished to the last man,
+overwhelmed by successive German counter-attacks. Second-Lieut. E.G.
+Lawson fell at Hook Sap, also 2nd-Lieut. R.H.F. Woods, both Bombing
+Officers of the 7th N.F.; also Bombing Sergts. J.R. Richardson and J.
+Piercy.</p>
+
+<p>The 5th N.F. did well indeed, for they succeeded in holding their
+ground in the Gird Line and handed it over next day to the troops that
+relieved them. But that also had to be abandoned at last, owing to its
+isolated position.</p>
+
+<p>The only consolation that can be drawn from this heroic but tragic
+affair is that it may have created a diversion to our successful
+operations at Beaucourt. As an isolated operation it was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>doomed from
+the start owing to the state of the ground and the exhaustion of the
+men who took part in it.</p>
+
+<p>My own part in the sufferings of the Brigade at this time was so
+insignificant that it is not worth giving many details of my
+experiences. I found walking over the muddy ground most terribly
+exhausting, especially in a trench coat dripping with rain and mud.
+And it was a long way, over three miles, from rear H.Q. to the dump at
+Hexham Road. One morning I went with Major Anderson to the ruins of
+Eaucourt L'Abbaye on a visit of inspection. For months this was a
+terribly shelled place, and it was now nothing but a pile of broken
+sticks and brickdust. We were lucky to get clear of it before the
+morning hate began. There were still large numbers of British and
+German dead lying in heaps round the Flers Line; and two broken down
+tanks completed the picture of muddy desolation. On November 14, the
+day of the battle, I went up to advanced B.H.Q. at Seven Elms, where
+quarters were very crowded. I remember being so tired out that night
+that I fell asleep standing in one of the passages, propped against
+one of the walls. Next day I returned to the sugar factory. And on
+November 17 B.H.Q. moved back to a billet in Albert. Here, on November
+19, I attended the Battalion Church Parade in a barn. A mere handful
+of men, gaunt, hollow-cheeked, and exhausted, their faces dead white
+and their clothes almost in rags, it was one of the saddest parades I
+can remember.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>During this visit to the line I first had the services of Pte.
+Fairclough of the 5th N.F. as my Brigade Bombing Orderly, and he
+remained with me in that capacity till I left the Brigade in 1918. I
+found him a most useful, willing man, and he soon gained his lance
+stripe. On November 19, owing to the kindness of Major Anderson, I was
+granted leave to England for ten days. He told the General that I was
+looking rather war-worn and that I should be needed for further
+grenade training on my return.</p>
+
+<p>It was during this visit to Bazentin-le-Grand that I first started
+studying Intelligence work. The Brigade-Major asked me to spend my
+spare time in assisting him with some aeroplane photographs. I had to
+go over the daily series that came in from the Corps, and note
+anything new on our own part of the front. Major Anderson was an
+expert reader of these photographs, and he taught me all I know about
+the subject. I found it an interesting subject, and it was to have a
+great influence over my future career.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XVIII" id="XVIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XVIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>SECOND LEAVE&mdash;BRESLE</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>My journey from Albert to England was remarkable for the hardships
+that occurred. It should be remembered that every one was desperately
+tired and worn out already. We were told to appear at Albert station
+at midnight. When we got there we were told to expect the train at
+2.15 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> This meant walking about the platform to keep warm,
+for there was no shelter for officers at the station. Capt. J.O.
+Aglionby, C.F., our padre, and Capt. Lidderdale, R.A.M.C, our
+battalion doctor, were both going by the same train, so I was not
+without company. When 2.15 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> came there was no train, and
+we kept walking about till dawn broke, but still no train. The R.T.O.
+then told us that there had been a breakdown and that the train could
+not be expected for a long time. So we decided to go and get breakfast
+at our billets and then to go to Amiens by motor-lorry, and catch the
+train there. At least there would be less chance of being shelled
+there, and some food and shelter.</p>
+
+<p>So we set off about 10 o'clock and eventually got to Amiens, where we
+had a decent lunch. We had to keep hanging about the station,
+however, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>inquiring for the train. It arrived about 9 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>,
+about eighteen hours late, and we were glad enough to get on board. It
+is difficult enough to sleep sitting in a train, but I think I managed
+a few hours of troubled sleep. And next morning we arrived in Le
+Havre. The first thing there was to march the men down to a rest camp
+a long way from the town, and a good way from the docks. We were told
+to report back at the same place at 2.30 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> So we trudged
+back to Le Havre and got shaved and fed. On returning to the Rest Camp
+we were told that the boat would leave in twenty minutes and that, as
+it was a good thirty minutes walk, we had better be quick. Fortunately
+we got hold of a motor-car and got a lift part of the way and hurried
+along after that as fast as we could. When we reached the dock we
+found the boat would not leave for another two hours. The organisation
+here was rotten just at this time, but it improved later. <i>The Viper</i>,
+a fast packet-boat, took us across to Southampton. And next morning I
+proceeded to Weston-super-Mare, having taken nearly three days on the
+journey. Most of that leave I spent in bed in the hands of the doctor.
+I was utterly worn out, not only with exhaustion, but with the
+depression naturally caused by losing so many friends and comrades in
+a manner apparently so fruitless.</p>
+
+<p>The company of recruits I had at Alnwick, was practically wiped out, I
+found about two of them with the battalion when I returned. Only
+eleven were left of the battalion bombers, my good <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>comrades of the
+Salient. The Bombing Officers of the four battalions were all
+casualties, four of them killed. There were few trained bombers left
+in the whole brigade. I went back to France on December 2 in anything
+but buoyant spirits.</p>
+
+<p>On returning to Albert I found that the Brigade were billeted at the
+small village of Bresle. And I got there without much difficulty. The
+weather was wet and cold, as it generally is in December; but active
+preparations were soon started for getting the Bombing School open. We
+found a fairly good bombing-pit for the Brigade School, but we had to
+make one for the battalions. I was now without trained instructors and
+I had no Brigade Bombing Sergeant, but I was lent Corp. Munro, a
+bomber from the 6th N.F., and I made what use I could of Pte.
+Fairclough, my orderly. The result was that I had not only to attend
+to all the live firing, but I had to do the sergeants' work as well.
+Afterwards there were the grenades to be sorted out for next day and a
+friendly hand given to the Bombing Officers of the battalions, most of
+whom were new to their work.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay at Bresle 477 fresh men went through the recruits'
+bombing course. And on December 26 and 27 the tests were carried out
+with the battalion bombers, for the purpose of granting the Bombers'
+Badge. These tests were now made much more difficult to pass, and only
+seven men passed the throwing and firing tests. After this period I
+never carried out any further instruction in the hand-grenade. The
+drafts later <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>on came out more fully trained and the Battalion Bombing
+Officers carried on any further instruction that was required. During
+and in preparation for the operations on the Somme 16 officers and
+2106 men went through the course; and at least 5000 live grenades were
+thrown. I was lucky to have no accident with the Mills grenade, and no
+fatal ones even with the rifle-grenade.</p>
+
+<p>General Ovens went on leave at Bresle, and Lieut.-Col. G. Scott
+Jackson, O.C. 7th N.F., came as Brigade Commander to our H.Q. We had
+him several times again in that capacity, and he was always a
+favourite in our mess. His fine record and services are well known; a
+D.S.O. and Bar, he probably commanded a fighting battalion as long as
+any officer in France. From the time when the battalion landed in
+France in April 1915 till he left the battalion for the R.A.M.C. at
+the latter end of 1917, he was only off duty for about three days, in
+a quiet part of the line. He always looked a picture of robust
+strength, never missed his cold bath even with the temperature near
+zero, and was one of the most optimistic men in the whole Brigade. He
+was a most pleasant kindly Brigade Commander, with the supreme virtue
+of leaving the specialists to do their work in their own way.</p>
+
+<p>Before we left Bresle I got a Brigade Bombing Sergeant&mdash;Sergeant T.
+Matthewson of the 5th N.F., who had had long experience as Battalion
+Bombing Sergeant, and was a thoroughly trained and reliable man. I
+found him most useful in his new office and I am glad to know that he
+got safely through <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>the war. Amongst other accomplishments he was a
+good wicket-keeper, as I found later on.</p>
+
+<p>On Christmas Day I went to dinner with the 7th N.F. at their H.Q., and
+was very hospitably entertained. The Brigade moved from Bresle to a
+camp at B&eacute;court on November 28, and stayed there two days; and then
+took over from a Brigade of the 1st Division at Bazentin-le-Petit.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XIX" id="XIX"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XIX<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>BUTTE OF WARLENCOURT&mdash;TRENCH WARFARE</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On December 30, 1916, the Brigade was in the reserve area about
+Bazentin-le-Petit, and ready to take over the line of trenches running
+eastwards from a point south of the Butte of Warlencourt. No material
+change had taken place on this part of the front since the fruitless
+attack of November 11. The 1st Division, however, had done a good deal
+of work in the back areas, and had laid duck-board tracks from High
+Wood to the front line, and increased the number of light railways.
+B.H.Q. were at some dugouts at the 'Cough Drop,' a place about a mile
+north of High Wood. The 149th Infantry Brigade had now decided to make
+use of a party of 'Observers,' and Major Anderson asked me to take
+charge of them. I was a little diffident about this as I had never had
+any experience as a Battalion Intelligence Officer and really knew
+nothing at all about observation. But I was glad to take on the job,
+and I soon got to like it. On December 30, therefore, two trained
+observers from each of the four battalions of the Brigade reported to
+me. And I had two N.C.Os. with this party&mdash;a corporal of the 4th N.F.,
+who soon left to take a commission, and L.-C. Amos of the 7th N.F.,
+who afterwards <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>became N.C.O. in charge. On the same day I met the
+Intelligence Officer of the 1st Brigade who took me over the line and
+showed me the two O.P.s. I was lucky to meet at the start an officer
+who understood the business so well. He gave me many useful hints, and
+handed over an excellent panoramic sketch map of the view from one
+O.P., as well as the Log Book. The latter was a notebook containing
+reports of every movement of the enemy seen from the O.P.s. On
+December 31 I took the party of observers up to the Cough Drop where
+they had a shelter near B.H.Q. I had also supervision of the two
+Brigade dumps, one at Hexham Road and the other at the Flers Line
+about half a mile north of B.H.Q. Both places came in for heavy
+shelling at intervals all day and night, for both were situated about
+the end of a trench tramway, an obvious place for dumping stores.
+However I had the latter dump moved to a better place, some distance
+from the tramway, where there was less scrap iron lying about. During
+this tour in the line which lasted eight days, I was employed in
+looking after the observers and the two Brigade bomb stores. Towards
+the close of our stay I started to make a new bomb store in Hexham
+Road. Capt. H. Liddell gave me the general design of it and told me
+what materials I should require. But I had no more time than to get
+the emplacement dug out and the wooden framework erected.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> I
+remember that we struck two buried Germans in excavating the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>emplacement and had to treat them with some very powerful corrosive
+before the work could be continued.</p>
+
+<p>Also it was rather a warm corner in Hexham Road, and I caught a shell
+splinter on the leg; this, however, struck the steel buckle on my
+trench boot and only raised a bruise. The weather became very cold
+towards the end of our stay, with snow and frost. The Germans opposite
+our trenches were not disposed to be unfriendly about the New Year. On
+the left near the Butte they signalled to our men in the trenches
+before a trench-mortar bombardment started, as if to warn them to take
+cover. On the right they were still more inclined to fraternise. Here
+both sides were holding trenches that would have become impossible if
+any sniping had been done. So both our men and the Germans worked away
+at deepening their own trenches without molesting their opponents;
+although sometimes a crowd of men were exposed from the waist upwards
+at a range of about 200 yards.</p>
+
+<p>It was one of those curious understandings which arise when no violent
+operations are in progress. However, on New Year's Day it went even
+further. A soldier of the 5th N.F., after signals from the Germans,
+went out into No Man's Land and had a drink with a party of them.
+After this a small party of the enemy approached our trenches without
+arms and with evidently friendly intentions. But they were warned off
+and not allowed to enter our trenches. This little affair, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>I believe,
+led to the soldier being court-martialled for holding intercourse with
+the enemy. After eight days in the line the Brigade returned to a camp
+at the north end of Mametz Wood. B.H.Q. were close to a battery of
+9-inch howitzers, and when these heavy guns fired a salvo, which they
+did occasionally both day and night, it fairly lifted the things off
+the table. We got shelled here one night, but beyond getting a shower
+or two of splinters and stones on to the huts no damage was done. I
+had now time to ramble round, and examine various things of interest.
+I found a regular dump of German bombs at Bazentin-le-Grand, and some
+of these were collected for training purposes.</p>
+
+<p>There were some Divisional baths at Bazentin-le-Petit, and I remember
+having a most cold and miserable bath there one night; but it was
+better than none at all. It was surprising how quickly the heavy
+railway had been brought along. It now reached High Wood, but of
+course did not cross the ridge, which would have been in view of the
+enemy. About January 15 we went back to the line in very cold weather,
+and B.H.Q. stayed at the Cough Drop again for eight days. During this
+time I set to work completing the bomb store at Hexham Road, and
+filling it with grenades. Each morning I got a party of about sixteen
+men, and we collected a lot of filled sandbags to pack round the
+framework and shed which were soon finished. The Brigade observers
+held a post in the old Flers Line, from which good observation <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>was
+obtained on the ground between Loupart Wood and Grevillers. It was not
+difficult to get the heavy gunners to fire on German working-parties
+that were spotted by the observers; and several parties were duly
+dispersed by our shells. Before we left the line this time, the
+Brigade bomb store at Hexham Road was completed and filled. And when I
+visited the district again in June 1917 it was still standing. I also
+began now to write out the Brigade Intelligence Reports which were
+sent in each day, and contained a summary of the events that had
+happened or had been observed on our front. On January 23 we went back
+to the camp north of Mametz Wood.</p>
+
+<p>After a few days we moved off to Albert, and stayed two or three days
+in a house near the railway line. The town got both bombed and shelled
+at times, though not very severely. After this we moved off to the
+village of Dernancourt for a short rest.</p>
+
+<p>Major C.G. Johnson, M.C., who was adjutant of the 7th N.F. when I
+joined the battalion, was now attached to B.H.Q. as
+Assistant-Staff-Captain. He was an exceedingly able man, and had a
+good knowledge of military law. We all liked him well as adjutant of
+the battalion, and our relations at B.H.Q. were always friendly. He
+left us eventually to become D.A.Q.M.G. in a higher Staff formation.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Pte. Slack (7th N.F.), a Brigade pioneer, helped me
+greatly with the carpenter's work.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XX" id="XX"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XX<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>FRANCE AND THE FRENCH</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>The war has done at least one thing for me. It has opened my eyes and
+changed my views with regard to the French. I confess that once I had
+no liking for them and a certain measure of contempt. I suppose the
+average Englishman has started with views like these. There has been
+bad blood between the two races, and that at no very distant date.
+Indeed the Alliance or Entente started much like a marriage of
+convenience. The two partners were joined in interest together against
+a common foe and a common danger.</p>
+
+<p>Personally, I do not think there was much love lost between the two
+nations for some time after the war started. The bond of mutual
+admiration and respect, and I hope of affection, was forged in the
+Battle of the Somme and in the heroic defence of Verdun. This bond has
+been strengthened since on many a stricken field. The clouds of mutual
+mistrust and jealousy have been largely dispelled. We have learnt much
+about the French since the early days of the war, and they much about
+us; otherwise <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>it would have been impossible for a French General to
+be in supreme command of the campaign.</p>
+
+<p>I have often come in contact with the French civilian in town and
+country, but only rarely with French troops. Also I have come to know
+and like a series of French interpreters attached to battalions or
+brigade. The deeds of the French Army speak for themselves, and their
+Staff work has been often beyond praise. When we remember the cruel
+fate that befell the north-eastern corner of France and its unhappy
+citizens, we may sympathise with the fury of the French nation against
+their old oppressors. No one living in England can realise the hideous
+wounds inflicted on this fair country-side. It may explain to some
+extent at least the heroic resistance of the French for over four
+years&mdash;a resistance that could scarcely have been predicted before the
+war.</p>
+
+<p>In considering our relations with the French at different times, it is
+well to have a deep sympathy for the cruel wrongs she has suffered.
+Thus they must have regarded with very mixed feelings their harbours,
+railways, and towns being taken over by an alien though friendly
+people.</p>
+
+<p>All things considered the Frenchman may well have said at the first,
+'These English, they are everywhere!' At least, this I noticed when I
+arrived in Le Havre in January 1916, there was no enthusiasm for us
+there. There was no rudeness, it is true, but the atmosphere of the
+place was rather chilly and aloof. The country folk about Meteren
+seemed pleased to see us; I think <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>they had got used to the ways of
+the British soldier and found him not such a bad fellow after all. It
+was pleasant to see the country folks round here after our stay in
+Flanders, comely and straight, members of a thoroughbred race. The
+contrast was rather forcible perhaps.</p>
+
+<p>The Brigade Interpreter in 1916, Monsieur Bunge, a native of Le Havre,
+was a pleasant, lively sort of person, always ready for a joke and an
+admirer of the British. With him I got on very well; and I learnt one
+or two things of the French from him. One of them was how sensitive
+they are in small matters of conversation. If in your heavy English
+way you did not respond at once with animation to his remarks, M.
+Bunge thought he had offended you.</p>
+
+<p>They are a very sensitive race, especially in matters of courtesy. The
+colder manner and bearing of the British must have been a sore trial
+to them till they got to understand them&mdash;especially if they were
+laying themselves out to be friendly. It is worth while to let
+yourself go a bit in the matter of speech and bearing when talking to
+them. And, above all things, if you want to please them, try to talk
+to them in French, however badly, for they all take it as a great
+compliment. Another thing I discovered was the unwillingness of the
+French officers to take the initiative in saluting; yet they would
+never fail to return such a courtesy. Perhaps their earlier
+experiences in this little matter had been discouraging. It is much
+the same with the poilus and farmer folk. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>If you wish them 'Bonjour'
+they would invariably respond and also salute.</p>
+
+<p>Later on I had a day or two in Amiens which provided some impressions
+of the French soldiers. The officers there contrasted rather forcibly
+with our own, I remember. They were very smartly dressed in
+home-parade uniforms, wore their medals, and carried themselves with
+an admirable pride and spirit. Our officers, on the other hand,
+dressed in the homely khaki, often the worse for wear, had generally
+an air of war-weariness. No doubt most of our men had come almost
+straight from the battle-field and were enjoying only a few hours'
+relaxation in this fine city. Still it made one reflect that the
+French are indeed a nation of soldiers which we are not. We obviously
+have not the same pride in the paraphernalia of war, and that shows
+which way the wind blows. I also saw a number of poilus going on leave
+and returning to the line. They looked very quiet and patient, but
+without a great deal of enthusiasm showing on the surface. Later on I
+saw French soldiers on the march several times. They get over the
+ground very fast; but it is more go as you please with them than with
+us. I have often noticed how grave these poilus look, even after the
+war was over. Nothing of the reckless fun and explosive good humour of
+the British soldier. If the latter is not having a rotten time he is
+wonderfully cheerful and often light-hearted.</p>
+
+<p>I have also seen the French soldiers holding the line in a quiet part;
+and indeed we 'took over' <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>from them there. They do not expose
+themselves nearly so much as we do near the trenches. Everything
+seemed to be done with scientific method and every one seemed to know
+exactly what to do on all occasions. They hold their front line
+thinly, trusting in case of accidents to recover it by a
+counter-attack. And if the French are not fighting a battle they
+generally keep their front as quiet as they can. This of course is all
+very different from our own system. If we had a quiet part of the
+line, it was generally because we had silenced the enemy's guns and
+trench-mortars by fighting.</p>
+
+<p>I had one great chance of studying the French officer at home in these
+trenches. Shortly before taking over the French Regimental Commander
+in the line asked our Brigadier, Brigade-Major, and 'one other
+officer' to visit the trenches, but to be sure and call in at
+Regimental H.Q. before proceeding up the line. This was really an
+invitation of goodwill and ceremony rather than an invitation to
+examine the line. But as this was not quite understood at the time I
+was included in the party as Brigade Bombing Officer, rather than the
+Staff-Captain or Machine-Gun Officer, either of whom should have gone
+in my place. So on a terribly cold day at the end of January 1917 we
+set off, and after a long ride from Dernancourt to Fontaine-les-Cappy
+in a motor-car, we arrived near Regimental H.Q. and proceeded there on
+foot. The Brigadier was a fair French linguist, I had about two words
+of French, and the Brigade-Major had none. So it was just as well that
+the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>junior &Eacute;tat-Major happened to be a fluent English speaker.
+Indeed, he had spent a good time in Newcastle and knew not only
+England but the north. We were welcomed by the French Brigadier with
+every mark of courtesy and goodwill. It is the custom for a French
+officer to salute his superior and then to shake hands with him. The
+salute is given even if you do not happen to be wearing a cap.</p>
+
+<p>These worthy and hospitable warriors were in charge of a regiment (or
+as we should say a brigade) from the south of France about Bordeaux. I
+believe they had won for themselves a good reputation as fighting men.
+They knew, however, as well how to take care of themselves; and I
+fancy they had a first-class chef amongst their servants. It was a
+great affair, that meal, which had been prepared to do us honour,
+especially considering that it was served actually in the trenches.
+Quite a number of dishes succeeded one another, and were washed down
+with some excellent red wine. These were followed by several sweets
+and a glass of sweet champagne&mdash;the latter to drink to our good luck
+in the new trenches&mdash;glasses were solemnly clinked at this stage of
+the proceedings; afterwards cognac, coffee and cigars. The French
+officers expressed considerable interest in the Territorial 'T.'s' on
+my tunic, asking what they stood for. The French 'Territorial' is of
+course a different type to ours, being in the nature of the last
+reserve, elderly men not used as 'storm' or 'shock' troops. The meal
+passed pleasantly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>indeed; and at the end, a photograph must be taken
+as a souvenir of the meeting, and that was duly done in the winter
+sunlight outside. The French soldiers use small cameras in the
+trenches, a privilege denied to us. I have never before or since been
+in such elaborate trenches as these that we took over from the French.
+Vast communication trenches, six to ten feet deep, ran back for miles
+behind the front line. The same with the forward area, the number of
+deep trenches was simply extraordinary. Their idea may have been to
+make so many trenches that the enemy would not know which to shell.
+Unfortunately the trenches were not revetted, and when the frost broke
+we came to think less of them and travelled as much as possible across
+the open. The inside of the trenches was very clean&mdash;not a tin or a
+scrap of paper to be seen. The refuse was all dumped just over the
+parapet or in the shell-holes outside. The French are accustomed to an
+easy system of sanitation. During the day few French soldiers are seen
+outside their dugouts, except parties cleaning the trenches. In the
+front line only a few sentries were kept on duty, and they were
+relieved every two hours. The French speak with great confidence of
+their field artillery, the terrible 75's. A battery of these guns
+handled by French gunners can fire almost like a machine-gun, and the
+noise is deafening.</p>
+
+<p>As a nation the French have their faults. They are exceedingly proud
+and quick to take offence, they are not very stable or constant
+(obstinate <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>shall we say?), and they are about the hardest bargainers
+in the world.</p>
+
+<p>Thrift and making use of the shining hour have been driven to their
+last conclusions. The British soldiers have been made to pay very
+sweetly for their visit to France. I do not think the French ever gave
+the British such a warm welcome as the Belgians did.</p>
+
+<p>But when all is said and done we all have our own faults, and the
+Frenchman's most shining virtue is patriotism.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXI" id="XXI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>SOUTH OF THE SOMME</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>After staying for about a week or more at Dernancourt, the Brigade
+received orders to go south of the Somme, and to take over part of the
+line won by the French this side of Peronne. We marched, therefore,
+through Bray and stayed two nights at Mericourt and two at
+Fontaine-les-Cappy. At the latter place I was surprised to find some
+graves of British soldiers who had fallen there in the earlier part of
+the war. Also I had one exciting experience at Fontaine-les-Cappy.
+There was a large grenade dump near our camp, and, just as I was
+passing it, an explosion took place. A party of men had been
+detonating grenades, and two or three grenades had gone off in the
+box, killing two of the party and hurling the grenades in a shower all
+round the place. One fell close, and I was lucky not to be riddled by
+it. For the safety-pin was blown out and the lever of the grenade held
+down by a piece of wood from the side of the box, which was jammed by
+the explosion into the shoulder of the grenade. I spent a little time
+picking up such grenades as I could find, and two or three of them
+were in a dangerous condition.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>When we got into the line near Belloy I lived for a time at advanced
+B.H.Q. called 'P.C. Hedevaux' ('Post Commandant' <i>Hedevaux</i>). The
+dugouts were deep and proof against ordinary shells. The General,
+Brigade-Major, and Staff-Captain resided farther back at 'P.C.
+Buelow.' I was shown over the trenches by the <i>officier bombardier</i>
+(Bombing Officer) of a French unit. And I found it fairly easy to talk
+to him without the aid of an interpreter. I told him two English
+expressions which seemed to please him greatly. One was 'dugout,' the
+other 'dump'; the equivalent for the latter in French being 'Depot de
+Munitions.'</p>
+
+<p>I made an entirely new Brigade bomb store in these trenches, using the
+little shelters in a line of disused trenches. After a week in the
+trenches the frost broke, and the trenches which had been hard and dry
+now became nothing but muddy drains. To wade along them even in
+daylight and in gum boots involved the greatest physical exertion. One
+unfortunate man stuck in the mud, and before they got him out he was
+pulled out of his boots and breeches and had his coat torn off his
+back. Finally he was sent to the dressing-station with only his shirt
+on. We stayed about sixteen days in the line, and during the last five
+or six days I retired to P.C. Buelow to assist in the Intelligence
+Work.</p>
+
+<p>This part of the line was quiet and our stay uneventful; but two
+things of interest might be noted. The Brigade observers reported that
+the Germans were employing French prisoners on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>the roads about a mile
+behind their front line, a cowardly and disgraceful proceeding. The
+Germans were seen working hard on their dugouts behind the line&mdash;this
+was of course a 'blind' for our benefit, for the German retreat
+started the day after the 50th Division was relieved.</p>
+
+<p>After our sixteen days in the line B.H.Q. moved back to Foucaucourt
+and remained there till about March 7. Then the 50th Division finally
+left the Somme front and moved back for a rest. B.H.Q. went to
+Warfus&eacute;e and we had good billets there.</p>
+
+<p>Brigadier-General Ovens, C.M.G., left us at Foucaucourt and
+Lieut.-Col. B.D. Gibson, D.S.O., of the 4th N.F., commanded the
+Brigade for a few days, being succeeded as Brigade Commander by
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson, D.S.O., of the 7th N.F.</p>
+
+<p>Two very startling things were done at this time. All the men of the
+Brigade were told that they were about to be trained for open warfare,
+and they would not have to go into the trenches again. They were to be
+used as part of a Corps de Chasse during the next offensive. This was
+not borne out by events, but it throws some light on the expectations
+of the British Staff. It was also decided at this juncture to change
+the organisation of the British Infantry Company. Each company was in
+future to consist of four sections&mdash;one riflemen pure and simple,
+another Lewis gunners, another bombers, and the fourth rifle-bombers.</p>
+
+<p>It was perhaps an unfortunate time to spring this change on the
+B.E.F., just on the eve of a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>new offensive. The idea appears to have
+been sound enough, but the attempt to rush it through in three weeks'
+time was hardly likely to have good results. To convert a rifleman
+into a rifle-bomber in a week's training was of course out of the
+question. Hitherto only the most expert and steadiest bombers had been
+employed on rifle-grenade work. But now the ordinary infantry were
+expected to become rifle-bombers, although their knowledge of bombs
+was of the most elementary description. Two problems therefore faced
+those responsible for the training and equipment of the rifle-bombers.
+First how to get them even partially trained in the time, and second
+to invent some apparatus for carrying the rifle-grenades. At first it
+was only possible to train the N.C.O.s in charge of the rifle-bombing
+sections&mdash;leaving them to instruct their sections as well as they
+could.</p>
+
+<p>It is hard to realise the complete inadequacy of this arrangement,
+without knowing something of the rifle-grenade, and without knowing
+the extraordinary difficulty of training a man to become an instructor
+of others. However that was the best that could be made of the new
+orders at the moment. And so it fell to me to take a class for a week
+of N.C.O'.s drawn from the four battalions. I had not only to teach
+them to fire the rifle-grenade themselves, of which they knew nothing,
+but to teach them to hand their knowledge on to others.</p>
+
+<p>The training went on from March 12 to 17, and thirty-four section
+leaders attended the course. About 1150 rounds were fired. I did not
+attempt <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>any live firing&mdash;in fact, I have never thought it serves any
+useful purpose to fire live rifle-grenades in practice.</p>
+
+<p>It is of course much more dangerous than throwing a live hand-grenade,
+and one accident in practice is enough to discourage all the recruits
+who see it from firing live rifle-grenades in actual warfare. On the
+other hand, even where the rifle-grenades are only used as dummies,
+the waste of valuable ammunition is simply appalling. A Hales
+rifle-grenade used to cost 25s. and it came down to 15s. a little
+later, but once fired as a dummy it was not much use to fire again.
+Dummies could have been made for about 1s. at the most, but of course
+no one in England thought about a trifle like that; and so the
+colossal waste went on all the time I had the training in hand. I did
+what I could by straightening the rods to use the grenades again, but
+I could not save much in this way. Thousands of pounds in
+rifle-grenades must have been used where thousands of shillings should
+have been spent.</p>
+
+<p>At Warfus&eacute;e Brigadier-General H.C. Rees, D.S.O., came to take over
+command of the Brigade. He had seen very heavy fighting in the early
+part of the war, and had since commanded two Brigades before he came
+to the 149th Infantry Brigade. He was liked and respected by every one
+in the Brigade. Very tall and well built, and a soldier who gave you
+the greatest confidence in his ability and leadership, the Brigade
+owed much to him, especially at a time when the trench fighting was
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>giving way (as it seemed) to open warfare. He was a first-class
+rifle-shot himself, and never ceased to impress the necessity of
+developing this weapon to the utmost. For the hand-grenade he had the
+greatest contempt, which he was rather fond of expressing. Fortunately
+for me, bombing work was giving way to Intelligence, although for some
+time to come I had to train the men in rifle grenades and to look
+after the Brigade ammunition stores.</p>
+
+<p>After finishing the rifle-grenade work I acted as
+Assistant-Staff-Captain for about a week. It was chiefly office work
+as far as I was concerned, the returns being very voluminous. Work as
+I could there seemed to be no getting to the end of these returns till
+9 or 10 o'clock at night. There were also one or two minor
+court-martial cases, in which my legal training proved some
+assistance. On March 27 I got my third leave granted, for ten days. It
+was perhaps rather quick after my last leave, but the fact of my being
+ill on that occasion was taken into consideration. This time I went to
+Amiens by motor-lorry and thence to Boulogne, reaching Manchester on
+the same day that I sailed from France.</p>
+
+<p>On April 6 I left Folkestone and got to Boulogne about 4 o'clock. Here
+no one could say where the 56th Division was, and I was directed to
+leave by a midnight train and to report to the R.T.O. at Abb&eacute;ville. I
+got there about 2 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> and was told to go back to &Eacute;taples by
+an 8 o'clock train that morning. I managed to get a few hours' sleep
+and breakfast at the Officers Club at Abb&eacute;ville, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>reached &Eacute;taples
+about midday on April 7. On April 9 I was told to proceed to St. Pol
+and get further directions there. I arrived there in time for lunch,
+and then reached Fr&eacute;vent by another train. Here I was told to go by
+the light railway towards Wanquetin and to make inquiries for the 50th
+Division on the way. At Fr&eacute;vent I saw a lot of slightly wounded
+soldiers coming back from Arras; they had been over the top that
+morning on the first day of the great battle which had just started.
+Just before reaching Avesnes-le-Compte I spotted some Divisional
+transport on the roads, and, on making inquiries at Avesnes, I learnt
+that the 149th Infantry Brigade were quartered at Manin about two
+miles away. So I left the train and reached our H.Q. just in time for
+dinner.</p>
+
+<p>The 50th Division had marched from Warfus&eacute;e, and were now proceeding
+towards Arras to take part in the battle which had started on April
+9.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXII" id="XXII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE BATTLE OF ARRAS</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>The Battle of Arras started with a great success. The Vimy Ridge was
+recaptured and the vast fortress between Telegraph Hill and Neuville
+Vitasse, including a substantial part of the famous Hindenburg Line,
+fell in one day. The high ground at Monchy-le-Preux was soon stormed
+and secured. But after this progress became very slow, nothing seemed
+to come of these great tactical successes. The fighting, instead of
+developing into open warfare as we had expected, became again very
+similar in character to the great trench to trench battles on the
+Somme.</p>
+
+<p>The French waited a week before starting their offensive in Champagne,
+and when it did start it failed completely. The weather broke down on
+April 10, as it generally did in 1917 whenever the British commenced
+offensive operations. It became very cold and it rained or snowed
+almost incessantly for over a week. It is hard for one who saw only a
+small sector of this great battle to understand what prevented us from
+taking greater advantage of our great initial success, which certainly
+surprised and disorganised the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>enemy. But it was not merely the
+weather which broke down at a critical moment. There were other causes
+at work to delay and impede success. I strongly suspect that the
+British infantry units were still suffering from their tremendous
+exertions in 1916; and they certainly had not the confident assurance
+of victory which inspired the terrible sacrifices on the Somme.
+Hitherto our artillery had never been so strong nor had the mechanical
+aids to victory been so numerous or so varied. Gas-projectors and
+oil-drums were first used in this battle, new aeroplanes were first
+launched out in public; the British held the mastery of the air, and
+the Germans had not yet devised any effective remedy for the British
+tanks. But the British troops were not the troops of the Somme. The
+old type of volunteer had largely disappeared, and the same resolution
+and confidence were not displayed by some of the British divisions.
+The very strength of our artillery was sapping the old reliance on the
+rifle, and when the barrage stopped the infantry often seemed to be
+powerless to defend the captured positions.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand the superior and more lengthy training of the German
+reserves now began to tell. Personally, I never admired the German as
+a fighting man until he was now for the first time driven out of his
+vast defences. On the Somme the Germans had artillery support nearly
+equal to our own, and they were defending superb trenches with
+unbroken roads and country behind them. Now, when they were thrust out
+of their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>famous stronghold and plastered with every sort of
+projectile, they held up repeated attacks, backed by enormous
+artillery preparation and support, held them up by sheer dogged
+fighting and superior knowledge of war. Their Staff work must have
+been good, and the training and morale of the troops equally good to
+have done it. After the first great success, we gained only small
+local successes, costing thousands of casualties and vast expenditure
+of ammunition. Eventually, after about five weeks of fierce thrusts,
+the Battle of Arras came to an end, giving us, it is true, a much
+improved position in front of Arras, but leaving the main object of
+the attack unaccomplished. The further offensives of 1917 were carried
+on more to the north and south, and the Arras area saw no more big
+fighting till the beginning of 1918.</p>
+
+<p>The 50th Division came into action on April 11, and worked alternately
+with the 14th Division. The enemy were pushed across the Cojeul Valley
+and into the outskirts of Vis-en-Artois and Cherisy. The advance of
+these two Divisions would have been undoubtedly greater, but Guemappe
+on the left and the uncaptured part of the Hindenburg Line on the
+right for a time held up the divisions attacking on either flank. Thus
+both the 50th Division and the 14th Division captured Cherisy in turn,
+but had to abandon the place through having their flanks exposed. By
+their operations in this area both Divisions maintained their already
+worthy reputation.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXIII" id="XXIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>WANCOURT TOWER&mdash;CROISILLES</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>The 149th Infantry Brigade left Manin on the morning of April 10, and
+marched to Wanquetin, where the troops were billeted in houses. On the
+following day it began to snow heavily about midday and this continued
+far into the night. The Brigade were intended to attack on April 12,
+but, owing to the exhaustion and exposure of the troops, the 151st
+Brigade were substituted when the attack recommenced on April 13. We
+started our march in the snow just as the light was beginning to fail,
+and trudged along through the muddy slush till we reached Arras. Here
+there was a delay of several hours before guides arrived to lead the
+various units to their stations. B.H.Q. marched through the town and
+eventually arrived at the ruined sugar factory at Faubourg Ronville,
+where there were deep dugouts below the ruins. We could not see much
+of the city but it appeared to be badly knocked about by the enemy's
+shells. Not many houses, perhaps, had fallen to bits, but there was
+hardly a house that had not been hit. A great many small shells must
+have been fired <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>into the town. The place of course was full of
+underground passages&mdash;though I never had the chance of entering them.
+When morning came I was able to take stock of my surroundings. The
+sugar factory was one of the last buildings at the S.E. end of the
+city, and a trench tramway led to what had once been the front line
+trenches about a quarter of a mile from these H.Q.</p>
+
+<p>My job that morning was to hunt round for the dumps of grenades &amp;c.
+which had been made by our predecessors before their advance. I
+remember finding two of these in fairly good condition in the
+neighbourhood of Telegraph Hill&mdash;only of course on the Arras side. The
+cold night on which we arrived had taken heavy toll of the cavalry
+horses, and many of these splendid animals could be seen scattered
+about on the ground, some already dead and others dying. They were too
+fine bred to stand that wintry night in an open bivouac. As far as I
+could make out our lighter siege guns had moved up towards the
+Telegraph Hill ridge and our field guns towards Neuville Vitasse;
+there were still howitzers of heavy calibre in the environs of the
+city itself. I believe the 151st Infantry Brigade attacked on April
+13, and pushed across the Cojeul Valley north of H&eacute;ninel, and dug in
+just west of the Wancourt Tower ridge. Wancourt was captured but not
+Guemappe, and Marli&egrave;re was in our hands. On that day I was instructed
+to make a dump at Telegraph Hill, which I had no difficulty in doing
+as the place was quite quiet.</p>
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span><br />
+
+<div class="img"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+<a href="images/imagep127.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep127.jpg" width="85%" alt="Scene of Attacks on Cherisy. April 1917." /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Scene of Attacks on Cherisy. April 1917.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>The next day this dump was removed to the region of the Elm Trees at
+Wancourt behind the 'Brown Line'; and the Brigade relieved the 151st
+Infantry Brigade. B.H.Q. were at the Elm Trees, and consisted of some
+fine deep dugouts, which the Germans had used as an ammunition store.
+The entrance to them was in a small sunken road. The ammunition was
+mostly stored in large wooden boxes, and we had to pull it out and get
+rid of it. This was done by emptying the boxes into the nearest
+shell-holes; so that the ground outside was littered with German
+ammunition. In one of these shell-holes, amongst a lot of rubbish of
+this kind, I found four old pewter dishes and two pewter spoons. They
+had been heaved out of the dugout along with the rest of its contents.
+One of the plates was dated 1733, and all were marked with the foreign
+maker's stamp. They afforded, when cleaned, a rather unusual
+decoration for the walls of the mess room. This little collection was
+disposed of 'under Divisional and Brigade arrangements,' but I managed
+to secure the spoons.</p>
+
+<p>The position in front was now as follows. A battalion held the
+trenches across the Cojeul Valley, supported by three battalions in
+the Brown Line and in Wancourt itself. The enemy was in Guemappe and
+also in some trenches just over the ridge of Wancourt Tower Hill. It
+was the business of the Brigade to hold the trenches and to make such
+improvement in them as opportunity might offer. General Rees was not
+the man to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>let any such opportunity slip. Nothing happened during the
+first few days, beyond the usual heavy shelling of the roads and
+batteries and forward positions.</p>
+
+<p>But a patrol of the 5th N.F. pushed out towards Guemappe, and carried
+out a useful daylight reconnaissance.</p>
+
+<p>Also about April 16, 1917, Lieut.-Col. F. Robinson of the 6th N.F.
+discovered the enemy approaching the ruined buildings on the Wancourt
+Tower Hill, and promptly ordered a platoon to attack them. This plan
+succeeded admirably and the Tower and house were captured. The place
+was of vital importance to us as it commanded direct observation on
+all the roads leading to our part of the front. On April 17 the enemy
+shelled the Tower with 8-inch howitzers&mdash;generally a sign that he
+meant to attack sooner or later. The Tower contained a formidable
+concrete machine-gun emplacement, facing of course our way, but by
+General Rees' orders it was blown up by the Engineers. Sure enough the
+enemy attacked the Tower that night, and at an unfortunate time for
+us, for the 7th N.F. were in the process of relieving the 6th N.F. in
+the front line, and it was a vile night, with a blizzard of snow.</p>
+
+<p>The German attack succeeded in driving our men out of the Tower and
+buildings, and though several bombing attacks were made that night to
+recover the position it could not be done. General Rees at once
+prepared to storm the position at the earliest opportunity next day,
+the 7th N.F. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>having completed the relief of the trenches during the
+night. It is difficult to describe the confidence which our General
+inspired at this critical time; he was rather graver and more
+thoughtful than usual, perhaps, but he treated the matter with great
+confidence and made every one feel that the misfortune could and would
+be retrieved at the first attempt. His plans were made in conjunction
+with Major Johnson of the 50th Divisional Artillery; and as a result
+it was arranged to attack across the open supported by a barrage from
+five brigades of field artillery. The hour was fixed for twelve noon
+(German time) just when the enemy is thinking about his dinner.
+Without any preliminary bombardment, the barrage opened out at the
+appointed hour, and fairly drove the enemy off the hill top. The 7th
+N.F. advanced in perfect order and with little opposition recaptured
+the Tower and the neighbouring trenches. Two or three prisoners were
+sent down, who had been unable to get away before the attackers
+reached them. It was a little attack, but carried out with admirable
+precision and practically without loss, and every credit must be given
+to General Rees for the way he handled the problem. As this operation
+was carried out in full view of all the surrounding country it
+attracted considerable attention, and congratulations soon poured in
+from all sides. I was kept indoors or rather underground a good deal
+during this stay in the line, as it was my business to record in a
+log-book every note or message that came in to the Brigade Office,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>either by day or night. I had the chance, too, of hearing the
+Divisional Intelligence Officer examining a few German prisoners who
+were captured on our front. He brought with him three large books
+containing no doubt the previous history of the German Brigades; and
+with the aid of these he was able to check the accuracy of the
+prisoners' statements.</p>
+
+<p>One day I went with General Rees to Marli&egrave;re, and we went some
+distance down Southern Avenue, which was then between the German
+outpost line and our own. Another day we went to some high ground N.W.
+of Wancourt for the purposes of observation. I remember that on this
+occasion we had to hurry as the Germans were shelling rather close,
+and General Rees got a splinter on the helmet. We were relieved by the
+150th Infantry Brigade on April 21, and I rode back to Arras with
+Capt. Haggie. I was now billeted for two days in a house in Arras,
+where the Brigade Staff-Captain's office was located. The first night
+was quiet enough, but the following night was not so pleasant. For our
+heavy guns were now bombarding the German positions and their
+long-range guns threw a lot of shells in reply into various parts of
+the city. On April 23, St. George's Day, the British resumed the
+attack and the 150th Infantry Brigade attacked from the top of
+Wancourt Tower Hill. A good number of prisoners were made, but
+Guemappe still held out and the Germans launched a heavy
+counter-attack along this part of the front. In the morning I went
+forward to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>some dugouts east of Telegraph Hill where the General,
+Brigade-Major, and Signalling Officer were stationed for this battle.
+Our Brigade of course was in reserve, except the 4th N.F. who were
+attached to the 151st Infantry Brigade. From this place near Telegraph
+Hill I got a good view of the battle around Guemappe. About midday
+Brigadier-General Cameron of the 151st Infantry Brigade took over
+command of the 50th Divisional front, and at once made preparations to
+renew the attack in the afternoon. I was sent over to the Elm Trees
+dugouts to find out exactly what he proposed to do with the 4th N.F.,
+and he was then busily engaged with the Artillery officers arranging
+the barrages. Before the attack was resumed, Guemappe was heavily
+shelled by our siege guns, a wonderful sight. The whole place seemed
+to disappear in dense clouds of dust and smoke. It had been a
+ding-dong battle all day, attack and counter-attack, and at this point
+neither side had gained much advantage. The Germans had not only
+repelled the attack on our right, but had attempted to push through
+into H&eacute;ninel, in the Cojeul Valley. Fortunately, however, the 149th
+M.-G. Company, commanded by Major Morris, stopped this movement by a
+well-directed fire to our right flank. When, however, the attack was
+renewed in the afternoon things went better for us. The Germans were
+pushed down the hill from Wancourt Tower and Guemappe was taken. The
+4th N.F. did well, getting to a place called Buck Trench. And the
+Divisional <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>front was advanced to a point not far from the outskirts
+of Cherisy. It was unfortunate that we had no fresh troops at this
+juncture to press home the attack. According to German statements, the
+German troops were practically broken up at the end of the day and
+they had at the moment no reserves available. Our small party remained
+at the H.Q. on Telegraph Hill till the morning of April 25, when we
+returned to the Ronville sugar factory, being relieved by a Brigade of
+the 14th Division.</p>
+
+<p>On April 26 a large Corps dump about a quarter of a mile from the
+factory got on fire, and went on flaring and exploding all day. A good
+many pieces of shells and fragments from this dump came rattling
+against the walls of the sugar factory, making it no place to loiter
+about. I learnt that the 42nd F.A., to which my brother George was
+attached, was due to take over from our F.A. in Ronville; but I did
+not get in touch with him.</p>
+
+<p>On April 26 B.H.Q. moved to a fine ch&acirc;teau at the west end of Arras,
+where we were much more comfortable than at the sugar factory. That
+night I went to a battalion dinner of the 7th N.F., and it was
+wonderful what a good dinner they managed to procure under the
+circumstances. The next day, April 27, we marched back to a rest area
+near Pommera, going along the Arras-Doullens road. B.H.Q. were
+billeted in a farm at the south end of the village. I shared a billet
+with Lieut. Odell and found the place very comfortable.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>We were not left long here. A fresh attack was to be made, and the
+50th Division was to be moved forward, to be ready to press home the
+attack if it succeeded. We left Pommera on May 1 and marched to
+Souastre, where B.H.Q. were billeted in a French ch&acirc;teau with a nice
+garden. Next day we marched forward again to a bare looking spot at
+Mereatel, where the accommodation was very limited. We managed to rig
+up a few wooden shelters and bivouacs amongst the ruins of the houses.
+This had been a nice village, but the Germans had blown down every
+house and cut down every tree before they left it. They had even
+destroyed the small fruit bushes in the gardens, an unnecessarily
+wanton act.</p>
+
+<p>The big attack was arranged for May 3 and it was preceded by the usual
+heavy bombardment. But nothing came of it but heavy casualties, and it
+was decided to send the Division back to the rest area again. On the
+evening of May 3 I met a Colonel of the R.A.M.C., 14th Division, who
+told me that he had seen my brother George at Neuville Vitasse just
+two hours before, and that he was quite well. I got this information,
+just too late, as we were now under orders to move back to the rest
+area. And on May 4 I marched back with the B.H.Q. transport to
+Souastre, and on May 5 to Pommera.</p>
+
+<p>For the next ten days the Brigade carried out various tactical
+exercises under the directions of General Rees. One day was given to
+field firing practice, on which occasion I acted as one <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>of the
+'casualty' officers&mdash;that is to say, I had to select various men
+during the sham attack and order them to drop out as casualties. Live
+ammunition was used in rifles and Lewis guns as well as live
+rifle-grenades; and I remember there were seven slight casualties from
+accidents with the rifle-grenades. These 'live' field days in France
+were not without their own little excitements, especially for those
+who had to keep up with the firing line.</p>
+
+<p>After ten days the Brigade was detached from the 50th Division and
+attached to the 33rd Division, holding the line about Croisilles. The
+idea was to assist the 33rd Division by holding the line for them for
+three days, in the interval between two attacks. So on May 17 the
+Brigade moved from Pommera to Souastre, H.Q. being again at the French
+ch&acirc;teau. Here, through the good services of our French interpreter, we
+had for dinner a piece of the famous <i>sanglier</i> which lives in the
+woods at Pommera. One of these creatures had been shot, and the
+huntsmen presented a piece of it to B.H.Q. Mess. It tasted much like
+pork, with a more gamy flavour.</p>
+
+<p>On May 18 we moved from Souastre to Boiry St. Martin, where B.H.Q.
+were in some wooden huts, amongst the ruins of the village. On May 19
+I went over to Ayette, a neighbouring village, and spent the morning
+training men of the 7th N.F. in rifle-grenades. Next day I went with
+Capt. Haggie to inspect a Brigade ammunition dump at Croisilles, and
+on May 21 I went to a canvas <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>camp at Hamlincourt and spent the night
+there. I did not get a good night as the enemy shelled the vicinity of
+the camp at intervals during the night. Next day I went forward to
+B.H.Q. which were in some shelters in a sunken road just west of
+Croisilles. We held the line till May 25 and nothing very startling
+happened. But two or three incidents occurred here which I remember
+with interest. The visit of three War Correspondents, including
+Messrs. Beach Thomas and Philip Gibbs. They spent about half an hour
+at our H.Q. and were put in my charge to see the sights. We did not go
+far from H.Q. as the high ground there afforded the best general view
+of the country round.</p>
+
+<p>Both of the English War Correspondents interested me much. Beach
+Thomas, tall and dignified and grave; Philip Gibbs, short and bright
+and cheery: both very sympathetic to and appreciative of the Brigade.
+The other was a Dutch gentleman who told me with a flash of
+inspiration that I should not recollect his name.</p>
+
+<p>Another striking personality appeared in the shape of the Brigade
+Commander of one of the Divisional Artillery Brigades. Col. Fitzgerald
+came to call on us to inquire whether the artillery arrangements were
+to our satisfaction and to know if he could do anything to help us. A
+tall man with glasses and a kindly, gentle face. One morning he
+brought in a great bunch of flowers for our mess room that he had
+gathered near Croisilles. The following story was brought to us by the
+Artillery <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>Liaison Officer. Col. Fitzgerald went to the front line and
+out into the broken trenches in No Man's Land in order to inspect the
+registration of the field guns. Seeing a German sniper at work, he
+borrowed a rifle and commenced a duel with the Boche in which several
+shots were exchanged. Having killed his man he returned with great
+satisfaction, feeling the day had been well spent. This occurred near
+the 'Hump' whilst we were holding these trenches. He told us that his
+guns had had a wonderful target on the Somme in July 1916. They were
+somewhere on the high ground south of Bazentin-le-Grand when the
+German Guard had massed for an attack on Contalmaison. These guns had
+the extraordinary chance of firing with open sights on the dense
+German masses behind Bazentin-le-Petit and they had inflicted terrible
+losses on the Brandenburghers.</p>
+
+<p>It was from our O.P. near B.H.Q. that I first tried to make a
+panoramic sketch of the country in front. It was a crude attempt, no
+doubt, but General Rees was kind enough to speak encouragingly of it,
+and to tell me to try and develop this side of Intelligence.</p>
+
+<p>That advice bore fruit, for in 1918 my observers were trained to
+sketch, and their sketches did more damage to the enemy than any
+reports that were sent in. For the heavy artillery got interested in
+them and fired on the targets with great effect.</p>
+
+<p>About May 25 we came out of the line and stayed one night at
+Moyenneville, returning next day to our Divisional rest area at
+Monchy-au-Bois.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXIV" id="XXIV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXIV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>MONCHY-AU-BOIS</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>We were now able to settle down to training and man&oelig;uvres. The
+country round Monchy was well suited for this, for there were many old
+German trenches about, and the villages were all smashed to bits,
+giving a realistic touch to field training. B.H.Q. were under canvas,
+but I selected an old German dugout which I thought would be drier
+when the rains set in. It was also cooler in the hot weather, and its
+only drawback was rats. I kept them in check, however, with a small
+trap that the Germans left behind; they were always good at inventing
+killing machines. My own job was now to train as many infantry men as
+possible in the use of the rifle-grenade. And between May 29 and June
+16, 190 men went through the course. Also Lieut. Odell brought his
+signal company of twenty-nine men one evening to be shown the working
+of the rifle-grenade, as it was thought that the rifle-grenade (empty)
+might be used as a message carrier.</p>
+
+<p>The course of instruction was somewhat as follows. In the first place
+I gave a short lecture on the mechanism of the grenade and methods <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>of
+firing it. Then the party of ten was split into two squads and firing
+practice took place. The men were trained to fire kneeling and lying,
+behind cover and without, and also out of a deep fire-trench. I was
+greatly assisted by Sergt. T. Matthewson, who was a really expert
+bomber, and by my orderly&mdash;L.-C. Fairclough. This training took all
+morning, and as far as I could judge the men were interested in the
+course and did their best to learn the intricacies of this new weapon.
+In the afternoon I was free to wander round and examine the
+surrounding country. It was of considerable interest, for it was part
+of the ground evacuated by the enemy when he retreated to the
+Hindenburg Line. The trenches were magnificently built, and revetted
+with wood or wattle-work, and provided with deep dugouts and concrete
+machine-gun emplacements. The latter were not only wonderfully strong,
+the forerunners of the German 'pill-box'&mdash;but sometimes wonderfully
+decorated with coats of arms and mottoes.</p>
+
+<p>Very little equipment was left behind, and many of the dugouts were
+blown in before leaving. Some of the gun emplacements, too, were very
+cleverly concealed. The guns were kept in shelters in a line of
+reserve trenches and a set of dummy emplacements was dug out a little
+distance away for the benefit of our aeroplane observers.</p>
+
+<p>It was an education in military engineering and fortification to walk
+round these wonderful defences. The wiring too was most ingenious and
+often carefully concealed in the hedges or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>ditches. Inside the gun
+shelters, you found that the gun was fixed on a central pivot and
+worked round a wooden platform with every degree carefully marked.
+Whilst on the walls stood a painted board with every barrage line and
+target carefully worked out, and the range and code call set out as
+well. The O.P. was sometimes in a high tree, with the ladders to get
+up and the telephone wires still remaining. It had been a quiet part
+of the line, and consequently the patient industry of the German had
+had full scope.</p>
+
+<p>The 50th Division began to take over the line west of Cherisy and Vis
+about the middle of June; but only two brigades were in the front
+trenches together, and it was our turn to remain behind. On June 18
+the Brigade moved from Monchy-au-Bois to Boisleux-au-Mont, where
+B.H.Q. were in a canvas camp. From June 20 to 23 I continued the
+rifle-grenade training. The recruit training was now practically over
+and these days were given to showing the handling of a rifle-grenade
+section in open warfare. Forty-one officers, nine N.C.O.'s and
+sixty-two men took part in these schemes. I had also two or three
+rather important court-martial cases to attend to during the evenings.</p>
+
+<p>Before going back into the line I was given nine men to act as Brigade
+observers; the 6th N.F. sent L.-C. Chappell and Ptes. Wright and Hume;
+the 7th N.F. Ptes. Fail and Ewart; the 4th N.F. Pte. Brook and
+another; the 5th N.F. L.-C. Roxburgh, who had once been in the 7th
+N.F. and Pte. Garnett. Pte. Brook I found came from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>Meltham, only
+seven or eight miles from my own home. He was a typical lad from these
+parts, with the bright red face and the speech that I knew so well.
+Naturally I took an interest in him and I was sorry when he left us
+about the end of November 1917. He has come through the war safely, I
+am glad to say. Ptes. Fail and Ewart were destined to act as my
+observers both with this brigade and in the 42nd Division in 1918. And
+I cannot speak too highly of the excellent work done by Pte. Fail.
+Owing to exceptional eyesight he was a first-class counter-battery
+observer, and later on his skill with the pencil did the Germans a lot
+of damage. On this front he spotted the flash of a 4-inch gun battery
+that used to shell B.H.Q., with the result that the heavy gunners
+fired on this battery and silenced it completely.</p>
+
+<p>I had also the services of L.-C. J. Cowen and Pte. J. King (both 7th
+N.F.) when the 50th Divisional observers were disbanded. Pte. King
+went shortly afterwards back to the battalion. But both these men did
+magnificent service in collecting intelligence during the remainder of
+the war.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXV" id="XXV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>TRENCH WARFARE&mdash;VIS-CHERISY FRONT</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>From June till October 1917 the 50th Division held the line of
+trenches running from the Hindenburg Line west of
+Fontaine-lez-Croisilles to Cavalry Farm on the Arras-Cambrai Road.
+With heavy fighting going on in Flanders this was a comparatively
+quiet part of the front. Our trenches were good and got better every
+week, and the high ground about Wancourt Tower Hill gave us excellent
+observation on the enemy's country, especially towards the left. This
+part of the front was divided into two sectors, and they were held by
+two out of the three brigades. So that each brigade spent sixteen days
+in the line, and then eight days in the rest area about Neuville
+Vitasse. Also each brigade held in turn the trenches on the right,
+known as the Cherisy sector, and then the trenches on the left, known
+as the Vis sector.</p>
+
+<p>My time was given to Intelligence in the line and to Salvage when out
+of the line.</p>
+
+<p>Intelligence work included, selecting a convenient O.P. for the
+Brigade observers and arranging and supervising the method of holding
+it; making panoramic sketches for the observers; writing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>out the
+Brigade Intelligence Report between 10 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> and noon every
+day; supervising the work of the Battalion Intelligence Officers<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>;
+marking the Brigade Intelligence maps with all features of interest;
+studying and cataloguing the aeroplane photographs which came in large
+numbers every few days; destroying obsolete and useless documents (not
+a small part of my job either!); and sending to the Machine-Gun
+Officer, Major Morris, every week the targets for indirect machine-gun
+fire at nights. Field work, i.e. actual observation and sketching,
+formed really a comparatively small part of my duties, though I tried
+to get up to the observation post once every day. The most important
+part was office work&mdash;and I had a fair-sized shelter at each
+Head-quarters, the walls covered with maps and the table loaded with
+aeroplane photographs and reports of all kinds.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the Corps and Divisional Intelligence Reports which came in
+daily, there were Daily Reports from the two adjoining brigades, and
+generally a goodly sheaf of miscellaneous papers from the Army
+Intelligence Department. In this way a great deal of interesting
+information came into my hands, as to how things were going on; and I
+have never before or since been so well supplied with information as
+to what was going on and what was intended to take place. When out of
+the line, in a camp near Neuville Vitasse, I had to give the observers
+a certain amount of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>practical training in the use of the compass and
+protractor, and map reading. But after that I was free to do what I
+liked within reason, and I generally devoted my spare time to salvage.
+The observers often turned out to assist me in this, and Lieut. Odell
+on several occasions gave me most valuable assistance with his
+signallers and orderlies.</p>
+
+<p>Salvage was left very much at this time to the discretion of the
+commanders of infantry units. Naturally when the soldier man got out
+of the line, he was not much inclined to do much salvaging on Army
+Account. Some of the transport officers made a specialty of it, and
+Capt. B. Neville of the 7th N.F., the prince of quartermasters,
+rescued tons of salvage of all kinds. I dare say, however, a good many
+things found their way into his own stores as well, for I never knew a
+quartermaster so well supplied as he. There were certain small parties
+of men employed at Divisional and Corps Salvage dumps, but they never
+seemed to me to take the job very seriously. Perhaps the officers in
+charge were not exactly the sort of men to hustle, or to see that
+their men got busy. Every one knows that there was a vast amount of
+waste, and that the Germans had this matter much better organised than
+we.</p>
+
+<p>The Germans were particularly active against our field artillery on
+this front. Although we had the advantage of ground for most purposes,
+and could carry out infantry reliefs in daylight, there were few
+places satisfactory for concealing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>our field guns. They were mostly
+concentrated about Wancourt and H&eacute;ninel, and these two places
+consequently received frequent and heavy punishment from the German
+heavies. It was well to keep your eyes and ears open when passing
+through these villages and not to linger there unnecessarily. The
+pieces from the German 8-inch shell carried a long way, and I had
+L.-C. Chappell wounded through the hand and sent down to hospital
+through a splinter that carried over a quarter of a mile. We saw a lot
+of the 50th Divisional R.F.A. about this time and a fine lot of
+fellows they were. On the left our H.Q. were next door to the B.H.Q.
+of the 251st Artillery Brigade, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Moss
+Blundell. I got to know and like him well, and he did everything he
+could to assist our brigade, and especially in matters of
+intelligence. Any news that he got he sent on to us at once and vice
+versa. I have never known the liaison between Field Artillery and
+Infantry more close or more effective than at this time.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most important operations carried out by the 50th Division
+was a double raid and gas projection on September 15, 1917, and the
+following night. It was carried out by the 151st Infantry Brigade in
+the right sector, and at the time the 140th Infantry Brigade was
+holding the trenches on the left. I believe the 9th D.L.I, supplied
+the raiding parties. It was such a novel and effective raid that some
+account ought to be given of it. The scheme was to deceive the enemy
+as to the exact extent and nature of the attack. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>For this purpose a
+great many smoke-shells were fired to screen the operations from the
+enemy's observation. Also along the flanks of the actual raid a number
+of dummy figures were arranged to represent an attacking force and so
+to draw the enemy's fire away from the actual raiding parties. The
+dummies were put out in No Man's Land the night before, face
+downwards, and at the right moment they could be raised or lowered by
+means of ropes worked by the men in the trenches. Also a dummy tank
+was prepared and hauled forward 200 yards by means of ropes. The
+combination of smoke-shells and dummies was wonderfully effective, and
+the enemy reported that he had been attacked in great force and with
+tanks along a large part of this front.</p>
+
+<p>What really happened was this. After a preliminary bombardment of
+great intensity by our guns and trench-mortars (including many
+thermite or flame-shells), about 2 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> three companies of
+the 9th D.L.I, dashed across and captured the German front and support
+lines covering Cherisy. They killed and captured a number of Germans
+without suffering many casualties themselves, and then returned at
+once to our own trenches. At the same time the dummies in No Man's
+Land were lowered again. After waiting five or six hours, another
+short bombardment started, the dummies were again raised and one
+company of the 9th D.L.I, dashed across into the same trenches and
+killed or captured more Germans. They then returned to our trenches
+and the dummies <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>were again lowered. After dark our men went out and
+removed the dummies, so that the Germans never had a chance of
+discovering the ruse. The same night at 3 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> fifty
+cylinders of gas were projected over the German lines. This gas attack
+cost the Germans dear, probably more than the two raids, for the next
+day they were seen burying or removing large numbers of the men caught
+in the gas cloud. My own observers reported 200 gas casualties and the
+total number reported reached a figure between 300 and 400. Gas
+casualties were easily distinguished, as the Germans removed them in
+blankets slung between two men on a pole. Besides, as it happened, the
+gas cloud drifted north and caught the Germans during a relief nearly
+half a mile away from the scene of the two raids. For example, the
+Germans were burying dead all day in the neighbourhood of St. Roharts
+Factory, which is some distance from Cherisy. The German report of
+this operation showed that they had failed entirely to realise the
+nature of the attack. And a similar raid was repeated shortly
+afterwards near Monchy-le-Preux with great success. Our aeroplanes
+swooped down to 300 feet and took photographs of the first raid from
+that height. And I was lucky enough to secure some very interesting
+copies of these photographs, which showed our men crossing No Man's
+Land and entering the German trenches.</p>
+
+<p>I got my fourth leave, ten days, about August 30 and travelled home
+via Boulogne and Folkestone. It was the first leave that took me out
+of the line, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>which it did for about four days. All the previous
+leaves had occurred during Divisional rests.</p>
+
+<p>We were relieved in these trenches by the 51st Division about the
+beginning of October, and the 50th Division moved out of the line to
+the neighbourhood of Courcelles-le-Compte for a short rest.</p>
+
+<p>Before the relief took place Brigadier-General Rees had to leave us
+much to every one's regret. He was taken ill with a distressing
+internal complaint, which necessitated his return for a while to
+England. He was succeeded by Brigadier-General E.P.A. Riddell, C.M.G.,
+D.S.O.</p>
+
+<p>General Riddell had at one time been Adjutant of the 7th N.F., that is
+to say, long before the war; and he knew all about Alnwick and the
+people there. During the war he had been instructing officers at
+Sandhurst for a time, and later on he commanded a battalion of the
+Cambridgeshires at the Battle of the Somme. This battalion succeeded
+in capturing the Schwaben Redoubt, near Thiepval. Later on he had seen
+service in the battle still raging in Flanders. When he came to
+command the 149th Infantry Brigade at the end of September 1917 he had
+already won the D.S.O. and Bar. To this he subsequently added another
+Bar during the German offensive in March 1918. He was said to be a
+typical Northumbrian. A leader, gallant and war-wise, of whom
+Northumberland is justly proud.</p>
+
+<p>When we left the line at Cherisy we had a good idea what our
+destination was to be. But first <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>of all we moved a short way back in
+the direction of Miraumont. The 149th Infantry Brigade was quartered
+at Courcelles-le-Comte, a shattered village in the area vacated by the
+Germans after the battle on the Somme. Here we stayed for about ten
+days, and the battalions resumed training their men for offensive
+operations. One field day was particularly remarkable for a
+demonstration by the Air Squadron stationed at Moyenneville. We
+commenced operations before dawn, and I was in charge of the messages
+at a spot representing battle H.Q. Just before I left at the
+conclusion of the operations, about 9 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span>, an aeroplane
+swooped down over our improvised H.Q. and left a message saying
+'Expect a report at B.H.Q. in an hour's time.' We returned to B.H.Q.
+and, sure enough, about 9.40 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> an aeroplane again swooped
+down and dropped a small packet. On opening it I was amazed to find a
+roll of about a dozen photographs, taken about an hour before, of the
+final position reached by the Infantry during the sham attack. How
+they managed to develop and print these photographs in the short space
+of time is almost a mystery. But I imagine they must have had some
+electrical machine for drying the negatives and prints. During this
+short stay out of the line I paid two visits to the old Somme
+battlefield. The first in company with Capt. H. Liddell, who had for
+some time been acting as Assistant-Brigade-Major. We rode to
+Grevillers and went on from there on foot to Hexham Road and Eaucourt
+L'Abbaye. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>I had visited the ground before with Lieut. Odell in June,
+when we were staying at Monchy-au-Bois. A good deal of salvage had
+been done since then, and there were fewer dead men lying about. But
+the scene of the fighting at Hook Sap and round the Butte of
+Warlencourt was still littered with helmets, rifles, and broken
+equipment of all sorts. Of course by this time the trenches had
+largely fallen in and were covered with rough rank herbage. But the
+wire belts and the duck-board tracks were still there. When we
+approached the entrance to the cellars under the ruined abbey at
+Eaucourt, we noticed traces of men living there. Smoke was rising out
+of the ruins and there were recent footmarks about, and some tins of
+soapy water. The story was, and I believe it was quite true, that
+small parties of deserters dwelt in these old deep cellars and
+dugouts, living on the bully beef which still covered the battlefield
+and on the money received for 'Souvenirs' sold at neighbouring
+canteens. I know of one deserter who lived there from November 1916 to
+June or July 1917. Apart from these slight traces of occupation, the
+battle-field seemed quite deserted from one end to the other.</p>
+
+<p>On another occasion I went with General Riddell by car to Thiepval and
+we rode back through Bucquoy. This was a very interesting visit, for
+the General explained on the spot exactly how the Schwaben Redoubt was
+stormed, and how the troops were brought forward and disposed for the
+attack. We went over a lot of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>neighbouring ground, and I was able
+to see how the Germans were forced out of St. Pierre Divion,
+Miraumont, and Beaumont Hamel. I little thought as I rode home that
+night through Bucquoy that I should in little more than five months'
+time be commanding a company in the front line in a muddy ditch
+outside Bucquoy. However this stay at Courcelles was invaluable later
+on, for it gave me a general idea of the lie of the land on the enemy
+side, when we were pressed back to Gommecourt and Colincamps.</p>
+
+<p>We left Courcelles about October 18, and entrained at Miraumont
+station. We left the train near Cassel and marched to the village of
+Arneke, where I spent two nights at the house of the cur&eacute;&mdash;a kind
+hospitable old man. After that we marched out of France and arrived at
+a camp about a mile west of Proven, in Belgium.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Lieuts. O. Young (5th N.F.), Jessop (6th N.F.), and
+Richardson (7th N.F.).</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXVI" id="XXVI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXVI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE HOUTHULST FOREST</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>I wish I could omit all reference to the operations in Flanders 1917.
+Surely no one can be found to take much pride in the results of this
+part of the campaign. Judged by the map alone between May 1, 1917, and
+May 1, 1918, it will be found that we actually lost ground in
+Flanders, and that we were at the last hard put to it to retain any
+footing there at all.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to know what motives, political or military, led to
+our pressing an attack with such colossal fury on this part of the
+line. Perhaps the Channel ports at Ostend and Zeebrugge were the prize
+we hoped to gain. Be that as it may, the result of our attack was to
+bring about a conflict of unparalleled intensity. The bulk of the
+English heavy artillery seemed to be concentrated on the one side and
+the bulk of the enemy's heavy artillery on the other. In a country
+like Flanders the ground is bad enough in foul weather; but where it
+is churned up for miles with the heaviest of shells, it becomes
+impossible to use tanks and next to impossible to use infantry.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, the Germans had superiority in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>air. They had
+concentrated on aircraft the effort which we had expended on
+perfecting the tank. The one can be used effectively in wet weather,
+but the other cannot. The German had another defensive surprise for
+us. Owing to the nature of the ground the deep dugout was practically
+an impossibility. In the place, therefore, of this the German devised
+the concrete blockhouse or 'pill-box' as it was called. For miles
+behind their front line the country was dotted with pill-boxes, which
+could defy the tank and all but the largest kinds of shells. As soon
+as our operations started the rain streamed down, making conditions
+ten times worse for the attacking force.</p>
+
+<p>All honour to those that gallantly stormed the muddy slopes of
+Passchendaele; to the wonderful engineers that conquered the squalid
+quagmires of Langemarck and Zonnebeke; to the gunners that stuck to
+their guns under a rain of bombs and shells, and to the transport
+drivers that fed them. It is a tale of wonderful gallantry and heroic
+endeavour. But when all is said and done, one is bound to look at the
+result.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the area round Proven the 50th Division was allocated to
+the Fifth Army (General Gough), and received orders to prepare to take
+part in an attack on the enemy's line between the Houthulst Forest and
+Passchendaele. On October 21, the day after our arrival at Proven, I
+went to the Fifth Army H.Q. to get all the maps and information I
+could relating to the new front. The Army H.Q. were in a large ch&acirc;teau
+north of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>Poperinghe, and when I got there I was received by the
+Colonel in charge of Intelligence with every kindness. He got me
+several maps, gave me the files of intelligence to glance over, and
+advised me to visit the Air Squadron at Proven for aeroplane
+photographs. He also offered to turn out a Staff car to take me back,
+but this kind offer I declined. My next visit was to the office of the
+Air Squadron, where they had a file of all photographs relating to our
+front. I was able to secure several useful copies, and the promise of
+some more. After this I returned to our camp to work on the air
+photos. On October 23 we marched to Proven and entrained there,
+getting out at Elverdinghe. A short march took us to a camp of wooden
+huts a little south of the ch&acirc;teau, where the 50th Division had their
+battle H.Q. When we arrived the huts were quite empty of all
+furniture; but in a short time the Brigade pioneers had made a table
+and forms to use in the mess. It was decided that only the General,
+Brigade-Major, and Signalling Officer should go forward to battle
+H.Q., an old German pill-box called Martin's Mill, between Widjendrift
+and Langemarck. The rest of the Brigade Staff were to remain at rear
+H.Q. at Huddersfield Dugouts on the Yser Canal close to Bard's
+Causeway. At this time I was much worried by what appeared to me to be
+an attempt to tap the information of the Brigade as to the details of
+the forthcoming attack. Naturally an Intelligence Officer has to be
+discreet at all times, but especially so at times like this. I simply
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>record my impression although I cannot give any details.</p>
+
+<p>On October 24 I went to the rear B.H.Q. at Huddersfield Dugouts. They
+were in the northern bank of the Yser Canal about half a mile south of
+Boesinghe. The front was approached by means of several long
+duck-board tracks, in places more like wooden bridges than the
+ordinary trench footboards. In the morning I did my best to
+investigate where these tracks started, not altogether an easy matter
+in an entirely strange country. In the afternoon I was asked by the
+Staff-Captain to see that the hot food and tea and rum for the use of
+the troops next morning were ready for delivery to the
+carrying-parties, and that the O.C. carrying-party knew exactly what
+to do. I found that the food &amp;c. was ready packed up in the hot food
+containers by the four transport officers, but I had great difficulty
+in finding the officer in charge of the carrying-parties. After
+waiting about for over two hours I did get in touch with him. And by
+nightfall I had the satisfaction of seeing the hot food set off with
+this carrying-party up one of the tracks leading to the front. We
+obtained guides for this party from the 50th Divisional Signals, who
+gave us every assistance in their power.</p>
+
+<p>The attack took place next morning about dawn, after a heavy artillery
+bombardment, and in the rain. Of this attack the Brigade has no need
+to be ashamed, although by the afternoon of the same day the remnants
+of its brave soldiers <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>were withdrawn to the starting point. The 7th
+N.F. on the left had a shorter distance to go than the rest, but on
+their left flank was the Forest of Houthulst full of German snipers.
+On the right were the 4th N.F. and in the centre the 5th N.F.</p>
+
+<p>Each battalion had to attack across a treacherous swamp, and each was
+confronted by a row of unbroken concrete pill-boxes, carefully
+concealed from aerial observation. Each battalion made ground, but
+each battalion was mowed down in heaps by the machine-guns in the
+pill-boxes. I have nothing now to give as an estimate of the
+casualties, except the officer casualties of the 7th N.F. Twelve
+officers of the 7th N.F. went over the top that morning, and one
+returned alive, Lieut Affleck. The others were all killed. It gives
+some idea of the spirit of these gallant fellows, when I relate that
+Lieut Affleck was preparing a further attack on the German pill-boxes
+at the time he was ordered to return with the remnants of the
+shattered brigade. The three battalions all suffered the heaviest
+losses, but I have now no details except those I have given above.
+Lieut. Odell, the Brigade Signalling Officer, and his men did wonders
+in keeping the battalions in touch with B.H.Q. during the battle, and
+for his great personal gallantry on this occasion he received a Bar to
+his M.C. The shattered remnants of the battalions were drawn out of
+the fighting zone and given billets not far from the Yser Canal. Even
+here bad luck followed the 5th N.F., for a long-range shell crashed
+into one of the huts at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>Rose Camp and caused forty more casualties.
+In the transport lines on the west side of the Yser Canal Capt.
+Neville, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F., was killed by a bomb next day. An
+old soldier with a wonderful record of service, he had preferred to
+stick to his battalion instead of taking promotion. I have already
+called him the prince of quarter masters. I had also to lament him as
+a very kind and generous friend.</p>
+
+<p>We now received orders to retire to the rest area about Ondank, and on
+October 26 I was sent to take over a camp for B.H.Q. On the way I
+called at D.H.Q. at Elverdinghe Ch&acirc;teau, where I was very courteously
+received by the 'Q' Staff&mdash;Col. Cartwright and Major McCracken&mdash;who
+made many sympathetic inquiries after the officers in the Brigade.</p>
+
+<p>We were now quartered in some old wooden huts, possibly constructed by
+the French; and though very comfortable inside they were hardly
+bomb-proof. At nights all the back areas round Ypres were heavily
+bombed and a lot of horses were killed every night and a certain
+number of men as well.</p>
+
+<p>On October 27 the poor shattered remnants of my battalion passed
+B.H.Q., very weary and very few in numbers. Besides the Battalion H.Q.
+Company there were just enough men to make one decent-sized company.
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson stopped to speak to me, and the tears
+trickled down his weather-beaten face, as he said 'Buckley, this has
+fairly done me.' Only those <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>who have had a fine battalion cut to
+pieces can realise the feelings of their commander at such a moment.</p>
+
+<p>I set to work with my observers packing a wall of sandbags round the
+wooden huts, as a protection against bomb splinters. It was not
+possible to protect the roof, but these sandbags were effective
+against anything but a direct hit.</p>
+
+<p>I have never known German night bombing more persistent or more heavy
+than it was in the Salient just at this time. And although we never
+got a bomb in the same field as our camp they dropped close enough to
+be disturbing. A camp with some of the Divisional details was struck
+some little way from us, and the same night D.H.Q. at Elverdinghe
+Ch&acirc;teau were bombed, several motor-lorries being set on fire.</p>
+
+<p>It was too far back for us to be troubled with much shelling, and the
+German long-range guns fired mostly over our heads at the more
+attractive targets of Poperinghe and Proven. One day during this short
+rest, October 29, I had a ride round with Lieut. Odell in search of a
+field-cashier's office where money could be drawn to pay Brigade
+details. After a long ride to different places we landed up at a
+Canadian Cashier's Office near Poperinghe; at this time the Canadians
+were on Passchendaele Ridge. About November 5 the Brigade returned to
+the line for a few days before the Division was taken out. On that day
+I returned with the Staff-Captain and Capt. G. Bell (6th N.F.,
+Assistant-Staff-Captain) to Huddersfield Dugouts. On the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>following
+day I walked nearly as far as the Steenbeke at Martin's Mill, and the
+ground around Langemarck was about as dreary and shattered as any that
+I have ever seen. It was well described to me once as 'utter squalor.'
+Next day I went to the camp of the 4th N.F. south of Langemarck and to
+Marsouine camp, to arrange certain details of the relief. The same
+night the Brigade was relieved, but I was left in charge at
+Huddersfield Dugouts till the evening of November 8 when I returned to
+the camp at Ondank. On November 12 the Brigade entrained at
+Elverdinghe station and were taken through St. Omer to Watten station.
+We marched from there in the dark to the little village of Serques. We
+were now to have about a month's rest and training before returning
+again to the Salient.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXVII" id="XXVII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXVII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>DIVISIONAL REST NEAR ST. OMER</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>Serques was quite a pleasant little village to stay at, but the
+arrangements for training were very scanty. I had to search round for
+suitable spots for rifle-ranges, and to agree with the owners for
+suitable compensation. Also I had to make some of the arrangements for
+a ferry boat to convey the troops across the Canal De L'Aa to a good
+training-ground between Watten and St. Momelin. On November 14 I paid
+my first visit to St. Omer, which is a nice town with plenty of good
+shops.</p>
+
+<p>Lieut.-Col. G.R.B. Spain, C.M.G., of the 6th N.F. came to command the
+Brigade during the absence of Brigadier-General Riddell on leave. He
+was a man of remarkable erudition and a collector of prints and other
+things. And I soon found that we had many things in common and many
+interesting talks I had with him on a variety of subjects.</p>
+
+<p>We discovered together several early flint implements and arrow-heads
+about Serques, and he told me a lot about the early Stone Age, which
+interested me greatly and set me looking for these interesting relics
+wherever we happened to be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>quartered.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> Shortly after this time
+Lieut.-Col. Scott Jackson left the 7th N.F. to join the R.A.M.C. and
+to take command of a base hospital. He was succeeded by Capt. H.
+Liddell, M.C., who now became Lieut.-Col. in command of the battalion.</p>
+
+<p>After staying at Serques for about two weeks the Brigade moved to the
+area around Tournehem. This was not such a flat watery country; and we
+had better quarters in the house of the cur&eacute; of the place.</p>
+
+<p>It was decided to hold Brigade Sports here, and I was sent off to
+Boulogne to buy the prizes. I went there and back in a Divisional
+Staff car. I had lunch at the Officers' Club, where the W.A.A.C.'s
+were serving as waitresses; and very nice it was to see their fresh
+English faces again. A visit to Boulogne when you are not going on
+leave brings back rather melancholy feelings, and I was glad to leave
+the place.</p>
+
+<p>An incident happened at Nortleulinghem, which was rather unfortunate
+for it spoilt an unbroken record. The 7th N.F., who were stationed at
+this place, were ordered to provide a field-firing demonstration for
+the Divisional Staff. The demonstration was to include the firing of a
+number of smoke-bombs&mdash;rifle-grenades with a small can of phosphorus
+at the end. Their successful discharge required considerable practice
+and nerve.</p>
+
+<p>As Lieut. H. Richardson, the Bombing Officer of the 7th N.F., was away
+I was asked to come <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>over and instruct the men how to fire these new
+weapons off. There were only two mornings in which to instruct them
+before the demonstration came off. Of course it was a very hurried
+proceeding, and I was rather horrified to find that the men knew
+practically nothing about rifle-grenades. (Most of the trained
+rifle-bombers had become casualties in the battle at Houthulst.) I did
+what I could to explain the working of the smoke rifle-bomb; but on
+the first practice taking place one of the men succeeded in blowing
+off the forefinger of another man, through firing too soon. Of course
+that was not a fatal accident, but it put the man out of action for
+the rest of the war&mdash;my only serious accident in bombing of any kind.
+When the demonstration came off, there were to my great relief no
+further regrettable incidents of that sort.</p>
+
+<p>On December 9 we began to prepare to return to the Salient, and I went
+with certain advanced details to Watten, where I spent the night in
+one of the houses. I managed to get a very passable dinner at the best
+local inn. We entrained next day at Watten station and were taken by
+rail to Brandhoek; marching to a camp quite close to the station.</p>
+
+<p>I had seen in some of our Intelligence papers that the 14th Division
+was in a Corps immediately on our left, and I therefore knew that I
+might have a chance of getting in touch with my brother George.
+Accordingly I walked to Vlamertinghe next day and heard that his
+battalion was stationed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>in a camp at St. Jean. On December 12 I was
+sent forward to take over B.H.Q. in Ypres, at a convent at the N.E.
+corner of the city. The higher floors of the convent were all in
+ruins, but the ground floors were more or less intact, and in these we
+had our rooms and offices. The mess room was under a pile of rubbish
+outside. Having made the arrangements with the 150th Infantry Brigade,
+whom we were relieving, I had still an hour to spare before B.H.Q.
+would arrive. So I decided to walk over to St. Jean and inquire for my
+brother's battalion. It took me about twenty minutes to get there, but
+there was no difficulty in finding the battalion or their H.Q. So I
+marched up to the H.Q. hut and asked to see Capt. Buckley. He came out
+at once and was very surprised to see me, for he had no idea where I
+was at this time. It was a hurried but exceedingly pleasant meeting. I
+had only twenty minutes to spare, and he was just going forward to the
+front line that night. So we had to 'swop yarns' very quickly. And he
+walked back part of the way with me towards Ypres. I thought he looked
+very worn out and depressed. He had had a very hard time in the
+Salient, and in a few days he was back in hospital with influenza.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> At Coigneux I found a series of early implements in
+which the British Museum took considerable interest.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXVIII" id="XXVIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXVIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>The 50th Division were holding the line in front of Passchendaele
+Village and a little to the south. On our right were the West Riding
+Territorials, the 49th Division, commanded by Major-General Cameron
+(once one of our brigadiers); on the left the 14th Division. Only one
+brigade was in the line at a time&mdash;another remaining in support around
+Ypres and the other back at rest about Brandhoek. Thus a brigade went
+to close support for four days, to the front line for four days, and
+then back to the rest area for four days. This seems to be an easy
+method of holding the line; but, owing to the nature of the ground and
+to the heavy shelling that went on most of the day and night in the
+forward areas, it was impossible to keep a brigade very long in the
+front line. The battle on the ridge had been over for some time, but
+neither side was yet prepared to disperse its heavy concentration of
+guns. But the heavy firing was gradually, very gradually, becoming
+less severe.</p>
+
+<p>Ypres itself had been badly knocked about during the great battle.
+Most of the troops billeted in Ypres lived underground, but whilst I
+was living <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>there it was never severely shelled. Shrapnel was fired
+occasionally at the balloons over the city, and also about the Menin
+Gate and the roads leading towards the east end of the city. But there
+were no heavy guns in Ypres itself, and there was at present no
+particular reason for shelling it. We therefore had not an unpleasant
+time ourselves in the city. I believe that the H.Q. at the convent
+were shelled whilst we were in the front line, but that only happened
+once.</p>
+
+<p>On December 13 I went for a walk of inspection as far as Dan Cottages,
+some old German pill-boxes, where the forward brigade had their H.Q.
+For the first mile or so from Ypres the ground seemed to be recovering
+from the heavy shelling it had received, and there was a good deal of
+grass now growing about the old British front line trenches. But as
+you got farther forward to the area of the heavy guns, the ground was
+badly shattered and every shell-hole full of water. Between this point
+and B.H.Q. the conditions were simply awful. A vast swamp of
+yellow-brown mud divided into craters of large size&mdash;all full of
+watery slime. And so it went on as far as the eye could see.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there there were oases of dry ground, generally holding
+several heavy guns and dumps of ammunition. Whilst at intervals the
+swamp was intersected by a wooden road, used by the lorries to bring
+up ammunition, and by two or three duck-board tracks which ran winding
+through the awful mess of mud and water. These tracks were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>supported
+on wooden piles driven into the mud, and were more like wooden bridges
+than tracks. Sometimes they rested on firm ground, but mostly they
+were held up in the air by the wooden piles. Again right through the
+devastated area ran a good paved road from Ypres towards Zonnebeke.
+Here and there in some of the drier spots you could see queer white
+mounds&mdash;the concrete pill-boxes, some of which were still sound
+enough, but others broken in and waterlogged. The pill-boxes and the
+road and the wooden tracks were of course well known to the German
+artillery, who lavished a great deal of ammunition every day on each
+of these targets. But owing to the methodical way in which the Germans
+fired on the tracks, it was always possible to mend them wherever they
+were smashed. Between 2 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> and 8 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> practically
+no shells came over on to the tracks, and during this time each day
+gangs of men went out and mended the damage done to them.</p>
+
+<p>When the frost came and solidified the mud, travelling became safer if
+not so easy; for it was then possible to leave the tracks and go
+across country by walking round the edges of the shell craters. All
+along the road there was ceaseless activity day and night. Lines and
+lines of lorries going backwards or forwards, limbers, wagons, men.
+When the enemy shelled the road, generally some damage was done, and
+it was not uncommon to see pools of blood in the road and the litter
+of broken vehicles. At intervals along the road there were vast dumps
+of ammunition and stores, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>and on the side tracks huge piles of every
+sort of salvage.</p>
+
+<p>Forward again of B.H.Q. the country was perhaps not so badly smashed,
+except in the spots most exposed to shell fire. But the shell-holes
+were often full of German dead&mdash;I counted nearly 100 within a quarter
+of a mile of Dan Cottages. And on the forward wooden tracks used by
+our transport, the ground reeked like a slaughter-house. Fragments of
+everything just swept off the tracks. The limbs and bodies of the
+pack-mules lying sometimes in heaps sometimes at intervals all along
+the route. Of course the nearer you approached to Passchendaele Ridge
+the drier and firmer was the ground. But that awful swamp behind has
+probably no parallel in the history of war. How the Engineers overcame
+it is really a marvel. And great credit indeed must be given to this
+very efficient branch of the Army, and to the men who laboured there
+under the terrible conditions around them. I have mentioned the German
+dead; there was no doubt little time to give to them. But I hardly saw
+one body of a British soldier who had been left without burial.</p>
+
+<p>On December 15 I went with General Riddell to visit the 5th N.F.
+Battalion H.Q. at Tyne Cottages, some pill-boxes about half-way
+between forward B.H.Q. and Passchendaele. It was a long walk, and we
+went up the Zonnebeke Road till we were in the neighbourhood of that
+village, then along the mule track to Tyne Cottages. Whilst we were
+talking with Major A. Irwin at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>the pill-box a few light shells came
+over and sprinkled us with earth. It was best to be either inside or
+well away from a pill-box: but as the entrance to this pill-box was
+like a rabbit-hole and close to the ground General Riddell preferred
+to stand outside. After that we paid a visit to Dan Cottages, and
+returned back along the wooden tracks to Ypres.</p>
+
+<div class="img">
+<a href="images/imagep169.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep169.jpg" width="60%" alt="Plan of B.H.Q. (Judah House), Dan Cottages." /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Plan of B.H.Q. (Judah House), Dan Cottages.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Next day B.H.Q. went forward to Dan Cottages and stayed there for four
+days. The Brigade observers were employed in two ways, partly as
+observers and partly as a gas guard for the B.H.Q. pill-box. This
+pill-box had already stood one or two strong blows from shells, but it
+still appeared to be pretty sound. The door of course faced the enemy,
+but was protected by a stout concrete wall and a bank of earth outside
+that.</p>
+
+<p>It will be seen from the above plan that the quarters were very
+confined&mdash;the bunks being <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>roughly six feet long and the room rather
+over six feet high.</p>
+
+<p>One observer stood in the narrow passage outside the door as sentry
+and gas guard. He was of course relieved every four hours, and at
+night there were generally two on duty. The other observers who were
+not on this duty held a post about Hillside Farm about a mile forward
+of Dan Cottages. This was not altogether a healthy spot, but a good
+view was obtained towards Moorslede.</p>
+
+<p>In this area observers were asked to pay special attention to the
+enemy's shelling, noticing the direction from which the sound of the
+firing came and the areas shelled and approximately the number of
+rounds. I had of course to write out the Brigade Intelligence Report
+each morning. The last night we were in these quarters a number of
+gas-shells were fired round the batteries and B.H.Q. They made the
+atmosphere very unpleasant; and though they were not thick enough to
+necessitate wearing the respirator, I suffered, especially the
+following night, from their effects.</p>
+
+<p>On December 20 we were relieved and moved back to the rest area at
+Brandhoek, where we were glad to have four days' rest. On Christmas
+Eve we moved to our old quarters at Ypres, and the following night we
+had an excellent Christmas dinner thanks to the good services of
+Lieut. Behrens, our French interpreter, an old machine-gunner of
+Verdun. On December 28 we again went to the front area and held the
+line for four days. It was always the custom for one of the officers
+of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>the Brigade to keep awake on duty during part of the night. We
+took it in turns and did two-hour shifts. On the morning of December
+31 it happened to be my turn to be awake on duty just about dawn. And
+this saved me from a very rude awakening. That morning the enemy had
+decided on a bombardment of our Divisional front and he commenced
+proceedings by shelling Dan Cottages with a battery of 4-inch naval
+guns, a very accurate weapon. We got a shell on the roof of the
+pill-box which gave a nasty concussion and put all the lights out.
+That woke the rest of the Staff up except the Artillery Officer. I had
+hardly got the lights on again when we got another shell on the roof.
+Again the lights went out, and this time a piece of concrete fell out
+of the roof and crashed on to the floor, knocking over some of our
+belongings, but fortunately missing the officers inside.</p>
+
+<p>A few small fragments of concrete also dropped on the face of the
+Artillery Liaison Officer who had slept peacefully through the first
+concussion. He woke up then with a comical look of surprise, as if
+some one were playing a joke on him. Although another shell struck the
+bank at the doorway we had no more on the roof, and no
+casualties&mdash;only we found that all our telephone wires had been cut. I
+wonder whether our roof would have stood another direct hit! Later on
+in the day I filled the holes in the roof outside with blocks of ice
+and frozen earth, in fact anything I could find to act as a 'burster'
+in case of further shelling. At <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>12 o'clock midnight, being the
+beginning of New Year's Day, our artillery fired their usual reminder
+at the enemy. It has been a point of honour with us to fire off all
+our guns as soon as possible after the New Year came in. On the
+evening of January 1 we were relieved and moved back to Brandhoek. On
+January 3 the Division was taken farther back for a rest, and the
+Brigade marched to the district about Watou on the French border.</p>
+
+<p>Having served for two years abroad I applied for a month's leave&mdash;it
+was a privilege granted to Staff Officers who needed a rest. My leave
+warrant reached me on January 5, and next day I left Watou and
+entrained at Poperinghe for Boulogne.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXIX" id="XXIX"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXIX<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>GOOD-BYE TO THE 50TH DIVISION</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>When I returned to Ypres on February 8, 1918, I found that some very
+drastic changes had taken place in the grouping of battalions. Instead
+of four battalions to a brigade, there were now to be three; and every
+division was to be provided with a Pioneer battalion. This meant that
+the 50th Division, who already possessed a battalion of pioneers, had
+to part with a battalion from each brigade. And these battalions would
+have to be attached as pioneer battalions to other divisions who
+possessed no pioneer battalion. As the junior battalion in the
+Northumberlands, the 7th N.F. were selected to go from the 149th
+Infantry Brigade; and their companions in misfortune were the 9th
+D.L.I. and the 5th Border Regiment. Major-General Sir P.S. Wilkinson,
+K.C.M.G., our Divisional Commander, was good enough to say that he was
+parting with three of his best battalions.</p>
+
+<p>Although I had been attached to the Staff of the 149th Infantry
+Brigade since May 1916 I was included in the General Order that all
+detached officers should join their respective battalions before they
+left the Division. At the time this looked very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>hard. I had been a
+specialist for over two years and had got completely out of touch with
+company work. But I have no doubt now that in the events which
+happened I was very lucky to leave the 50th Division at this juncture.
+In six weeks' time I was, through the good offices of the Battalion
+H.Q., given an Intelligence job with our new Division; and the
+experience I had gained with the 50th Division was not wasted as I had
+feared it might be. Also there went with me from the 149th Infantry
+Brigade four highly-trained observers who formed the nucleus and
+backbone of the 42nd Divisional observers. On returning to the 7th
+N.F. I lost my acting-captaincy and became second in command to C
+Company. Also I had to part with many good friends in the old Brigade:
+some of them I was destined never to meet again. Lieut. E.W. Styles
+who was attached to the 149th Trench-Mortar Battery was unhappily
+killed during the German offensive; a great friend whom I shall always
+miss. My bombing orderly, L.-C. Fairclough, was also killed during the
+same operations.</p>
+
+<p>When I joined the 7th N.F. they were stationed at St. Jean&mdash;in Alnwick
+Camp. And here the battalion said good-bye to the Brigade.</p>
+
+<p>It was a singular turn of fate that this should occur here. The 7th
+N.F. had fought their first battle with the Brigade on this spot in
+April 1915, and the name of the camp was of course taken from the town
+where their H.Q. were stationed at home. When he came to say farewell
+to the battalion, General Riddell referred to this curious
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>coincidence and also bade us remember the regimental motto 'Quo Fata
+Vocant' (' Whither the Fates call'). So we left the Ypres Salient for
+the last time. And although I went into Belgium again with the Army of
+Occupation, I have never set foot in Flanders again. Of all countries
+on earth it is surely the most dismal and unhappy. At least so it
+appeared to me.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXX" id="XXX"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXX<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>DIGGING TRENCHES ABOUT LOOS</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>Before we left the 50th Division we learnt that we were to join the
+42nd (East Lancashire) Territorial Division, commanded at this time by
+Major-General A. Solly-Flood, C.M.G., D.S.O. The latter Division had
+seen service in Egypt and Gallipoli before coming to France, and they
+were now resting in the Bethune area, having just left the trenches
+between Cambrin and Loos. This was in the I Corps area of the First
+Army. As pioneers to the 42nd Division the 7th N.F. became Divisional
+troops, directly under the command of the Divisional Staff and no
+longer in a brigade. The three brigades of our new division were the
+125th (Lancs. Fusiliers), 126th (East Lancashire), and 127th
+(Manchester)&mdash;all Territorial brigades. The Staff of the 42nd Division
+treated their new pioneer battalion with kindness and consideration;
+and I believe we were called on occasion 'Solly-Flood's Pets.' On the
+other hand there was friction at times between the men of the 42nd
+Division and the men of the 7th N.F.</p>
+
+<p>The whole Division had hitherto been drawn from the East Lancashire
+area&mdash;Manchester, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>Oldham, Bury, &amp;c., and they looked upon us rather
+as intruders. The Northumberlands were of course not the people to let
+slip so admirable an opportunity of accepting a feud: and in October
+1918 they committed the unforgivable sin of winning the Divisional
+Association Football Cup, which completed their unpopularity.</p>
+
+<p>And for a battalion which had seen the hard service of the 7th N.F.,
+the stock jests generally levelled at a pioneer battalion were a
+little out of place. The 42nd Division proved themselves a hard
+fighting division in 1918, and lived up to their motto 'Go one
+better.'</p>
+
+<p>The 7th N.F. left the Ypres area about February 11, 1918, and after
+spending a few days at Brandhock they were conveyed in motor-buses to
+the small village of Fouquereuil, west of Bethune.</p>
+
+<p>Here the battalion was instructed to help the pioneers of the 6th
+Division, who were holding the front line trenches between Cambrin and
+Loos. Accordingly three companies of the 7th N.F. were detached from
+the battalion and sent to the forward area. I went with C Company
+(Capt. Herriott) to Philosophe, a small colliery village still partly
+inhabited by civilians, though fairly close to the front line.</p>
+
+<p>Our daily work was making reserve defences, trenches, deep dugouts,
+and machine-gun emplacements between Vermelles and Loos. During our
+stay of about a week at Philosophe the village was quiet. But one
+night the enemy's guns sent a perfect stream of shells just over the
+tops of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>cottages for about twenty minutes. About a week after we
+left the village it was completely knocked to bits by the enemy's
+10-inch howitzer shells.</p>
+
+<p>Our next visit was to some reserve trenches at Cambrin, where we
+stayed for about a week, improving the defences. It was a quiet, easy
+time, though not far behind the front line. After this the four
+companies of the 7th N.F. were reduced to three, and I was transferred
+to A Company at Sailly-Labourse. Here we were some distance behind the
+front line, but working-parties were taken up to the forward area, and
+I used to go and inspect them. Shortly after our arrival at Sailly the
+enemy began to shell the back areas, causing great annoyance and some
+casualties to the civilian population, generally to children. They had
+been allowed to live here many months in peace, although not five
+miles away from the enemy's trenches. Even Sailly-Labourse received
+almost daily salvoes from long-range guns.</p>
+
+<p>I had a very unpleasant experience myself in my billet, a brick
+cottage, one night about March 12. I was in bed on the first
+floor&mdash;the only person in the cottage except monsieur and madame who
+slept in the cellar. About midnight the enemy's 4-inch naval guns
+started shelling the place. Three shells in succession passed just
+over the roof of my cottage, one smashed the next house to pieces; the
+next fell into our little back garden, eight yards from the cottage;
+and the third struck the road on the other side. After that I got up
+and joined monsieur and madame for ten minutes <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span>in the cellar, until
+the shelling had ceased. Then back to bed. But next day I took the
+precaution of changing my billet&mdash;going to the cellar of the broken
+house next door.</p>
+
+<p>It was a piteous sight to see the poor French folk as they fled from
+their homes, with their most cherished belongings packed on to small
+carts.</p>
+
+<p>About this time the 42nd Division decided to form a party of
+observers, known as 'Divisional Observers,' who were intended to keep
+a watch on the enemy during a battle and to report all sudden
+movements to the Division. They were really intended to collect
+information for D.H.Q. at times when the ordinary avenues of
+information had broken down. At first the party consisted of one
+officer and nine trained observers: but later on it was increased by
+the inclusion of signallers and one or two additional men.</p>
+
+<p>On March 15, 1918, I was instructed to return to Lapugnoy to Battalion
+H.Q. in order to organise and command this new party of men. I
+obtained this job through the kind recommendation of the Colonel and
+Adjutant of the 7th N.F. Although this side of Intelligence was not
+perhaps the one that I had most experience of, yet I hailed my return
+to an Intelligence job with delight.</p>
+
+<p>When I reached Lapugnoy no observers had yet arrived, but next day I
+went to interview Capt. E.C.B. Kirsopp, M.C., the G.S.O. III, who was
+the officer on the Staff directly responsible for the equipment and
+movements of the observers. Capt. Kirsopp was, I believe, the father
+of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>observers, i.e. responsible for their formation, and he showed
+at all times an interest and a kindness which were fully appreciated.
+His faith in the possibilities of the party never wavered, although
+for some time it was difficult to know how to make their information
+quick and effective. However, he never lost hope in us, and he never
+ceased to try to improve the means of communication between the
+observers and D.H.Q. Amongst other things he got for the observers two
+very powerful telescopes, with a magnification of forty-five times.
+And although these glasses could not, owing to their size and the
+weight of their fittings, be used during the moving warfare, at a
+later stage they proved simply invaluable for making target sketches
+of the enemy's defences. Another officer who did us good service was
+Lieut. C.R. Stride, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. Without his aid the heavy
+telescopes would never have gone into action, and the observers would
+often have been without rations. He always took an interest in the
+little party, and provided us with many welcome comforts from his
+store.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>On March 19 the following observers reported to me. From the 7th N.F.
+L.-C. J. Cowen and Ptes. J. King, W. Fail, and R. Ewart&mdash;all of whom
+were old friends and observers of the 149th Infantry Brigade; from the
+125th Infantry Brigade L.-C. J. Flynn; from the 126th Infantry Brigade
+Ptes. F. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>Dunkerley and F. Turner; from the 127th Infantry Brigade
+Corp. Walker and Pte. A. Morris. Owing to casualties and to the
+observers being recalled to their battalions the personnel of the
+party was always changing. But of the above, the four men of the 7th
+N.F. and Pte. F. Turner practically remained with the observers from
+first to last.</p>
+
+<p>For about a week I stayed at Lapugnoy, giving lectures to the
+observers and carrying out some field training with the compass and
+protractor. But our peaceful existence in the back area was not
+destined to last long. On Friday, March 22, I was instructed to take
+the observers to the 42nd Division Signal School at Bethune, in order
+that the men might go through a course of signalling. We reached the
+Signal School at 4 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> on Friday, and at 10 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>
+the same night, we received orders that all officers and men at the
+school were to be ready to move at 6 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> next morning. The
+long expected blow had fallen at last. The enemy had already launched
+the first wave of his great offensive.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Lieut.-Col. H. Liddell, D.S.O., M.C., was most generous
+in providing men to replace casualties and in sending us four
+signallers from the 7th N.F. H.Q.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXI" id="XXXI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE 1918&mdash;SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>March 23, 1918 was a fine day: and that was lucky for us, for we had a
+long day in the open before us. We got a hurried breakfast about six
+o'clock, and were soon marching by road to the place of assembly on
+the road from Bethune to Hesdigneul. Here we had a wait of several
+hours on the roadside, whilst an unending stream of motor-buses
+hurried past all going southwards. It was rumoured that our
+destination was Basseux, five miles S.W. of Arras; and I hoped it was
+true, for I knew the district better than any other in France. At last
+the buses allotted to the Divisional troops drew up and we got aboard
+and set off on our journey to the south. We went through Labuissi&egrave;re
+to St. Pol, and thence through Fr&eacute;vent to Doullens, and then
+north-east along the road towards Arras. Except for a few large and
+recent shell-holes by the roadside we saw little unusual until we
+began to get near Arras. We stopped for a few minutes near the C.C.S.
+at Laherli&egrave;re, and I got off and asked one of the hospital orderlies
+how things were going on. We were told that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>our fellows had had a bad
+day on the 22nd, but that to-day far fewer casualties had passed
+through the station. Soon after that we met a number of French
+civilians with carts streaming back from Arras, guarded by French
+soldiers. We knew then that things were not going too well in front.</p>
+
+<p>When we reached Basseux about 6 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> the buses were turned
+round and we went on in an easterly direction till we reached Ayette.
+Here we got down and marched in the darkness to the ruined village of
+Adinfer. Continual flashes in the direction of Monchy-le-Preux and an
+intermittent roar from our long-range guns near at hand showed that
+fighting was still going on. But no shells arrived to add to our
+discomfort. The observers had to bivouac in Adinfer Wood, a cheerless
+proceeding after our long journey down, for we had no blankets and no
+chance of getting a hot meal. Some artillerymen gave me a drink of
+water, which I remember with gratitude, for I had had no chance of a
+drink since 6 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span>, and the roads had been choked with dust.
+There was a keen frost that night, and I could not sleep for long.
+When daylight came I managed to light a small fire and to heat up a
+tin of 'Machonchie'; and this put a little more life into me. After
+that I went to Adinfer where the Divisional Staff were quartered in
+wooden huts. Here I got a cup of coffee and had a chat with the
+Divisional Intelligence Officer, Lieut. G.F. Doble, M.C. I found that
+D.H.Q. were moving back to Monchy-au-Bois. My instructions were to
+reconnoitre the roads from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>Ayette towards Bucquoy, Ablainzevelle, and
+Courcelles-le-Comte. So after getting quarters for my party at a
+ruined cottage in the wood, I set out with most of my men and spent
+the whole afternoon tramping the roads as far as Ablainzevelle and
+back again towards Moyenneville. Unfortunately as events proved this
+was time and labour lost. For when I reported to Capt. Kirsopp at
+Monchy-au-Bois I found that the 42nd Division had received orders from
+the IV Corps to hold the line farther south, towards Behagnies and
+Sapignies. D.H.Q. were to move next day to a camp between Logeast Wood
+and Bucquoy. I was told to send a party of observers to the east end
+of Logeast Wood and to pay a visit myself to the H.Q. near Bucquoy.
+The night was again spent in Adinfer Wood; but it was more comfortable
+for we had collected some rations and blankets and were less exposed
+to the weather.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning (March 25) I moved across country with L.-C. Flynn to the
+camp between Logeast Wood and Bucquoy. The country-side seemed
+deserted and no sound of firing could be heard. L.-C. Cowen took two
+observers to the east end of Logeast Wood and spent the day there, but
+nothing of importance could be seen. They were, however, shelled by
+the enemy for a time in the afternoon. Later on in the day there were
+more signs of the enemy's activity. A large dump exploded at
+Courcelles, but it may have been done by our own R.E.'s. And it was
+reported that the Germans were advancing towards Achiet-le-Grand. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>I
+found out that evening that D.H.Q. had moved back to the village of
+Fonquevillers; so I decided to move my men more in that direction; and
+after nightfall the observers marched along the road through
+Monchy-au-Bois to Bienvillers.</p>
+
+<p>On this road we saw guns and transport in large numbers, mostly going
+south. It was fairly evident to my mind that the enemy had made
+another advance during the day, but definite news was hard to get.
+Hundreds of shells from the German 4-inch naval guns fell about the
+roads all night, but I heard not one of them explode. They must have
+been a rotten lot of ammunition. On arriving at Bienvillers the
+observers got a billet in the cellars of a shattered house at the
+north end of the village. A little later I went to Fonquevillers to
+get news from D.H.Q.&mdash;and instructions for next day. The Divisional
+Staff were quartered in some Nissen huts. When I arrived they had no
+particular news, but I was asked to send a post of observers again, if
+possible, to the east end of Logeast Wood, which was thought to be
+still in our hands. After this I returned to Bienvillers about
+midnight and arranged for an early start next day.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning (March 26) we were cooking tea and bacon about 3.45
+<span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> when a very tired and draggled officer came in. He said
+he had just ridden over from Bapaume on a motor-cycle and he told us a
+sorry tale. He evidently thought that the Germans had broken right
+through on the Fifth Army front (i.e. on our right), and that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>the
+British forces were about to be surrounded. Bapaume was on fire, and
+the British Army defeated and broken in the south. This was the first
+definite news I had of the misfortunes in the Somme area. It was
+disquieting enough and I determined to approach Logeast Wood with
+caution and to keep a sharp look-out for unusual movement as we went
+forward. Accompanied by Ptes. Fail and Ewart I went across country
+towards Bucquoy as the light was beginning to break. We noticed that
+the large trees on the road to Hannescamps had been prepared by the
+R.E.'s for felling with gun cotton&mdash;the charges being ready and tied
+to the trunks so as to throw them across the road. The roads were
+already full, mostly horse transport pouring rapidly through
+Bienvillers towards Souastre. Transport from the south-east coming in
+our direction through Hannescamps appeared to be in a panic and
+expecting pursuit by the German cavalry. Once we got away from the
+road and reached Le Quesnoy Farm there was little movement to be seen.
+A few small parties of our men moving towards us across the open and
+here and there a limber. Nothing in a hurry, nothing at all to
+indicate a retreat on our own front, though it was actually taking
+place at the time. There was no sound of firing, and no shells. A
+battery of field guns still lay in a hollow just west of Bucquoy, and
+this sight rather reassured me; so I decided to push on a bit. Leaving
+my two observers on the ridge west of Dierville Farm I approached the
+ruined buildings <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>of the farm which lie a little west of the road
+between Bucquoy and Ayette. While I was here I saw some of our
+infantry marching along this road out of Bucquoy and forming a line
+along it. One of them asked me where they could get in touch with our
+troops on the left. Though I had been told to expect them east of
+Logeast Wood they had in fact fallen back during the night and were
+even now about to leave Ablainzevelle. The troops I saw on the road
+were in fact taking up a line of resistance, for they were the British
+front line. After this I decided that Dierville Farm could be held as
+an O.P. for the time being; and so sending my two observers on, I
+returned to Bienvillers to get a little much needed rest. As I went
+back there was still no shelling and no sound of rifle fire. Yet it
+afterwards transpired that the enemy had already pushed his outposts
+forward into Ablainzevelle and west of Logeast Wood. Surely it was on
+this part of the front one of the most silent advances made in the
+war. When they returned my observers reported all quiet at Dierville
+Farm, but the two observers that relieved them at 10 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span>
+found the enemy guns more active. After midday a number of shells were
+sent into the village of Bucquoy and not far from the farm.</p>
+
+<p>When I got back the roads through Bienvillers became more crowded than
+ever with horse transport, and many guns were being moved on the road
+from Monchy-au-Bois. The sides of the road, too, became crowded with
+infantry, who were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>apparently awaiting orders to move forward. In
+spite of the congestion on the roads the enemy made only one attempt
+that day to harass them. A 10-inch shell from a long-range gun fell in
+an open field about 100 yards short of Bienvillers Church, but it did
+no damage except to the field. The stream of traffic through the
+village continued without ceasing all that day. At 4 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> I
+received orders from the Division to join the 7th N.F. near Essarts
+and to come under the command of the O.C. 7th N.F. It was found
+impossible to make any direct use of the observers at the time owing
+to the disorganisation and uncertainty that prevailed; so they were
+added temporarily as a reinforcement to the battalion. It was indeed a
+crisis in the fate of the right wing of the Third Army, though at the
+time we did not realise it. At 6 p.m. the observers left Bienvillers
+and went forward along the road to Hannescamps, meeting many wounded
+on the road and a few other parties of troops returning. We found the
+battalion in a hollow west of Essarts. They were just preparing to
+move. On reporting to Major McLeod, who was in temporary command of
+the battalion, I was told to attach the observers to the H.Q. Company.</p>
+
+<p>The battalion had already had a brush with the enemy. On the preceding
+day, March 25, about midday they had advanced in artillery formation
+from Logeast Wood towards Achiet-le-Grand.</p>
+
+<p>Near that village they had come under direct <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>fire from the enemy's
+field artillery and they had been shelled also with 5.9-inch
+howitzers. One company suffered rather severe casualties, but the
+battalion succeeded in passing through the village and filling a gap
+in the line. Later on in the day they had been relieved by the
+neighbouring Brigade and received orders to fall back first to Logeast
+Wood and later on to Ablainzevelle. The latter place they were ordered
+to leave at 8 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> that morning. Eventually they reached the
+place where I found them. The men were all in good spirits and
+evidently pleased with their part in the rearguard action. Very soon
+after I joined them the battalion was moved again, this time about a
+quarter of a mile to the south across the Bucquoy-Bienvillers Road.
+Here we waited till further orders should arrive, and meantime some
+hot soup and rum were served out. Then we all lay down in the open,
+with blankets it is true, but the air was so frosty that little sleep
+was possible. About midnight we got orders to go to some trenches just
+east of the village of Essarts. We marched forward to this place,
+about a mile, without any interference from the enemy. H.Q. were
+established in a small tin hut in the village. Although there were
+still many trees about the place, all trace of the buildings had
+disappeared except one or two cellars and some piles of rubbish. We
+found our field batteries stationed quite close to us, to the west and
+north of Essarts, and one in a small hollow to the east. These
+batteries kept up a pretty constant fire during the night; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>but so far
+the enemy did not reply. All our heavy guns seem to have been taken
+away, except possibly one battery of 60-pounder guns near Hannescamps.</p>
+
+<p>The two following days, March 27 and 28, were memorable for a
+continuous series of attacks by the enemy along the whole of our
+front.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the 27th I went to the east side of the Essarts Wood
+to note what was going on, and I sent a party of observers farther
+north to the high ground at Le Quesnoy Farm. About 10.30 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span>
+the enemy's artillery opened a scattered fire on the neighbourhood of
+Essarts, apparently searching the hollows for our battery positions.
+But it was not until 11 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> that the enemy started to shell
+our forward positions. From 11 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> to 11.25 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> a
+heavy barrage of flame-shells was put down about Dierville Farm and
+along the road leading from Bucquoy to Ayette. I am told that they did
+not do much damage, but they were certainly a terrible sight. The
+flames that burst from these shells when they reached the ground rose
+up thirty or forty feet in the air, flared on for a few moments, and
+then disappeared into a dirty black smoke. For twenty-five minutes
+they came over fast, and they did not finally cease till 11.45
+<span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> At the same time Biez Wood on our right was heavily
+shelled and the area to the south of Bucquoy. Our field batteries at
+Essarts made a gallant reply, pouring in an unceasing rain of shrapnel
+wherever the enemy was suspected to be concentrating. This in turn
+drew a very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>unpleasant fire on to Essarts, which went on without
+break till 2 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> After that the enemy's counter-battery guns
+must have run out of ammunition, for they gave little more trouble for
+the rest of the day. Our field guns however continued to fire all that
+day and through the greater part of the night; their fire did not
+slacken whether shells were bursting around them or not. And great
+credit must be given to these gunners for their share in dispersing
+five enemy attacks. The battery on the east side of the wood,
+belonging to the 41st Division, came in for some very severe shelling,
+but the gunners never ceased to fire or to carry ammunition forward to
+the guns in full view of the enemy. As things had become rather hot
+around our tin hut, H.Q. were moved to a cellar, used as a
+dressing-station, where the doctor, Capt. C.F. Lidderdale, made room
+for us.</p>
+
+<p>During the evening the battalion got orders to be prepared to form a
+defensive flank between Le Quesnoy Farm and Adinfer Wood. The enemy's
+attacks had made progress on our left towards Ayette, and it was
+feared that he might break through in that direction. Next morning,
+however, March 28, still found us at Essarts. The battalion was
+ordered to leave the trenches and to fall back behind the line of
+batteries on the west of the wood. In order to get a view of what was
+going on in front, I was sent by the Adjutant with two observers<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a>
+to a point east of the wood, and we dug ourselves in in some
+partly-formed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>trenches there. In these trenches we stayed till well
+on into the afternoon, sending in reports every half-hour of what we
+could see to the H.Q. of the Infantry Brigade in Essarts. Evidently
+the enemy had renewed his attacks, for there was heavy shelling all
+along the front, and a number of shells again came in amongst the
+batteries about Essarts. During the afternoon the 7th N.F. moved
+forward to some trenches in support, on the ridge east of Essarts. And
+there the observers joined them after dark. The firing had been hot
+all day, but it now died down. And it really looked as if the enemy's
+attacks had become exhausted for the time being.</p>
+
+<p>This forward move by the battalion was, I found, preliminary to taking
+over the front line trenches to the north and east of Bucquoy. And
+shortly before midnight we moved out through the darkness and took
+over these trenches.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> The front line lay on the high ground beyond
+the village. The H.Q. which we took over were in a mined dugout to the
+west of the village. This dugout had been made by the Germans before
+the end of 1916, and it was small but very deep. It soon became
+unconscionably stuffy, as there was only one entrance. But it was
+better than being in the open.</p>
+
+<p>Next day the enemy kept fairly quiet, but the village was shelled
+occasionally with heavy <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>howitzers. I went out with two observers to
+the high ground west of Dierville Farm. But we saw no movement by the
+enemy's troops. Later on the enemy's guns became more active on the
+roads, and the road leading back to Essarts received salvoes all day.
+Orders came for our relief which was to start after dark. It was not
+until 10 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> that the companies in the front line were
+relieved and the H.Q. Company was free to move off. The journey to
+Fonquevillers, where we were going, was not without interference from
+the enemy. Hitherto I had had great luck in escaping being shelled on
+the roads at night, but to-night my luck was out. As we moved back
+along the road to Essarts&mdash;the doctor and I at the end of the
+column&mdash;a number of gas-shells were dropped on the windward side of
+the road. They were not thick enough to stop us, but they smelt very
+bad. As we approached the cross-roads east of Essarts a 5.9-inch shell
+fell close by the roadside. We had a shower of mud thrown over us by
+this shell, and three more came in quick succession, but not quite so
+unpleasantly close.</p>
+
+<p>An incident also of a disagreeable kind occurred near the end of our
+journey. Between Gommecourt and Fonquevillers we had to halt, until
+the trenches allotted to us had been located. At this point the road
+was packed with troops returning from the line; and some battalions
+brought their cookers here, so that the road was crammed almost tight
+with men and transport. For a long time nothing happened, but
+eventually a German field <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>battery fired several rapid salvoes of
+shells enfilading the road. Fortunately the greater number fell
+slightly wide of the road, but a few men in one of the Manchester
+battalions were hit. It was however a lucky escape. After this the
+road cleared quickly and we moved on into Fonquevillers. This village
+had been badly knocked about in the early days of the war, and few
+houses were in anything but ruins.</p>
+
+<p>But there were still many cellars intact, and also a number of tin
+huts built for the French refugees in 1917. Officers of Battalion H.Q.
+were billeted in a cellar, and this was improved by mattresses,
+tables, and chairs brought in from the huts outside. Here in spite of
+intermittent shelling we got a much needed rest. But Fonquevillers was
+no place for a permanent rest cure. The village was shelled on and off
+all day, and several of our men were hit. I assisted the Adjutant,
+Capt. S.P. Brook-Booth, M.C., to collect a supply of early vegetables
+from the little gardens; and the officers in our reserve camp at
+Souastre thoughtfully sent up a couple of cooked chickens and a few
+other luxuries, so that evening we had something in the nature of a
+feast. Next morning, March 31, Lieut. Johnston, temporarily in command
+of A Company got a shell splinter through his hand and had to be sent
+back. I was then put in command of A Company and left Battalion H.Q.,
+so that for some days the observers were not under my charge. About
+this time L.-C. Flynn, one of the observers, was seriously wounded by
+a shell, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>and we learnt later on that he died of his wounds. It was an
+unlucky affair, for he was one of the best observers. But I had no
+further casualties for a long time. I found A Company quartered in a
+line of old trenches between Gommecourt Wood and Fonquevillers. I
+believe they were part of the old British front line before the Somme
+battle started. Accommodation was very limited, and I found the other
+officers of A Company,<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> four in number, with their batmen and cook
+all crowded together in a small shelter. It was as may be imagined
+uncomfortably hot at times, especially during the night, part of which
+I spent in the trench outside. We only got a few shells from the enemy
+here, his attention was directed more to the village behind us and
+Gommecourt Wood in front.</p>
+
+<p>On April 1 we got orders to proceed after dark to the front line
+trenches at Bucquoy&mdash;A Company was to hold those on the left, with B
+Company to their right. We were also given a route, but in the
+darkness it was difficult to find and it led to a curious incident on
+our journey forward. We assembled the company on the road outside
+Gommecourt and made towards the village as fast as the crowded state
+of the road would allow. Happily we were not shelled here, but there
+were signs on the road that others had not been so fortunate. When we
+reached Gommecourt, a mere ruin now of broken trees and buildings, we
+were clear of the press of transport and troops. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>We turned south-east
+hoping to strike a tramway running towards Biez Wood. Nothing,
+however, could we see of the tramway, and we could only push on,
+hoping to find it. After going on awhile we certainly seemed to be
+reaching a rather queer place, for we saw our men setting out wire,
+and a rather scared little man appeared out of the darkness and told
+us that 'Jerry was over there,' pointing down the road. We did not
+stop for this, but when a German Verey light shot up almost under our
+noses, we decided that we had indeed come too far and that it was time
+to turn back. This we did without waste of time and retraced our steps
+to Gommecourt. I was expecting any minute to hear a machine-gun open
+on us down the road. But if 'Jerry' was there in any force he had
+decided to keep quiet, and we got safely back to Gommecourt. After
+this experience we took a way that we knew, although it was not the
+one laid down for us. And after a long march in the dark we struck the
+Essarts-Bucquoy Road, and found our guides awaiting us on the road
+near Bucquoy. Whilst this relief was going on our field batteries kept
+up a hot fire on the enemy's front, but he made no reply.</p>
+
+<p>The guides took us by a winding route through the north end of Bucquoy
+to the trenches, which consisted of an old German drain, very straight
+and about six feet deep. It ran parallel to the east side of the
+village and about 200 yards from its outskirts. The Company H.Q. lay a
+little way behind the front line and consisted of a short <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>narrow slit
+in the ground, roofed over with tin&mdash;one of the smallest shelters I
+have ever been in. It was possible to sit down, but not to lie down,
+and the floor was inches deep in cold mud. Here I found two very
+disconsolate officers awaiting relief. They seemed to be nearly
+perished with the cold and wet, and quite worn out by their cheerless
+sojourn in the trenches. The trench lay on the slope of a slight hill,
+the crest being about 200 yards away. The enemy were not close, their
+position was out of sight and unknown. But to the left Logeast Wood
+was clearly visible, and the enemy were known to be there. Our trench
+ended abruptly on the left, and the nearest British troops on this
+flank were some way off and more to the east, so that there was a
+considerable gap in the line here. On the right of course we were in
+touch with B Company, who were commanded by Lieut. Affleck, M.C., a
+veteran of the Houthulst Forest battle, and one of our most
+redoubtable warriors in the 7th N.F. I knew that I need not worry
+about my right flank! No smoke from fires could be allowed in the
+trenches, and cooking had to be done over small fires of fine wood
+splinters. When morning came it was possible to have a better look
+round. All the reserve ammunition, about 5000 rounds, had been pulled
+out of the boxes, and the bandoliers were mostly buried in the mud. It
+was a great business clearing the trench of mud and salvaging and
+cleaning the ammunition. The enemy did not know where we were. All
+morning three of his aeroplanes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>flying low, hovered about our little
+trench, occasionally firing bursts at us with their machine-guns. We
+only replied with an occasional shot, and of course they could not
+tell where that came from. At any rate the German guns let the trench
+alone and poured a stream of heavy shells all day and night into the
+village behind us and into the hedges at the east end. The fact
+appeared quite clearly later on that the enemy could not locate our
+front line. A messenger dog, belonging to the enemy, was captured at
+this time near Bucquoy, bearing a message in German as follows: 'The
+affair of Bucquoy is off for the present, as we don't know where Tommy
+is.' It was well indeed for our two companies that the drain trench
+was not suspected by the enemy. There were no traverses in it from one
+end to the other, and a very few well-aimed shells would have blown us
+to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>That night (April 2) the British forces made a counter-attack at
+Ayette and drove the enemy as far back as the old hangars at
+Moyenneville. Seen from the trenches at Bucquoy it was a fine sight.
+The enemy put up all kinds of coloured lights, including silhouette
+lights and 'flaming onions' both orange and mauve.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile we of the 7th N.F. undertook a small venture against certain
+parties of the enemy that had been seen and sniped at from B Company's
+trench. These parties were busy digging trenches about 400 yards away
+to our front. Soon after dark 2nd-Lieuts. J. Dodds and J.H. Edmunds
+took out a raiding party of over twenty men in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>order to secure a
+prisoner if possible. As it turned out this was done quickly enough
+and without firing a shot.</p>
+
+<p>For on the party creeping forward to the wire belt at the top of the
+hill, a German N.C.O. walked towards them, was surprised by 2nd-Lieut.
+Dodds, and surrendered without a struggle. He was already slightly
+wounded, and had come forward perhaps to have a look at the wire. He
+was brought back at once to the trench, and it fell to me to examine
+the man and to remove all papers from him except his pay-book and
+identity disc. I went out and examined him in a mixture of such broken
+French and German as I could summon at so short a notice. I also went
+through his papers with the aid of lighted matches. After this he was
+sent down under escort to Battalion H.Q., and thence to D.H.Q.</p>
+
+<p>It proved to be a useful capture, for it showed that a fresh German
+division had arrived opposite our front. Later on 2nd-Lieut. Dodds was
+awarded the Military Cross for the capture. Early next morning (April
+3) the Division sent orders that I should return with the Divisional
+observers to the rear. So I left the trench in charge of 2nd-Lieut. N.
+Holt and went back with my servant through Bucquoy, taking care to
+avoid certain large shells which were falling every now and then about
+the village. Calling at Battalion H.Q. I found that the observers were
+now in some trenches about half a mile farther back in the direction
+of Essarts. I soon found them, however, and whilst <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>waiting for them
+to get ready I was hospitably supplied with some whisky and soda by
+the officers of one of the Lancashire Regiments.</p>
+
+<p>At last we set off in small parties towards Gommecourt, our
+destination being Souastre, a long march for tired men. Whilst passing
+Biez Wood we came in for some rather unpleasant attention from the
+enemy's artillery, whose observers could see movement at this spot all
+too well. However we got away at last without mishap and collected
+again short of Gommecourt, where we halted for a meal of bully and
+biscuit. Eventually after passing through Gommecourt and Fonquevillers
+we struggled on to Souastre, very footsore and completely worn out.</p>
+
+<p>From March 23 onwards it had been one long strain, heavy marching most
+days and, with few exceptions, sleepless nights. For myself I was a
+very tramp, boots worn to pieces, clothes hanging with mud, and thick
+with mud up to the eyes. Undoubtedly it was the most trying experience
+physically that I have ever been through. At Souastre I called at rear
+Battalion H.Q., where Capt. Herriott of B Company kindly lent me his
+rubber boots and some clean socks, a great luxury and comfort. Then I
+went on to the Officers' Hut at the battalion reserve camp, and was
+able to lie down and sleep till well on into the next day. Souastre
+was not a bad place to rest, for it was shelled only very occasionally
+with long-range guns.</p>
+
+<p>The following afternoon (April 4) Capt. Kirsopp <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>came to see me and he
+brought a motor-car. He wished to reconnoitre a 'battle O.P.,' i.e. a
+place in the back area from which to observe enemy shelling of the
+forward areas or enemy attacks on our line. I was told that things
+were expected to happen next day; and I was instructed to find a post
+where I could see what was going on, somewhere in the neighbourhood of
+the Ch&acirc;teau de la Haie.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning (April 5) I went with Corp. Walker and L.-C. Cowen to
+the Bayencourt Ridge, south of the ch&acirc;teau, and we got into a small
+trench. Things certainly were happening, for the enemy was scattering
+his heavy high-velocity shells broadcast over the country. He seemed
+to direct them chiefly against our battery positions and the roads and
+trenches in rear of Fonquevillers and Sailly-au-Bois. The number of
+these shells was unusually large; but later on towards 10
+<span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> things began to quieten down in the back area. What had
+happened was this. The 37th Division with the assistance of tanks made
+a counter-attack on Rossignol Wood. The Germans had prepared to make
+another of their grand attacks that same morning. But it was
+anticipated by about half an hour. The result was a fierce struggle in
+which we gained a little ground and a certain number of prisoners. The
+German attack therefore came to nothing, and this proved to be his
+last attempt of a serious kind on our part of the front. Anxiety was
+not however, at an end for many days to come.</p>
+
+<p>During the next few days the observers held <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>a battle O.P. near the
+orchard in Fonquevillers. It was a long walk from Souastre and back,
+but fairly quiet, for it could be reached by going across country and
+avoiding the sorely harassed roads.</p>
+
+<p>On April 8 the 42nd Division was taken back for a short rest to the
+area round Authie.</p>
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Ptes. Fail and Ewart.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Major V. Merivale, M.C. (C Company), Capt. Herriott (B
+Company), and Lieut. P. Cole (A Company) were, I think, in charge of
+the three companies.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Second-Lieuts. N. Holt, C.R. King, J. Dodds, and J.
+Lassey.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXII" id="XXXII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>TRENCH WARFARE&mdash;H&Eacute;BUTERNE</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>During Divisional rest the observers were attached for rations and
+accommodation to the H.Q. Company of the 7th N.F. We marched back,
+therefore, with the battalion through Couin and St. Leger to Authie.
+We found nice billets awaiting us in this pleasant French village,
+which was too far from the enemy to be afflicted with shell fire. It
+was full of French civilians, and the small shops had various little
+luxuries to which we had been unused for some time. From Authie Woods
+to Bayencourt ran the 'Red Line' trenches, a sort of 'last-but-one'
+reserve line, which had been hastily dug by Chinese labourers and were
+still only about four feet deep. We did not stay long at Authie, for
+the billets were wanted to accommodate French troops who were being
+hurried northwards to the battle now raging about Kemmel.</p>
+
+<p>On April 12 the 7th N.F. moved forward to the village of Coigneux and
+H.Q. were established in a French estaminet. There were civilians here
+too, but the village was liable to be shelled and half of them had
+gone away. A distressing attack of tooth-ache took me twice to the
+C.C.S. near <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>Doullens. I found that town more deserted than it used to
+be, for the Germans had shelled and bombed it vigorously since their
+offensive started.</p>
+
+<p>On April 16, after a week's rest, the 42nd Division took over the
+trenches running from Gommecourt to H&eacute;buterne. The same day the
+observers moved to some old trenches north of the Ch&acirc;teau de la Haie.
+It was a cold place in wet weather, and we were occasionally shelled.
+But after a few days through the kindness of Col. Guy, the G.S.O. I,
+billets were found for us in a cottage at Bayencourt, which lies about
+half a mile south of the ch&acirc;teau. It was indeed a pleasant oasis in a
+badly shelled area. Why the enemy left the place alone I cannot say.
+But when we got there there were still plenty of old French folk, who
+lived quietly on amid the surrounding strife, and continued to keep
+their cows in the fields and to cultivate the land. The church had not
+been shelled, for a wonder, and the clock was still going and striking
+the hours.</p>
+
+<p>The observers sent up two parties of two men every day to an O.P.
+north-east of H&eacute;buterne. The other men manned a battle O.P. on the
+Bayencourt Ridge during the morning.</p>
+
+<p>April 23, St. George's Day, provided a little excitement for three of
+us. We were told to try to find an O.P. near the Quarries at
+H&eacute;buterne, not generally a very healthy spot. As we were shelled
+incessantly all the time we were near the place, the idea of
+establishing a post here was abandoned. And eventually another post
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>was fixed on, on the north-east side of H&eacute;buterne. Some useful work
+was done here by the observers; they obtained some valuable
+information about enemy movement and got the artillery to shell a
+relief that was taking place. At the close of our tour in the line,
+which occurred about May 4, the IV Corps directed all Infantry
+observers to take sound bearings of enemy guns and to wire them at
+once to the Counter-Battery Office. This was gratifying, as we had
+made a special effort to report these sound bearings, a system of
+which I had learnt something in the Salient.</p>
+
+<p>From May 4 to June 9 the Division remained in the rest area about
+Couin. The observers left Bayencourt and joined the 7th N.F. at
+Coigneux, where we lived in tents on the high chalky ground south of
+Rossignol Farm. I messed with the officers of A Company, and shared a
+tent with Lieut W.H. Fisher and 2nd-Lieut Dodd. Owing to the bombing
+and shelling in the neighbourhood, we were ordered to fortify our
+tents. So we had a small trench dug for each inside the tent and in
+these we put our valises. It was rather like a shallow grave, but it
+gave you a feeling of security when bits were flying about. During
+this month the observers had a little mild training each day; but the
+G.O.C. sent word to me to rest the men as much as possible. I amused
+myself at the battle O.P. on Bayencourt Ridge and sent in daily
+reports of sound bearings to the IV Corps Counter-Battery Office.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>On the whole the enemy let our camp fairly well alone. We had one
+large bomb dropped in the camp, but it failed to do any material
+damage. Latterly the 4-inch naval guns took to sending a few shells
+over daily, but we had only a few men wounded from splinters. Other
+units near us came off worse. During the rest at Coigneux we had a
+visit from some American troops. I think they had come to gain a
+little mild experience of our methods. Anyway a small party of their
+observers came to see how we held our posts. And they were taken to
+the battle O.P. and to the forward O.P. at H&eacute;buterne.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXIII" id="XXXIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>TRENCH WARFARE&mdash;THE COLINCAMPS RIDGE</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>No offensive operations on a large scale were undertaken against the
+enemy on the IV Corps front, Bucquoy to Auchonvillers, before the
+middle of August 1918. The period from May onwards was spent in
+strengthening the defences and in wearing down the enemy's strength
+and morale. The latter object was achieved by continual harassing fire
+from our guns, strong counter-battery, periodical gas projections,
+bombing from our aeroplanes, and raids. It was still necessary to work
+hard on our defences, for the German offensive was by no means over,
+and it was impossible to say at what moment the enemy might renew his
+attacks on this part of the front.</p>
+
+<p>The part played by the Divisional observers during this period of
+trench warfare was more important and useful than at any other period
+of their employment. This was partly due to the excellent position for
+ground observation on the ridge between Colincamps and Auchonvillers,
+and partly to the improvement in means of communication with D.H.Q.
+and the artillery. Great <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>credit is due to Capt. Kirsopp for his
+continual efforts to make the information obtained more rapid and
+effective. And also to the men who got the information by patiently
+sticking to their job for ten long weeks, sometimes under trying and
+discouraging conditions.</p>
+
+<p>The observers were quartered in a number of small shelters on the high
+ground between Coigneux and Bus, well back from the shelled and bombed
+area. The shelters were in the side of a green mound, near the Bus
+waterworks; and this place was used as a battle O.P. and became known
+as 'Eve' O.P. From here there was a splendid view of the country just
+behind the British front line. So that the observers stationed here
+could say at once where heavy shelling was going on, either by day or
+by night. A telephone connected 'Eve' O.P. with D.H.Q. and also with
+the forward O.P. The latter post was about four miles away in a small
+trench on the ridge north of Auchonvillers near some apple trees,
+which perhaps suggested the name 'Adam' O.P. In many ways it was an
+admirable place for an O.P. If care was taken it could be approached
+without being seen by the enemy. It was screened by a thick hedge and
+also by a deep belt of wire about thirty yards in front of the hedge.
+The O.P. itself was in the hedge bank, and was roofed over with
+several small 'elephant' shelters, with earth on top of them. There
+was plenty of room for at least three men to work inside. And
+observation was obtained through a small opening in the hedge bank.
+The opening was always further screened by sandbags, so that only
+the end of the telescope was exposed to the enemy and that was always
+in a deep shadow. A few yards away outside the O.P. in the trench was
+a small mined dugout. This was not very deep, about six feet down at
+the most; but it was under the roots of the hedge, a good protection
+against the shells of field guns. In this dugout the observers who
+were not on duty were able to sleep, and the men in the O.P. could
+take refuge in case of heavy shelling. The O.P. was connected by
+telephone with D.H.Q. and also with Eve O.P. Not far away in the same
+trench there were other O.P.'s, one held by the Lovat Scouts (Corps
+Observers) and another, 'Rose' O.P., by the heavy artillery.</p>
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span><br />
+
+<div class="img"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+<a href="images/imagep209.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep209.jpg" width="85%" alt="Panorama from Adam O.P., July 1918." /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Panorama from Adam O.P., July 1918.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>Our method of working the two O.P.'s was as follows. The N.C.O., L.-C.
+Cowen, remained at Eve O.P. and assisted me with various duties there,
+and with the duty of inspecting the working of Adam O.P. The other
+observers, eight in number, were divided into two groups of four, one
+in charge of Pte. J. King and the other in in charge of Pte. W.O.S.
+Fail. Three observers from No. 1 group went forward to Adam O.P. and
+stayed there for forty-eight hours, drawing their rations each day
+from the nearest Battalion H.Q. After this they were relieved by three
+observers from No 2 group and so on. By this arrangement I was able to
+rest the men and to carry on observation continuously for ten weeks
+without unduly tiring the men. Out of the four <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>observers in a group,
+only three were at Adam O.P. at the same time, the fourth man
+remaining back at Eve O.P. for a rest. Thus during sixteen days each
+observer had three tours of duty at Adam O.P. lasting two days each,
+two rests of two days, and then a rest of six days. This kept all the
+men fresh, an important matter if you wish for good observation.</p>
+
+<p>At Adam O.P. two of the three observers were always at the telescope
+during daylight, and one was resting in the dugout. And at night one
+had to remain awake, to be able to report heavy shelling to D.H.Q. and
+to act as gas sentry for the others. It was of course all done in a
+system of reliefs amongst themselves. During these summer months
+observation was possible in the most favourable circumstances from
+3.45 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> to 9.10 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>, so the night was
+comparatively short. Adam O.P. was visited on alternate days by L.-C.
+Cowen and myself. I went invariably in the early morning, so as to
+arrive at the O.P. about an hour or so after observation had become
+possible. The enemy exposed himself more freely during the two or
+three hours after dawn than at any other time during the day. By going
+up early I was able to see that the men were at their post at this
+important time, and to get their early information, often of
+importance, as soon as possible. It meant starting in the dark, and
+often a cold wet journey across country, but the good fellows at the
+O.P. always had a cup of tea for me&mdash;a little act of kindness which
+illustrates our friendly relations.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>The most interesting things we could see from Adam O.P. were the
+German front line trenches south and south-west of Serre, two spots
+known as 'L. 33. a. O. 9.' and 'Q. 6. a. 9. 8.' where anyone
+approaching these forward trenches had to cross a ridge and so come
+under our observation, the German transport roads about
+Achiet-le-Petit, Irles, and Loupart Wood. The German front line was
+within 2000 yards, Q. 6. a. within 4000 yards, L. 33. a. rather over
+6000 yards, and the roads well over 10,000 yards away. Near to Pys was
+a German C.C.S., which was narrowly watched, for any increase in its
+size would have probably meant preparation for an attack. And behind
+Irles was a derelict British tank which the Germans used as an O.P.,
+for it was invariably visited by a number of men just before one of
+their reliefs took place, and at no other time.</p>
+
+<p>Every day two reports were sent in to D.H.Q. of all movement seen
+during the preceding twelve hours. And every movement seen was entered
+into a Log Book. This was my special department; and after a time it
+was possible to compile a further book called the Summary Book, with
+coloured charts of daily movement. In a short time we discovered the
+average or normal movement for the twenty-four hours. And after that
+it was quite simple to warn the Division at once whenever any movement
+of an abnormal character was taking place.</p>
+
+<p>Owing to weak eyesight I could not do much telescope work myself&mdash;my
+part of the field work <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>was map reading, in which I had considerable
+assistance from aeroplane photographs at D.H.Q. I asked the observers
+to make telescopic sketches, on every compass bearing, of what they
+could see. And then from these sketches and with my own maps and
+protractor I was able to tell them what they were looking at on the
+map, and to prepare a panoramic sketch for their use at Adam O.P. Pte.
+King sent in an admirable series of sketches which were most useful in
+this work of discovery. Later on the more powerful telescope was also
+taken up to Adam O.P., and with this Pte. Fail did some most useful
+work. With his exceptional eyesight and a gift for sketching he made a
+series of excellent artillery target sketches. These I copied out and
+coloured and sent to D.H.Q.; and they were sent on to the IV Corps
+Heavy Artillery. These targets were fired at with great success. For
+example one of the first sent in was of a cook-house and wireless
+station at L. 33. a. On July 11 the heavy artillery carried out a
+successful shoot on the place, using Adam O.P. as their observing
+station. In order to place on record some of the work done by my
+observers at Adam O.P. I will give some of the results of their
+systematic observation.</p>
+
+<p>A Divisional relief on July 3 and 4 was spotted by Capt. Kirsopp on
+information given by the observers of exceptional movement in the
+forward area. Another Divisional relief was detected by largely
+increased movement on July 25. And a battalion relief on August 6,
+with disastrous results <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>for the enemy. At least fifty copies of
+different telescopic sketches were sent in to the Division, including
+a series of eight showing new workings by the Germans in their front
+line system. Reports of nearly seventy gun-flashes were sent in as
+well as many sound bearing reports. The following numbers of German
+infantry and transport vehicles were reported from Adam O.P.</p>
+
+<br />
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="65%" summary="German Infantry and transport vehicles" style="border: solid 1pt black;">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdcall" width="20%">Month</td>
+  <td class="tdcall" width="16%">Days</td>
+  <td class="tdcall" width="16%">Days of Bad Light</td>
+  <td class="tdcall" width="16%">Effective Days</td>
+  <td class="tdcall" width="16%">Infantry Seen</td>
+  <td class="tdcall" width="16%">Transport Vehicles</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp tdt">June</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdt">21</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdt">&nbsp;&nbsp;8</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdt">13</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdt">&nbsp;&nbsp;2,100</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdt">&nbsp;&nbsp;83</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp">July</td>
+  <td class="tdclr">31</td>
+  <td class="tdclr">&nbsp;&nbsp;7</td>
+  <td class="tdclr">24</td>
+  <td class="tdclr">&nbsp;&nbsp;5,400</td>
+  <td class="tdclr">413</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp tdb">August</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdb">20</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdb">&nbsp;&nbsp;4</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdb">16</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdb">&nbsp;&nbsp;4,650</td>
+  <td class="tdclr tdb">205</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp tdb tdt">Total</td>
+  <td class="tdcall">72</td>
+  <td class="tdcall">19</td>
+  <td class="tdcall">53</td>
+  <td class="tdcall">12,150</td>
+  <td class="tdcall">791</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+
+<p>Our two best days occurred on August 6 and 12. On the 6th a large
+movement was observed in the early hours, indicating a relief, which
+was reported to the Division at once by wire. So that when the relief
+was continued at night, our artillery were prepared to deal with the
+German parties moving in or out of the trenches. On this day alone
+1126 infantry and 55 transport vehicles were seen on the move. The
+42nd Division Intelligence Report of August 7 reported the matter as
+follows:</p>
+
+<div class="block"><p>'Relief south of the Serre-Mailly Road which commenced on a
+large scale on the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>morning of the 6th was continued during the
+evening; between 6.50 and 8.20 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> 197 men with packs
+in nineteen parties came towards the front line past Q. 6. a.
+95. 80. These parties were engaged by H.A. with great success.
+Casualties caused being estimated to be at least fifty; four
+direct hits were obtained on a party at 7.15 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>, and
+on one occasion an out-going party was seen to have a free fight
+with an in-going party to gain possession of a sunken track or
+trench in Q. 6. a. Total hostile infantry seen by Divisional
+O.P. on the 6th reached the high number of 1126.'</p></div>
+
+<p>The observers had their share in those fifty casualties, as Pte. F.
+Turner went to Rose O.P. and directed the Sergeant Gunner in charge to
+the proper map reference of the German troops. That 6-inch battery
+shot superbly, and I wish I knew the Sergeant's name. The G.O.C. sent
+his congratulations to the observers on the day's work.</p>
+
+<p>On August 12 at 6 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> the observers informed me that the
+Germans had been seen going out of their trenches in large numbers and
+all carrying packs, rifles, and boxes as well. On this I sent a pigeon
+message to the Corps, saying that the enemy might be retiring now. As
+it happened this was quite correct, as the Germans admitted themselves
+a few days later in their communiqu&eacute;.</p>
+
+<p>I also wish to put on record an act of kindness <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>to the observers by
+the Division and Corps. On August 8 the enemy began to shell the
+neighbourhood of Adam O.P. rather severely with a 5.9-inch howitzer
+battery. As this went on, I rang up D.H.Q. and asked if anything could
+be done in retaliation against the enemy's O.P.'s in L. 33. a. Col.
+Guy told me that he would see what the Corps would do for us; and rang
+up later to tell me to ask the observers at Adam O.P. to note results
+at 2.30 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span> At the appointed time, every active heavy gun in
+the Corps fired a shell simultaneously against selected targets,
+including L. 33. a. There were at least four brigades of heavies in
+the Corps and the noise was colossal. It must have astonished the
+enemy as much as it did me.</p>
+
+<p>On August 9, 2nd-Lieut. Edmunds of the 7th N.F. came to assist me, and
+to take over command of the observers during my leave which was now
+drawing near. I told him that we had never been shelled at Eve O.P.
+But as luck would have it that very afternoon, about 2 <span class="fakesc">P.M.</span>,
+a long-range gun shelled the O.P. for about twenty minutes; and I had
+to clear the men off into the neighbouring Red Line trenches till the
+annoyance ceased.</p>
+
+<p>On August 14 the enemy were attacked all along the IV Corps front and
+a considerable advance was made that day. Pte. King remained at the
+telescope all day, and sent in a number of interesting reports about
+the enemy's movements.</p>
+
+<p>At this point I have to break off the narrative, as my leave warrant
+arrived that night and I left <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>the observers till August 31 in charge
+of 2nd-Lieut. J.H. Edmunds.</p>
+
+<p>One word about the admirable services of my batman, Pte. W. Critchlow.
+For ten weeks and more, in addition to looking after my own personal
+comforts, he cooked for the whole party of observers at Eve O.P. This
+may seem a small matter, but he never had a rest like the other men,
+and his hard work contributed materially to the comfort and efficiency
+of the section.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXIV" id="XXXIV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXIV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE 1918&mdash;BAPAUME RETAKEN</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On my return to France, I reached Authieule railway station on August
+31, and went on next morning, partly by car and motor-bus and partly
+on foot, to Miraumont. Here I found the observers with B Company
+(Capt. W.N. Craigs, M.C.) of the 7th N.F. near the railway station. It
+had been strange passing over the smitten ground on the Serre Ridge,
+and it was possible then to realise the terrible effects of our heavy
+shell fire. Gangs of men were now mending the road all the way to
+Miraumont; but it must have been in a shocking state. In one place
+part of a transport cart hung suspended from the shattered branches of
+a tree; and everywhere the ground was absolutely churned to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>I learnt that D.H.Q. had moved forward to Grevillers, and on September
+3 I decided to make a move forward to Loupart Wood, in order to get
+the observers more in touch with them.</p>
+
+<p>We were badly handicapped in all the succeeding stages of the campaign
+by having no transport to move our belongings. Besides the ordinary
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>infantryman's equipment, no light weight, we had our blankets, three
+telescopes, compasses, and a lot of maps, books, and stationery, and
+our daily ration to carry as well. By good luck, however, we found an
+old German hand-cart in very fair condition about the station yard;
+and we used this hand-cart for getting our gear along for many a weary
+mile. In fact we finally dropped it at Le Quesnoy on November 5, not
+because it was worn out, but because other transport was found for us.
+By the evening of September 3 we got settled into some dugouts at the
+north end of Loupart Wood. There were a few dead Germans scattered
+about, but a lot more dead horses than men. And as the weather was
+hot, the air was none too pleasant.</p>
+
+<p>Next day I visited D.H.Q. who were in some tents outside Grevillers,
+and Capt. Kirsopp told me that the observers were urgently needed. It
+was proposed to send a party of them forward on bicycles to keep in
+touch with the retreating Germans. And so the same day Ptes. King and
+Drake (7th N.F.) and F. Greenwood (10th M.B.) went forward towards
+Havrincourt Wood to get such news as they could. It had been intended
+at first that I should go with them, but it was found impossible to
+provide me with a horse. The British forces had already taken Bapaume,
+Villers-au-Flos, and Riencourt, and the enemy were supposed to be
+retreating fast in the direction of the old Hindenburg Line which lay
+beyond Havrincourt Wood. Pte. King's party did good work; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>they went
+through Barastre and Bus in front of the advance guards of the
+infantry, and met with no opposition beyond occasional long-range
+machine-gun fire. Their first O.P. was just south of Bertincourt, and
+the following days near Neuville-Bourjonval. For this expedition Pte.
+King was awarded the Military Medal. On September 3 I went with Pte.
+Turner to some high ground just south of Bapaume and stayed there
+several hours. From here little shelling could be seen, the main body
+of the enemy must have retired as far as Havrincourt Wood. Long-range
+shells fell near Bapaume and the railway during the day. The same
+evening I reported at D.H.Q., and found things pretty lively during my
+visit; for two or three German 'planes dropped a number of bombs about
+the place, not a pleasant experience for those living in tents. Next
+day (September 4) the observers moved forward with the hand-cart
+through Grevillers and then to Thilloy and across country to the high
+ground south of Bapaume. Here there were plenty of small German
+shelters and dugouts partially protected by a shallow trench. In these
+we took up our quarters, whilst D.H.Q. moved to some ammunition
+dugouts on the other side of the road from Bapaume to Peronne. Next
+day (September 5) accompanied by Pte. Turner I reconnoitred the high
+ground about Bus. There were many German dead still lying about near
+the approaches to Villers-au-Flos, where a considerable stand must
+have been made by the German machine-gunners to cover the retreat.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>Also we saw on our way back a party of the 7th N.F. preparing to bury
+a number of our own men who had fallen in the advance. The same
+evening I was told that the 42nd Division would be relieved that night
+by the New Zealand Division, and that the observers should stand fast
+until further orders, Pte. King's party joined us the next day. We
+stayed here for the next two weeks, in what proved to be quite
+comfortable quarters. A German soda-water factory was discovered at
+Beaulencourt, and we were in time to secure a few bottles. Training
+was now resumed in the mornings, and the observers practised sending
+and receiving messages with four signallers of the 7th N.F. who were
+attached to us. In the afternoon we were free to roam over the recent
+battle-field, where many souvenirs of the enemy could be picked up. We
+now lay just to the north of the old Somme battle-ground. And on
+September 15 I went to Martinpuich by bus down the Albert-Bapaume Road
+and revisited the scene of our attack on the High Wood Ridge, which
+had taken place just two years before. During our stay at this place
+we had visits every night from German aircraft. But they fared none
+too well. I saw one aeroplane brought down in flames at night near
+Villers-au-Flos by our anti-aircraft guns; and two others shared the
+same fate. This was a great feather in the cap of the anti-aircraft
+gunners; for an aeroplane is particularly difficult to hit at night.</p>
+
+<p>The 42nd Division was ordered to relieve the 37th Division on
+September 22. The latter Division <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>had now reached the old British
+front line east of Havrincourt Wood. And the Germans were now in the
+Hindenburg Line, behind 'the walls of bronze' which had checked us
+once and which they hoped would again stay the pursuit of their beaten
+legions.</p>
+
+<p>One particularly disgusting feature of our journey in pursuit of the
+enemy was the dreadful state of the huts he had occupied. They all
+appeared to be moving with lice and fleas, and it was a most difficult
+matter to keep oneself free from their unpleasant attentions. It was
+the same wherever we stopped.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXV" id="XXXV"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXV<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE STORMING OF THE HINDENBURG LINE NEAR TRESCAULT</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On September 20 I went with Lieut. G.F. Doble, the Divisional
+Intelligence Officer, to visit the new area in front. We found D.H.Q.
+established in a wonderful series of huts south-west of V&eacute;lu Wood.
+These had been the H.Q. of some German Corps, and wonderfully well
+barricaded they were. Inside each hut, which was panelled with wood,
+there was a sliding panel which admitted to a deep shelter dugout
+beneath. Here in case of bombing by our aeroplanes, the German officer
+had been able to retire quickly and without loss of dignity to a place
+of safety. From here we paid a short visit by motor-car to the B.H.Q.
+north-west of Havrincourt Wood. On returning through Bapaume I had the
+great pleasure of meeting Major W. Anderson, D.S.O., M.C., my old
+Brigade-Major, who was now G.S.O. II of the 37th Division.</p>
+
+<p>On September 21 the observers went forward with their hand-cart
+through Riencourt, Villers-au-Flos, and Haplincourt to the outskirts
+of Bertincourt. We first selected some empty huts near V&eacute;lu Wood as
+our place of residence. But as we were shelled about five minutes
+after arriving, we decided to move a little farther from the wood.
+Finally we found two useful Nissen huts built into the roadside and
+sheltered by some tall elm trees, just west of Bertincourt. It was not
+a very quiet or healthy spot anywhere near Bertincourt; but we were
+not damaged by the enemy's shells, though occasionally annoyed. The
+same afternoon I went forward by myself to reconnoitre a position for
+the Divisional O.P. And I found a useful place in the north of
+Havrincourt Wood, or rather in the rough thorny scrub that had once
+formed part of the wood.</p>
+
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span><br />
+
+<div class="img"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>
+<a href="images/imagep225.jpg">
+<img border="0" src="images/imagep225.jpg" width="85%" alt="Scene of the Attack on the Hindenburg Line, Sept. 28, 1918." /></a><br />
+<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;">Scene of the Attack on the Hindenburg Line, Sept. 28, 1918.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>Observation was obtained through the branches of a tree, and a small
+shelter dugout was close at hand. The field of view extended along the
+left flank of the Corps and Divisional front, and went a long way back
+to the high ground between Niergnes and Esnes. Flesqui&egrave;res, Rib&eacute;court,
+Marcoing, Rumilly, and Masni&egrave;res could all be seen. The next few days
+were spent in locating our surroundings and in reporting the traffic
+seen on the back roads. On September 27 I went with L.-C. Cowen to
+inspect an O.P. in the British front-line system south-east of
+Trescault. We went through the wood and then along a winding C.T.
+which brought us to the front line. Here we found a deep dugout with a
+ladder leading up to an O.P. on ground level. The view in front was
+not altogether satisfactory, but towards the left it was good.</p>
+
+<p>At dawn on September 28 the grand assault on the Hindenburg Line
+began. It was quite <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>successful on our left and on the left of our
+front, but the Division on our right had great difficulty in getting
+forward. By the following day, however, the line was advanced along
+the whole front, and the N.Z. Division, taking over the pursuit from
+us, made good captures of men and guns. L.-C. Cowen and Pte.
+McGarrigle went to the O.P. in the front line on September 28 and had
+rather a rough passage. Pte. Fail had a small party at the other O.P.,
+and obtained a fairly good view of the battle. On September 29 Pte.
+King went with Pte. Chappell in the direction of Rib&eacute;court, but this
+expedition was brought to an end by a shell which wounded Pte.
+Chappell badly in the face. This was the second and, as events turned
+out, the last casualty amongst my observers. I spent a long time the
+second day with the observers at the O.P. in Havrincourt Wood and we
+saw much German transport hurrying back south of Niergnes. On the
+night of September 29 the 42nd Division was relieved, and I received
+instructions to remain at our quarters near Bertincourt. After the
+battle we were no longer troubled with any shells. Second-Lieut.
+Edmunds who had been on leave since we left Miraumont came back to
+assist me, for about another month. Great droves of German prisoners
+now began to pass us several times a day, a cheering sight in one way,
+but not a pleasant one in another. They were truly a desperate-looking
+collection of men, mostly of a very low class.</p>
+
+<p>This halt enabled me to get round the country and make sketches of the
+various battle-fields.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>One night I had dinner at D.H.Q. as the guest of Capt. Kirsopp, and
+enjoyed the hospitality of 'Z' Mess. I found a great curiosity in the
+fields near Bertincourt. An old cannon-ball pitted with rust and
+dating possibly from Marlborough's days. As I could not take it away
+with me, I gave it to Major Clarke, the G.S.O. II.</p>
+
+<p>On October 7 the observers moved to some dugouts near Trescault, where
+we remained two days. On October 8 I went on to Welsh Ridge, but
+nothing much could be seen from there. The battle-field was strewn
+with Germans who had fallen in the battle ten days before. On October
+9 we had a long march which took all day. We went through Beaucamp and
+then towards Masni&egrave;res, finally reaching the shattered village of
+Cr&egrave;vec&oelig;ur. Next morning we moved on again to Esnes, where we had
+billets in a nice farm-house.</p>
+
+<p>At last we had reached the land of vegetables, and for the rest of the
+campaign we had a plentiful supply. We had been very short of this
+kind of food since May.</p>
+
+<p>On October 11 we moved on again and got a billet in a small cottage in
+Fontaine-au-Pire. Next day on again to the next town, Beauvois, which
+was not at all badly smashed. We had billets in a couple of small
+cottages off the main street and we were fairly comfortable here. The
+plague of house-flies was very bad at this place; the whole place was
+full of them.</p>
+
+<p>The 42nd Division relieved the N.Z. Division on October 12 on a front
+extending south of Solesmes and covering Briastre.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXVI" id="XXXVI"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXVI<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE GERMANS' LAST STAND</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On October 12 I went with Pte. Firth to a ridge south of Viesly to
+look for an O.P., and selected a spot in the open, but near a sunk
+road. However, the G.O.C. required a post to be held on the high
+ground north of the village. This was only half a mile from the
+enemy's front line and in full view of the enemy, so that I suspected
+we should not be allowed to stop there very long. A regiment of
+Hussars was attached to the Corps and stationed at Caudry.</p>
+
+<p>It was arranged that an officer and six observers from this regiment
+should work in conjunction with the Divisional observers. These
+mounted men were particularly useful in getting messages back quickly
+from the O.P. to a report centre, for during this open warfare it was
+impossible to connect the observers by telephone to D.H.Q.</p>
+
+<p>The first day at the O.P. north of Viesly passed quietly enough, and
+Ptes. King and McGarrigle made a useful sketch of the view in front.
+Next day, when I went up to the O.P. to make additions to the sketch,
+conditions were not very good. Our only cover was a shallow trench
+about one foot <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>deep; and for an hour whilst I was trying to sketch
+the details of the landscape the enemy's 4.2-inch howitzers shelled
+the hill persistently. I told the observers, when I went back, to
+leave this post if things got no better and to man the post south of
+Viesly. And this was done soon afterwards, as the shells began to fall
+very close. Unfortunately from now onwards the light was no good for
+long-range observation. Day after day the country was covered with a
+thick white mist, a common experience in October, which made
+observation quite out of the question. However, from the sketches that
+had been made, I was able to make a drawing of the panorama in front,
+which was printed out for the use of the troops in the line.</p>
+
+<p>It was decided to attack the German positions at midnight on October
+19-20. Taking advantage of the heavy mist the British field artillery
+placed their guns in two long lines, twenty-eight guns in a line and
+almost wheel to wheel, behind the ridges south of Viesly. This was an
+extraordinary sight, for they had no cover whatever except the thick
+white mist overhead. Behind the second row, there was a battery of
+heavy howitzers (8- or 9-inch calibre), and a little farther back
+several batteries of 60-pounder guns. The night attack was carried out
+by the 126th Infantry Brigade and was wonderfully successful.</p>
+
+<p>At 10 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> on October 20 I called at B.H.Q., a house in
+Prayelle, to get the latest news. Then I joined Ptes. Fail and
+Greenwood at the O.P., <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>which was now under the muzzles of the field
+guns. We left this post and went towards Briastre, and, crossing the
+road from Viesly, we finally selected a position near the Briastre
+Cemetery. Just across the valley the enemy's guns were pounding the
+positions we had won that morning. It was in preparation for a
+counter-attack, which, however, was crushed by the fire from our own
+artillery. We sent in several situation reports to D.H.Q. through the
+H.Q. of the 10th Manchester Regiment, which were now in a cutting not
+far from the cemetery.</p>
+
+<p>On my way back to Beauvois I met a number of tanks travelling slowly
+forward towards Viesly; but I believe they were unable to get across
+the River Selle that night. For the next two days the observers held a
+post on the north side of Viesly; and on October 23 the 42nd Division
+attacked again, the N.Z. Division taking up the pursuit of the enemy
+about midday. The men of the 42nd Division have every reason to be
+proud of their battle at Solesmes; the Germans were very strongly
+entrenched and they were picked troops, and a night attack is, of
+course, one of the most difficult of all to carry out successfully.</p>
+
+<p>The observers were instructed to remain at their quarters in Beauvois,
+and for the next eleven days training was resumed. I was told that
+great advantages might be obtained from panoramic sketches, if rapidly
+and accurately drawn by the observers. And so I directed most of the
+training here towards making these sketches. There was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>nothing in
+training that the men liked better than that.</p>
+
+<p>During our rest at Beauvois the New Zealanders had pushed the Germans
+farther back, to the outskirts of Le Quesnoy, and towards the end of
+October we were warned that the 42nd Division would relieve them after
+a further attack.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXVII" id="XXXVII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXVII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE FINAL RUSH FORWARD</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>On November 3 I moved with the observers to the village of Viesly and
+got a billet in a cottage. The village had been badly mauled by the
+German guns during the recent fighting. The German does not behave
+nicely when his nerves are shaken, and we heard stories of
+ill-treatment of women in Solesmes.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we went towards Romeries to reconnoitre the roads, and on
+November 5 we had a long march in the rain. Hitherto we had been lucky
+to have fine weather for trekking, but now it began to rain almost
+every day. We went on over crowded roads through Briastre, Solesmes,
+Romeries, and Beaudignies. At the latter place our heavy guns were
+still firing, for the Germans had only been pushed out of Le Quesnoy
+that morning, and their main body was retreating through the Mormal
+Forest. Our advance party, L.-C. Cowen and Pte. Addinall, who had gone
+forward on bicycles to find a billet in Le Quesnoy, met with a very
+warm reception from the French civilians in the town. After a little
+trouble I managed to get possession of a nice empty house <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>near the
+railway station, where we were glad to turn in and get our clothes
+dry. Next day I went to D.H.Q. at Potelle, a moated farm or ch&acirc;teau.</p>
+
+<p>There was some idea of disbanding the observers at this time, for
+Capt. Kirsopp found difficulty in getting us forward fast enough to be
+of any use. However the G.O.C. would not hear of it, and said the
+D.A.Q.M.G. must arrange to transport our things.</p>
+
+<p>The same day I went forward to the advanced B.H.Q. at Forester's
+Point, on the N.W. side of the forest, east of Carnoy. And I arranged
+with the Brigade-Major of the 126th Infantry Brigade to send some of
+the observers to help him next day. This, however, was cancelled, as
+the Germans began to retreat towards the River Sambre. I saw some
+French children still about the cottages near the Mormal Forest,
+though there was still shelling going on. Coming back I avoided the
+village of Carnoy, as it was being heavily shelled by the enemy's
+long-range guns. This was the last time I came anywhere near the
+enemy's shell fire. The German dead lay in little clusters in the
+fields east of Le Quesnoy, and at various points along the railway.</p>
+
+<p>On November 7 I moved my quarters to a small house at Herbignies, our
+belongings being brought for us by Divisional transport. Our hand-cart
+was finally dumped at Le Quesnoy. The next day I sent a small party of
+observers through the forest to Petit Bavay, and also detached Ptes.
+Fail, Ewart, and Austin for duty on the following <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>day, sending them
+with bicycles to the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. at Petit Bavay. Also I
+walked through the forest to D.H.Q. at the same place. It was a long
+tramp in the mud, and I was thoroughly tired out when I reached
+Herbignies again that night.</p>
+
+<p>On November 9 we had our final trek forward, some fifteen miles
+through the most glutinous mud. As the observers had been overlooked
+when the Divisional transport left Potelle, we had now to transport
+all our belongings as best we could without the aid of the hand-cart.
+This unfortunately meant dumping all our stores except such as were
+absolutely essential; and I lost a number of interesting records,
+maps, &amp;c., in this way.</p>
+
+<p>We loaded ourselves up then with everything we could take&mdash;very full
+packs and a blanket rolled on top, about the heaviest marching-order
+possible. By midday we had got through the forest to Petit Bavay,
+where we halted for a meal on the road side. Then we went on through
+Vieux Mesnil, where we had to ford the river, as the bridge was
+destroyed. On through Neuf Mesnil and at last to Hautmont. I was glad
+to get a billet in the first empty house I came to, 135 Rue de
+Gambetta. No beds, but a moderately clean floor to sleep on. Pte.
+Fail's party rejoined me here. They had gone right on to the firing
+line on the north bank of the River Sambre, where the Guards were
+advancing. They brought back useful information as to what had been
+going on.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>After disputing the crossing of the Sambre the Germans fled rapidly
+for about eight miles, and gave no further trouble beyond shelling the
+villages of Quievelon and Ferri&egrave;re. Cyclists and cavalry were pushed
+out to keep in touch with them, but owing to the difficulties of
+transport the infantry could get no farther. There was now a general
+feeling that the end was not far off.</p>
+
+<p>On November 10 I was told at D.H.Q. that there was a 'holiday air'
+about every one, and that nothing further need be done by the
+observers. Early next morning I heard two transport drivers discussing
+the situation in the road outside. They were quite convinced that the
+war was over. And they were right; a little later I got the message
+from D.H.Q. 'hostilities will cease at 11 <span class="fakesc">A.M.</span> to-day.' Heavy
+firing was still going on to the north, about Mons, and this only
+ceased at 11 o'clock. Then the silence and stillness outside were most
+uncanny. It was a silence that could be felt.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<a name="XXXVIII" id="XXXVIII"></a><hr />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span><br />
+
+<h3>XXXVIII<span class="totoc"><a href="#toc">ToC</a></span></h3>
+
+<h4>THE END OF IT ALL</h4>
+<br />
+
+<p>After the armistice the Divisional observers were not disbanded at
+once. They remained in my charge till December 6, when orders came for
+us all to return to our own units. So ended the most pleasant command
+that I held during the war.</p>
+
+<p>The men who were with me when we were disbanded, were:</p>
+
+<div class="block">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="80%" summary="Members at disband.">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="50%"><i>Observers</i> (<i>7th N.F.</i>)</td>
+  <td class="tdl" width="50%"><i>Signallers</i> (<i>7th N.F.</i>)</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">L.-C. <span class="sc">Cowen</span></td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">L.-C. <span class="sc">Crozier</span>, M.M.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">King</span>, M.M.</td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Ward</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Fail</span></td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Robinson</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Ewart</span></td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Parkin</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Drake</span></td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Addinall</span></td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Austin</span></td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Greenwood</span> (<i>10th M.R.</i>)</td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlp2">Pte. <span class="sc">Firth</span> (<i>6th M.R.</i>)</td>
+  <td class="tdlp2">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+
+<p>From the nature of the organisation and equipment of Infantry
+observers, they were of more use during trench warfare than moving
+warfare. You cannot turn an observer into a scout at a moment's
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>notice. Only a few of the men ever acquired any real knowledge of map
+reading&mdash;they did not take the same interest in it as in other parts
+of the training&mdash;and for moving warfare it is absolutely essential.
+Another handicap was lack of transport, we were nobody's children and
+left to fend for ourselves. The Q.M. of the 7th N.F. adopted us so far
+as rations were concerned, but the collection of rations alone
+prevented us from being a really mobile force: we could not move far
+away from the source of food supplies.</p>
+
+<p>During the ten weeks on the Auchonvillers Ridge the men did wonders.
+But we never stayed long enough at the same place after that to give
+them a real chance; and they never settled down to moving warfare.</p>
+
+<p>On December 6 I was attached to B Company of the 7th N.F., commanded
+by Major Smail, and living at Boussi&egrave;res; once more I became a platoon
+commander, after nearly three years of continuous warfare.</p>
+
+<p>About December 15 the 42nd Division moved into Belgium, and D.H.Q.
+were established at Charleroi. After arriving here I became
+Demobilisation Officer for the 7th N.F. and continued at that till
+January 19.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> Then I went on leave to England. On February 10 I got
+back to Charleroi, and on February 13 I left Charleroi for
+demobilisation or rather 'disembodiment.' I reached home at 4.30
+<span class="sc">P.M.</span> on February 22, glad to be back.</p>
+
+
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<br />
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> I had the greatest assistance from Cpl. Seals (7th
+N.F.), formerly N.C.O. in charge of Brigade Orderlies.</p></div>
+
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<h5>Printed by <span class="sc">Spottiswoode, Ballantyne &amp; Co. Ltd.</span><br />
+Colchester, London &amp; Eton, England.</h5>
+
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+<div class="tr">
+<p class="cen"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>Typographical errors corrected in text:</p>
+<br />
+Page &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5: &nbsp;similiar replaced with similar<br />
+Page &nbsp;&nbsp;29: &nbsp;keeness replaced with keenness<br />
+Page &nbsp;&nbsp;49: &nbsp;'man the the defences' replaced with 'man the defences'<br />
+Page &nbsp;&nbsp;61: &nbsp;missfire replaced with misfire<br />
+Page &nbsp;&nbsp;74: &nbsp;'on both sides this trench' replaced with 'on both sides of this trench'<br />
+Page &nbsp;&nbsp;78: &nbsp;'one of the the Divisional' replaced with 'one of the Divisional'<br />
+Page 134: &nbsp;chateau replaced with ch&acirc;teau<br />
+Page 159: &nbsp;Passehendaele replaced with Passchendaele<br />
+Page 183: &nbsp;Divisonal replaced with Divisional<br />
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<hr />
+<br />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Q.6.a and Other places, by Francis Buckley
+
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,6002 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Q.6.a and Other places, by Francis Buckley
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Q.6.a and Other places
+       Recollections of 1916, 1917 and 1918
+
+Author: Francis Buckley
+
+Release Date: May 19, 2008 [EBook #25528]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK Q.6.A AND OTHER PLACES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Jeannie Howse, David Clarke and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+    | Transcriber's Note:                                       |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has     |
+    | been preserved.                                           |
+    |                                                           |
+    | For the interest of the reader, 'the morning hate' is     |
+    | WWI slang for the "Stand To Arms".                        |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For     |
+    | a complete list, please see the end of this document.     |
+    |                                                           |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Q. 6. A
+
+AND OTHER PLACES
+
+
+
+
+Q. 6. A
+AND OTHER PLACES
+
+RECOLLECTIONS OF
+1916, 1917, 1918
+
+
+
+BY
+FRANCIS BUCKLEY
+
+
+
+LONDON
+SPOTTISWOODE, BALLANTYNE & CO. LTD.
+1 NEW-STREET SQUARE, E.C. 4
+1920
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+In the following pages I have tried to set down as faithfully as I can
+some of the impressions which remain to me now of three years' service
+in France and Flanders.
+
+I have naturally suppressed much of the grim and ghastly horrors that
+were shared by all in the fighting area. A narrative must be written
+from some point of view, and I have had to select my own. I regret
+that so much personal and trivial incident should appear. Perhaps some
+will be able to see through the gross egotistical covering and get a
+glimpse, however faint, of the deeds of deathless heroism performed by
+my beloved comrades--the officers and men of the 7th Northumberland
+Fusiliers, the officers and men of the 149th Infantry Brigade, the
+officers and men of the 50th Division.
+
+The climax of the story is the battle on the Somme where so many dear
+friends have perished. The name is taken from a spot where a small
+party of the 7th N.F. did something long afterwards to avenge their
+fallen comrades.
+
+Finally no criticism of the Higher Command is intended by anything
+that has been written. If such can be read between the lines, it is
+unintentional and a matter for sincere regret.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                             PAGE
+
+      I. WHEN IT BEGAN                                          1
+
+     II. THE MEN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY                           7
+
+    III. ALNWICK                                               12
+
+     IV. THE JOURNEY OUT                                       17
+
+      V. HILL 60                                               22
+
+     VI. MOUNT SORREL AND CANNY HILL                           31
+
+    VII. KEMMEL                                                41
+
+   VIII. DIVISIONAL REST                                       48
+
+     IX. BRIGADE HEAD-QUARTERS                                 52
+
+      X. THE BRIGADE BOMBING SCHOOL                            59
+
+     XI. ST. ELOI AND NEUVE EGLISE                             64
+
+    XII. THE SOMME                                             68
+
+   XIII. HENENCOURT                                            72
+
+    XIV. MAMETZ WOOD                                           76
+
+     XV. THE 15TH SEPTEMBER, 1916                              80
+
+    XVI. MILLENCOURT                                           87
+
+   XVII. HOOK SAP                                              90
+
+  XVIII. SECOND LEAVE--BRESLE                                  97
+
+    XIX. BUTTE OF WARLENCOURT--TRENCH WARFARE                 102
+
+     XX. FRANCE AND THE FRENCH                                107
+
+    XXI. SOUTH OF THE SOMME                                   115
+
+   XXII. THE BATTLE OF ARRAS                                  122
+
+  XXIII. WANCOURT TOWER--CROISILLES                           125
+
+   XXIV. MONCHY-AU-BOIS                                       139
+
+    XXV. TRENCH WARFARE--VIS-CHERISY FRONT                    143
+
+   XXVI. THE HOUTHULST FOREST                                 153
+
+  XXVII. DIVISIONAL REST NEAR ST. OMER                        161
+
+ XXVIII. THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE                              165
+
+   XXIX. GOOD-BYE TO THE 50TH DIVISION                        173
+
+    XXX. DIGGING TRENCHES ABOUT LOOS                          176
+
+   XXXI. THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE 1918--SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS    182
+
+  XXXII. TRENCH WARFARE--HEBUTERNE                            203
+
+ XXXIII. TRENCH WARFARE--THE COLINCAMPS RIDGE                 207
+
+  XXXIV. THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE 1918--BAPAUME RETAKEN          219
+
+   XXXV. THE STORMING OF THE HINDENBURG LINE NEAR TRESCAULT   224
+
+  XXXVI. THE GERMANS' LAST STAND                              230
+
+ XXXVII. THE FINAL RUSH FORWARD                               234
+
+XXXVIII. THE END OF IT ALL                                    238
+
+
+
+
+NOTE
+
+The following abbreviations are used:
+
+    B.H.Q.      = Brigade Head-quarters.
+    C.C.S.      = Casualty Clearing Station.
+    C.O.        = Commanding Officer.
+    C.T.        = Communication Trench.
+    D.A.Q.M.G.  = Deputy-Assistant-Quartermaster-General.
+    D.H.Q.      = Divisional Head-quarters.
+    F.A.        = Field Ambulance.
+    H.Q.        = Head-quarters.
+    L.-C.       = Lance-Corporal.
+    N.C.O.      = Non-commissioned Officer.
+    O.C.        = Officer Commanding.
+    O.P.        = Observation Post.
+    O.T.C.      = Officers' Training Corps.
+    Q.M.        = Quartermaster.
+    R.T.O.      = Railway Transport Officer.
+    Y.M.C.A.    = Young Men's Christian Association.
+
+
+
+
+Q. 6. A
+
+RECOLLECTIONS OF 1916, 1917, AND 1918
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+WHEN IT BEGAN
+
+
+Before the war I was living in London, with chambers at Lincoln's Inn.
+
+I was not surprised when the trouble started. Ever since 1904 it was
+reasonably clear to me that our country would have to fight the
+Germans or go under.
+
+The days before we declared war on Germany were spent in London.
+During the last few of them it was as though a terrible thunderstorm
+was hanging overhead, ready to burst: gloom and foreboding on the
+faces of all. There is no doubt that most of our people were taken by
+surprise and that they were aghast at the sudden gathering of the war
+cloud. But when the stroke of fate fell and we were committed to the
+war, there was a curious sense of relief in many hearts. Better death
+and ruin than dishonour. A shameful peace or neutrality is for most
+Englishmen harder to bear than all the horrors of war. Besides, this
+struggle for freedom had to be fought out, though few can have
+foretold the cost.
+
+I had been rejected for the Territorial Force by the Army authorities
+in 1908 on account of weak eyesight. I had therefore few hopes of
+better luck in August 1914. At first only trained men were enrolled at
+the Inns of Court O.T.C., and this went on for some months--till the
+nation in fact began to realise the size of its task. So after two or
+three vain attempts to find my way into the services, I had to be
+content with the truncheon and armlet of a special constable. With
+this force I had no special adventures, but I learnt a good deal about
+the Vine Street Police area, and about the electric power stations of
+the West End. Christmas Day was spent on duty in the streets, and
+Easter Day found me still there. Then something happened which decided
+my own little fate, as well perhaps as the fate of Europe. This was
+the sinking of the good ship _Lusitania_ on May 7, 1915, under
+peculiarly barbarous and inhuman circumstances. Eventually it brought
+the Americans into the war, when they came to understand that the
+German people gloried in the deed of shame. As for me, it took me once
+again to the doors of the O.T.C. in Lincoln's Inn. If I could not go
+as an officer I would at least go into the ranks. But by this time the
+rush of officer recruits had died down, and they were not so
+particular about eyesight. So on May 10, 1915, I found myself in
+possession of a suit of khaki. It was second-or third-hand and an
+indifferent fit, but it enclosed a glad heart. The die was cast, and
+one little boat fairly launched on its perilous passage. Never have I
+had cause to lament this step. If it has brought me great troubles and
+anguish, it has also given peace of mind and the satisfaction of using
+to the full such energy as I possess. It took me out of the stifling
+heat of the town and gave me at least four years of an open-air life.
+For which God be thanked! If it did not bring much promotion or
+honour, it brought the friendship of real men, and a treasure greater
+than all the stars and ribbons in the world.
+
+A recruit at the Inns of Court O.T.C. had nothing to fear from those
+in charge if he was willing to do his best. There was little
+boisterousness or horse-play among the recruits, the dark shadow was
+too close for that; and the spirit among my new comrades was one of
+great earnestness. For the first two or three weeks we were trained in
+Town near the H.Q. of the Battalion in Lincoln's Inn. After that
+recruits were sent on to the camp at Berkhamsted for field training.
+We were billeted on the local inhabitants. I stayed at the house of
+Mr. Charles Dipple, from whose family I received much kind
+hospitality. It was a sudden change for one who had spent the greater
+part of ten years in London chambers. And at Berkhamsted they worked
+you hard, almost to the last degree of physical endurance. Save once,
+during a dark two weeks in France, I have never before or since felt
+the same fatigue of body. Also the change of food was a little strange
+and startling at first. The drill and discipline could do nothing but
+good to a healthy man. The enthusiasm of nearly all was great, our
+chief idea being to get ready and out to France or elsewhere before
+the war should be over. Little did we know what the future had in
+store.
+
+There is nothing much to tell of this part of one's experience. One of
+the most pleasant incidents was a fortnightly leave of thirty-six
+hours at the week-end, which I used to spend with my friends in Town.
+Night manoeuvres on Wednesdays and Fridays and guard duty were perhaps
+the most unpleasant part of our lot. Some would add the adjutant's
+parade on Saturday morning. But that was short, if not always sweet.
+
+I had the good luck to win an unpaid lance-corporal's stripe towards
+the end of my stay, chiefly, I think, on account of a certain aptitude
+for drill, a clean rifle, and clean boots. Of this small achievement I
+was and still am a little proud.
+
+I left the battalion on getting my commission with respect for the
+officers in charge of the training. The short experience in the ranks
+was to be of great value afterwards, when I came to deal for the first
+time as an officer with men in the ranks. It gave a certain sympathy
+with them and taught what to avoid. It was the custom of our C.O.,
+Lieut.-Col. Errington, to give a few words of advice to those leaving
+the battalion to take up commissions. And I have never forgotten two
+of the principles which he urged upon us. One was the constant
+necessity for a soldier to deny himself in little things. The other
+was the idea that every officer in his own command, however small, had
+a duel to face with another officer in a similar position on the other
+side; and that in this duel the one that used his brain best would
+win. And so this embryo existence came to an end--a careless, happy
+time with no particular thought for the troubles ahead. In the middle
+of July 1915 I obtained a commission in the 3rd line Battalion of the
+7th Northumberland Fusiliers, Territorials, supplying drafts to the
+1st line battalion in France. I had no desire to display my ignorance
+of things military before a group of neighbours and possibly
+relations, so I applied for a commission, not in the Territorials of
+the West Riding Regiment, but in a north-country battalion of
+Territorials, with the 1st line fighting in France. The Territorial
+Force seemed to me most suitable for one who had no military career in
+view. And France, the land of old time romance and chivalry, gave a
+more urgent call than Egypt or the East. The choice of a unit, if one
+can be said to choose it, is fraught with greater consequences to
+oneself than might be supposed. I cannot say after a lapse of three
+years that the choice has proved unfortunate to me. It came about in
+this way. We were doing a rifle parade one day at Berkhamsted, when
+Lieut. Reynolds (N.F.) appeared with our company commander, Capt.
+Clarke, and asked for the names of any men who would like to join the
+3rd line of the 7th N.F. The 1st line battalion, he said, had just
+been badly cut up in France, and we should be out there in four months
+perhaps, certainly in six months. That was all the information we had,
+but it was enough for me. A north-country territorial battalion and
+France in six months--those were the attractions. I had never spent
+more than one night in Northumberland and I knew of Alnwick only by
+name. It was therefore rather a step in the dark; but to one who was
+still ignorant of the meaning of a 'Brigade' or a 'Division' only
+general considerations could appeal. And so on July 30, 1915, I set
+off for Alnwick to join my battalion, with a new uniform and kit, with
+a somewhat nervous feeling inside, but with a determination to do my
+best.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE MEN OF THE NORTH COUNTRY
+
+
+I have a great respect and admiration for the men of Northumberland.
+Especially for those who come from the country towns and villages, the
+farm-lands and mines in the northern parts of the county. As soldiers
+they have gained a name the world over, of which it would be idle for
+me to talk. A cold climate and a fighting ancestry that goes back many
+hundreds of years have produced some marked qualities in the race of
+Northumbrians to-day. There are few of them that are not true to type,
+few that you would not care to have as comrades in a tight corner.
+Their stubborn courage and contempt for danger have been proved again
+and again. The worse the outlook the more cheerful they seem to
+become. Sturdy independence is there, and for this allowance has to be
+made--slow to like and slow to change; if you are known as 'Mister'
+So-and-so, whatever your rank, you have won their respect. No better
+soldiers in the land can be found to hold or to fortify a position.
+But I doubt whether they have quite the same genius for the
+attack.[1] A certain lack of imagination, a certain want of
+forethought, have always, as it seems to me, been a handicap to these
+brave men when they attack. Again and again during an assault they
+have fallen in hundreds, they have shown themselves as willing to die
+in the open as in the trenches. But have they the wild fury that
+carries the Scot, the Irishman, or the Frenchman over 'impossible'
+obstacles? No, they are not an enthusiastic people, nor a very
+imaginative one. And these qualities are needed to press home a
+difficult attack. They are not as a whole a quick or a very
+intelligent race. But for stark grim courage under the most awful
+surroundings they stand second to none. There is a streak of
+ruthlessness, too, in their dealings with the enemy; a legacy from the
+old Border wars with the Scots. They are quite ready, if need be, to
+take no prisoners. A hard and strong, but a very lovable race of men.
+Yes, I think all the world of the men of the north, although I am not
+blind to their faults. Taken as a whole no more handsome or manly set
+of men can be found in the British Isles.
+
+The Northumbrian dialect is difficult to understand until you get the
+trick of it. And the trick of it is in the accent and intonation, and
+not so much in any peculiar form of words. They have a peculiar way of
+dropping their voices, too, which is sometimes disconcerting. But it
+is a clean wholesome language, undefined by the disgusting and
+childish obscenity which is too often a disgrace to other districts in
+England. It reminds me a little of the Scottish tongue, but rather
+more of the country speech in the northern parts of Yorkshire, but in
+some ways it is all its very own. It must indeed be one of the
+earliest surviving types of the Anglo-Saxon speech. I had no great
+difficulty in understanding it, but to this day I am sometimes puzzled
+to pick up what is said owing to that curious drop in the voice.
+
+A word or two as well about the officers of the Northumberlands,
+meaning, of course, the natives of the county. For them as well as for
+the hardy miners and farmers of the north I have a very sincere
+respect and liking. Better comrades on the field of battle no man
+could wish for, better officers for a Territorial battalion it would
+be hard to find. Their unbending courage, their gallant bearing in
+danger, their cheerfulness and their care and thought for their men
+have been responsible in a great measure for the successes won by the
+Northumberland battalions and for the lamentable but noble sacrifices
+when success was denied. Gallant and devoted soldiers they have been,
+and well they have earned the love and admiration of their men. Always
+cheerful whatever was on foot, readiest of all to turn a danger passed
+into a jest. There could not be a better spirit in which to face the
+long delays and the bitter disappointments of the war. Two outstanding
+features in their character are, to my mind, practically universal,
+whatever form they happen to take. An inherent pugnacity, and a
+whole-hearted belief in and love of their county, which amounts to
+something more than clannishness. They know everything about every
+one in Northumberland, and with others they do not trouble themselves
+much. They do not talk about it like the Scots, but it is there all
+the same; and it has a profound influence on their actions and
+judgment. Within this sacred circle, into which no outlandish man can
+break, their pugnacity develops countless local feuds. And these feuds
+can be bitter enough, and I do not think I ever met a north-countryman
+without one. Generally there are two or three on foot at a time. One
+town against another, the men who did against the men who did not.
+Sometimes I have thought that these queer hereditary instincts, for
+such they undoubtedly are, have led the men of the north astray. The
+house has been divided against itself, justice has not been done, or
+it has been delayed, incompetence has been allowed to spread its
+blighting influence. In other words the love of their county and the
+strength of their local feuds have at times blinded the men of the
+north to the real interests of their country, when a united front and
+a concentration of the best effort available were absolutely necessary
+to get on with the war. To me the Northumbrian officer has been
+universally kind, and I have never had the least discourtesy or
+injustice from any of them, but many acts of kindness. But I have seen
+with regret on several occasions a loss of effort and strength through
+the divisions caused by prejudice. Thoroughly cheerful and a generous
+and charming comrade, much given to hospitality, I do not think the
+Northumbrian officer is always a very brilliant person intellectually.
+There are many notable exceptions, but they are notable enough to
+establish the impression.
+
+Beyond these general observations it would be unwise--and I do not
+intend--to enter into the domestic history of any battalion or
+brigade. Better comrades one could not have, and a nobler and more
+devoted body of men I have yet to meet.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] This criticism can of course be made of any troops of English
+nationality.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+ALNWICK
+
+
+A short sketch of my stay at Alnwick may not be out of place. For
+though it did not seem very adventurous at the time it had a great
+influence on my subsequent career, both in France and afterwards. It
+is a most romantic spot, with one of the finest castles in England.
+The heather hills run down through corn-land towards the seashore; and
+the general features of the countryside reminded me much of my own
+home in the West Yorkshire hills. The curious battlements and gates in
+the town and the monuments outside tell of a time when it was one of
+England's front line posts against the raiding Scots. It seemed to me
+to be a fitting spot to train men for the wars.
+
+When I arrived at the end of July 1915 the H.Q. of the 3rd line
+battalion were at the Star Hotel in Fenkle Street--very comfortable
+but rather expensive quarters. Only a few of the officers had arrived
+as yet. Just a few new-comers like myself, very green and raw, and
+about four or five officers of the 1st line battalion who had returned
+wounded from France. These latter had for the most part been wounded
+at the battle of St. Julien in April 1915, during the 2nd Battle of
+Ypres. They were now discharged from hospital and attached to the
+draft battalion for training before going out once more. They were
+very friendly and nice to the new-comers; and indeed we looked upon
+them quite as veterans, although their active service in France had
+not exceeded a few days. Capt. J. Welch, Lieuts. J.W. Merivale, E.
+Nixon, and E. Fenwicke Clennell became special friends of mine, and I
+am grateful for many acts of kindness from them both then and later on
+abroad. The men of the battalion, also raw recruits and wounded men
+returned from hospital, were quartered in the houses in the town. The
+O.C. battalion was Major (afterwards Lieut.-Colonel and Brevet
+Colonel) J.J. Gillespie, T.D., and the Adjutant Capt. W.A.C.
+Darlington. The C.O. was a man of great personality, so much so that
+he is one of the best known and most talked of persons in the
+Northumberlands. A great organiser and a hard worker, who generally
+got his own way with small and great, he has done much to make the
+drafts efficient. I was lucky to find favour in his eyes, and our
+relations were always friendly.
+
+We had as near neighbours in Alnwick the Brigade of Tyneside Scottish,
+who were encamped in the Pastures near the Castle, as fine a body of
+men as you could wish to see. After staying for a while at the Star
+our battalion moved out to Moorlaws Camp and we remained there under
+canvas till the middle of October. In the meantime I was lent for
+about five days to the 21st Provisional Battalion N.F., a home service
+battalion, who were encamped at Cambois ('Cammis') on the sea-coast.
+This was like a picnic for me, for all the officers there treated me
+kindly and did not work me hard. One night I volunteered for night
+duty and had the experience of visiting the sentries (all with loaded
+rifles) at the various posts along the shore. Shortly after returning
+to Alnwick I was sent, on September 2, to the Army School of
+Signalling and Bombing at Tynemouth, and went through the Bombing
+course, which lasted about a week. So primitive were the arrangements,
+even at this date, that we were only taught how to improvise grenades
+out of old jam tins, and how to fire them out of iron pipes as
+trench-mortar bombs. We were indeed allowed to handle precious
+specimens of the famous No. 3 (Hales) and No. 5 (Mills), but there
+were not enough available for live practice. The West Spring Thrower
+had not arrived, but I saw a trench catapult in action; and some dummy
+Stokes bombs were fired off for us to see. At this course there was an
+examination, and I got a first-class certificate as a grenade
+instructor, an event which had considerable influence on my career in
+France, as will appear later on. When I got back to Alnwick I found
+the battalion under canvas at Moorlaws. Here I became 'grenadier
+officer' to the battalion, and I had daily classes of men who had
+volunteered to become bombers, or 'grenadiers' as they were then
+called.
+
+Live practice was carried out entirely with improvised bombs, old jam
+tins and black powder. But we procured a certain number of dummies of
+Nos. 1 and 5 to practise throwing. Major N.I. Wright (who had returned
+wounded) took a great interest in our proceedings and had some dummy
+grenades made for us. A gallant soldier with hard service in South
+Africa and the Great War, he has always been a good friend to me. I
+went on with the bombing till about October 20, when the battalion
+returned to Alnwick and went into wooden huts in the Pastures. The
+officers were billeted at a house called 'Alnbank,' a mansion some
+little distance from the men's quarters. After this move I was
+appointed Company Commander to C Company, a newly formed company with
+only raw recruits in it. My second in command was Lieut. Joseph
+Robinson, a dear friend, who had come all the way from the Argentine,
+and whom I first met at the O.T.C. at Berkhamsted. He was known as
+'Strafer Robinson' on account of being physical drill instructor, and
+a pretty exacting one. I found the recruits in C Company most willing
+and anxious to learn their job; and they never gave me much trouble
+either in orderly room or on parade.
+
+I was kindly treated by every one at Alnwick. My stay there has only
+pleasant memories. Major the Hon. Arthur Joicey, who had returned
+from the 1st line, gave me several glorious days after partridges at
+Longhirst. The number of these birds so far north fairly astonished
+me. The doctors' families in Alnwick were also very kind and
+hospitable to all our officers. Mrs. Scott Jackson, the wife of the
+Colonel of the 1st line battalion, could not do enough for us; and
+many happy evenings have been spent at her house; notably a great New
+Year's Eve party for all the officers, just before I left for the
+front. I took part in a Rugby football match, the first time for
+eleven years. The 3rd line 7th N.F. succeeded in defeating the reserve
+battalion of the Tyneside Scottish, largely through the prowess of
+2nd-Lieut. McNaught at half-back. There was rather a pleasant
+institution towards the end of my stay--namely, a meeting of the
+senior officers for dinner every Wednesday evening at the Plough Inn.
+They did you well there, and it was a pleasant change from the mess
+dinner.
+
+About January 3, 1916, I was warned to proceed with a small draft of
+officers to the front. Four of us were to go, and I was delighted to
+find myself one of those selected. After a splendid farewell dinner
+with the officers of the battalion on January 4, I left the same night
+for London to spend my final leave.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE JOURNEY OUT
+
+
+On Monday, January 10, 1916, I left England with three other officers,
+bound for the Base Camp at Havre. My companions were 2nd-Lieuts.
+Peters, O. Clarke, and Gregson. My final purchases at Southampton
+included an extra haversack and some morphia pills. The latter had
+been strongly recommended for certain kinds of wounds and they were
+still sold without a prescription.[2] The journey across the Channel
+was done at night. The transport left port about 8 P.M. and steaming
+slowly without lights reached Le Havre about 5 A.M. next morning.
+
+My last view of England was the dreary wet dock, and later on a few
+distant and receding lights. Though we got into port at 5 A.M. we were
+not allowed to leave the vessel till 8 A.M. But, at last, as a cold
+and cheerless morning was breaking, I stepped ashore and set foot for
+the first time on foreign soil. We soon found an hotel (? Hotel de
+Normandy) where they understood the English language and some of our
+ways, and we got breakfast in the English fashion. After a look round
+the shops and a shave in a small establishment in a side street, we
+reported at a large office in the town. Here we signed our names in a
+large register, and were given directions to proceed to a Camp, some
+distance from the town, where reinforcements for the 7th N.F. were
+collected and accommodated till they could be sent 'up the line.' Our
+stay here was a short one, for which I was thankful. They did not seem
+at all pleased to see us; it seems we had arrived a few days later
+than had been expected, and the Camp Commandant appeared to think it
+was our fault. We left Le Havre next day without having tasted the
+joys of the 'Bull Ring' or any other educational entertainment
+prepared for those staying on at the Camp. The train started about
+midnight, and like most troop trains in France moved along in a
+leisurely, dignified manner, with frequent stops and long waits
+between the stations. When we did arrive at Rouen, which was about
+midday on Thursday, we had to change. And feeling unrefreshed by our
+night in the train, we spent the time resting at an hotel instead of
+seeing the sights. But it is a fine looking old town and would be
+worth visiting in more peaceful times.
+
+We left Rouen again at night and wandered along in the same dilatory
+fashion, arriving at Hazebrouck and eventually at Poperinghe.
+
+The latter was railhead for the Ypres Salient. It was not surprising
+then to find the houses near the railway station looking shattered
+from the shells and bombs that had been aimed at the station. We had
+tea with the Y.M.C.A., who had with their usual dauntlessness selected
+a house close to the station. It had been struck by a bomb a few
+nights before, and there was a hole in the roof and in the ceiling and
+floor of one of the rooms; but I understood that no one had been hurt
+by the explosion. These shattered houses and the distant sound of gun
+fire, which we first heard about Hazebrouck, were the first signs of
+war that we noticed. After a long wait a limber arrived at the station
+to take ourselves and our valises to the camp of the 7th N.F. at
+Ouderdom. It was not really a very long journey, I believe, but it
+seemed so to us after our long and wearisome journey in the train.
+
+To make matters worse the military police made us take a roundabout
+road, and the driver lost his way. Of course a limber is not quite the
+vehicle you would select for comfort, especially over roads that are
+stony or pave. The German flare lights could be clearly seen all the
+way, and they seemed to be on three sides of us. A most brilliant and
+interesting sight the first time you see it.
+
+Eventually we reached the camp at Ouderdom. It was called 'Canada
+Huts' and consisted of a cluster of wooden huts erected just off a
+narrow muddy road. At one time I am told, the mud was thigh deep; but
+now duck boards had been laid down, and though decidedly muddy the
+camp was quite passable. When we arrived it was quite late, and we
+found the camp in total darkness and every one asleep. But some of the
+batmen (or officers' servants) were roused, and they not only showed
+us a place to sleep in, but got us some tea and a scratch meal, very
+welcome after our uncomfortable ride from the station. What wonderful
+people these batmen are! Always so cheery and good to their officers.
+Inside the huts we found wooden bunks in two tiers round three sides
+and also a wooden table and forms in the middle. Not much room to move
+about perhaps, but fairly dry and warm. After two sleepless nights in
+the train we did not need rocking.
+
+We found that we had arrived just in time to go with the battalion to
+the front line trenches next day. For the battalion had just spent
+three days in the rest area and was due to take over the line on the
+fourth day. There was not much time, therefore, to get acquainted with
+our fellow officers or to learn much about the platoons to which we
+were assigned. Several of the officers we had known well at home in
+the 3rd line battalion at Alnwick, and Major N.I. Wright and Capt. J.
+Welch and Lieuts. J.W. Merivale and Fenwicke Clennell were old
+friends. Also we had already met our new battalion commander
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson at Alnwick when he was last on leave. It
+was nice to be greeted by friendly faces when our trials were so soon
+to begin.
+
+The last few hours before going back to the line are always rather
+dreary and unprofitable, spent chiefly in packing up and deciding
+what to leave behind. Valises of course were left behind with all
+'spare parts' in the Q.M.'s stores. But in winter a fairly heavy load
+of things was necessary, and the weather was wet and stormy. We had no
+steel helmets in these days and no gas box-respirators, only two cloth
+respirators of little weight. I found myself in charge of No. 4
+Platoon in A Company, of which Capt. H.R. Smail was commander. There
+were two other 2nd-Lieuts. in the company besides myself. The fighting
+strength of a company did not much exceed 100 men, if as many.
+
+Before we left Canada Huts, I was provided with a batman, coming of
+course from A Company. And a good fellow he was and much I owe to him.
+He has looked after me continuously from the day after I arrived until
+he was demobilised on December 24, 1918--nearly three years. A miner
+from Ashington, wounded at St. Julien in April 1915, he had rejoined
+the battalion some months before in France. At a later stage I had to
+rely much on his skill as a cook. A wonderfully cheerful person and a
+smart and handy man at improvising little comforts for me. His name
+was William Critchlow.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] Fortunately I never had occasion to use them.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+HILL 60
+
+
+When it was beginning to get dark the battalion formed up in the road
+and the roll was called over. At last we set off slowly, squelching
+through the mud on the wet roads, the rain pouring down unceasingly.
+We soon struck the pave road that runs through Dickebusch, a long
+straggling village, still fairly intact and occupied by Belgian
+civilians. It was shelled now and again but not severely. When we
+reached this place, the battalion opened out considerably, platoons
+keeping 200 yards apart; a precaution necessary on roads that were
+periodically shelled at night. After plodding along for some time we
+reached the Cafe Belge, a mere ruin now, but a well-known halting
+place for troops on the march. Here we turned off to the right and
+left the pave road which runs on to Ypres, and after this the roads
+were much more difficult to travel. Shell holes were frequent and
+generally full of water, so that in the dark it was only too easy to
+stumble into them. 'Shell-hole on the right,' 'Shell-hole on the
+left,' 'Shell-hole in the middle,' 'Keep to your right' were being
+passed back continually. Progress was slow of course under these
+conditions and with the heavy loads that we all carried. But it was
+all so novel to me that I had not a moment to feel dull or depressed.
+After a time we reached the notorious 'Shrapnel Corner' and turned
+towards 'Transport Farm,' for we were bound for trenches at Hill 60.
+This place was of course famous for the British attack in 1915, and
+for the German counter-attack with gas a little later on which was all
+too successful. It was also notorious for being one of the hottest
+corners of the British front. Owing to their vantage ground on the
+hill the enemy had little difficulty in sniping and shelling our
+trenches effectively.
+
+   [Illustration: Hill 60.--Official Map, March 1916.]
+
+As we approached Transport Farm I came for the first time under
+indirect rifle fire. A number of bullets fired at our trenches
+carried over and landed not far from the roads at the back. Though
+rather alarming in the dark to one unaccustomed to them, they seldom
+did much damage. Occasionally a man or two got wounded during these
+reliefs. Our company turned to the left again near Zillebeke railway
+station, and then struck off the road and reached the mouth of a C.T.
+which led after about a hundred yards to the support trenches.
+
+A glance at the official plan of the trenches at Hill 60 will give
+some idea of the extraordinary place it was. Whilst the German line
+ran solid along the top of the ridge, there were two complete gaps in
+the British fire trenches between Hill 60 and Mount Sorrel on the
+left. On paper it looks as if there were nothing to stop the German
+from walking across and behind our lines whenever he chose. But I
+imagine that these empty spaces were covered by machine-gun posts, and
+that the artillery were ready to deal with any attempt of that sort.
+Another feature of the place was the awful nature of the ground
+outside the trenches. It was a morass filled with partially buried
+bodies--that is, partially buried by nature in the ooze and mud.
+During a dense mist about seventy identity discs were recovered from
+the ground behind our support lines. And it was worse in front between
+the opposing trenches. It was not likely, then, that the German would
+wish to press us farther down the hill, at any rate for tactical
+purposes.
+
+A Company had two platoons in the front line trench 41, some 100 yards
+from the enemy, and two platoons in a support line called '41
+support.' The trenches themselves were well-built and revetted with
+sand bags, and dry enough even during the wettest weather. We had in
+these days only small shelters--the deep dugout was unknown. The three
+subalterns in A Company took turns at duty in the trenches, four hours
+on and eight hours off, night and day. The duty consisted chiefly of
+visiting the sentries every hour, and keeping a general look-out, and
+seeing that the trench rules were obeyed. A good deal of rifle fire
+went on at night. Sentries on either side would exchange shots, and an
+occasional machine-gun would open out. At close range the bullets make
+a curious crack as they pass overhead. Being tall and having been
+warned of the efficiency of the German sniper, I had to walk in most
+of the trenches with a bend in the back, which soon became tiring.
+
+On Sunday, January 16, I had a decidedly lively time for my first day
+in the trenches. It was always said that the Germans got a fresh
+supply of ammunition at the week-end, and Sunday was scarcely ever a
+day of rest. However that may be, this Sunday was the worst day I had
+for some time. After sending over a few small howitzer shells, the
+German field-guns sent periodical showers of shells, 'whizz-bangs' we
+called them, on to the support trench and C.T.
+
+This went on all morning, and whilst the shoot lasted they came over
+in a perfect stream. After a quieter afternoon a regular trench battle
+opened out at night, rifle grenades and bombs being freely exchanged,
+and a number of trench-mortar bombs--'sausages and rum jars'--coming
+over from the enemy's trenches. Eventually our heavy guns opened out
+with lively retaliation and the enemy quietened down. Rather a big
+dose to get the first day in the trenches, when everything was so
+strange and new. However I was assured that it was not an 'average'
+day even on Hill 60, but something like an organised shoot. One of the
+features of the place was the number and size of the rats; they looked
+the size of rabbits as they scuttered along the trenches at night.
+Another was the awful taste of the water we got to drink. It was
+boiled and it was turned into strong tea, but it had a most
+indescribably horrible taste. The food, on the other hand, was
+excellent and plenty of it. In the light of subsequent rations these
+were indeed the days of plenty. Owing to the kindness of some friends
+of the battalion in England, both officers and men were supplied with
+sheep-skin coats or jackets which were wonderfully good in keeping out
+the cold at night. 'Stand-to' was a regular institution of trench
+warfare, both an hour before dark and an hour before dawn. Naturally
+the latter was the more trying, but at this time the rum ration was
+served out; and it certainly prevented you from being frozen stiff and
+enabled you to get to sleep again if your duties did not keep you to
+the trenches. A very curious life in the trenches, a very small world
+but every bit of it packed full of interest and novelty to me. From
+the trenches, if you looked backwards, there was a splendid view of
+Ypres, with its shattered spires and houses, still a beautiful grey
+ruin, even in death. I was destined to have a much closer acquaintance
+with it later. Beyond the usual rounds of shelling on both sides
+nothing of particular interest happened during the next three days. On
+the evening of January 19 we were relieved by a company of the 5th
+N.F. (Capt. North M.C.), and moved out after dark for a short rest in
+close support.
+
+My career as a platoon commander in the trenches was a short one, for
+as it happened that was my first and last experience as such. We moved
+out and back for about a mile, eventually reaching a house called
+Blauwpoorte Farm.[3] It was not a bad place then, and was not shelled,
+though at night the bullets used to rattle round if you walked abroad.
+Here on the second day I took a small party of men, as a working
+party, to the shelters at the 'Sunken Road,' rather nearer the line. I
+think we were engaged in clearing the road of mud and generally
+cleaning up. On the way there I saw some rather humourous notices
+stuck up at various points. 'This is a dangerous spot.' It was kindly
+meant no doubt, but on the whole no part of the Salient afforded much
+of a rest-cure, and it was practically all under direct observation
+of the enemy. We existed simply through his forbearance.
+
+On January 22, 1916, I became bombing officer to the battalion, or, as
+it was then called, 'grenadier officer.' My predecessor had had bad
+luck, getting his hand shattered by the accidental explosion of a
+detonator. Accordingly I was sent to see Sergt. W. Moffat, the
+battalion bombing sergeant, in order to pick up what I could of the
+routine at so short a notice. Sergt. Moffat was a short withered man
+with sandy hair, a quiet manner, but a cheery twinkle in his eye. He
+had served in the South African war; and had been mentioned in
+despatches for good bombing work during a German attack at Hooge. A
+most conscientious and hard-working fellow, with a passion for all
+sorts of bombs. I could not have fallen into better hands. He was an
+admirable instructor and assistant, and knew all there was to be known
+about trench routine. I could see he was universally respected in the
+battalion. He was a Salvation Army man at home, and wore their red
+woollen jersey under his tunic. Much do I owe him and much do I still
+lament his untimely end.
+
+Capt. Smail returned to England about this time, leaving me his woolly
+coat, a priceless parting gift. Capt. J. Welch came to command A
+Company and a cheerier fellow surely never existed. I was glad to
+accept his offer of messing with A Company. There never was a dull
+moment at mess when Welch presided.
+
+We went back to Hill 60 for four days on January 23. I cannot
+remember much of this stay in the line, and nothing special happened.
+I was too busy learning all I could of the routine of the trenches and
+locating and checking bomb stores. I had to visit all the trenches
+held by the battalion, and thus got the chance of making the
+acquaintance of the other Company commanders, Capt. H. Liddell (B
+Coy.), Capt. C. Davies (C Coy.) and Capt. G.F. Ball, M.C., (D Coy.). I
+remember being asked by our Brigadier-General Clifford to explain some
+part of a derelict West Spring Thrower in the cutting at Hill 60 (I
+had never even seen one before) and being saved by the timely
+intervention of Sergt. Moffat.
+
+On January 27 we were relieved and went back to Canada Huts for a rest
+of four days. Oh, that first rest out of the trenches! The
+accommodation was poor enough seen in the light of home comforts, but
+what a palace of rest and refreshment it seemed to me then, and how
+quickly the time passed. I had to practise the bombers (nineteen from
+each company) in throwing dummy grenades each morning on the mud flat
+(it was once a field) outside the huts. In order to stimulate keenness
+I organised a competition and gave one franc each day as a prize for
+the best score. I soon found out who were the most expert throwers.
+
+We had a Y.M.C.A. hut close to the camp, and it was interesting to
+drop in and have a chat with the men in charge and a cup of cocoa.
+There was an old gentleman there, in command, who was rightly proud
+of being the civilian nearest to the front line. He displayed to us
+with great pride a souvenir found in Ypres, the huge base of a 17-inch
+shell--it was almost too heavy for one man to lift. We had our Church
+Service and our concerts in the marquee attached to the Y.M.C.A. hut.
+
+Most of the officers got leave to go to Poperinghe during these rests
+out of the line, but I never went there myself. There was an
+attraction there in the 'Fancies,' a fine concert party, many of whose
+songs I learnt at second hand.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] Lieut. F.B. Cowen, a very cheery machine-gun officer, also 7th
+N.F., had his quarters here.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+MOUNT SORREL AND CANNY HILL
+
+
+When we went up the line again on January 31, it was to Mount Sorrel,
+on the north of Hill 60. Here we had a good set of trenches, but they
+were practically cut off from our trenches at Hill 60 by a swamp.
+Through the swamp ran a watery sort of drain about four feet deep. It
+was the old front line, now waterlogged and quite untenable. Although
+the drain was not held by day, a patrol of bombers used to pass along
+it at intervals during the night. And it was part of my duties to wade
+through it every night. This was not a pleasant job, because you could
+not show a light and the mud smelt abominably. We were provided,
+however, with rubber boots reaching up to the thigh, so we did not get
+very wet. The officers of A Company occupied an 'elephant' shelter
+just behind the support line. All its occupants were killed by a shell
+bursting in the doorway, just two days after we had left these
+trenches. I first met Lieut. W. Keene here. He was the Brigade
+Grenadier officer and had the supervision of all bombing arrangements
+in the Brigade area, besides being responsible for the supply of
+grenades. I always found him friendly and encouraging, and I was glad
+to learn anything he could tell me. He asked me to send in a daily
+report to B.H.Q.; and I have kept the copies of these reports to this
+day.
+
+During this stay in the trenches the Germans stuck up a notice board
+with the following legend: _Attention Gentlemen_, and below in German,
+'If you send over one more trench-mortar bomb you will get strafed in
+the neck.'
+
+On February 3 we were relieved and A Company stayed four days in the
+railway cutting at Hill 60 in close support. The second day I went
+with Capt. Welch and Lieut. Greene to the trenches north of Mount
+Sorrel which were called Canny Hill. That journey was full of
+incident, we seemed to be shelled or bombed all the way to Mount
+Sorrel and back, and Capt. Welch has often humourously suggested that
+I was the Jonah. It also meant crossing the dismal swamp in daylight,
+and how we did it without being seen and shot I really do not know.
+During our stay in the cutting I explored the old broken trenches
+behind our support line at Hill 60, and found a fine dump of English
+bombs of early types. I spent quite a long time drawing their teeth.
+One little incident I remember at this spot. About 1 A.M. an elderly
+R.E. officer came into our shelter, and told us in a voice shaking
+with joyful emotion that he had just blown up a German counter-mine
+which had been threatening our mine galleries at Hill 60.
+
+On February 8 we marched back to Canada Huts, and had another four
+days' rest. This time the bombers carried out a good deal of live
+practice with Mills bombs at some bombing-pits about half a mile from
+Canada Huts. It was my first experience of the sort; but Sergt. Moffat
+kept me up to the procedure at the firing-pit. Also it was the first
+time I had the chance of throwing a live Mills bomb myself. On
+February 12 we were due to take over the trenches at Canny Hill, and I
+went up early and by myself, riding to Cafe Belge and thence on foot
+to Hill 60, Mount Sorrel, and so on to Sanctuary Wood. It was a long
+way round but I knew no other way. My dugout was in the wood, rather
+far from the front line and from the H.Q. of A Company in Davison
+Street. Our front line trenches were about quarter of a mile away from
+the German front line, but there were signs that the Germans were
+digging a forward trench along a hedge about 200 yards away from our
+front. This activity gave the Staff some uneasiness, and considerable
+interest was taken in these forward workings. I went out with Capt.
+Welch for a short visit in that direction the first night, but we saw
+nothing of interest. The next night Capt. Welch brought back a
+revetting stake from the new German trench. I believe it was on
+February 13 that the Germans attacked and took the 'Bluff,' some
+trenches south-west of Hill 60. About 3.30 P.M. our own trenches were
+bombarded for about two hours continuously with field artillery, and a
+lot of pieces were blown out of the top of our trenches, but no
+infantry attack developed. After this a small mine was blown up under
+our old trenches at Hill 60 and a platoon was wiped out there. But an
+attempt by the Germans to occupy the crater was frustrated through the
+initiative of a machine-gun officer. I saw and felt the shock of this
+mine going up, and a wonderful sight it was in the evening light. The
+shelling went on for some time after dark, whilst to our right our
+artillery thundered away in support of several fruitless attempts to
+recapture the lost trenches at the 'Bluff.'
+
+On February 14 I was told to organise a series of bombing parties, one
+from each company, to visit the German advanced trench at different
+times during the night and if possible to bomb German parties working
+there. I decided to accompany the first party, from A Company, between
+8 and 10 P.M. Sergt. Dorgan, an experienced patroller, went with me,
+also L.-C. Lowes, Ptes. Austin and Gibson, and two other bombers. As
+it was very wet, I had a sandbag taken by each man to lie down on. The
+scheme was to creep right up to the new trench near the hedge, and
+await the arrival of the German working-party. So we crept out along
+the wet ground and got to the trench, which was about two feet deep.
+We found no one there, and Pte. Austin went on into the hedge to keep
+a look-out. In the hedge were found a German sniper's plate, a steel
+shield with a loop-hole in it, and a German entrenching tool, like a
+small spade. These were at once annexed. Then we lay down again on
+the sandbags and waited with eyes and ears straining for about an
+hour. But no Germans came, though we had one warning from our sentry
+to get ready to fire. After that, cold and thoroughly soaked, we
+returned in triumph with the sandbags and our spoils, which we placed
+in our own trench. The other parties went out later but found no
+Germans at work. Possibly the wet night or the battle on our right
+prevented them from coming out to work that night. The object of these
+forward trenches was afterwards apparent, when four months later the
+Germans attacked and took Mount Sorrel. On February 16 we were
+relieved and went back into support for four days. I have forgotten
+where we went, but I think it was to the Canal Dugouts not far from
+Swan Chateau.
+
+On February 20 we returned to the same trenches at Canny Hill and held
+them for five days. The first night in, Capt. Welch was badly wounded
+through the shoulder whilst bringing in a wounded man who had been hit
+whilst outside wiring. He was a great loss to the battalion, and was
+sadly missed by the men as well as by the officers. It now turned very
+cold, and we had a fall of snow several inches deep. This made it
+difficult for parties to work in the trenches without being spotted. I
+had an unpleasant experience of this. I was looking for an emplacement
+for a grenade-rifle stand, and I selected a likely-looking spot just
+behind the front line. Then I brought a party of bombers to dig the
+place out. We had not thrown out five shovelfuls of earth before a
+shell came whistling just over our heads. Fortunately I dispersed the
+party at once along the trench. Then the fun began. Shells came
+whizzing in all round the unlucky spot, till a direct hit right in the
+middle of it apparently satisfied the German gunners and the storm
+ceased. After that I chose another place farther along the trench
+where no digging was required.
+
+On February 25 we left Canny Hill and went back to Canada Huts. On
+this occasion we had to make rather a detour to allow the troops of
+the 3rd Division to use the roads; and in so doing we passed Ypres
+railway station.
+
+On March 1 we moved into the support dugouts at Transport Farm, called
+Railway Dugouts. We were told to expect a bombardment by our guns that
+night, as the 'Bluff' was to be attacked and retaken early next day.
+The bombers of the 7th N.F. spent some time detonating grenades by
+candlelight in the bomb store at Transport Farm. Sure enough there was
+a terrific bombardment for half an hour. It was the first of the kind
+that I had seen, and I believe that at least 500 guns of all calibres
+were collected for the occasion. The whole of the landscape seemed to
+be alight, every hedge flickering with flame; whilst away towards the
+'Bluff' there was a sullen red glare where our shells were bursting.
+Nothing further happened that night. But at dawn next morning the 3rd
+Division attacked the 'Bluff' without bombardment and surprised the
+garrison, taking many prisoners and recapturing the lost trenches and
+some more ground besides. I saw one or two droves of prisoners coming
+back past Bedford House, the first time I had seen any live Boches.
+The bombardment by our guns started again soon after the attack, and
+our guns kept up a slow rate of fire all day. In reply the German
+heavy guns shelled the back areas freely, especially the road past
+Transport Farm, and we got a few shells near the railway. We got
+orders to take over the trenches at Mount Sorrel the same night. I
+left with a party of bombers soon after 1 P.M., going along a C.T. to
+Sanctuary Wood and then back through the trenches to Mount Sorrel.
+
+We found the trenches in a sad mess. That morning there had been a
+demonstration with all arms along this part of the front, and the
+enemy had naturally retaliated and done a lot of damage. To increase
+our troubles it became very cold, and the snow fell inches deep. But
+there was no more shelling on either side for the next week. Apart
+from sniping, which was assisted by the snow, we were left in peace to
+bale out the mud and repair the trenches. This cold snap caused a lot
+of sickness, and it was not improved by our having to hold these
+trenches for over a week--a long time under such wintry conditions. At
+last, on March 9, we were relieved and moved back to some dugouts near
+Bedford House. Here we stayed for some days, taking working-parties up
+to Hill 60 at night, from 7 P.M. to 1 A.M. One night we were shelled
+off the roads, and had to come back with nothing done. Another time I
+took a party to mend a breach in the front line at Hill 60. I think we
+went back to Canada Huts about March 16--at any rate we had a longer
+rest than usual. Sir Douglas Haig came over to Canada Huts to inspect
+the battalion. Amongst other things he inspected A Company who were
+drawn up in their hut, 2nd-Lieut. Gregson and myself being the
+subalterns there in charge. The General spoke to Gregson first, and
+asked him how long he had been out. He replied: 'January 14,
+sir'--meaning January 14, 1916. His reply was, however, taken to mean
+'January 1914,' and quite a little discussion took place, which amused
+me much, as Gregson stuck to his point. Afterwards the General came
+round to my end of the hut and asked me how long I had been out.
+'January '16, sir,' I replied. 'That's all right,' he said, 'well, I
+wish you the best of luck.' There was an amused twinkle in his kind
+sympathetic face, as I was still half-smiling over his little
+controversy with Gregson.
+
+After this we moved off to another rest camp not far away, for a few
+days. On March 24 we were due to take over the trenches at Hill 60
+again for three days. I went up early in the day and 'took over' the
+various bombing arrangements. The trenches now included some on the
+south side of the Railway Cutting, and I had my dugout there in the
+top of a small hillock called the 'Mound.' From 7.30 P.M. to 10 P.M.
+that night the trenches and Cutting were heavily bombarded, but the
+relief was not much delayed. The 7th N.F., however, had great luck in
+having only two men wounded whilst coming in. They were unfortunate
+casualties, it is true, 2nd-Lieut. J.H.C. Swinney[4] and Sergt.
+Dorgan, both good men and a loss to the battalion. The next three days
+were bad days for us. The battalion had over fifty casualties, much
+above the average. Four days in the line generally gave about seven or
+eight casualties. On March 25 British mines were exploded at St. Eloi,
+and the mine craters were occupied by the 3rd Division. The explosion
+took place just before dawn, about a mile or more to the south, but it
+woke me all of a shake. I thought at first that I was going to tumble
+down into the Cutting the ground heaved and rocked so much. The German
+heavy artillery took the precaution of bombarding our part of the
+front, and caused many casualties and much damage in the front line.
+The whole of C Company batmen were killed by a shell, and 2nd-Lieut.
+Burt, a new arrival but an old friend, was also killed. Poor lad, he
+was always certain that he would be killed as soon as he got out to
+France! I saw in the trenches a pile of our dead, three or four deep,
+waiting for removal to the rear. The shelling was severe at times
+during the next two days. Lieut. Platt, a forward observing officer of
+the 50th Divisional Artillery and a well known and welcome figure in
+the trenches, was killed by a shell just below my own dugout. We had
+cause, indeed, to remember our last visit to Hill 60. During this
+visit I first met some Canadian officers who were looking over the
+line before taking it over from the 50th Division.
+
+On March 27 we were relieved and I went back with A Company to some
+dugouts near Bedford House. Our first day there we were shelled out of
+these dugouts and had to take refuge for a time in Bedford House. A
+Belgian battery had just arrived close to us, and unfortunately they
+gave the position away. In the afternoon I went a long round to
+various reserve bomb stores to check the stores. Next night I paid a
+last visit to the Cutting at Hill 60 with a working-party.
+Second-Lieut. E.W. Styles was also there on a similar job.
+
+He had just come out; and being anxious to see something of the famous
+Hill 60 trenches he went off by himself into the front line, and, I
+suppose, asked various questions of the sentries. Anyway, when next I
+saw him he was coming back down the Cutting followed at an interval by
+a sentry with a fixed bayonet, who asked me if I knew who he was. My
+reply was no doubt disappointing to the soldier, who thought he had
+really captured a spy this time, and earned his two weeks' leave--the
+reward for arresting a spy.
+
+On March 29, before leaving the area, I acted as guide to some
+Canadian troops, from Cafe Belge to the Canal Dugouts. They seemed to
+be fine fellows and well up to strength in all their companies. The
+same night our battalion went back to Scottish Lines at Ouderdom, but
+we moved back to Canada Huts next day.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[4] A special friend, who unhappily was killed at Wancourt in 1917.
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+KEMMEL
+
+
+On March 31 I rode over with various company officers to Kemmel, and
+we looked over the trenches H2-K1 below Wytschaete Ridge. We were to
+take over this part of the line from the Canadians in two days' time.
+It was once a quiet spot, and I think we were sent there for that
+reason. But we soon found that we had come out of the frying-pan only
+to go into the fire. The battle that was still raging at St. Eloi
+about a mile to the north was destined to alter the character of the
+once peaceful Kemmel area. I had now changed my mess. All the old
+officers of A Company had disappeared since I first joined the
+battalion; so I accepted an invitation from Capt. G.F. Ball to join D
+Company mess. I was glad to do this, for not only was Capt. Ball the
+kindest and best of fellows, but there were old friends
+there--2nd-Lieuts. Peters and J. Robinson--whom I knew well at
+Alnwick.
+
+On April 1 the battalion set out for the new area, marching first to
+Locre and halting there for the midday meal. Later on, towards night,
+D Company proceeded to R.E. Farm, a support billet just vacated by
+Canadians, and stayed the night there. The Canadians left a lot of
+excellent ration tobacco behind them both here and in the trenches.
+
+   [Illustration: Wytschaete Ridge--Trench Map, April 1916.]
+
+Next day we went forward to the new trenches. They were a change
+indeed from those in the Salient, and it was evident that there had
+not been much heavy shelling there. Instead of the high narrow
+trenches at Hill 60, they were mostly mere breastworks with little or
+no back protection. And the C.T.s were hardly deep enough to afford
+protection from sniping or indirect rifle fire. Fortunately the
+Germans did not snipe these trenches. There were three gaps in the
+front line, and two small posts in No Man's Land. A long winding C.T.
+brought you from Battalion H.Q., which were at Rossignol Farm about a
+mile from the front line trenches. The main features of the landscape
+were the Wytschaete Ridge and Petit Bois--a thick wood on our left
+front. The German trenches were not at first at all close to ours; and
+both their wire and ours was thick and solid. We had a big mine shaft
+in the supports, but a good way back from the front line. The
+Canadians told us that there had been little fighting there except
+between patrols and during raids. And it was evident that they had
+spent more time and labour in draining the trenches than in fortifying
+them. I had my quarters with most of the bombers in a support trench,
+H.5, about 250 yards from our front line. We had the trench all to
+ourselves and during my first visit to these trenches, which lasted
+six days, it was a quiet, happy home, with a green field behind and an
+occasional pheasant crowing in the hedges. Unfortunately for the
+bombers, emplacements for 60-pounder trench-mortars (worked by the
+R.F.A.) were already being dug at either end of our trench, and I knew
+there would soon be trouble for H.5. We had a curious little
+bombing-post outside the front line at H.4, which was only held at
+night. It was inside our wire, but you could only reach it by
+clambering over the top of the parapet after dark. The post was
+connected by a string to a sentry-post in the front line. And various
+signals were arranged to warn the sentry in the front line as to what
+was going on, for example, two jerks on the string: 'Man returning to
+trench,' three jerks: 'Enemy patrol on right,' and so on. A similar
+bombing-post was also held at night for the first time during this
+visit. This was in an old broken-down trench outside our wire, called
+'J.3 Right.' It was more difficult of approach owing to the mud and to
+its distance from the front line, and of course more dangerous because
+it might be attacked by the enemy's patrols. Capt. Hugh Liddell of B
+Company found this old trench whilst patrolling No Man's Land. It was
+probably once part of the front line which had become waterlogged and
+then abandoned. Capt. Liddell had his H.Q. in J.4 at this time. The
+first night he went with me to this trench with a party of bombers,
+and we stayed from 2 A.M. till dawn was breaking. Capt. Liddell was a
+great tower of strength to us in these trenches, one of the most
+fearless and pugnacious of men, with a taste for wandering about No
+Man's Land o' nights. It did you good merely to look at him.
+
+On April 8 we were relieved by the 6th N.F., and D Company moved to a
+billet at R.C. Farm. One of the buildings had recently been fired by a
+shell, and the bodies of several horses that had been cremated inside
+made the air rather pungent. Whilst we were out of the line, the
+German artillery started shelling the trenches severely, inflicting
+heavy casualties on the 6th N.F., and punishing especially the support
+trench at J.4 and the bombers retreat at H.5. During our rest I went
+with Capt. Liddell and a working party of B Company to dig and fill in
+some cable trenches behind the supports of the 'L' Trenches. During
+the work I first made the acquaintance of Lieut. A.E. Odell, the
+Brigade Signalling Officer, who later on became a great friend. We
+went back to the old trenches on April 13, and I found the bombers of
+the 6th N.F. had moved their quarters from H.5 to Turner Town (left),
+two rows of small splinter-proof dugouts behind the mine shaft. The
+trenches were badly knocked about, and the German artillery and
+trench-mortars were still causing trouble. I now messed with D Company
+at their H.Q. in K.1.a. On the evening of April 10, I had to patrol
+the ground near the mine shaft with a party of bombers, to look out
+for a German spy who was thought to be making back this way. We saw
+nothing of him, but I believe that 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson arrested a
+Canadian Mining Officer, who in the dark was unknown to him.
+
+On April 18 we were relieved by the 6th N.F. their Bombing Officer,
+2nd-Lieut. A. Toon, taking over from me. This time we moved back to
+Locre. But I was sent to B.H.Q. at Bruloose with my servant, as Lieut.
+W. Keene was away on leave, and it was intended that I should act for
+him till he came back. However I was not long at B.H.Q. before it
+appeared that Lieut. Keene would be returning that night. Before going
+off to Locre, however, I was asked to stay to dinner with the officers
+of B.H.Q. which I did; and it was a pleasant experience. The battalion
+had good quarters in Locre in the Convent School, and we soon found
+that a good lunch or dinner was served by the Nuns at the convent to
+weary officers. They also let you use the convent baths. On April 20
+we held a battalion dinner there in commemoration of the Battle of St.
+Julien.
+
+On Good Friday we had an Easter service, as we were to be in the
+trenches again on Easter Day. Our padre was Capt. Rev. J.O. Aglionby,
+C.F., whom we came to know and like very well. The bombers had a day's
+training at Bruloose, and we were asked to bring our steel helmets,
+which had just been issued. So I wore mine for the first time. After
+the practice was over, I was asked to come and see the Brigade Bombing
+Officer fire off some Mills rifle-grenades, which were a novelty then.
+Whilst this was going on a grenade burst prematurely soon after
+leaving the rifle, and a piece came back and struck my helmet, cutting
+the lining and scratching the metal. After that I would never part
+with that helmet, though newer ones were issued later on. Our last
+visit to the trenches was to be shorter, and we were to be relieved by
+the 3rd Division in three days. We set off on Saturday, April 22, and
+arrived in the C.T. all right, for the Germans seldom shelled the
+roads in this area. But when we got there we found things rather
+lively. A shell killed two or three men of D Company as they were
+approaching K.1.a; and Capt. Liddell and I had a splinter from another
+shell between us as we passed up Rossignol C.T. On arriving I got a
+message from the Adjutant saying, 'The G.O.C. orders that you use the
+greatest vigilance by day and by night.' The next day, Easter Day, the
+enemy shelled the trenches all day. Capt. G.F. Ball and I had an
+unpleasant experience in K.1.a, after lunch. For nearly two hours a
+howitzer battery shelled the place slowly and methodically, working up
+and down the little trench. Many times dirt and rubbish came flying
+into our shelter, but the only direct hit was on a minor structure
+which of course disappeared. Next day our cook-house was blown in and
+the crockery all smashed, but fortunately it was empty of men at the
+time. In these trenches it was difficult to get artillery retaliation,
+for the fighting at St. Eloi swallowed up most of the spare
+ammunition, and the allowance of shells for the batteries was small;
+so the enemy had a free hand in shelling our defences. Early on the
+Monday morning the enemy fired a shallow mine between his trenches and
+our own. It was a method of gaining ground, for the craters were
+fortified and turned into a trench. In this way the Germans began to
+approach fairly close to us at K.1 and J.3. I had to register with
+Newton rifle-grenades on the crater, but as we were short of
+cartridges it was not possible to fire at night.
+
+On April 25 we were relieved by the 4th Battalion of the Royal
+Fusiliers, and I got away from the trenches with the last of the
+bombers about midnight. There was a big bombardment of these trenches
+next day, causing eighty casualties to the new-comers. My own little
+shelter was blown to pieces by a howitzer shell and the occupants
+killed. Nearly two years elapsed before I was again living in front
+line trenches.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+DIVISIONAL REST
+
+
+In the early hours of April 20 the battalion reached Locre and spent
+the rest of the night in billets. By 8 A.M. we resumed our march, and
+went through Bailleul to Meteren. It was pleasant indeed to see the
+inside of a town again, and to get away from the area that was broken
+to bits. We were to be out of the line, we hoped, for at least a
+month, so naturally every one was feeling light-hearted. The bombers
+of the battalion were collected in a company about eighty strong, and
+they were billeted together under my charge. Our quarters were at a
+large French farm, called on the map 'Fever Farm,' and near to it was
+a fine set of bombing trenches. Lieut. W. Keene was also living at
+this farm, in order to be near the bombing ground. And we had our
+little mess together in the farm parlour, and our bedroom in a nice
+dry attic. No bombing work was done for the first three days, in order
+to give time for the men to get rested and to clean their equipment.
+The bombers were billeted in a large barn just across the yard, with
+plenty of clean straw inside. The French farmer and his wife were
+pleasant bodies, nice and friendly to us, and glad no doubt to be
+able to sell their light beer and eggs to the English soldier-man. The
+other companies of the battalion were billeted in farm-houses near
+Meteren. In case of an attack by the Germans on the Corps front the
+battalion had orders to go forward and man the trenches on Kemmel
+Hill. I received a paper of instructions as to what to do in case of
+alarm. We could tell that the Germans were causing trouble up the
+line, for we heard a heavy bombardment going on beyond Kemmel. About
+1.30 A.M. on Sunday, April 30, the bombers' sentry came and woke me
+up, and I went downstairs to find a messenger had arrived with the
+code warning 'Kemmel Defences.' So I quickly roused the men and warned
+them to be ready to start in half an hour. We hurried into our war kit
+and formed up in the dark outside, and soon marched off to join the
+rest of the battalion outside Meteren. We learned that the enemy had
+loosed off a lot of gas beyond Kemmel, and we were to man the defences
+as soon as possible. The battalion marched along as far as the
+entrance to Bailleul, when just as day was breaking a cyclist orderly
+rode up with orders for us to return to our billets. No infantry
+attack had followed the gas cloud, and we were free to return to rest.
+The Brigade had another alarm next day, but it was quickly cancelled;
+and after that we were not called out again. Every morning was given
+to bombing practice, and I offered a small prize each day for a
+competition in throwing. If it was wet the men stopped in the barn,
+and had a lecture on English or German grenades. One afternoon I
+walked over to Bailleul and had a bath at the Corps baths. They were
+rather primitive but the water was hot.
+
+It made a nice change to get back to civilisation once more and to
+have a meal at a restaurant; and the shops of course were a great
+attraction.
+
+About May 5, just as I was about to set out a second time for
+Bailleul, a letter came in for me from my brother George. It was dated
+the previous day and said that he was billeted with his unit close to
+Meteren. So I set off at once to find him, and had the good luck to
+meet him as he was cycling round on some medical inspection duties.
+His unit had just come out to France and he had no idea I was so near
+at hand; and I think he nearly fell off his bicycle with surprise when
+I first appeared in that country lane. He could not wait long then, so
+I asked him to come to tea with us at Fever Farm next day. And two
+days after that I dined with the H.Q. Mess of his unit, the 15th Hants
+Regiment, which I enjoyed very much. Unfortunately I saw no more of
+him at this time, as I left Fever Farm about May 11.
+
+It was now decided that I should hand over the bombing to 2nd-Lieut.
+E.G. Lawson, a most cheery and energetic bomber, and return to company
+work. So I was put in command of C Company and returned with them to
+Locre, where I stayed for about a week. I had not much to do here,
+except the daily inspection of the company and orderly room. The men
+of the company included many of my old recruits of C Company at
+Alnwick whom I was glad to see again. About May 19 I got my first
+leave, it was for seven clear days. And I suppose there was no happier
+man in France just then. The train started from Bailleul station about
+6 A.M. so I had to leave Locre the night before and stay the night at
+an hotel at Bailleul. I had a comparatively quick journey to the
+coast, for we reached Boulogne at 10.45 A.M. just in time to catch the
+11 o'clock boat. I arrived in Folkestone about 1.45 P.M. and in London
+about 3.30 P.M. the same day. Though short, it was a happy time, and I
+returned on May 26, staying one night in Boulogne and reaching
+Bailleul about midnight on Saturday, May 27. I found that the
+battalion was still at Locre, but the Brigade had gone back to the
+line, holding the same trenches on Wytschaete Ridge. An unfortunate
+accident had just happened in our old trenches. Lieut. W. Keene and
+2nd-Lieut. Toon were both badly injured and an N.C.O. killed in the
+trenches by a Mills rifle-grenade, which, through a defective
+cartridge, fell out of the rifle and burst in the trench. So when I
+got back to the battalion I was told I had to proceed to B.H.Q. at
+Bruloose and take over the office of Brigade Bombing Officer in place
+of Lieut. Keene. This closed my immediate connection with the 7th N.F.
+for twenty months.
+
+
+
+
+IX
+
+BRIGADE HEAD-QUARTERS
+
+
+An Infantry Brigade Head-quarters in France could be a happy home; but
+only if the Brigadier was liked and respected by the rest of the
+Staff, and tried to make them feel at home. It seems almost an
+impertinence even at this date for me to say anything whether in
+praise or in blame of the man who controlled the immediate destinies
+of the 149th Infantry Brigade when I first joined it. But as I became
+much attached to Brigadier-General Clifford I may perhaps be forgiven
+for describing him rather closely. Tall and dignified, with a cold
+exterior and a penetrating grey eye, he had the power of commanding
+the respect and obedience of all. His fatalistic contempt of danger
+took him into the trenches wherever shelling was hottest; and it is
+difficult to imagine how he escaped being sniped at Hill 60 or on the
+Wytschaete Ridge.
+
+He was loved by the men of the 7th N.F. as one who was willing to
+share their dangers, and always ready with a word of cheer in the
+hottest corner. 'We could have gone anywhere and done anything for
+him, if only he had been there to see it.' Such was the epitaph that
+the gallant Northumberlands gave him when he fell. I found his
+old-world courtesy of manner and aristocratic bearing most inspiring.
+And he knew the right way of getting a thing done without being cross
+or overbearing. A splendid type of chivalrous soldier, he stands out
+in my memory as a beacon of light when I have felt inclined to grumble
+at the Army system. I can call to mind a score of acts to me, which
+revealed the kindly, generous heart beneath that cold exterior. One of
+the first things he said to me when I joined the Brigade was this:
+'Buckley, mind you make your authority felt with these adjutants.
+Remember, for the purposes of bombing, you are the General.' How could
+he have shown more generous confidence or encouraged me more for the
+new role I had to play?
+
+Major Rowan, our Brigade-Major, was another typical officer of the old
+Regular Army, who was generally liked. I did not get to know him so
+well, as he left us for higher Staff duties before two months had
+passed. I always found him kind and considerate.
+
+Capt. D. Hill had been Staff-Captain ever since the Brigade came out
+to France, and what he did not know about the job was not worth
+knowing. He often astonished me by his knowledge of what could be
+done, and by his serene confidence when things were looking difficult.
+Never ruffled, the kindest and most genial of men, he often proved a
+good friend and counsellor.
+
+Capt. G.E. Wilkinson stayed with us a short time and then left to join
+a mess of his own Machine-Gun Officers. A man of the brightest
+good-humour and gaiety, he always kept us lively and amused. He went
+far in the war--from 2nd-Lieut. to Colonel of a battalion in eighteen
+months. I need say nothing further of his qualities as a soldier. He
+was at Oxford when I was there, and I remembered seeing him at our Law
+Lectures.
+
+Lieut. G.S. Haggie, the best of fellows too, was always a kind friend
+to me, and made me feel at home in my new surroundings. I saw a lot of
+him both now and later on when we did many a strange hunt together for
+ammunition dumps in the most impossible of places. He was a tremendous
+walker and could get over really bad muddy ground at an amazing speed.
+
+I was destined also to see much of the Brigade Signaller, Lieut. A.E.
+Odell, who was quite a remarkable character. He was a lion in the
+guise of a dove, an autocrat in the guise of a radical, a rigid
+disciplinarian in the guise of an army reformer. He won the M.C. and
+Bar and earned them both. He worked his men hard but himself harder
+still. He had the curious faculty of being able to work for hours by
+day and to spend the whole night in some muddy ditch up in the front
+line. His kindness to and consideration for his signallers, were only
+exceeded by his conscientious devotion to duty. He made me respect and
+like and envy him, even if he occasionally made me smile.
+
+Major Rowan left us, I think, at La Clytte or Dranoutre, and Capt. W.
+Anderson became Brigade-Major in his place. He had joined the 6th N.F.
+at the outbreak of war and got his company and the M.C. at the Battle
+of St. Julien. In January 1916 he was appointed G.S.O. III at 50th
+Division H.Q. 'Bill' Anderson was a great man, and combined the
+fearlessness of the Northumbrian with a great brain. He was probably
+the best 'civilian' tactician in the Army, and had he decided to join
+the Regular Army I should have expected him to rise very high indeed.
+I know what the 149th Infantry Brigade owed to him; but I doubt
+whether many others know quite as well. And I have always thought that
+he was never given full scope for exercising his wonderful ability. A
+tall soldierly figure, with noble features and piercing blue eyes that
+could harden almost to ruthlessness, I carry him in my mind as my
+ideal of a Staff Officer. He could get men to do anything for him; his
+kindly tact and sympathy, his rare appreciation of your efforts,
+however clumsy, made you ready to work for him like a slave. He has
+been a good friend to me throughout, and he has done more for me than
+any other man in France.
+
+At Bruloose the officers of the Brigade had small wooden huts of the
+Armstrong type for offices and sleeping rooms. The mess room was in
+the farm-house. Naturally it was a great change from the rude
+accommodation of a Company Mess. M. Bunge, the French interpreter,
+looked after our comforts well.
+
+Next to B.H.Q. was a large and fairly useful bombing ground, where the
+Brigade Bombing School was carried on; and I spent a good deal of time
+there, as I was in charge of the school. On two days out of every four
+I spent the morning there, and in the afternoon I was free to visit
+the trenches, some four miles away. On the other two days I could go
+up to the trenches in the morning.
+
+I did not miss a day's visit to the trenches and once or twice I went
+up twice in the day.
+
+The journey was done on foot, so I had quite a good day's exercise. My
+duties in the trenches were to see that the battalions in the line had
+a proper supply of grenades; these were taken up by the battalion
+transport at night. Also that the grenades in the trenches and all
+bomb stores were properly stored and cleaned. I had also to see that
+sufficient rifle-grenades were fired at night to harass the enemy's
+working-parties, and that our bombing-posts were properly manned.
+
+During our stay at Bruloose I had nearly 2000 grenades taken out of
+the trenches and replaced by new ones; this was hard work for the
+transport. But the transport officers[5] were very obliging; and I
+found on firing these old grenades at the school that about 30 to 40
+per cent did not burst properly or even at all. The situation in the
+trenches was getting very bad. Shelling by the enemy's artillery was
+now less frequent, but the annoyance from enemy trench-mortars was
+something cruel. Not only large oil-cans, full of explosives, came
+over both by day and by night, but a horrible 9-inch trench-mortar now
+made its appearance and blew large craters in the C.T.s and supports.
+I had two of the oil-cans pretty close to me at different times, and
+they were not pleasant. Eventually the trench-mortaring got so severe,
+that the V Corps had a 12-inch howitzer brought up on the railway, and
+several of these huge shells were fired into Petit Bois when the
+German trench-mortars started. Another feature to be reckoned with was
+the approach of the enemy towards K.1 and J.3 by means of a series of
+fortified mine craters. These craters were worked on at night, and by
+the General's orders they had to be kept under constant fire from
+rifle-grenades. Several nights I went up to the trenches to see this
+carried out, once accompanied by the General himself. I had at the
+Bruloose bomb store a fairly good stock of smoke and incendiary bombs,
+like large cocoa tins, only containing red or white phosphorus. It
+occurred to me that they might be used with effect against the Germans
+working in the craters. So I carried a number of these bombs up to the
+trenches, and they were duly fired from the West spring-thrower or
+from the trench-catapult. The Germans did not seem to like them, as
+their discharge always drew a lot of machine-gun fire in reply. We
+also tried to get some more noxious bombs (e.g. 'M.S.K.'), but no
+supply could be obtained from the Base. The Bombing Officers[6] of the
+6th and 7th N.F. carried on the harassing fire with such effect that
+eventually the Germans took to sending showers of 'fishtails' whenever
+a rifle-grenade was loosed off. The 'fishtail' was a small
+trench-mortar bomb, which the Germans substituted for the
+rifle-grenade and used with great effect. Needless to say our
+demonstrations were not very popular with the infantry in the front
+line. But Capt. Vernon Merivale, M.C., appeared to take a special
+delight in these harassing shoots.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] Brigade Transport, Capt. Kinsella; 7th N.F., Capt. B. Neville; 6th
+N.F., Lieut. F. Clayton; 5th N.F., Lieut. M.G. Pape; 4th N.F., Lieut.
+W.M. Turner.
+
+[6] 2nd-Lieuts. Toon and Thompson (6th N.F.) and Lawson and Woods (7th
+N.F.).
+
+
+
+
+X
+
+THE BRIGADE BOMBING SCHOOL
+
+
+The staff of instructors at the Bombing School consisted of three
+highly trained sergeants--two of these had been instructors at the
+50th Divisional Bombing School which was now given up. Sergt. Hogg of
+the 5th N.F. and Sergt. P. Flannigan of the 4th. N.F. took it in turns
+to be at the school and at the Brigade Bomb Store. So with Sergt.
+Moffat, who was now appointed Brigade Bombing Sergeant, I had always
+two to help me at the school.
+
+On the two bombing days sixteen untrained men came from the battalion
+resting at Locre and sixteen others from the battalion resting at R.C.
+Farm.
+
+During the two days these men had to be sufficiently instructed to
+throw three live Mills grenades. Generally they threw one live grenade
+apiece after the first day's instruction, and the two others the
+second day. The first thing was to give a lecture to the men,
+explaining the nature of the Mills grenade and the proper way to hold
+it and throw it.
+
+After this a party of sixteen men were lined up in two lines, about
+forty yards apart, and each of the eight men in turn threw a dummy
+grenade towards the man opposite him. The instructor had to be careful
+that the man threw in the correct way and held his grenade right. The
+action of throwing the grenade was more like bowling overhand than
+throwing. After about an hour of this the first party of men, eight in
+number, went down to the firing-trench, which had to be 200 yards
+clear of any troops. There were two sandbag walls, breastworks, about
+five feet high--the one in front with a small traverse wall. At the
+front wall stood the recruit, the sergeant-instructor, and the Brigade
+Bombing Officer. In front about thirty yards away was a deep pit,
+mostly full of water, which had been excavated by innumerable grenades
+thrown into it. The other seven men took refuge behind the second
+wall, until it was their turn to throw. Before the grenade was thrown
+the officer had to blow two blasts on his whistle. The first meant
+'Get ready to fire'--i.e. draw the safety-pin, the second meant
+'Fire.' Some men of course were more confident than others; but on the
+whole the Northumberlands were easy to teach, for many were miners and
+accustomed to explosives--in fact, it was sometimes difficult to make
+them take cover properly. When the grenade was thrown, every one
+ducked down behind the wall and waited for the explosion. If it went
+off all right, all was well; and the next man came along for his turn.
+If, however, the grenade did not go off, it had if possible to be
+retrieved and the detonator taken out. This was the most exciting
+work I had to do. Generally the sergeant and I took it in turns to
+pick up these 'dud' grenades as they were called. After some
+experience it was possible to tell the moment the grenade was thrown
+why it did not go off, for example the fuse might be damp and never
+light; or the cap might misfire; or, worst of all 'duds,' the striker
+might stick fast through rust or dirt.
+
+Before I gained the experience of picking up these 'duds' and drawing
+their teeth, I had one lucky escape. The grenade in question had a
+'hanging striker' and burst on the ground within five yards of me. It
+was not, I think, a very good explosion, but one of the pieces caught
+me on the thigh--happily it cut into the seam of my breeches and then
+turned, following the seam out and leaving me with a bruise and two
+holes in my clothes. I never liked picking up these 'duds,' but later
+on I got to know from the sound what was the matter with them; and
+then it was just a matter of experience getting them to pieces safely.
+The live grenades when they burst in the pit, sometimes threw out old
+'dud' grenades lying in the mud. One of these latter burst in mid-air,
+but hurt no one; and another time the grenade dropped right into the
+firing-trench but did not go off. Another nasty thing was when the
+grenade burst too quickly; many men have been killed by premature
+bursts during practice. But though some grenades went off too quickly,
+I never had one burst in less than a second, by which time the
+grenade was fairly well away from the trench. Besides these thirty-two
+untrained men, the bombers from the battalion at Locre used to come
+and practise on the ground under their own Bombing Officer. But if any
+of these men wished to pass the live firing test, to qualify them to
+wear the Bombers badge (a red grenade on the right arm), I had to test
+them with six live grenades. Three out of the six had to fall within a
+narrow trench about twenty-five yards from the firing point.
+
+Of course I had to watch the grenade till it reached the ground--and
+pray that it would not burst prematurely. What a blessing those steel
+helmets were during live bombing practice! They were proof against
+bomb splinters and gave you a feeling of confidence.
+
+The battalion bombers were also trained at the school to fire live
+rifle-grenades. No risks were taken with the Newton rifle-grenade;
+during firing all men had to be behind a barricade and the rifle was
+fired off with a string and held in position by an iron stand. But we
+used to think the Hales rifle-grenade quite safe, so that men were
+trained to fire off these grenades holding the rifle to the ground in
+the kneeling position. On one occasion several of us had a lucky
+escape. The grenade burst at the end of the rifle, instead of bursting
+120 yards away on contact with the ground. Sergt. Hogg and another
+bomber of the 5th N.F. were holding the rifle and both got knocked
+over, Sergt. Hogg with a slight cut on the head, the latter shaken but
+unhurt. The Bombing Officer of the 5th N.F. and I both got scratched
+on the face with splinters.
+
+During our stay at Bruloose about 420 men went through the recruits'
+course and over 1700 grenades were fired.
+
+Later on I had to be content with much less elaborate bombing grounds.
+Sometimes they had to be improvised from nothing, at other times a
+bombing-pit of a sort was found, and we had to make the best of it.
+After the battle on the Somme far less attention was paid to bombing;
+but for a time it was thought desirable to have every man trained in
+bombing, even at the expense of the rifle.
+
+
+
+
+XI
+
+ST. ELOI AND NEUVE EGLISE
+
+
+About July 2 the Brigade came out of the line for a short time, and
+B.H.Q. moved to a camp between Mont Rouge and Westoutre. During this
+stay I was able to carry on the training at the Bruloose Bombing
+School. There was a fine view of the trenches from Mont Rouge. We
+could of course hear the sound of the bombardment on the Somme, but at
+this distance it was more distinct some days than others.
+
+On July 14 the Brigade went into the line again, south of St. Eloi,
+the support trenches being in Ridge Wood. B.H.Q. moved to a camp at La
+Clytte, farther than ever from the front line trenches.
+
+At La Clytte there was a small bombing ground, but it was not very
+safe for live practice, and I was glad when we left it. We did not
+stay long in these trenches; but before we left them the bombers of
+the 6th N.F. killed a German and he was brought back to our trenches.
+It was the first dead German that I had seen.
+
+Our next move was to a quieter part of the line, namely to Wulverghem,
+below the Messines Ridge. B.H.Q. went to a canvas camp at Neuve
+Eglise, but moved soon after to Dranoutre, where we were billeted in
+houses. Lieut.-Col. Turner, O.C. the 5th N.F., came to command the
+Brigade for about a week, in the absence of General Clifford, who went
+to England on leave. He was a regular officer, with a keen sense of
+humour and with an extraordinary dislike of parsons. These new
+trenches were quiet enough, but the sniping of the enemy was far too
+good. I was nearly caught out before I realised that fact. I was
+looking over the parapet the first day with L.-C. Austin, when a
+bullet caught the edge of the parapet just in front of us, tearing the
+sandbag along the top and stopping within a few inches of our heads.
+Of course we dropped down quickly into the trench, but L.-C. Austin
+waved his cap over the top to signal a 'miss.' He told me it would
+never do to let the German sniper think he had scored a hit. The
+'flying pig,' our large trench-mortar, was first used in a bombardment
+of the German trenches here, and I believe our Stokes mortar battery
+did a record rate of fire on the same occasion. We had a lot of gas
+cylinders stored in the front line trenches ready for use. But they
+were not required and we had the pleasant job of removing them. They
+were always talked about as 'rum jars.'
+
+There was no bombing ground at Dranoutre, and I had to make a place
+for live practice in a farmer's field, much to his disgust. 'C'est la
+guerre, monsieur!' was all we could say to his expostulations. We
+could now hear the great cannonade on the Somme going on to the south
+almost day and night.
+
+A large number of wooden ammunition huts were erected along the roads
+near Dranoutre, and heavy gun emplacements were being made about
+Kemmel. Perhaps it was intended that the Fifth Army should make a big
+push here, if the battle on the Somme had been more successful at the
+start.
+
+About August 7 we were relieved by two shattered divisions from the
+Somme, one of them being the Ulster Division that had seen hard
+fighting south of Serre. We had a good idea whither we were bound. But
+at first we moved off to the Meteren area, where B.H.Q. were quartered
+in a camp of wooden huts for about five days. The censorship now
+became very strict, no inkling of our movements was to be given to
+anyone at home. Valises too had to be lightened by sending home all
+spare kit; and all papers and maps relating to the Kemmel area had to
+be destroyed or returned. Amongst other things I sent home my
+'slacks,' and never wore them again in France. About August 11 we
+moved off to Bailleul railway station and entrained there, leaving
+about midnight. Next morning we reached Doullens, where we left the
+train. The R.T.O. at Doullens was Capt. Rearden, whom I knew as a boy
+at Wellington College and had not seen for sixteen years. But he
+recognised me and claimed acquaintance.
+
+We marched that day to Fienvillers, and stayed there two days in a
+French house. The next move was to Naours where we spent one night;
+and the next night we stayed at Pierregot. On August 17 we marched to
+the wood at Henencourt.
+
+The whole Brigade was encamped in the neighbourhood of the wood. We
+had at last arrived in the rest area of the Somme front, and it could
+only be a matter of days before we were involved in the great battle.
+But before that could happen there was a great deal to do to prepare
+the men for their ordeal, and perhaps not a great deal of time in
+which to do it. The Division was served out with the short rifle for
+the first time. Hitherto we had only had the long rifle such as was
+used in the South African War.
+
+
+
+
+XII
+
+THE SOMME[7]
+
+
+The battle on the Somme was to me the great tragedy of the war. A
+glorious noble tragedy, but still a tragedy. Both sides of course have
+claimed the victory, the British a tactical one, the Germans a
+strategic one. The net result to the Allies from a material point of
+view was the recapture of some hundreds of square miles of France, for
+the most part battered to bits and as desolate and useless as a
+wilderness; and the capture or destruction of so many thousands of the
+enemy at a cost altogether out of proportion to their numbers. The
+Germans claim, and claim quite rightly, that they frustrated our
+attempt to break through their line. On the other hand it can be
+little consolation for them to know that a nation of amateur
+soldiers[8] drove them out of the strongest fortress in the world;
+drove them out so completely that they were glad to take refuge,
+morally as well as physically, behind their famous Hindenburg Line.
+
+No doubt our grand attack lasting from July to November 1916 cemented
+the Alliance with France and saved Verdun from falling. No doubt it
+paved the way, in knowledge and morale, for further attacks at a later
+date. The fact remains that before its lessons were learnt the slopes
+of the Ancre and the Somme were sown with the bodies of thousands of
+the finest specimens of the British race. What a cost was paid for the
+example and the lesson! Never again during the war had Britain such
+fine athletic men, such gallant and heroic sons to fight her battles.
+No horror or hardship could subdue their spirit. Again and again,
+through shattered ranks and over ground covered with the fallen, they
+went forward to the supreme sacrifice as cheerfully and as
+light-heartedly as if they were out for a holiday. They knew they
+could beat the enemy in front of them, and they went on and did it
+again and again, in spite of the wire, in spite of the mud, in spite
+of thousands of machine-gun bullets and shells. The tragedy of it all
+is written in one word. _Waste_--waste of lives, waste of effort,
+waste of ammunition. The fact is now clear that in 1916 the resources
+of the British Nation were not sufficiently developed to smash the
+German war machine. That was undoubtedly the hope of every one who
+took part in the battle, to deliver a final knock-out blow. But this
+hope failed, even if it failed by a little. Our artillery, mighty as
+it undoubtedly was, was not mighty enough yet to destroy the enemy's
+defences and to shatter his power of resistance. Alas, it was a blow
+that could never be repeated again with such magnificent human
+resources!
+
+After the supreme effort by all ranks a terrible wave of depression
+naturally followed. And can this be wondered at? For a time there was
+lack of confidence which made itself all too apparent in 1917, a year
+of unparalleled disasters. No one who has not set out with such high
+hopes can know how awful that depression can be.
+
+The effort of the British Army was never so united, never so intense
+as it was in the battle on the Somme. Later on reverses brought
+knowledge and knowledge at last brought victory. But for some that
+victory had its sad side too; for thousands upon thousands of those
+gay and gallant comrades in the Great Endeavour were not there to
+share it.[9]
+
+The part of the 50th Division in the battle was not a small one.
+Briefly the Division went into the Somme area on August 17, 1916, and
+left it about March 10, 1917. Their first attack was launched on
+September 15, 1916, in company with the Guards and some of the finest
+divisions in the British Army. After almost continuous fighting they
+were withdrawn about October 5, and went back to the rest area around
+Henencourt till October 21--after having advanced their line from High
+Wood Ridge to the edge of Le Sars.
+
+On October 25 they returned to the same front and made two gallant but
+fruitless attacks on the Butte of Warlencourt, in support of larger
+operations about Beaumont Hamel. The hardship of the fighting between
+October 25 and November 16 cannot be realised by those who did not
+actually experience the conditions. From December 28 to January 23 the
+Division held the line south of Le Barque and Ligny-Thilloy. After
+that they moved farther south and held the line in front of Belloy and
+Estrees, trenches that had been captured by the French. No wonder,
+after this hard work, that the 50th Division gained the reputation of
+a hard fighting division.
+
+I can give no very accurate idea of the casualties suffered by the
+Division; but some idea of the losses may be drawn from the casualties
+among the bombers of the 7th N.F. Of these I have fairly accurate
+details. The bombers of the 7th N.F. went into action on September 15,
+1916, about eighty strong--ten N.C.O.s and seventy men. When the roll
+was called at Bresle on November 20, 1916, eleven men alone answered.
+Of the N.C.O.'s two were wounded and the rest were killed. The bombers
+of the 4th N.F. suffered almost as heavily, but I have now no details.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] See Illustration, p. 81.
+
+[8] I allude of course to the New Armies.
+
+[9] These views of the battle, I am told, are unduly pessimistic. But
+I let them stand as a record of personal feelings aroused as a result
+of the battle.
+
+
+
+
+XIII
+
+HENENCOURT
+
+
+Brigade Head-quarters were accommodated in wooden huts, but the
+battalions were mostly under canvas. Strenuous efforts had now to be
+made to complete the training of the men, and to initiate them to a
+style of warfare that was quite new and strange to them.
+
+My own task was to train as many men as possible in the use of the
+Mills grenade. Each day I had fifty men to train, and they were kept
+at it all morning and again in the evening, until they had each thrown
+two live grenades. I had the services of three sergeant-instructors,
+who were invaluable in getting the men past the first stage. All the
+live firing I had to supervise myself; that being the rule of the
+Army, that an officer should always be present during live practice.
+All my spare time was spent in going over and testing the grenades to
+be fired next day, or in baling out the bombing trench, which filled
+very rapidly in wet weather. And so it went on day after day. Thirteen
+officers and 671 men who had never previously thrown a live grenade
+went through the course at Henencourt; and about 1400 live grenades
+were fired. The battalion bombers used the ground in the afternoon in
+charge of their own officers; and they got through another 1000
+grenades. On September 2 I was able to tell the General that every man
+in the Brigade, including machine-gunners and trench-mortar men, had
+been through the course, with which he expressed himself very pleased.
+Towards the end of our stay the General came to see the live throwing
+several times in the evenings, and he always spoke very encouragingly
+to the men.
+
+About September 6 I went with a party of officers from the Brigade to
+view the trenches we were to take over on the Somme battlefield. And
+as this was my first visit there it naturally made a great impression
+on me. We started off in the dark and rode through Henencourt and
+Millencourt to Albert. Just before we reached Albert we passed through
+a cloud of lachrymatory gas, which made me weep copious tears for
+nearly half an hour. The great sight in Albert was of course the
+ruined cathedral, with its colossal statue of the Virgin and Child
+hanging downwards over the roadway. We rode on to where the front line
+had been at Fricourt then to Fricourt 'Circus,' Mametz, and then to
+the south of Mametz Wood, where we left our horses. First we went
+through the wood to B.H.Q., which were in some deep dugouts there.
+Having obtained guides and a rough sort of map, we went on to
+Battalion H.Q. at the Chalk Quarry east of Bazentin-le-Petit. This was
+about 1000 yards from the front line, which lay just below the ridge
+from Martinpuich to High Wood. A deep C.T. called 'Jutland Alley'
+took us up to the front line--'Clark's Trench.' So far we had little
+trouble from shelling, but we passed over the bodies of two
+unfortunate Highlanders in Jutland Alley who had been recently killed
+by a shell. The entrance to Intermediate Trench on the left was
+terrible, the smell being overpowering. As a matter of fact there were
+scores of dead men just out of sight on both sides of this trench,
+whom it had been impossible to bury. It was not unusual to see an arm
+or leg protruding out of the side of the C.T., so hastily had the
+Germans buried their dead. And there were swarms and swarms of flies
+everywhere. When we had finished looking round in the front line,
+which was a good trench and quite quiet, we turned back down Jutland
+Alley. The German 'heavies' were now shelling the supports and close
+to the C.T. One shell, which seemed not to explode, hit the edge of
+the C.T.; and when we got to the place we found the trench partially
+filled in and an unfortunate man buried up to his neck, much shaken
+but not much hurt. We left him to be extricated by his friends who had
+got spades. I then visited the trenches near the windmill and then
+returned to the south of Mametz Wood. Whilst waiting here I examined
+with interest the many curious little 'cubby holes' that our troops
+had made during the attack on Mametz Wood. I also watched the German
+'heavies' shelling our field batteries near Bazentin-le-Grand, and
+sending up clouds of chalky dust. A few shrapnel shells were also
+fired near the road, and I believe our horses and orderlies were
+nearly hit, but escaped by galloping off when the first shell came.
+The countryside looked very desolate and knocked about till we got to
+Fricourt Circus, only the chalky roads were crammed with limbers and
+lorries taking up supplies. At the Circus there was a remarkable
+sight, a huge camping ground covering several square miles, every
+available spot on it packed with dumps and horse-lines, artillery
+parks, bivouacs, and tents. All the roads round here were full of
+troops on the move, and of lines and lines of lorries either coming or
+going. After passing Albert there was less of interest, but we saw one
+of our aeroplanes stranded in a ploughed field east of Millencourt.
+The pilot told us he had got his machine damaged over the German line,
+but had managed to get back thus far, when he had made a bad landing.
+Such was my first visit to the great battlefield, a dreary looking
+spot with a general aspect of chalk, broken stumps of trees, and
+crowded muddy roads.
+
+Our stay at Henencourt was drawing to a close, but before we left we
+had an inspection by the III Corps Commander. And on the last day,
+September 9, we held a grand sports day and had a band playing. The
+men looked splendidly fit and well after their month's rest, and they
+displayed a wonderful spirit, talking eagerly of their part in the
+coming attack. Alas and alas! At times I could have wept to see these
+splendid bronzed men go marching by, the very flower of our English
+race. For I knew that very soon I should see few of them again, or few
+indeed of their like.
+
+
+
+
+XIV
+
+MAMETZ WOOD
+
+
+On Sunday September 10, the Brigade left Henencourt, and B.H.Q. went
+to the deep dugouts in Mametz Wood. I travelled there with Sergts.
+Moffat and Hogg, and we were lucky enough to get good lifts, first in
+a Canadian Staff car and then on a motor-lorry. Capt. Bloomer (5th
+D.L.I. and attached to B.H.Q.) shared a deep dugout with me, and we
+had meals together.
+
+It was the first deep dugout I had entered, and of course it was the
+work of the Germans. There were about twenty steps down at either end,
+the wooden sides of the stairway scarred with bullet holes and
+splinters. Inside there were just two narrow apartments, one for our
+bedroom and the other for meals. Though rather draughty it was
+comfortable enough and practically shell-proof. Capt. Bloomer had an
+unpleasant job, which kept him out late at nights, and I did not envy
+him. In order to make the attack, it was decided to dig a forward
+trench some way in front of Clark's Trench. The digging was done at
+night and cost us a number of casualties from shell and rifle fire.
+Capt. Bloomer used to go up every night to see the work done.
+
+The second morning at Mametz Wood I was greatly shocked to hear that
+our Brigadier had been killed by a sniper from High Wood, as he was
+going out to inspect the forward trench just after dawn. It was nearly
+two days before his body could be brought in, owing to the shelling
+that went on at night. He was buried at Albert. A few days later
+Brigadier-General Ovens, an Irishman, came to take command of the
+149th Infantry Brigade.
+
+My job was now to prepare the Brigade bomb stores and to see that the
+grenades were properly packed into sandbag carriers for taking up the
+line. A special dugout had been prepared as a bomb store near the
+Chalk Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit, but almost at the last moment the
+R.A.M.C. commandeered the place for their forward dressing-station. So
+the boxes of grenades had to lie in the open in large shell-holes,
+covered with German greatcoats, mackintosh sheets, or anything else we
+could get hold of. I spent hours and hours examining the grenades and
+packing them into sandbag carriers. One of our transport-wagons[10]
+had a lucky escape, whilst carrying a load of 2000 Mills grenades, all
+detonated, to one of our dumps. The safety-pin of one of the grenades
+broke with the jolting of the wagon, and the grenade went off,
+bursting its own and several other boxes, but not setting off any
+other of the grenades. I had an anxious time unpacking that
+wagon-load. The brass safety-pins of the Mills grenades were very
+unsatisfactory at this time; but I had collected a large number of
+steel pins from the bombing grounds, and I used to re-pin any that I
+thought had weak brass-pins. This examination of the grenades was
+rather wearisome, but it was time well spent, for we had no accident
+with them when the carrying-parties took them up the line. And other
+units were not so fortunate in that respect. About 24,000 grenades
+went through my hands, and of these perhaps 5000 went into the
+sandbags. On September 14 we first saw the mysterious tanks, which had
+arrived behind the quarry to take part in the great attack next day.
+We had two allotted to our Division. That night we moved from Mametz
+Wood to the Chalk Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. Here one of the
+Divisional Field Co. R.E. had prepared for us excellent H.Q. in the
+side of the Quarry. The offices were well down in the side of the
+Quarry, the mess room was a large shelter covered with sandbags a
+little higher up. We were fairly crowded that night, for a large
+number of 'liaison' officers arrived for duty next day. We were
+sleeping inside the mess shelter, practically shoulder to shoulder all
+over the floor. Officers were sleeping and feeding and working there
+all at the same time. A day and night mess was run for the benefit of
+all that came in.
+
+For the last four or five days our artillery had kept up an almost
+continual fire on the enemy's lines. Now at the last moment the guns
+of the Field Artillery were taken out of their hiding places and
+brought forward into the open. Our chalk pit was practically under the
+muzzles of about a dozen field guns.
+
+Later on that night we heard a curious whistling, puffing sound, it
+was the two tanks clambering up the hill to get into position near the
+front line.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[10] Lieut. F.C. Clayton was now Brigade Transport Officer.
+
+
+
+
+XV
+
+THE 15TH SEPTEMBER 1916
+
+
+We were all up early next morning, and got some breakfast well before
+dawn. The air outside had a regular autumn chill. At first only an
+occasional gun fired in the distance. But about twenty minutes before
+dawn, our heavy guns opened their bombardment. To one standing in the
+quarry, below the level of the ground, they had the most weird of
+sounds. A dull rumbling in the rear and a continual whizz and hiss
+high overhead. Hardly a sound of the guns firing and no sound of the
+shells bursting. Only that terrible grinding swish in the air above.
+Twenty minutes of that, and then, with a terrific roar, all our field
+guns opened, and we knew that our comrades in front, the 4th N.F. on
+the right and the 7th N.F. on the left, had 'gone over the top.' The
+noise in front of the field batteries was pandemonium, excruciating to
+the nerves. The air shook and quivered with the sound, the quarry
+seemed to shake. You could only hear when the speaker shouted in your
+ear. And so it went on hour by hour all day. The rate of fire
+subsided, but the guns went on all day. I was standing with the
+Staff-Captain in the Quarry, when I got what felt like a stone in
+the face. It proved to be a piece of a shell, but happily for me it
+struck the ground first and caught me on the rebound. A small cut
+about the nose and chin, but I had to go and have it dressed. I got
+well chaffed afterwards on my rather comical appearance. It was an
+anxious time before the first news got back, but when it did it was
+good. Our men had taken the first German trench, and were waiting to
+go ahead again. Unfortunately High Wood was not taken by the 47th
+Division on our right till midday, and meanwhile we lost numerous
+casualties from having our right flank exposed to machine-gun fire. A
+report came in that a large party of Germans were starting a bombing
+attack on our right, so it was decided to send up a supply of
+grenades. I went, therefore, and found Lieut. Mackenzie, who was in
+charge of 100 men acting as carriers, and handed over 2400 grenades.
+This party went up to the front line and back without mishap. But
+shortly afterwards Lieut. Mackenzie was badly wounded by one of our
+own shells bursting prematurely. We had fifty casualties at the Quarry
+from premature bursts. It was not the fault of the gunners, but either
+the guns were worn or the shells were defective.
+
+   [Illustration: Scene of Attacks by 50th Division. Sept. 15-Nov.
+   14, 1916.]
+
+I lost two sergeant-instructors in the Quarry. Sergt. Moffat was badly
+hit in the thigh with a fragment from a premature and died a few days
+after. Sergt. Hogg was wounded in the chest by a bullet, but not
+fatally. The wounded and prisoners began to stream back past the
+Quarry. And as they came we began to get news of our friends in
+front. Though successful the Brigade had to pay a heavy price. The 4th
+N.F. were literally cut to pieces. I lost many friends killed,
+including Capt. J.W. Merivale, 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson, and Sergt.
+Austin, and many more wounded, including Capt. G.F. Ball.[11] During
+the attack thirty-seven out of the eighty bombers of the 7th N.F. were
+killed or wounded, and the bombers of the 4th N.F. paid a still
+heavier price, including their gallant officer killed.
+
+At 4 P.M. the 151st Infantry Brigade took over the operations on our
+front and continued the attack at night. Next day B.H.Q. returned to
+Mametz Wood.[12] I had to pay a visit to the nearest large
+dressing-station to get the anti-tetanus inoculation. This proved more
+troublesome than the small cut I received, and it made me feel fairly
+weak for the next ten days. On September 20 I went with Capt. D. Hill
+to select a place for a dump near High Wood, and we passed over the
+first captured German trench. There were few of our men lying about,
+for the burial parties had been hard at work. But farther back around
+Intermediate Trench there were piles of British and German soldiers
+still lying where they had fallen weeks before. We had now to get a
+number of sandbag carriers made for taking more grenades up the line,
+and I was given a small party from the 5th N.F. to get this done.
+
+About September 22 we returned to the line, and B.H.Q. to the Chalk
+Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. I have but a confused recollection of the
+period from now to the end of our stay in this locality. My servant
+had a lucky escape in the Quarry. He was sitting outside my dugout
+with two others making some tea, when a small shell fell right in the
+middle of their feet. All were thrown over by the explosion, but only
+one was really hurt--Capt. Bloomer's servant. We brought the poor
+fellow into the dugout, with his right arm almost severed at the
+elbow; and we spent the next ten minutes tying him up as best we
+could. He died about a week later. I also remember paying two visits
+to a most unpleasant spot selected as the Brigade ammunition dump, at
+the junction of Crescent Alley and Spence Trench. The German artillery
+never seemed to leave it alone.
+
+About October 3 the 5th N.F., commanded by Lieut.-Col. N.I. Wright
+attacked the Flers Line, and took two trenches. Before this attack
+started a huge howitzer was brought up and placed on the west side of
+Mametz Wood. And during the one and a half hours preceding the attack,
+it fired sixty 15-inch shells into Le Sars, of which only two failed
+to burst. On October 5 the 50th Division was relieved, and B.H.Q.
+moved back to a doctor's house in Albert. That night General Ovens
+gave a dinner to the officers of the Staff at a restaurant in the
+town, where a good repast was served by some French civilians. Next
+day we moved farther back to Millencourt, and we were billeted in a
+nice house.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[11] The two other Company Commanders of the 7th N.F., Capt. V.
+Merivale, M.C., and Capt. E.F. Clennell, M.C., got safely through the
+action.
+
+[12] At this place I first had the opportunity of speaking to our
+Divisional Commander, Major-General Sir P.S. Wilkinson, K.C.M.G.,
+C.B., who was beloved by every one in the Division.
+
+
+
+
+XVI
+
+MILLENCOURT
+
+
+I went off to Millencourt, on October 6, in front of the rest of
+Brigade in order to look for a bombing ground. I found one all right,
+but I cannot say that it was altogether safe or in very good
+condition. The firing-trench was a square emplacement cut into the
+ground and there was no easy exit in case of trouble; also our
+predecessors there obviously had had an accident on the spot, for I
+found a box of Mills grenades lying there, half buried, two or three
+of the grenades exploded and the rest more or less damaged and in a
+dangerous condition. However, the mess was cleared up at last, and I
+had to make the best of the place, such as it was. I had now only
+Sergt. P. Flannigan to help me, but Lieut.-Col. Scott Jackson, D.S.O.,
+my colonel, kindly allowed L.-Sergt. Piercy of the 7th N.F. to come
+and assist in the training at the Brigade Bombing School. After the
+heavy fighting the Brigade was supplied with large drafts of new men.
+They came chiefly from the Fen country and were only partially
+trained. I found them far more difficult to instruct in bombing than
+the Northumberland miners. I had between forty and fifty of these men
+each day, and they had to throw two live grenades before they left.
+One exciting event happened during this training. One of the drafts
+was about to throw his grenade, when he dropped it and of course it
+started to burn. With great quickness and resolution Sergt. Flannigan
+picked it up and got it out of the trench before it burst--and his
+action undoubtedly averted a tragedy. Many men have received
+decorations for similar acts in the trenches, but the Brigade decided
+that nothing could be done in this case except mentioning it in
+Divisional Orders and recording it in the Sergeant's pay book. After
+this I arranged with the Sergeant to keep an undetonated grenade
+handy, and if any man seemed too nervous to throw his first grenade
+safely, we supplied him with this. He went through all the emotions of
+throwing a live grenade, and endangered neither himself nor us. The
+empty grenade was then picked up and treated as a 'dud,' i.e. one that
+had misfired. Between October 7 and October 21, 477 new men went
+through the bombing course, and nearly a thousand grenades were fired.
+Shortly after this Sergt. P. Flannigan went to the Corps School, first
+as a bomber and afterwards as a Lewis gun instructor; and I never had
+his services again.
+
+Brigadier-General Ovens was a pleasant, genial Irishman, who tried to
+make us all feel at home in his mess. But I doubt whether the Irish
+really understand the Northumbrians or vice versa. At this time John
+Coates, the famous tenor singer, came out as a lieutenant in the
+Yorkshire Regiment. He was attached to us for a time. It was a
+sporting thing for him to do, but he was neither young enough nor hard
+enough to stand the severities of the campaign. He acted as General's
+Orderly-Officer for a time and afterwards became Town Major of
+Becourt, not an easy or a very pleasant job. He sang several times for
+the men, once in the open air, and his singing was certainly top hole.
+
+During this stay at Millencourt I paid a flying visit to Amiens with
+Lieut. A.E. Odell. We went there and back in a Divisional Signal car
+and stopped only a few hours, in fact for dinner.
+
+About October 24 we went to Albert, stopping one night at the same
+house as before, and next day we went back to the line.
+
+
+
+
+XVII
+
+HOOK SAP
+
+
+On October 25, 1916, we took over from a brigade of the 1st Division
+at the ruined sugar factory at Bazentin-le-Grand. The sleeping
+apartments were in a dugout below ground, but the mess room and
+offices were in the building on the ground floor. After arriving I
+went with a bombing sergeant of the Black Watch to have a look at the
+Brigade Dump, which was a good way from B.H.Q. You got at it by
+walking across country to the west end of High Wood, and then along a
+trench tramway till it ended rather abruptly at the Flers Switch. Like
+most dumps, it was at the end of the tramway and none too healthy a
+spot. It was afterwards moved forward to a sunken road called 'Hexham
+Road,' where the boxes of ammunition were just piled in the open.
+
+The position in front was now as follows. The 1st Division had pushed
+the enemy back to a line along the top of a ridge running from the
+Butte of Warlencourt practically due east. This ridge prevented our
+seeing the enemy's approaches and support positions in Le Barque. On
+the other hand from Loupart Wood the whole of our approaches and
+support trenches were in full view of the enemy, as far back as High
+Wood. Across those two miles no one could move in daylight without
+being seen by the enemy, and there was practically no position to put
+our field guns forward of High Wood. The enemy's front line consisted
+of two trenches--Gird Line and Gird Support--with a forward trench on
+the top of the ridge, called on the left 'Butte Trench' on the right
+'Hook Sap.' Our front line Snag Trench and Maxwell Trench lay this
+side the ridge and about two hundred yards away from the German
+forward trench.
+
+The Butte of Warlencourt, an old Gallic burial place, was a round
+chalk hill, rising about 100 feet above ground level; and had been
+mined with deep dugouts and made into a formidable strong point. From
+the Butte machine-guns defended the approaches to Hook Sap, and from
+Hook Sap and the Gird Line machine-guns defended the approaches to the
+Butte. The ground between and around the opposing trenches had been
+ploughed up with innumerable shells, some of huge calibre, and it was
+now a spongy morass, difficult to cross at a walk and impossible at a
+run. As events proved, unless both the Butte and the Gird Line could
+be taken at the same time, the one would render the other impossible
+to hold. This then was the problem that faced the 50th Division, a
+problem that would have been difficult enough in the driest of
+weather, but rendered four times more so by the rain which fell in
+deluges on three days out of four during the whole of October and
+November. I have dealt with these details rather fully, because this
+phase of the Somme battle has been passed over as a thing of no
+account. The eyes of the public have been directed to the successful
+operations at Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt. They have not been
+directed to the misery and horror that were endured heroically but
+unavailingly on the slopes between Eaucourt L'Abbaye and Le Barque.
+Never have the soldiers of the 50th Division deserved more and won
+less praise than they did during the operations between October 25 and
+November 15. I have no pen to describe the conditions that were faced
+by the brave men, who, after labouring unceasingly in the slimy
+horrors and rain for three weeks without rest or relief, stormed and
+took Hook Sap, only to be cut off and killed to the last man by
+successive counter-attacks. It is a sorrowful page in the history of
+the 7th N.F., but for stark grim courage and devotion to duty it
+cannot be surpassed by anything in the history of the battalion.
+
+The first attack on the Butte and Butte Trench took place about the
+beginning of November and was made by the 151st Infantry Brigade. On
+the right the attack did not succeed; but on the left the troops
+reached the Butte and took or killed many Germans. Unfortunately the
+machine-guns behind the Butte prevented the Brigade from
+consolidating the ground won, and the troops eventually retired to
+their original line. During this operation the men of the 149th
+Infantry Brigade were employed in carrying up stores and as stretcher
+parties. Eventually, about November 12, the Brigade took over the
+front line, with a view to renewing the attack whenever the weather
+should permit. Our H.Q. were established at Seven Elms, about a mile
+from the front line, with rear H.Q. at the sugar factory. At dawn on
+November 14 the Brigade attacked the Hook Sap and Gird Line, the 5th
+N.F. on the right, the 7th N.F. on the left opposite the sap. At the
+same time an Australian Corps attacked farther to the right, but no
+attack was made on the Butte itself. An officer, who was in the
+trenches south-west of the Butte and saw the Northumberlands go
+forward, told me that he had never seen such a strange sight. The men
+staggered forward a few yards, tumbled into shell-holes or stopped to
+pull out less fortunate comrades, forward a few more yards, and the
+same again and again. All the while the machine-guns from the German
+trenches poured a pitiless hail into the slowly advancing line; and
+the German guns opened out a heavy barrage on the trenches and on the
+ground outside. In spite of mud, in spite of heavy casualties, the
+survivors of two companies of the 7th N.F. struggled across that
+spongy swamp and gained the German line. What happened after that can
+only be conjectured, for they never kept touch with the 5th N.F., who
+reached and took the Gird Line. But it is known that the 7th N.F. got
+a footing both in Hook Sap and in the Gird Line behind. The Germans
+barraged the captured trenches twice or three times during the day,
+and are thought to have attacked them in force with fresh reserves
+each time. Owing to the heavy and continuous barrage across No Man's
+Land no news could be got back and no supports could be sent forward.
+Finally, at night, the remnants of the shattered brigade were
+collected, and another attempt made to reach the trenches; but the
+Germans had evidently now got back to their old position and in the
+mud and darkness the fresh attack had little chance of success.
+Nothing more has been seen or heard of the two companies that reached
+Hook Sap. It is believed that they perished to the last man,
+overwhelmed by successive German counter-attacks. Second-Lieut. E.G.
+Lawson fell at Hook Sap, also 2nd-Lieut. R.H.F. Woods, both Bombing
+Officers of the 7th N.F.; also Bombing Sergts. J.R. Richardson and J.
+Piercy.
+
+The 5th N.F. did well indeed, for they succeeded in holding their
+ground in the Gird Line and handed it over next day to the troops that
+relieved them. But that also had to be abandoned at last, owing to its
+isolated position.
+
+The only consolation that can be drawn from this heroic but tragic
+affair is that it may have created a diversion to our successful
+operations at Beaucourt. As an isolated operation it was doomed from
+the start owing to the state of the ground and the exhaustion of the
+men who took part in it.
+
+My own part in the sufferings of the Brigade at this time was so
+insignificant that it is not worth giving many details of my
+experiences. I found walking over the muddy ground most terribly
+exhausting, especially in a trench coat dripping with rain and mud.
+And it was a long way, over three miles, from rear H.Q. to the dump at
+Hexham Road. One morning I went with Major Anderson to the ruins of
+Eaucourt L'Abbaye on a visit of inspection. For months this was a
+terribly shelled place, and it was now nothing but a pile of broken
+sticks and brickdust. We were lucky to get clear of it before the
+morning hate began. There were still large numbers of British and
+German dead lying in heaps round the Flers Line; and two broken down
+tanks completed the picture of muddy desolation. On November 14, the
+day of the battle, I went up to advanced B.H.Q. at Seven Elms, where
+quarters were very crowded. I remember being so tired out that night
+that I fell asleep standing in one of the passages, propped against
+one of the walls. Next day I returned to the sugar factory. And on
+November 17 B.H.Q. moved back to a billet in Albert. Here, on November
+19, I attended the Battalion Church Parade in a barn. A mere handful
+of men, gaunt, hollow-cheeked, and exhausted, their faces dead white
+and their clothes almost in rags, it was one of the saddest parades I
+can remember.
+
+During this visit to the line I first had the services of Pte.
+Fairclough of the 5th N.F. as my Brigade Bombing Orderly, and he
+remained with me in that capacity till I left the Brigade in 1918. I
+found him a most useful, willing man, and he soon gained his lance
+stripe. On November 19, owing to the kindness of Major Anderson, I was
+granted leave to England for ten days. He told the General that I was
+looking rather war-worn and that I should be needed for further
+grenade training on my return.
+
+It was during this visit to Bazentin-le-Grand that I first started
+studying Intelligence work. The Brigade-Major asked me to spend my
+spare time in assisting him with some aeroplane photographs. I had to
+go over the daily series that came in from the Corps, and note
+anything new on our own part of the front. Major Anderson was an
+expert reader of these photographs, and he taught me all I know about
+the subject. I found it an interesting subject, and it was to have a
+great influence over my future career.
+
+
+
+
+XVIII
+
+SECOND LEAVE--BRESLE
+
+
+My journey from Albert to England was remarkable for the hardships
+that occurred. It should be remembered that every one was desperately
+tired and worn out already. We were told to appear at Albert station
+at midnight. When we got there we were told to expect the train at
+2.15 A.M. This meant walking about the platform to keep warm, for
+there was no shelter for officers at the station. Capt. J.O. Aglionby,
+C.F., our padre, and Capt. Lidderdale, R.A.M.C, our battalion doctor,
+were both going by the same train, so I was not without company. When
+2.15 A.M. came there was no train, and we kept walking about till dawn
+broke, but still no train. The R.T.O. then told us that there had been
+a breakdown and that the train could not be expected for a long time.
+So we decided to go and get breakfast at our billets and then to go to
+Amiens by motor-lorry, and catch the train there. At least there would
+be less chance of being shelled there, and some food and shelter.
+
+So we set off about 10 o'clock and eventually got to Amiens, where we
+had a decent lunch. We had to keep hanging about the station,
+however, inquiring for the train. It arrived about 9 P.M., about
+eighteen hours late, and we were glad enough to get on board. It is
+difficult enough to sleep sitting in a train, but I think I managed a
+few hours of troubled sleep. And next morning we arrived in Le Havre.
+The first thing there was to march the men down to a rest camp a long
+way from the town, and a good way from the docks. We were told to
+report back at the same place at 2.30 P.M. So we trudged back to Le
+Havre and got shaved and fed. On returning to the Rest Camp we were
+told that the boat would leave in twenty minutes and that, as it was a
+good thirty minutes walk, we had better be quick. Fortunately we got
+hold of a motor-car and got a lift part of the way and hurried along
+after that as fast as we could. When we reached the dock we found the
+boat would not leave for another two hours. The organisation here was
+rotten just at this time, but it improved later. _The Viper_, a fast
+packet-boat, took us across to Southampton. And next morning I
+proceeded to Weston-super-Mare, having taken nearly three days on the
+journey. Most of that leave I spent in bed in the hands of the doctor.
+I was utterly worn out, not only with exhaustion, but with the
+depression naturally caused by losing so many friends and comrades in
+a manner apparently so fruitless.
+
+The company of recruits I had at Alnwick, was practically wiped out, I
+found about two of them with the battalion when I returned. Only
+eleven were left of the battalion bombers, my good comrades of the
+Salient. The Bombing Officers of the four battalions were all
+casualties, four of them killed. There were few trained bombers left
+in the whole brigade. I went back to France on December 2 in anything
+but buoyant spirits.
+
+On returning to Albert I found that the Brigade were billeted at the
+small village of Bresle. And I got there without much difficulty. The
+weather was wet and cold, as it generally is in December; but active
+preparations were soon started for getting the Bombing School open. We
+found a fairly good bombing-pit for the Brigade School, but we had to
+make one for the battalions. I was now without trained instructors and
+I had no Brigade Bombing Sergeant, but I was lent Corp. Munro, a
+bomber from the 6th N.F., and I made what use I could of Pte.
+Fairclough, my orderly. The result was that I had not only to attend
+to all the live firing, but I had to do the sergeants' work as well.
+Afterwards there were the grenades to be sorted out for next day and a
+friendly hand given to the Bombing Officers of the battalions, most of
+whom were new to their work.
+
+During our stay at Bresle 477 fresh men went through the recruits'
+bombing course. And on December 26 and 27 the tests were carried out
+with the battalion bombers, for the purpose of granting the Bombers'
+Badge. These tests were now made much more difficult to pass, and only
+seven men passed the throwing and firing tests. After this period I
+never carried out any further instruction in the hand-grenade. The
+drafts later on came out more fully trained and the Battalion Bombing
+Officers carried on any further instruction that was required. During
+and in preparation for the operations on the Somme 16 officers and
+2106 men went through the course; and at least 5000 live grenades were
+thrown. I was lucky to have no accident with the Mills grenade, and no
+fatal ones even with the rifle-grenade.
+
+General Ovens went on leave at Bresle, and Lieut.-Col. G. Scott
+Jackson, O.C. 7th N.F., came as Brigade Commander to our H.Q. We had
+him several times again in that capacity, and he was always a
+favourite in our mess. His fine record and services are well known; a
+D.S.O. and Bar, he probably commanded a fighting battalion as long as
+any officer in France. From the time when the battalion landed in
+France in April 1915 till he left the battalion for the R.A.M.C. at
+the latter end of 1917, he was only off duty for about three days, in
+a quiet part of the line. He always looked a picture of robust
+strength, never missed his cold bath even with the temperature near
+zero, and was one of the most optimistic men in the whole Brigade. He
+was a most pleasant kindly Brigade Commander, with the supreme virtue
+of leaving the specialists to do their work in their own way.
+
+Before we left Bresle I got a Brigade Bombing Sergeant--Sergeant T.
+Matthewson of the 5th N.F., who had had long experience as Battalion
+Bombing Sergeant, and was a thoroughly trained and reliable man. I
+found him most useful in his new office and I am glad to know that he
+got safely through the war. Amongst other accomplishments he was a
+good wicket-keeper, as I found later on.
+
+On Christmas Day I went to dinner with the 7th N.F. at their H.Q., and
+was very hospitably entertained. The Brigade moved from Bresle to a
+camp at Becourt on November 28, and stayed there two days; and then
+took over from a Brigade of the 1st Division at Bazentin-le-Petit.
+
+
+
+
+XIX
+
+BUTTE OF WARLENCOURT--TRENCH WARFARE
+
+
+On December 30, 1916, the Brigade was in the reserve area about
+Bazentin-le-Petit, and ready to take over the line of trenches running
+eastwards from a point south of the Butte of Warlencourt. No material
+change had taken place on this part of the front since the fruitless
+attack of November 11. The 1st Division, however, had done a good deal
+of work in the back areas, and had laid duck-board tracks from High
+Wood to the front line, and increased the number of light railways.
+B.H.Q. were at some dugouts at the 'Cough Drop,' a place about a mile
+north of High Wood. The 149th Infantry Brigade had now decided to make
+use of a party of 'Observers,' and Major Anderson asked me to take
+charge of them. I was a little diffident about this as I had never had
+any experience as a Battalion Intelligence Officer and really knew
+nothing at all about observation. But I was glad to take on the job,
+and I soon got to like it. On December 30, therefore, two trained
+observers from each of the four battalions of the Brigade reported to
+me. And I had two N.C.Os. with this party--a corporal of the 4th N.F.,
+who soon left to take a commission, and L.-C. Amos of the 7th N.F.,
+who afterwards became N.C.O. in charge. On the same day I met the
+Intelligence Officer of the 1st Brigade who took me over the line and
+showed me the two O.P.s. I was lucky to meet at the start an officer
+who understood the business so well. He gave me many useful hints, and
+handed over an excellent panoramic sketch map of the view from one
+O.P., as well as the Log Book. The latter was a notebook containing
+reports of every movement of the enemy seen from the O.P.s. On
+December 31 I took the party of observers up to the Cough Drop where
+they had a shelter near B.H.Q. I had also supervision of the two
+Brigade dumps, one at Hexham Road and the other at the Flers Line
+about half a mile north of B.H.Q. Both places came in for heavy
+shelling at intervals all day and night, for both were situated about
+the end of a trench tramway, an obvious place for dumping stores.
+However I had the latter dump moved to a better place, some distance
+from the tramway, where there was less scrap iron lying about. During
+this tour in the line which lasted eight days, I was employed in
+looking after the observers and the two Brigade bomb stores. Towards
+the close of our stay I started to make a new bomb store in Hexham
+Road. Capt. H. Liddell gave me the general design of it and told me
+what materials I should require. But I had no more time than to get
+the emplacement dug out and the wooden framework erected.[13] I
+remember that we struck two buried Germans in excavating the
+emplacement and had to treat them with some very powerful corrosive
+before the work could be continued.
+
+Also it was rather a warm corner in Hexham Road, and I caught a shell
+splinter on the leg; this, however, struck the steel buckle on my
+trench boot and only raised a bruise. The weather became very cold
+towards the end of our stay, with snow and frost. The Germans opposite
+our trenches were not disposed to be unfriendly about the New Year. On
+the left near the Butte they signalled to our men in the trenches
+before a trench-mortar bombardment started, as if to warn them to take
+cover. On the right they were still more inclined to fraternise. Here
+both sides were holding trenches that would have become impossible if
+any sniping had been done. So both our men and the Germans worked away
+at deepening their own trenches without molesting their opponents;
+although sometimes a crowd of men were exposed from the waist upwards
+at a range of about 200 yards.
+
+It was one of those curious understandings which arise when no violent
+operations are in progress. However, on New Year's Day it went even
+further. A soldier of the 5th N.F., after signals from the Germans,
+went out into No Man's Land and had a drink with a party of them.
+After this a small party of the enemy approached our trenches without
+arms and with evidently friendly intentions. But they were warned off
+and not allowed to enter our trenches. This little affair, I believe,
+led to the soldier being court-martialled for holding intercourse with
+the enemy. After eight days in the line the Brigade returned to a camp
+at the north end of Mametz Wood. B.H.Q. were close to a battery of
+9-inch howitzers, and when these heavy guns fired a salvo, which they
+did occasionally both day and night, it fairly lifted the things off
+the table. We got shelled here one night, but beyond getting a shower
+or two of splinters and stones on to the huts no damage was done. I
+had now time to ramble round, and examine various things of interest.
+I found a regular dump of German bombs at Bazentin-le-Grand, and some
+of these were collected for training purposes.
+
+There were some Divisional baths at Bazentin-le-Petit, and I remember
+having a most cold and miserable bath there one night; but it was
+better than none at all. It was surprising how quickly the heavy
+railway had been brought along. It now reached High Wood, but of
+course did not cross the ridge, which would have been in view of the
+enemy. About January 15 we went back to the line in very cold weather,
+and B.H.Q. stayed at the Cough Drop again for eight days. During this
+time I set to work completing the bomb store at Hexham Road, and
+filling it with grenades. Each morning I got a party of about sixteen
+men, and we collected a lot of filled sandbags to pack round the
+framework and shed which were soon finished. The Brigade observers
+held a post in the old Flers Line, from which good observation was
+obtained on the ground between Loupart Wood and Grevillers. It was not
+difficult to get the heavy gunners to fire on German working-parties
+that were spotted by the observers; and several parties were duly
+dispersed by our shells. Before we left the line this time, the
+Brigade bomb store at Hexham Road was completed and filled. And when I
+visited the district again in June 1917 it was still standing. I also
+began now to write out the Brigade Intelligence Reports which were
+sent in each day, and contained a summary of the events that had
+happened or had been observed on our front. On January 23 we went back
+to the camp north of Mametz Wood.
+
+After a few days we moved off to Albert, and stayed two or three days
+in a house near the railway line. The town got both bombed and shelled
+at times, though not very severely. After this we moved off to the
+village of Dernancourt for a short rest.
+
+Major C.G. Johnson, M.C., who was adjutant of the 7th N.F. when I
+joined the battalion, was now attached to B.H.Q. as
+Assistant-Staff-Captain. He was an exceedingly able man, and had a good
+knowledge of military law. We all liked him well as adjutant of the
+battalion, and our relations at B.H.Q. were always friendly. He left us
+eventually to become D.A.Q.M.G. in a higher Staff formation.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[13] Pte. Slack (7th N.F.), a Brigade pioneer, helped me greatly with
+the carpenter's work.
+
+
+
+
+XX
+
+FRANCE AND THE FRENCH
+
+
+The war has done at least one thing for me. It has opened my eyes and
+changed my views with regard to the French. I confess that once I had
+no liking for them and a certain measure of contempt. I suppose the
+average Englishman has started with views like these. There has been
+bad blood between the two races, and that at no very distant date.
+Indeed the Alliance or Entente started much like a marriage of
+convenience. The two partners were joined in interest together against
+a common foe and a common danger.
+
+Personally, I do not think there was much love lost between the two
+nations for some time after the war started. The bond of mutual
+admiration and respect, and I hope of affection, was forged in the
+Battle of the Somme and in the heroic defence of Verdun. This bond has
+been strengthened since on many a stricken field. The clouds of mutual
+mistrust and jealousy have been largely dispelled. We have learnt much
+about the French since the early days of the war, and they much about
+us; otherwise it would have been impossible for a French General to
+be in supreme command of the campaign.
+
+I have often come in contact with the French civilian in town and
+country, but only rarely with French troops. Also I have come to know
+and like a series of French interpreters attached to battalions or
+brigade. The deeds of the French Army speak for themselves, and their
+Staff work has been often beyond praise. When we remember the cruel
+fate that befell the north-eastern corner of France and its unhappy
+citizens, we may sympathise with the fury of the French nation against
+their old oppressors. No one living in England can realise the hideous
+wounds inflicted on this fair country-side. It may explain to some
+extent at least the heroic resistance of the French for over four
+years--a resistance that could scarcely have been predicted before the
+war.
+
+In considering our relations with the French at different times, it is
+well to have a deep sympathy for the cruel wrongs she has suffered.
+Thus they must have regarded with very mixed feelings their harbours,
+railways, and towns being taken over by an alien though friendly
+people.
+
+All things considered the Frenchman may well have said at the first,
+'These English, they are everywhere!' At least, this I noticed when I
+arrived in Le Havre in January 1916, there was no enthusiasm for us
+there. There was no rudeness, it is true, but the atmosphere of the
+place was rather chilly and aloof. The country folk about Meteren
+seemed pleased to see us; I think they had got used to the ways of
+the British soldier and found him not such a bad fellow after all. It
+was pleasant to see the country folks round here after our stay in
+Flanders, comely and straight, members of a thoroughbred race. The
+contrast was rather forcible perhaps.
+
+The Brigade Interpreter in 1916, Monsieur Bunge, a native of Le Havre,
+was a pleasant, lively sort of person, always ready for a joke and an
+admirer of the British. With him I got on very well; and I learnt one
+or two things of the French from him. One of them was how sensitive
+they are in small matters of conversation. If in your heavy English
+way you did not respond at once with animation to his remarks, M.
+Bunge thought he had offended you.
+
+They are a very sensitive race, especially in matters of courtesy. The
+colder manner and bearing of the British must have been a sore trial
+to them till they got to understand them--especially if they were
+laying themselves out to be friendly. It is worth while to let
+yourself go a bit in the matter of speech and bearing when talking to
+them. And, above all things, if you want to please them, try to talk
+to them in French, however badly, for they all take it as a great
+compliment. Another thing I discovered was the unwillingness of the
+French officers to take the initiative in saluting; yet they would
+never fail to return such a courtesy. Perhaps their earlier
+experiences in this little matter had been discouraging. It is much
+the same with the poilus and farmer folk. If you wish them 'Bonjour'
+they would invariably respond and also salute.
+
+Later on I had a day or two in Amiens which provided some impressions
+of the French soldiers. The officers there contrasted rather forcibly
+with our own, I remember. They were very smartly dressed in
+home-parade uniforms, wore their medals, and carried themselves with
+an admirable pride and spirit. Our officers, on the other hand,
+dressed in the homely khaki, often the worse for wear, had generally
+an air of war-weariness. No doubt most of our men had come almost
+straight from the battle-field and were enjoying only a few hours'
+relaxation in this fine city. Still it made one reflect that the
+French are indeed a nation of soldiers which we are not. We obviously
+have not the same pride in the paraphernalia of war, and that shows
+which way the wind blows. I also saw a number of poilus going on leave
+and returning to the line. They looked very quiet and patient, but
+without a great deal of enthusiasm showing on the surface. Later on I
+saw French soldiers on the march several times. They get over the
+ground very fast; but it is more go as you please with them than with
+us. I have often noticed how grave these poilus look, even after the
+war was over. Nothing of the reckless fun and explosive good humour of
+the British soldier. If the latter is not having a rotten time he is
+wonderfully cheerful and often light-hearted.
+
+I have also seen the French soldiers holding the line in a quiet part;
+and indeed we 'took over' from them there. They do not expose
+themselves nearly so much as we do near the trenches. Everything
+seemed to be done with scientific method and every one seemed to know
+exactly what to do on all occasions. They hold their front line
+thinly, trusting in case of accidents to recover it by a
+counter-attack. And if the French are not fighting a battle they
+generally keep their front as quiet as they can. This of course is all
+very different from our own system. If we had a quiet part of the
+line, it was generally because we had silenced the enemy's guns and
+trench-mortars by fighting.
+
+I had one great chance of studying the French officer at home in these
+trenches. Shortly before taking over the French Regimental Commander
+in the line asked our Brigadier, Brigade-Major, and 'one other
+officer' to visit the trenches, but to be sure and call in at
+Regimental H.Q. before proceeding up the line. This was really an
+invitation of goodwill and ceremony rather than an invitation to
+examine the line. But as this was not quite understood at the time I
+was included in the party as Brigade Bombing Officer, rather than the
+Staff-Captain or Machine-Gun Officer, either of whom should have gone
+in my place. So on a terribly cold day at the end of January 1917 we
+set off, and after a long ride from Dernancourt to Fontaine-les-Cappy
+in a motor-car, we arrived near Regimental H.Q. and proceeded there on
+foot. The Brigadier was a fair French linguist, I had about two words
+of French, and the Brigade-Major had none. So it was just as well that
+the junior Etat-Major happened to be a fluent English speaker.
+Indeed, he had spent a good time in Newcastle and knew not only
+England but the north. We were welcomed by the French Brigadier with
+every mark of courtesy and goodwill. It is the custom for a French
+officer to salute his superior and then to shake hands with him. The
+salute is given even if you do not happen to be wearing a cap.
+
+These worthy and hospitable warriors were in charge of a regiment (or
+as we should say a brigade) from the south of France about Bordeaux. I
+believe they had won for themselves a good reputation as fighting men.
+They knew, however, as well how to take care of themselves; and I
+fancy they had a first-class chef amongst their servants. It was a
+great affair, that meal, which had been prepared to do us honour,
+especially considering that it was served actually in the trenches.
+Quite a number of dishes succeeded one another, and were washed down
+with some excellent red wine. These were followed by several sweets
+and a glass of sweet champagne--the latter to drink to our good luck
+in the new trenches--glasses were solemnly clinked at this stage of
+the proceedings; afterwards cognac, coffee and cigars. The French
+officers expressed considerable interest in the Territorial 'T.'s' on
+my tunic, asking what they stood for. The French 'Territorial' is of
+course a different type to ours, being in the nature of the last
+reserve, elderly men not used as 'storm' or 'shock' troops. The meal
+passed pleasantly indeed; and at the end, a photograph must be taken
+as a souvenir of the meeting, and that was duly done in the winter
+sunlight outside. The French soldiers use small cameras in the
+trenches, a privilege denied to us. I have never before or since been
+in such elaborate trenches as these that we took over from the French.
+Vast communication trenches, six to ten feet deep, ran back for miles
+behind the front line. The same with the forward area, the number of
+deep trenches was simply extraordinary. Their idea may have been to
+make so many trenches that the enemy would not know which to shell.
+Unfortunately the trenches were not revetted, and when the frost broke
+we came to think less of them and travelled as much as possible across
+the open. The inside of the trenches was very clean--not a tin or a
+scrap of paper to be seen. The refuse was all dumped just over the
+parapet or in the shell-holes outside. The French are accustomed to an
+easy system of sanitation. During the day few French soldiers are seen
+outside their dugouts, except parties cleaning the trenches. In the
+front line only a few sentries were kept on duty, and they were
+relieved every two hours. The French speak with great confidence of
+their field artillery, the terrible 75's. A battery of these guns
+handled by French gunners can fire almost like a machine-gun, and the
+noise is deafening.
+
+As a nation the French have their faults. They are exceedingly proud
+and quick to take offence, they are not very stable or constant
+(obstinate shall we say?), and they are about the hardest bargainers
+in the world.
+
+Thrift and making use of the shining hour have been driven to their
+last conclusions. The British soldiers have been made to pay very
+sweetly for their visit to France. I do not think the French ever gave
+the British such a warm welcome as the Belgians did.
+
+But when all is said and done we all have our own faults, and the
+Frenchman's most shining virtue is patriotism.
+
+
+
+
+XXI
+
+SOUTH OF THE SOMME
+
+
+After staying for about a week or more at Dernancourt, the Brigade
+received orders to go south of the Somme, and to take over part of the
+line won by the French this side of Peronne. We marched, therefore,
+through Bray and stayed two nights at Mericourt and two at
+Fontaine-les-Cappy. At the latter place I was surprised to find some
+graves of British soldiers who had fallen there in the earlier part of
+the war. Also I had one exciting experience at Fontaine-les-Cappy.
+There was a large grenade dump near our camp, and, just as I was
+passing it, an explosion took place. A party of men had been
+detonating grenades, and two or three grenades had gone off in the
+box, killing two of the party and hurling the grenades in a shower all
+round the place. One fell close, and I was lucky not to be riddled by
+it. For the safety-pin was blown out and the lever of the grenade held
+down by a piece of wood from the side of the box, which was jammed by
+the explosion into the shoulder of the grenade. I spent a little time
+picking up such grenades as I could find, and two or three of them
+were in a dangerous condition.
+
+When we got into the line near Belloy I lived for a time at advanced
+B.H.Q. called 'P.C. Hedevaux' ('Post Commandant' _Hedevaux_). The
+dugouts were deep and proof against ordinary shells. The General,
+Brigade-Major, and Staff-Captain resided farther back at 'P.C.
+Buelow.' I was shown over the trenches by the _officier bombardier_
+(Bombing Officer) of a French unit. And I found it fairly easy to talk
+to him without the aid of an interpreter. I told him two English
+expressions which seemed to please him greatly. One was 'dugout,' the
+other 'dump'; the equivalent for the latter in French being 'Depot de
+Munitions.'
+
+I made an entirely new Brigade bomb store in these trenches, using the
+little shelters in a line of disused trenches. After a week in the
+trenches the frost broke, and the trenches which had been hard and dry
+now became nothing but muddy drains. To wade along them even in
+daylight and in gum boots involved the greatest physical exertion. One
+unfortunate man stuck in the mud, and before they got him out he was
+pulled out of his boots and breeches and had his coat torn off his
+back. Finally he was sent to the dressing-station with only his shirt
+on. We stayed about sixteen days in the line, and during the last five
+or six days I retired to P.C. Buelow to assist in the Intelligence
+Work.
+
+This part of the line was quiet and our stay uneventful; but two
+things of interest might be noted. The Brigade observers reported that
+the Germans were employing French prisoners on the roads about a mile
+behind their front line, a cowardly and disgraceful proceeding. The
+Germans were seen working hard on their dugouts behind the line--this
+was of course a 'blind' for our benefit, for the German retreat
+started the day after the 50th Division was relieved.
+
+After our sixteen days in the line B.H.Q. moved back to Foucaucourt
+and remained there till about March 7. Then the 50th Division finally
+left the Somme front and moved back for a rest. B.H.Q. went to
+Warfusee and we had good billets there.
+
+Brigadier-General Ovens, C.M.G., left us at Foucaucourt and
+Lieut.-Col. B.D. Gibson, D.S.O., of the 4th N.F., commanded the
+Brigade for a few days, being succeeded as Brigade Commander by
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson, D.S.O., of the 7th N.F.
+
+Two very startling things were done at this time. All the men of the
+Brigade were told that they were about to be trained for open warfare,
+and they would not have to go into the trenches again. They were to be
+used as part of a Corps de Chasse during the next offensive. This was
+not borne out by events, but it throws some light on the expectations
+of the British Staff. It was also decided at this juncture to change
+the organisation of the British Infantry Company. Each company was in
+future to consist of four sections--one riflemen pure and simple,
+another Lewis gunners, another bombers, and the fourth rifle-bombers.
+
+It was perhaps an unfortunate time to spring this change on the
+B.E.F., just on the eve of a new offensive. The idea appears to have
+been sound enough, but the attempt to rush it through in three weeks'
+time was hardly likely to have good results. To convert a rifleman
+into a rifle-bomber in a week's training was of course out of the
+question. Hitherto only the most expert and steadiest bombers had been
+employed on rifle-grenade work. But now the ordinary infantry were
+expected to become rifle-bombers, although their knowledge of bombs
+was of the most elementary description. Two problems therefore faced
+those responsible for the training and equipment of the rifle-bombers.
+First how to get them even partially trained in the time, and second
+to invent some apparatus for carrying the rifle-grenades. At first it
+was only possible to train the N.C.O.s in charge of the rifle-bombing
+sections--leaving them to instruct their sections as well as they
+could.
+
+It is hard to realise the complete inadequacy of this arrangement,
+without knowing something of the rifle-grenade, and without knowing
+the extraordinary difficulty of training a man to become an instructor
+of others. However that was the best that could be made of the new
+orders at the moment. And so it fell to me to take a class for a week
+of N.C.O'.s drawn from the four battalions. I had not only to teach
+them to fire the rifle-grenade themselves, of which they knew nothing,
+but to teach them to hand their knowledge on to others.
+
+The training went on from March 12 to 17, and thirty-four section
+leaders attended the course. About 1150 rounds were fired. I did not
+attempt any live firing--in fact, I have never thought it serves any
+useful purpose to fire live rifle-grenades in practice.
+
+It is of course much more dangerous than throwing a live hand-grenade,
+and one accident in practice is enough to discourage all the recruits
+who see it from firing live rifle-grenades in actual warfare. On the
+other hand, even where the rifle-grenades are only used as dummies,
+the waste of valuable ammunition is simply appalling. A Hales
+rifle-grenade used to cost 25s. and it came down to 15s. a little
+later, but once fired as a dummy it was not much use to fire again.
+Dummies could have been made for about 1s. at the most, but of course
+no one in England thought about a trifle like that; and so the
+colossal waste went on all the time I had the training in hand. I did
+what I could by straightening the rods to use the grenades again, but
+I could not save much in this way. Thousands of pounds in
+rifle-grenades must have been used where thousands of shillings should
+have been spent.
+
+At Warfusee Brigadier-General H.C. Rees, D.S.O., came to take over
+command of the Brigade. He had seen very heavy fighting in the early
+part of the war, and had since commanded two Brigades before he came
+to the 149th Infantry Brigade. He was liked and respected by every one
+in the Brigade. Very tall and well built, and a soldier who gave you
+the greatest confidence in his ability and leadership, the Brigade
+owed much to him, especially at a time when the trench fighting was
+giving way (as it seemed) to open warfare. He was a first-class
+rifle-shot himself, and never ceased to impress the necessity of
+developing this weapon to the utmost. For the hand-grenade he had the
+greatest contempt, which he was rather fond of expressing. Fortunately
+for me, bombing work was giving way to Intelligence, although for some
+time to come I had to train the men in rifle grenades and to look
+after the Brigade ammunition stores.
+
+After finishing the rifle-grenade work I acted as
+Assistant-Staff-Captain for about a week. It was chiefly office work
+as far as I was concerned, the returns being very voluminous. Work as
+I could there seemed to be no getting to the end of these returns till
+9 or 10 o'clock at night. There were also one or two minor
+court-martial cases, in which my legal training proved some
+assistance. On March 27 I got my third leave granted, for ten days. It
+was perhaps rather quick after my last leave, but the fact of my being
+ill on that occasion was taken into consideration. This time I went to
+Amiens by motor-lorry and thence to Boulogne, reaching Manchester on
+the same day that I sailed from France.
+
+On April 6 I left Folkestone and got to Boulogne about 4 o'clock. Here
+no one could say where the 56th Division was, and I was directed to
+leave by a midnight train and to report to the R.T.O. at Abbeville. I
+got there about 2 A.M. and was told to go back to Etaples by an 8
+o'clock train that morning. I managed to get a few hours' sleep and
+breakfast at the Officers Club at Abbeville, and reached Etaples
+about midday on April 7. On April 9 I was told to proceed to St. Pol
+and get further directions there. I arrived there in time for lunch,
+and then reached Frevent by another train. Here I was told to go by
+the light railway towards Wanquetin and to make inquiries for the 50th
+Division on the way. At Frevent I saw a lot of slightly wounded
+soldiers coming back from Arras; they had been over the top that
+morning on the first day of the great battle which had just started.
+Just before reaching Avesnes-le-Compte I spotted some Divisional
+transport on the roads, and, on making inquiries at Avesnes, I learnt
+that the 149th Infantry Brigade were quartered at Manin about two
+miles away. So I left the train and reached our H.Q. just in time for
+dinner.
+
+The 50th Division had marched from Warfusee, and were now proceeding
+towards Arras to take part in the battle which had started on April
+9.
+
+
+
+
+XXII
+
+THE BATTLE OF ARRAS
+
+
+The Battle of Arras started with a great success. The Vimy Ridge was
+recaptured and the vast fortress between Telegraph Hill and Neuville
+Vitasse, including a substantial part of the famous Hindenburg Line,
+fell in one day. The high ground at Monchy-le-Preux was soon stormed
+and secured. But after this progress became very slow, nothing seemed
+to come of these great tactical successes. The fighting, instead of
+developing into open warfare as we had expected, became again very
+similar in character to the great trench to trench battles on the
+Somme.
+
+The French waited a week before starting their offensive in Champagne,
+and when it did start it failed completely. The weather broke down on
+April 10, as it generally did in 1917 whenever the British commenced
+offensive operations. It became very cold and it rained or snowed
+almost incessantly for over a week. It is hard for one who saw only a
+small sector of this great battle to understand what prevented us from
+taking greater advantage of our great initial success, which certainly
+surprised and disorganised the enemy. But it was not merely the
+weather which broke down at a critical moment. There were other causes
+at work to delay and impede success. I strongly suspect that the
+British infantry units were still suffering from their tremendous
+exertions in 1916; and they certainly had not the confident assurance
+of victory which inspired the terrible sacrifices on the Somme.
+Hitherto our artillery had never been so strong nor had the mechanical
+aids to victory been so numerous or so varied. Gas-projectors and
+oil-drums were first used in this battle, new aeroplanes were first
+launched out in public; the British held the mastery of the air, and
+the Germans had not yet devised any effective remedy for the British
+tanks. But the British troops were not the troops of the Somme. The
+old type of volunteer had largely disappeared, and the same resolution
+and confidence were not displayed by some of the British divisions.
+The very strength of our artillery was sapping the old reliance on the
+rifle, and when the barrage stopped the infantry often seemed to be
+powerless to defend the captured positions.
+
+On the other hand the superior and more lengthy training of the German
+reserves now began to tell. Personally, I never admired the German as
+a fighting man until he was now for the first time driven out of his
+vast defences. On the Somme the Germans had artillery support nearly
+equal to our own, and they were defending superb trenches with
+unbroken roads and country behind them. Now, when they were thrust out
+of their famous stronghold and plastered with every sort of
+projectile, they held up repeated attacks, backed by enormous
+artillery preparation and support, held them up by sheer dogged
+fighting and superior knowledge of war. Their Staff work must have
+been good, and the training and morale of the troops equally good to
+have done it. After the first great success, we gained only small
+local successes, costing thousands of casualties and vast expenditure
+of ammunition. Eventually, after about five weeks of fierce thrusts,
+the Battle of Arras came to an end, giving us, it is true, a much
+improved position in front of Arras, but leaving the main object of
+the attack unaccomplished. The further offensives of 1917 were carried
+on more to the north and south, and the Arras area saw no more big
+fighting till the beginning of 1918.
+
+The 50th Division came into action on April 11, and worked alternately
+with the 14th Division. The enemy were pushed across the Cojeul Valley
+and into the outskirts of Vis-en-Artois and Cherisy. The advance of
+these two Divisions would have been undoubtedly greater, but Guemappe
+on the left and the uncaptured part of the Hindenburg Line on the
+right for a time held up the divisions attacking on either flank. Thus
+both the 50th Division and the 14th Division captured Cherisy in turn,
+but had to abandon the place through having their flanks exposed. By
+their operations in this area both Divisions maintained their already
+worthy reputation.
+
+
+
+
+XXIII
+
+WANCOURT TOWER--CROISILLES
+
+
+The 149th Infantry Brigade left Manin on the morning of April 10, and
+marched to Wanquetin, where the troops were billeted in houses. On the
+following day it began to snow heavily about midday and this continued
+far into the night. The Brigade were intended to attack on April 12,
+but, owing to the exhaustion and exposure of the troops, the 151st
+Brigade were substituted when the attack recommenced on April 13. We
+started our march in the snow just as the light was beginning to fail,
+and trudged along through the muddy slush till we reached Arras. Here
+there was a delay of several hours before guides arrived to lead the
+various units to their stations. B.H.Q. marched through the town and
+eventually arrived at the ruined sugar factory at Faubourg Ronville,
+where there were deep dugouts below the ruins. We could not see much
+of the city but it appeared to be badly knocked about by the enemy's
+shells. Not many houses, perhaps, had fallen to bits, but there was
+hardly a house that had not been hit. A great many small shells must
+have been fired into the town. The place of course was full of
+underground passages--though I never had the chance of entering them.
+When morning came I was able to take stock of my surroundings. The
+sugar factory was one of the last buildings at the S.E. end of the
+city, and a trench tramway led to what had once been the front line
+trenches about a quarter of a mile from these H.Q.
+
+My job that morning was to hunt round for the dumps of grenades &c.
+which had been made by our predecessors before their advance. I
+remember finding two of these in fairly good condition in the
+neighbourhood of Telegraph Hill--only of course on the Arras side. The
+cold night on which we arrived had taken heavy toll of the cavalry
+horses, and many of these splendid animals could be seen scattered
+about on the ground, some already dead and others dying. They were too
+fine bred to stand that wintry night in an open bivouac. As far as I
+could make out our lighter siege guns had moved up towards the
+Telegraph Hill ridge and our field guns towards Neuville Vitasse;
+there were still howitzers of heavy calibre in the environs of the
+city itself. I believe the 151st Infantry Brigade attacked on April
+13, and pushed across the Cojeul Valley north of Heninel, and dug in
+just west of the Wancourt Tower ridge. Wancourt was captured but not
+Guemappe, and Marliere was in our hands. On that day I was instructed
+to make a dump at Telegraph Hill, which I had no difficulty in doing
+as the place was quite quiet.
+
+   [Illustration: Scene of Attacks on Cherisy. April 1917.]
+
+The next day this dump was removed to the region of the Elm Trees at
+Wancourt behind the 'Brown Line'; and the Brigade relieved the 151st
+Infantry Brigade. B.H.Q. were at the Elm Trees, and consisted of some
+fine deep dugouts, which the Germans had used as an ammunition store.
+The entrance to them was in a small sunken road. The ammunition was
+mostly stored in large wooden boxes, and we had to pull it out and get
+rid of it. This was done by emptying the boxes into the nearest
+shell-holes; so that the ground outside was littered with German
+ammunition. In one of these shell-holes, amongst a lot of rubbish of
+this kind, I found four old pewter dishes and two pewter spoons. They
+had been heaved out of the dugout along with the rest of its contents.
+One of the plates was dated 1733, and all were marked with the foreign
+maker's stamp. They afforded, when cleaned, a rather unusual
+decoration for the walls of the mess room. This little collection was
+disposed of 'under Divisional and Brigade arrangements,' but I managed
+to secure the spoons.
+
+The position in front was now as follows. A battalion held the
+trenches across the Cojeul Valley, supported by three battalions in
+the Brown Line and in Wancourt itself. The enemy was in Guemappe and
+also in some trenches just over the ridge of Wancourt Tower Hill. It
+was the business of the Brigade to hold the trenches and to make such
+improvement in them as opportunity might offer. General Rees was not
+the man to let any such opportunity slip. Nothing happened during the
+first few days, beyond the usual heavy shelling of the roads and
+batteries and forward positions.
+
+But a patrol of the 5th N.F. pushed out towards Guemappe, and carried
+out a useful daylight reconnaissance.
+
+Also about April 16, 1917, Lieut.-Col. F. Robinson of the 6th N.F.
+discovered the enemy approaching the ruined buildings on the Wancourt
+Tower Hill, and promptly ordered a platoon to attack them. This plan
+succeeded admirably and the Tower and house were captured. The place
+was of vital importance to us as it commanded direct observation on
+all the roads leading to our part of the front. On April 17 the enemy
+shelled the Tower with 8-inch howitzers--generally a sign that he
+meant to attack sooner or later. The Tower contained a formidable
+concrete machine-gun emplacement, facing of course our way, but by
+General Rees' orders it was blown up by the Engineers. Sure enough the
+enemy attacked the Tower that night, and at an unfortunate time for
+us, for the 7th N.F. were in the process of relieving the 6th N.F. in
+the front line, and it was a vile night, with a blizzard of snow.
+
+The German attack succeeded in driving our men out of the Tower and
+buildings, and though several bombing attacks were made that night to
+recover the position it could not be done. General Rees at once
+prepared to storm the position at the earliest opportunity next day,
+the 7th N.F. having completed the relief of the trenches during the
+night. It is difficult to describe the confidence which our General
+inspired at this critical time; he was rather graver and more
+thoughtful than usual, perhaps, but he treated the matter with great
+confidence and made every one feel that the misfortune could and would
+be retrieved at the first attempt. His plans were made in conjunction
+with Major Johnson of the 50th Divisional Artillery; and as a result
+it was arranged to attack across the open supported by a barrage from
+five brigades of field artillery. The hour was fixed for twelve noon
+(German time) just when the enemy is thinking about his dinner.
+Without any preliminary bombardment, the barrage opened out at the
+appointed hour, and fairly drove the enemy off the hill top. The 7th
+N.F. advanced in perfect order and with little opposition recaptured
+the Tower and the neighbouring trenches. Two or three prisoners were
+sent down, who had been unable to get away before the attackers
+reached them. It was a little attack, but carried out with admirable
+precision and practically without loss, and every credit must be given
+to General Rees for the way he handled the problem. As this operation
+was carried out in full view of all the surrounding country it
+attracted considerable attention, and congratulations soon poured in
+from all sides. I was kept indoors or rather underground a good deal
+during this stay in the line, as it was my business to record in a
+log-book every note or message that came in to the Brigade Office,
+either by day or night. I had the chance, too, of hearing the
+Divisional Intelligence Officer examining a few German prisoners who
+were captured on our front. He brought with him three large books
+containing no doubt the previous history of the German Brigades; and
+with the aid of these he was able to check the accuracy of the
+prisoners' statements.
+
+One day I went with General Rees to Marliere, and we went some
+distance down Southern Avenue, which was then between the German
+outpost line and our own. Another day we went to some high ground N.W.
+of Wancourt for the purposes of observation. I remember that on this
+occasion we had to hurry as the Germans were shelling rather close,
+and General Rees got a splinter on the helmet. We were relieved by the
+150th Infantry Brigade on April 21, and I rode back to Arras with
+Capt. Haggie. I was now billeted for two days in a house in Arras,
+where the Brigade Staff-Captain's office was located. The first night
+was quiet enough, but the following night was not so pleasant. For our
+heavy guns were now bombarding the German positions and their
+long-range guns threw a lot of shells in reply into various parts of
+the city. On April 23, St. George's Day, the British resumed the
+attack and the 150th Infantry Brigade attacked from the top of
+Wancourt Tower Hill. A good number of prisoners were made, but
+Guemappe still held out and the Germans launched a heavy
+counter-attack along this part of the front. In the morning I went
+forward to some dugouts east of Telegraph Hill where the General,
+Brigade-Major, and Signalling Officer were stationed for this battle.
+Our Brigade of course was in reserve, except the 4th N.F. who were
+attached to the 151st Infantry Brigade. From this place near Telegraph
+Hill I got a good view of the battle around Guemappe. About midday
+Brigadier-General Cameron of the 151st Infantry Brigade took over
+command of the 50th Divisional front, and at once made preparations to
+renew the attack in the afternoon. I was sent over to the Elm Trees
+dugouts to find out exactly what he proposed to do with the 4th N.F.,
+and he was then busily engaged with the Artillery officers arranging
+the barrages. Before the attack was resumed, Guemappe was heavily
+shelled by our siege guns, a wonderful sight. The whole place seemed
+to disappear in dense clouds of dust and smoke. It had been a
+ding-dong battle all day, attack and counter-attack, and at this point
+neither side had gained much advantage. The Germans had not only
+repelled the attack on our right, but had attempted to push through
+into Heninel, in the Cojeul Valley. Fortunately, however, the 149th
+M.-G. Company, commanded by Major Morris, stopped this movement by a
+well-directed fire to our right flank. When, however, the attack was
+renewed in the afternoon things went better for us. The Germans were
+pushed down the hill from Wancourt Tower and Guemappe was taken. The
+4th N.F. did well, getting to a place called Buck Trench. And the
+Divisional front was advanced to a point not far from the outskirts
+of Cherisy. It was unfortunate that we had no fresh troops at this
+juncture to press home the attack. According to German statements, the
+German troops were practically broken up at the end of the day and
+they had at the moment no reserves available. Our small party remained
+at the H.Q. on Telegraph Hill till the morning of April 25, when we
+returned to the Ronville sugar factory, being relieved by a Brigade of
+the 14th Division.
+
+On April 26 a large Corps dump about a quarter of a mile from the
+factory got on fire, and went on flaring and exploding all day. A good
+many pieces of shells and fragments from this dump came rattling
+against the walls of the sugar factory, making it no place to loiter
+about. I learnt that the 42nd F.A., to which my brother George was
+attached, was due to take over from our F.A. in Ronville; but I did
+not get in touch with him.
+
+On April 26 B.H.Q. moved to a fine chateau at the west end of Arras,
+where we were much more comfortable than at the sugar factory. That
+night I went to a battalion dinner of the 7th N.F., and it was
+wonderful what a good dinner they managed to procure under the
+circumstances. The next day, April 27, we marched back to a rest area
+near Pommera, going along the Arras-Doullens road. B.H.Q. were
+billeted in a farm at the south end of the village. I shared a billet
+with Lieut. Odell and found the place very comfortable.
+
+We were not left long here. A fresh attack was to be made, and the
+50th Division was to be moved forward, to be ready to press home the
+attack if it succeeded. We left Pommera on May 1 and marched to
+Souastre, where B.H.Q. were billeted in a French chateau with a nice
+garden. Next day we marched forward again to a bare looking spot at
+Mereatel, where the accommodation was very limited. We managed to rig
+up a few wooden shelters and bivouacs amongst the ruins of the houses.
+This had been a nice village, but the Germans had blown down every
+house and cut down every tree before they left it. They had even
+destroyed the small fruit bushes in the gardens, an unnecessarily
+wanton act.
+
+The big attack was arranged for May 3 and it was preceded by the usual
+heavy bombardment. But nothing came of it but heavy casualties, and it
+was decided to send the Division back to the rest area again. On the
+evening of May 3 I met a Colonel of the R.A.M.C., 14th Division, who
+told me that he had seen my brother George at Neuville Vitasse just
+two hours before, and that he was quite well. I got this information,
+just too late, as we were now under orders to move back to the rest
+area. And on May 4 I marched back with the B.H.Q. transport to
+Souastre, and on May 5 to Pommera.
+
+For the next ten days the Brigade carried out various tactical
+exercises under the directions of General Rees. One day was given to
+field firing practice, on which occasion I acted as one of the
+'casualty' officers--that is to say, I had to select various men
+during the sham attack and order them to drop out as casualties. Live
+ammunition was used in rifles and Lewis guns as well as live
+rifle-grenades; and I remember there were seven slight casualties from
+accidents with the rifle-grenades. These 'live' field days in France
+were not without their own little excitements, especially for those
+who had to keep up with the firing line.
+
+After ten days the Brigade was detached from the 50th Division and
+attached to the 33rd Division, holding the line about Croisilles. The
+idea was to assist the 33rd Division by holding the line for them for
+three days, in the interval between two attacks. So on May 17 the
+Brigade moved from Pommera to Souastre, H.Q. being again at the French
+chateau. Here, through the good services of our French interpreter, we
+had for dinner a piece of the famous _sanglier_ which lives in the
+woods at Pommera. One of these creatures had been shot, and the
+huntsmen presented a piece of it to B.H.Q. Mess. It tasted much like
+pork, with a more gamy flavour.
+
+On May 18 we moved from Souastre to Boiry St. Martin, where B.H.Q.
+were in some wooden huts, amongst the ruins of the village. On May 19
+I went over to Ayette, a neighbouring village, and spent the morning
+training men of the 7th N.F. in rifle-grenades. Next day I went with
+Capt. Haggie to inspect a Brigade ammunition dump at Croisilles, and
+on May 21 I went to a canvas camp at Hamlincourt and spent the night
+there. I did not get a good night as the enemy shelled the vicinity of
+the camp at intervals during the night. Next day I went forward to
+B.H.Q. which were in some shelters in a sunken road just west of
+Croisilles. We held the line till May 25 and nothing very startling
+happened. But two or three incidents occurred here which I remember
+with interest. The visit of three War Correspondents, including
+Messrs. Beach Thomas and Philip Gibbs. They spent about half an hour
+at our H.Q. and were put in my charge to see the sights. We did not go
+far from H.Q. as the high ground there afforded the best general view
+of the country round.
+
+Both of the English War Correspondents interested me much. Beach
+Thomas, tall and dignified and grave; Philip Gibbs, short and bright
+and cheery: both very sympathetic to and appreciative of the Brigade.
+The other was a Dutch gentleman who told me with a flash of
+inspiration that I should not recollect his name.
+
+Another striking personality appeared in the shape of the Brigade
+Commander of one of the Divisional Artillery Brigades. Col. Fitzgerald
+came to call on us to inquire whether the artillery arrangements were
+to our satisfaction and to know if he could do anything to help us. A
+tall man with glasses and a kindly, gentle face. One morning he
+brought in a great bunch of flowers for our mess room that he had
+gathered near Croisilles. The following story was brought to us by the
+Artillery Liaison Officer. Col. Fitzgerald went to the front line and
+out into the broken trenches in No Man's Land in order to inspect the
+registration of the field guns. Seeing a German sniper at work, he
+borrowed a rifle and commenced a duel with the Boche in which several
+shots were exchanged. Having killed his man he returned with great
+satisfaction, feeling the day had been well spent. This occurred near
+the 'Hump' whilst we were holding these trenches. He told us that his
+guns had had a wonderful target on the Somme in July 1916. They were
+somewhere on the high ground south of Bazentin-le-Grand when the
+German Guard had massed for an attack on Contalmaison. These guns had
+the extraordinary chance of firing with open sights on the dense
+German masses behind Bazentin-le-Petit and they had inflicted terrible
+losses on the Brandenburghers.
+
+It was from our O.P. near B.H.Q. that I first tried to make a
+panoramic sketch of the country in front. It was a crude attempt, no
+doubt, but General Rees was kind enough to speak encouragingly of it,
+and to tell me to try and develop this side of Intelligence.
+
+That advice bore fruit, for in 1918 my observers were trained to
+sketch, and their sketches did more damage to the enemy than any
+reports that were sent in. For the heavy artillery got interested in
+them and fired on the targets with great effect.
+
+About May 25 we came out of the line and stayed one night at
+Moyenneville, returning next day to our Divisional rest area at
+Monchy-au-Bois.
+
+
+
+
+XXIV
+
+MONCHY-AU-BOIS
+
+
+We were now able to settle down to training and manoeuvres. The
+country round Monchy was well suited for this, for there were many old
+German trenches about, and the villages were all smashed to bits,
+giving a realistic touch to field training. B.H.Q. were under canvas,
+but I selected an old German dugout which I thought would be drier
+when the rains set in. It was also cooler in the hot weather, and its
+only drawback was rats. I kept them in check, however, with a small
+trap that the Germans left behind; they were always good at inventing
+killing machines. My own job was now to train as many infantry men as
+possible in the use of the rifle-grenade. And between May 29 and June
+16, 190 men went through the course. Also Lieut. Odell brought his
+signal company of twenty-nine men one evening to be shown the working
+of the rifle-grenade, as it was thought that the rifle-grenade (empty)
+might be used as a message carrier.
+
+The course of instruction was somewhat as follows. In the first place
+I gave a short lecture on the mechanism of the grenade and methods of
+firing it. Then the party of ten was split into two squads and firing
+practice took place. The men were trained to fire kneeling and lying,
+behind cover and without, and also out of a deep fire-trench. I was
+greatly assisted by Sergt. T. Matthewson, who was a really expert
+bomber, and by my orderly--L.-C. Fairclough. This training took all
+morning, and as far as I could judge the men were interested in the
+course and did their best to learn the intricacies of this new weapon.
+In the afternoon I was free to wander round and examine the
+surrounding country. It was of considerable interest, for it was part
+of the ground evacuated by the enemy when he retreated to the
+Hindenburg Line. The trenches were magnificently built, and revetted
+with wood or wattle-work, and provided with deep dugouts and concrete
+machine-gun emplacements. The latter were not only wonderfully strong,
+the forerunners of the German 'pill-box'--but sometimes wonderfully
+decorated with coats of arms and mottoes.
+
+Very little equipment was left behind, and many of the dugouts were
+blown in before leaving. Some of the gun emplacements, too, were very
+cleverly concealed. The guns were kept in shelters in a line of
+reserve trenches and a set of dummy emplacements was dug out a little
+distance away for the benefit of our aeroplane observers.
+
+It was an education in military engineering and fortification to walk
+round these wonderful defences. The wiring too was most ingenious and
+often carefully concealed in the hedges or ditches. Inside the gun
+shelters, you found that the gun was fixed on a central pivot and
+worked round a wooden platform with every degree carefully marked.
+Whilst on the walls stood a painted board with every barrage line and
+target carefully worked out, and the range and code call set out as
+well. The O.P. was sometimes in a high tree, with the ladders to get
+up and the telephone wires still remaining. It had been a quiet part
+of the line, and consequently the patient industry of the German had
+had full scope.
+
+The 50th Division began to take over the line west of Cherisy and Vis
+about the middle of June; but only two brigades were in the front
+trenches together, and it was our turn to remain behind. On June 18
+the Brigade moved from Monchy-au-Bois to Boisleux-au-Mont, where
+B.H.Q. were in a canvas camp. From June 20 to 23 I continued the
+rifle-grenade training. The recruit training was now practically over
+and these days were given to showing the handling of a rifle-grenade
+section in open warfare. Forty-one officers, nine N.C.O.'s and
+sixty-two men took part in these schemes. I had also two or three
+rather important court-martial cases to attend to during the evenings.
+
+Before going back into the line I was given nine men to act as Brigade
+observers; the 6th N.F. sent L.-C. Chappell and Ptes. Wright and Hume;
+the 7th N.F. Ptes. Fail and Ewart; the 4th N.F. Pte. Brook and
+another; the 5th N.F. L.-C. Roxburgh, who had once been in the 7th
+N.F. and Pte. Garnett. Pte. Brook I found came from Meltham, only
+seven or eight miles from my own home. He was a typical lad from these
+parts, with the bright red face and the speech that I knew so well.
+Naturally I took an interest in him and I was sorry when he left us
+about the end of November 1917. He has come through the war safely, I
+am glad to say. Ptes. Fail and Ewart were destined to act as my
+observers both with this brigade and in the 42nd Division in 1918. And
+I cannot speak too highly of the excellent work done by Pte. Fail.
+Owing to exceptional eyesight he was a first-class counter-battery
+observer, and later on his skill with the pencil did the Germans a lot
+of damage. On this front he spotted the flash of a 4-inch gun battery
+that used to shell B.H.Q., with the result that the heavy gunners
+fired on this battery and silenced it completely.
+
+I had also the services of L.-C. J. Cowen and Pte. J. King (both 7th
+N.F.) when the 50th Divisional observers were disbanded. Pte. King
+went shortly afterwards back to the battalion. But both these men did
+magnificent service in collecting intelligence during the remainder of
+the war.
+
+
+
+
+XXV
+
+TRENCH WARFARE--VIS-CHERISY FRONT
+
+
+From June till October 1917 the 50th Division held the line of trenches
+running from the Hindenburg Line west of Fontaine-lez-Croisilles to
+Cavalry Farm on the Arras-Cambrai Road. With heavy fighting going on in
+Flanders this was a comparatively quiet part of the front. Our trenches
+were good and got better every week, and the high ground about Wancourt
+Tower Hill gave us excellent observation on the enemy's country,
+especially towards the left. This part of the front was divided into
+two sectors, and they were held by two out of the three brigades. So
+that each brigade spent sixteen days in the line, and then eight days
+in the rest area about Neuville Vitasse. Also each brigade held in turn
+the trenches on the right, known as the Cherisy sector, and then the
+trenches on the left, known as the Vis sector.
+
+My time was given to Intelligence in the line and to Salvage when out
+of the line.
+
+Intelligence work included, selecting a convenient O.P. for the
+Brigade observers and arranging and supervising the method of holding
+it; making panoramic sketches for the observers; writing out the
+Brigade Intelligence Report between 10 A.M. and noon every day;
+supervising the work of the Battalion Intelligence Officers[14];
+marking the Brigade Intelligence maps with all features of interest;
+studying and cataloguing the aeroplane photographs which came in large
+numbers every few days; destroying obsolete and useless documents (not
+a small part of my job either!); and sending to the Machine-Gun
+Officer, Major Morris, every week the targets for indirect machine-gun
+fire at nights. Field work, i.e. actual observation and sketching,
+formed really a comparatively small part of my duties, though I tried
+to get up to the observation post once every day. The most important
+part was office work--and I had a fair-sized shelter at each
+Head-quarters, the walls covered with maps and the table loaded with
+aeroplane photographs and reports of all kinds.
+
+Besides the Corps and Divisional Intelligence Reports which came in
+daily, there were Daily Reports from the two adjoining brigades, and
+generally a goodly sheaf of miscellaneous papers from the Army
+Intelligence Department. In this way a great deal of interesting
+information came into my hands, as to how things were going on; and I
+have never before or since been so well supplied with information as
+to what was going on and what was intended to take place. When out of
+the line, in a camp near Neuville Vitasse, I had to give the observers
+a certain amount of practical training in the use of the compass and
+protractor, and map reading. But after that I was free to do what I
+liked within reason, and I generally devoted my spare time to salvage.
+The observers often turned out to assist me in this, and Lieut. Odell
+on several occasions gave me most valuable assistance with his
+signallers and orderlies.
+
+Salvage was left very much at this time to the discretion of the
+commanders of infantry units. Naturally when the soldier man got out
+of the line, he was not much inclined to do much salvaging on Army
+Account. Some of the transport officers made a specialty of it, and
+Capt. B. Neville of the 7th N.F., the prince of quartermasters,
+rescued tons of salvage of all kinds. I dare say, however, a good many
+things found their way into his own stores as well, for I never knew a
+quartermaster so well supplied as he. There were certain small parties
+of men employed at Divisional and Corps Salvage dumps, but they never
+seemed to me to take the job very seriously. Perhaps the officers in
+charge were not exactly the sort of men to hustle, or to see that
+their men got busy. Every one knows that there was a vast amount of
+waste, and that the Germans had this matter much better organised than
+we.
+
+The Germans were particularly active against our field artillery on
+this front. Although we had the advantage of ground for most purposes,
+and could carry out infantry reliefs in daylight, there were few
+places satisfactory for concealing our field guns. They were mostly
+concentrated about Wancourt and Heninel, and these two places
+consequently received frequent and heavy punishment from the German
+heavies. It was well to keep your eyes and ears open when passing
+through these villages and not to linger there unnecessarily. The
+pieces from the German 8-inch shell carried a long way, and I had
+L.-C. Chappell wounded through the hand and sent down to hospital
+through a splinter that carried over a quarter of a mile. We saw a lot
+of the 50th Divisional R.F.A. about this time and a fine lot of
+fellows they were. On the left our H.Q. were next door to the B.H.Q.
+of the 251st Artillery Brigade, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Moss
+Blundell. I got to know and like him well, and he did everything he
+could to assist our brigade, and especially in matters of
+intelligence. Any news that he got he sent on to us at once and vice
+versa. I have never known the liaison between Field Artillery and
+Infantry more close or more effective than at this time.
+
+One of the most important operations carried out by the 50th Division
+was a double raid and gas projection on September 15, 1917, and the
+following night. It was carried out by the 151st Infantry Brigade in
+the right sector, and at the time the 140th Infantry Brigade was
+holding the trenches on the left. I believe the 9th D.L.I, supplied
+the raiding parties. It was such a novel and effective raid that some
+account ought to be given of it. The scheme was to deceive the enemy
+as to the exact extent and nature of the attack. For this purpose a
+great many smoke-shells were fired to screen the operations from the
+enemy's observation. Also along the flanks of the actual raid a number
+of dummy figures were arranged to represent an attacking force and so
+to draw the enemy's fire away from the actual raiding parties. The
+dummies were put out in No Man's Land the night before, face
+downwards, and at the right moment they could be raised or lowered by
+means of ropes worked by the men in the trenches. Also a dummy tank
+was prepared and hauled forward 200 yards by means of ropes. The
+combination of smoke-shells and dummies was wonderfully effective, and
+the enemy reported that he had been attacked in great force and with
+tanks along a large part of this front.
+
+What really happened was this. After a preliminary bombardment of
+great intensity by our guns and trench-mortars (including many
+thermite or flame-shells), about 2 P.M. three companies of the 9th
+D.L.I, dashed across and captured the German front and support lines
+covering Cherisy. They killed and captured a number of Germans without
+suffering many casualties themselves, and then returned at once to our
+own trenches. At the same time the dummies in No Man's Land were
+lowered again. After waiting five or six hours, another short
+bombardment started, the dummies were again raised and one company of
+the 9th D.L.I, dashed across into the same trenches and killed or
+captured more Germans. They then returned to our trenches and the
+dummies were again lowered. After dark our men went out and removed
+the dummies, so that the Germans never had a chance of discovering the
+ruse. The same night at 3 A.M. fifty cylinders of gas were projected
+over the German lines. This gas attack cost the Germans dear, probably
+more than the two raids, for the next day they were seen burying or
+removing large numbers of the men caught in the gas cloud. My own
+observers reported 200 gas casualties and the total number reported
+reached a figure between 300 and 400. Gas casualties were easily
+distinguished, as the Germans removed them in blankets slung between
+two men on a pole. Besides, as it happened, the gas cloud drifted
+north and caught the Germans during a relief nearly half a mile away
+from the scene of the two raids. For example, the Germans were burying
+dead all day in the neighbourhood of St. Roharts Factory, which is
+some distance from Cherisy. The German report of this operation showed
+that they had failed entirely to realise the nature of the attack. And
+a similar raid was repeated shortly afterwards near Monchy-le-Preux
+with great success. Our aeroplanes swooped down to 300 feet and took
+photographs of the first raid from that height. And I was lucky enough
+to secure some very interesting copies of these photographs, which
+showed our men crossing No Man's Land and entering the German
+trenches.
+
+I got my fourth leave, ten days, about August 30 and travelled home
+via Boulogne and Folkestone. It was the first leave that took me out
+of the line, which it did for about four days. All the previous
+leaves had occurred during Divisional rests.
+
+We were relieved in these trenches by the 51st Division about the
+beginning of October, and the 50th Division moved out of the line to
+the neighbourhood of Courcelles-le-Compte for a short rest.
+
+Before the relief took place Brigadier-General Rees had to leave us
+much to every one's regret. He was taken ill with a distressing
+internal complaint, which necessitated his return for a while to
+England. He was succeeded by Brigadier-General E.P.A. Riddell, C.M.G.,
+D.S.O.
+
+General Riddell had at one time been Adjutant of the 7th N.F., that is
+to say, long before the war; and he knew all about Alnwick and the
+people there. During the war he had been instructing officers at
+Sandhurst for a time, and later on he commanded a battalion of the
+Cambridgeshires at the Battle of the Somme. This battalion succeeded
+in capturing the Schwaben Redoubt, near Thiepval. Later on he had seen
+service in the battle still raging in Flanders. When he came to
+command the 149th Infantry Brigade at the end of September 1917 he had
+already won the D.S.O. and Bar. To this he subsequently added another
+Bar during the German offensive in March 1918. He was said to be a
+typical Northumbrian. A leader, gallant and war-wise, of whom
+Northumberland is justly proud.
+
+When we left the line at Cherisy we had a good idea what our
+destination was to be. But first of all we moved a short way back in
+the direction of Miraumont. The 149th Infantry Brigade was quartered
+at Courcelles-le-Comte, a shattered village in the area vacated by the
+Germans after the battle on the Somme. Here we stayed for about ten
+days, and the battalions resumed training their men for offensive
+operations. One field day was particularly remarkable for a
+demonstration by the Air Squadron stationed at Moyenneville. We
+commenced operations before dawn, and I was in charge of the messages
+at a spot representing battle H.Q. Just before I left at the
+conclusion of the operations, about 9 A.M., an aeroplane swooped down
+over our improvised H.Q. and left a message saying 'Expect a report at
+B.H.Q. in an hour's time.' We returned to B.H.Q. and, sure enough,
+about 9.40 A.M. an aeroplane again swooped down and dropped a small
+packet. On opening it I was amazed to find a roll of about a dozen
+photographs, taken about an hour before, of the final position reached
+by the Infantry during the sham attack. How they managed to develop
+and print these photographs in the short space of time is almost a
+mystery. But I imagine they must have had some electrical machine for
+drying the negatives and prints. During this short stay out of the
+line I paid two visits to the old Somme battlefield. The first in
+company with Capt. H. Liddell, who had for some time been acting as
+Assistant-Brigade-Major. We rode to Grevillers and went on from there
+on foot to Hexham Road and Eaucourt L'Abbaye. I had visited the
+ground before with Lieut. Odell in June, when we were staying at
+Monchy-au-Bois. A good deal of salvage had been done since then, and
+there were fewer dead men lying about. But the scene of the fighting
+at Hook Sap and round the Butte of Warlencourt was still littered with
+helmets, rifles, and broken equipment of all sorts. Of course by this
+time the trenches had largely fallen in and were covered with rough
+rank herbage. But the wire belts and the duck-board tracks were still
+there. When we approached the entrance to the cellars under the ruined
+abbey at Eaucourt, we noticed traces of men living there. Smoke was
+rising out of the ruins and there were recent footmarks about, and
+some tins of soapy water. The story was, and I believe it was quite
+true, that small parties of deserters dwelt in these old deep cellars
+and dugouts, living on the bully beef which still covered the
+battlefield and on the money received for 'Souvenirs' sold at
+neighbouring canteens. I know of one deserter who lived there from
+November 1916 to June or July 1917. Apart from these slight traces of
+occupation, the battle-field seemed quite deserted from one end to the
+other.
+
+On another occasion I went with General Riddell by car to Thiepval and
+we rode back through Bucquoy. This was a very interesting visit, for
+the General explained on the spot exactly how the Schwaben Redoubt was
+stormed, and how the troops were brought forward and disposed for the
+attack. We went over a lot of the neighbouring ground, and I was able
+to see how the Germans were forced out of St. Pierre Divion,
+Miraumont, and Beaumont Hamel. I little thought as I rode home that
+night through Bucquoy that I should in little more than five months'
+time be commanding a company in the front line in a muddy ditch
+outside Bucquoy. However this stay at Courcelles was invaluable later
+on, for it gave me a general idea of the lie of the land on the enemy
+side, when we were pressed back to Gommecourt and Colincamps.
+
+We left Courcelles about October 18, and entrained at Miraumont
+station. We left the train near Cassel and marched to the village of
+Arneke, where I spent two nights at the house of the cure--a kind
+hospitable old man. After that we marched out of France and arrived at
+a camp about a mile west of Proven, in Belgium.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[14] Lieuts. O. Young (5th N.F.), Jessop (6th N.F.), and Richardson
+(7th N.F.).
+
+
+
+
+XXVI
+
+THE HOUTHULST FOREST
+
+
+I wish I could omit all reference to the operations in Flanders 1917.
+Surely no one can be found to take much pride in the results of this
+part of the campaign. Judged by the map alone between May 1, 1917, and
+May 1, 1918, it will be found that we actually lost ground in
+Flanders, and that we were at the last hard put to it to retain any
+footing there at all.
+
+It is difficult to know what motives, political or military, led to
+our pressing an attack with such colossal fury on this part of the
+line. Perhaps the Channel ports at Ostend and Zeebrugge were the prize
+we hoped to gain. Be that as it may, the result of our attack was to
+bring about a conflict of unparalleled intensity. The bulk of the
+English heavy artillery seemed to be concentrated on the one side and
+the bulk of the enemy's heavy artillery on the other. In a country
+like Flanders the ground is bad enough in foul weather; but where it
+is churned up for miles with the heaviest of shells, it becomes
+impossible to use tanks and next to impossible to use infantry.
+
+Moreover, the Germans had superiority in the air. They had
+concentrated on aircraft the effort which we had expended on
+perfecting the tank. The one can be used effectively in wet weather,
+but the other cannot. The German had another defensive surprise for
+us. Owing to the nature of the ground the deep dugout was practically
+an impossibility. In the place, therefore, of this the German devised
+the concrete blockhouse or 'pill-box' as it was called. For miles
+behind their front line the country was dotted with pill-boxes, which
+could defy the tank and all but the largest kinds of shells. As soon
+as our operations started the rain streamed down, making conditions
+ten times worse for the attacking force.
+
+All honour to those that gallantly stormed the muddy slopes of
+Passchendaele; to the wonderful engineers that conquered the squalid
+quagmires of Langemarck and Zonnebeke; to the gunners that stuck to
+their guns under a rain of bombs and shells, and to the transport
+drivers that fed them. It is a tale of wonderful gallantry and heroic
+endeavour. But when all is said and done, one is bound to look at the
+result.
+
+On reaching the area round Proven the 50th Division was allocated to
+the Fifth Army (General Gough), and received orders to prepare to take
+part in an attack on the enemy's line between the Houthulst Forest and
+Passchendaele. On October 21, the day after our arrival at Proven, I
+went to the Fifth Army H.Q. to get all the maps and information I
+could relating to the new front. The Army H.Q. were in a large chateau
+north of Poperinghe, and when I got there I was received by the
+Colonel in charge of Intelligence with every kindness. He got me
+several maps, gave me the files of intelligence to glance over, and
+advised me to visit the Air Squadron at Proven for aeroplane
+photographs. He also offered to turn out a Staff car to take me back,
+but this kind offer I declined. My next visit was to the office of the
+Air Squadron, where they had a file of all photographs relating to our
+front. I was able to secure several useful copies, and the promise of
+some more. After this I returned to our camp to work on the air
+photos. On October 23 we marched to Proven and entrained there,
+getting out at Elverdinghe. A short march took us to a camp of wooden
+huts a little south of the chateau, where the 50th Division had their
+battle H.Q. When we arrived the huts were quite empty of all
+furniture; but in a short time the Brigade pioneers had made a table
+and forms to use in the mess. It was decided that only the General,
+Brigade-Major, and Signalling Officer should go forward to battle
+H.Q., an old German pill-box called Martin's Mill, between Widjendrift
+and Langemarck. The rest of the Brigade Staff were to remain at rear
+H.Q. at Huddersfield Dugouts on the Yser Canal close to Bard's
+Causeway. At this time I was much worried by what appeared to me to be
+an attempt to tap the information of the Brigade as to the details of
+the forthcoming attack. Naturally an Intelligence Officer has to be
+discreet at all times, but especially so at times like this. I simply
+record my impression although I cannot give any details.
+
+On October 24 I went to the rear B.H.Q. at Huddersfield Dugouts. They
+were in the northern bank of the Yser Canal about half a mile south of
+Boesinghe. The front was approached by means of several long duck-board
+tracks, in places more like wooden bridges than the ordinary trench
+footboards. In the morning I did my best to investigate where these
+tracks started, not altogether an easy matter in an entirely strange
+country. In the afternoon I was asked by the Staff-Captain to see that
+the hot food and tea and rum for the use of the troops next morning
+were ready for delivery to the carrying-parties, and that the O.C.
+carrying-party knew exactly what to do. I found that the food &c. was
+ready packed up in the hot food containers by the four transport
+officers, but I had great difficulty in finding the officer in charge
+of the carrying-parties. After waiting about for over two hours I did
+get in touch with him. And by nightfall I had the satisfaction of
+seeing the hot food set off with this carrying-party up one of the
+tracks leading to the front. We obtained guides for this party from the
+50th Divisional Signals, who gave us every assistance in their power.
+
+The attack took place next morning about dawn, after a heavy artillery
+bombardment, and in the rain. Of this attack the Brigade has no need
+to be ashamed, although by the afternoon of the same day the remnants
+of its brave soldiers were withdrawn to the starting point. The 7th
+N.F. on the left had a shorter distance to go than the rest, but on
+their left flank was the Forest of Houthulst full of German snipers.
+On the right were the 4th N.F. and in the centre the 5th N.F.
+
+Each battalion had to attack across a treacherous swamp, and each was
+confronted by a row of unbroken concrete pill-boxes, carefully
+concealed from aerial observation. Each battalion made ground, but
+each battalion was mowed down in heaps by the machine-guns in the
+pill-boxes. I have nothing now to give as an estimate of the
+casualties, except the officer casualties of the 7th N.F. Twelve
+officers of the 7th N.F. went over the top that morning, and one
+returned alive, Lieut Affleck. The others were all killed. It gives
+some idea of the spirit of these gallant fellows, when I relate that
+Lieut Affleck was preparing a further attack on the German pill-boxes
+at the time he was ordered to return with the remnants of the
+shattered brigade. The three battalions all suffered the heaviest
+losses, but I have now no details except those I have given above.
+Lieut. Odell, the Brigade Signalling Officer, and his men did wonders
+in keeping the battalions in touch with B.H.Q. during the battle, and
+for his great personal gallantry on this occasion he received a Bar to
+his M.C. The shattered remnants of the battalions were drawn out of
+the fighting zone and given billets not far from the Yser Canal. Even
+here bad luck followed the 5th N.F., for a long-range shell crashed
+into one of the huts at Rose Camp and caused forty more casualties.
+In the transport lines on the west side of the Yser Canal Capt.
+Neville, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F., was killed by a bomb next day. An
+old soldier with a wonderful record of service, he had preferred to
+stick to his battalion instead of taking promotion. I have already
+called him the prince of quarter masters. I had also to lament him as
+a very kind and generous friend.
+
+We now received orders to retire to the rest area about Ondank, and on
+October 26 I was sent to take over a camp for B.H.Q. On the way I
+called at D.H.Q. at Elverdinghe Chateau, where I was very courteously
+received by the 'Q' Staff--Col. Cartwright and Major McCracken--who
+made many sympathetic inquiries after the officers in the Brigade.
+
+We were now quartered in some old wooden huts, possibly constructed by
+the French; and though very comfortable inside they were hardly
+bomb-proof. At nights all the back areas round Ypres were heavily
+bombed and a lot of horses were killed every night and a certain
+number of men as well.
+
+On October 27 the poor shattered remnants of my battalion passed
+B.H.Q., very weary and very few in numbers. Besides the Battalion H.Q.
+Company there were just enough men to make one decent-sized company.
+Lieut.-Col. G. Scott Jackson stopped to speak to me, and the tears
+trickled down his weather-beaten face, as he said 'Buckley, this has
+fairly done me.' Only those who have had a fine battalion cut to
+pieces can realise the feelings of their commander at such a moment.
+
+I set to work with my observers packing a wall of sandbags round the
+wooden huts, as a protection against bomb splinters. It was not
+possible to protect the roof, but these sandbags were effective
+against anything but a direct hit.
+
+I have never known German night bombing more persistent or more heavy
+than it was in the Salient just at this time. And although we never
+got a bomb in the same field as our camp they dropped close enough to
+be disturbing. A camp with some of the Divisional details was struck
+some little way from us, and the same night D.H.Q. at Elverdinghe
+Chateau were bombed, several motor-lorries being set on fire.
+
+It was too far back for us to be troubled with much shelling, and the
+German long-range guns fired mostly over our heads at the more
+attractive targets of Poperinghe and Proven. One day during this short
+rest, October 29, I had a ride round with Lieut. Odell in search of a
+field-cashier's office where money could be drawn to pay Brigade
+details. After a long ride to different places we landed up at a
+Canadian Cashier's Office near Poperinghe; at this time the Canadians
+were on Passchendaele Ridge. About November 5 the Brigade returned to
+the line for a few days before the Division was taken out. On that day
+I returned with the Staff-Captain and Capt. G. Bell (6th N.F.,
+Assistant-Staff-Captain) to Huddersfield Dugouts. On the following
+day I walked nearly as far as the Steenbeke at Martin's Mill, and the
+ground around Langemarck was about as dreary and shattered as any that
+I have ever seen. It was well described to me once as 'utter squalor.'
+Next day I went to the camp of the 4th N.F. south of Langemarck and to
+Marsouine camp, to arrange certain details of the relief. The same
+night the Brigade was relieved, but I was left in charge at
+Huddersfield Dugouts till the evening of November 8 when I returned to
+the camp at Ondank. On November 12 the Brigade entrained at
+Elverdinghe station and were taken through St. Omer to Watten station.
+We marched from there in the dark to the little village of Serques. We
+were now to have about a month's rest and training before returning
+again to the Salient.
+
+
+
+
+XXVII
+
+DIVISIONAL REST NEAR ST. OMER
+
+
+Serques was quite a pleasant little village to stay at, but the
+arrangements for training were very scanty. I had to search round for
+suitable spots for rifle-ranges, and to agree with the owners for
+suitable compensation. Also I had to make some of the arrangements for
+a ferry boat to convey the troops across the Canal De L'Aa to a good
+training-ground between Watten and St. Momelin. On November 14 I paid
+my first visit to St. Omer, which is a nice town with plenty of good
+shops.
+
+Lieut.-Col. G.R.B. Spain, C.M.G., of the 6th N.F. came to command the
+Brigade during the absence of Brigadier-General Riddell on leave. He
+was a man of remarkable erudition and a collector of prints and other
+things. And I soon found that we had many things in common and many
+interesting talks I had with him on a variety of subjects.
+
+We discovered together several early flint implements and arrow-heads
+about Serques, and he told me a lot about the early Stone Age, which
+interested me greatly and set me looking for these interesting relics
+wherever we happened to be quartered.[15] Shortly after this time
+Lieut.-Col. Scott Jackson left the 7th N.F. to join the R.A.M.C. and
+to take command of a base hospital. He was succeeded by Capt. H.
+Liddell, M.C., who now became Lieut.-Col. in command of the battalion.
+
+After staying at Serques for about two weeks the Brigade moved to the
+area around Tournehem. This was not such a flat watery country; and we
+had better quarters in the house of the cure of the place.
+
+It was decided to hold Brigade Sports here, and I was sent off to
+Boulogne to buy the prizes. I went there and back in a Divisional
+Staff car. I had lunch at the Officers' Club, where the W.A.A.C.'s
+were serving as waitresses; and very nice it was to see their fresh
+English faces again. A visit to Boulogne when you are not going on
+leave brings back rather melancholy feelings, and I was glad to leave
+the place.
+
+An incident happened at Nortleulinghem, which was rather unfortunate
+for it spoilt an unbroken record. The 7th N.F., who were stationed at
+this place, were ordered to provide a field-firing demonstration for
+the Divisional Staff. The demonstration was to include the firing of a
+number of smoke-bombs--rifle-grenades with a small can of phosphorus
+at the end. Their successful discharge required considerable practice
+and nerve.
+
+As Lieut. H. Richardson, the Bombing Officer of the 7th N.F., was away
+I was asked to come over and instruct the men how to fire these new
+weapons off. There were only two mornings in which to instruct them
+before the demonstration came off. Of course it was a very hurried
+proceeding, and I was rather horrified to find that the men knew
+practically nothing about rifle-grenades. (Most of the trained
+rifle-bombers had become casualties in the battle at Houthulst.) I did
+what I could to explain the working of the smoke rifle-bomb; but on
+the first practice taking place one of the men succeeded in blowing
+off the forefinger of another man, through firing too soon. Of course
+that was not a fatal accident, but it put the man out of action for
+the rest of the war--my only serious accident in bombing of any kind.
+When the demonstration came off, there were to my great relief no
+further regrettable incidents of that sort.
+
+On December 9 we began to prepare to return to the Salient, and I went
+with certain advanced details to Watten, where I spent the night in
+one of the houses. I managed to get a very passable dinner at the best
+local inn. We entrained next day at Watten station and were taken by
+rail to Brandhoek; marching to a camp quite close to the station.
+
+I had seen in some of our Intelligence papers that the 14th Division
+was in a Corps immediately on our left, and I therefore knew that I
+might have a chance of getting in touch with my brother George.
+Accordingly I walked to Vlamertinghe next day and heard that his
+battalion was stationed in a camp at St. Jean. On December 12 I was
+sent forward to take over B.H.Q. in Ypres, at a convent at the N.E.
+corner of the city. The higher floors of the convent were all in
+ruins, but the ground floors were more or less intact, and in these we
+had our rooms and offices. The mess room was under a pile of rubbish
+outside. Having made the arrangements with the 150th Infantry Brigade,
+whom we were relieving, I had still an hour to spare before B.H.Q.
+would arrive. So I decided to walk over to St. Jean and inquire for my
+brother's battalion. It took me about twenty minutes to get there, but
+there was no difficulty in finding the battalion or their H.Q. So I
+marched up to the H.Q. hut and asked to see Capt. Buckley. He came out
+at once and was very surprised to see me, for he had no idea where I
+was at this time. It was a hurried but exceedingly pleasant meeting. I
+had only twenty minutes to spare, and he was just going forward to the
+front line that night. So we had to 'swop yarns' very quickly. And he
+walked back part of the way with me towards Ypres. I thought he looked
+very worn out and depressed. He had had a very hard time in the
+Salient, and in a few days he was back in hospital with influenza.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[15] At Coigneux I found a series of early implements in which the
+British Museum took considerable interest.
+
+
+
+
+XXVIII
+
+THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE
+
+
+The 50th Division were holding the line in front of Passchendaele
+Village and a little to the south. On our right were the West Riding
+Territorials, the 49th Division, commanded by Major-General Cameron
+(once one of our brigadiers); on the left the 14th Division. Only one
+brigade was in the line at a time--another remaining in support around
+Ypres and the other back at rest about Brandhoek. Thus a brigade went
+to close support for four days, to the front line for four days, and
+then back to the rest area for four days. This seems to be an easy
+method of holding the line; but, owing to the nature of the ground and
+to the heavy shelling that went on most of the day and night in the
+forward areas, it was impossible to keep a brigade very long in the
+front line. The battle on the ridge had been over for some time, but
+neither side was yet prepared to disperse its heavy concentration of
+guns. But the heavy firing was gradually, very gradually, becoming
+less severe.
+
+Ypres itself had been badly knocked about during the great battle.
+Most of the troops billeted in Ypres lived underground, but whilst I
+was living there it was never severely shelled. Shrapnel was fired
+occasionally at the balloons over the city, and also about the Menin
+Gate and the roads leading towards the east end of the city. But there
+were no heavy guns in Ypres itself, and there was at present no
+particular reason for shelling it. We therefore had not an unpleasant
+time ourselves in the city. I believe that the H.Q. at the convent
+were shelled whilst we were in the front line, but that only happened
+once.
+
+On December 13 I went for a walk of inspection as far as Dan Cottages,
+some old German pill-boxes, where the forward brigade had their H.Q.
+For the first mile or so from Ypres the ground seemed to be recovering
+from the heavy shelling it had received, and there was a good deal of
+grass now growing about the old British front line trenches. But as
+you got farther forward to the area of the heavy guns, the ground was
+badly shattered and every shell-hole full of water. Between this point
+and B.H.Q. the conditions were simply awful. A vast swamp of
+yellow-brown mud divided into craters of large size--all full of
+watery slime. And so it went on as far as the eye could see.
+
+Here and there there were oases of dry ground, generally holding
+several heavy guns and dumps of ammunition. Whilst at intervals the
+swamp was intersected by a wooden road, used by the lorries to bring
+up ammunition, and by two or three duck-board tracks which ran winding
+through the awful mess of mud and water. These tracks were supported
+on wooden piles driven into the mud, and were more like wooden bridges
+than tracks. Sometimes they rested on firm ground, but mostly they
+were held up in the air by the wooden piles. Again right through the
+devastated area ran a good paved road from Ypres towards Zonnebeke.
+Here and there in some of the drier spots you could see queer white
+mounds--the concrete pill-boxes, some of which were still sound
+enough, but others broken in and waterlogged. The pill-boxes and the
+road and the wooden tracks were of course well known to the German
+artillery, who lavished a great deal of ammunition every day on each
+of these targets. But owing to the methodical way in which the Germans
+fired on the tracks, it was always possible to mend them wherever they
+were smashed. Between 2 A.M. and 8 A.M. practically no shells came
+over on to the tracks, and during this time each day gangs of men went
+out and mended the damage done to them.
+
+When the frost came and solidified the mud, travelling became safer if
+not so easy; for it was then possible to leave the tracks and go
+across country by walking round the edges of the shell craters. All
+along the road there was ceaseless activity day and night. Lines and
+lines of lorries going backwards or forwards, limbers, wagons, men.
+When the enemy shelled the road, generally some damage was done, and
+it was not uncommon to see pools of blood in the road and the litter
+of broken vehicles. At intervals along the road there were vast dumps
+of ammunition and stores, and on the side tracks huge piles of every
+sort of salvage.
+
+Forward again of B.H.Q. the country was perhaps not so badly smashed,
+except in the spots most exposed to shell fire. But the shell-holes
+were often full of German dead--I counted nearly 100 within a quarter
+of a mile of Dan Cottages. And on the forward wooden tracks used by
+our transport, the ground reeked like a slaughter-house. Fragments of
+everything just swept off the tracks. The limbs and bodies of the
+pack-mules lying sometimes in heaps sometimes at intervals all along
+the route. Of course the nearer you approached to Passchendaele Ridge
+the drier and firmer was the ground. But that awful swamp behind has
+probably no parallel in the history of war. How the Engineers overcame
+it is really a marvel. And great credit indeed must be given to this
+very efficient branch of the Army, and to the men who laboured there
+under the terrible conditions around them. I have mentioned the German
+dead; there was no doubt little time to give to them. But I hardly saw
+one body of a British soldier who had been left without burial.
+
+On December 15 I went with General Riddell to visit the 5th N.F.
+Battalion H.Q. at Tyne Cottages, some pill-boxes about half-way
+between forward B.H.Q. and Passchendaele. It was a long walk, and we
+went up the Zonnebeke Road till we were in the neighbourhood of that
+village, then along the mule track to Tyne Cottages. Whilst we were
+talking with Major A. Irwin at the pill-box a few light shells came
+over and sprinkled us with earth. It was best to be either inside or
+well away from a pill-box: but as the entrance to this pill-box was
+like a rabbit-hole and close to the ground General Riddell preferred
+to stand outside. After that we paid a visit to Dan Cottages, and
+returned back along the wooden tracks to Ypres.
+
+   [Illustration: Plan of B.H.Q. (Judah House), Dan Cottages.]
+
+Next day B.H.Q. went forward to Dan Cottages and stayed there for four
+days. The Brigade observers were employed in two ways, partly as
+observers and partly as a gas guard for the B.H.Q. pill-box. This
+pill-box had already stood one or two strong blows from shells, but it
+still appeared to be pretty sound. The door of course faced the enemy,
+but was protected by a stout concrete wall and a bank of earth outside
+that.
+
+It will be seen from the above plan that the quarters were very
+confined--the bunks being roughly six feet long and the room rather
+over six feet high.
+
+One observer stood in the narrow passage outside the door as sentry
+and gas guard. He was of course relieved every four hours, and at
+night there were generally two on duty. The other observers who were
+not on this duty held a post about Hillside Farm about a mile forward
+of Dan Cottages. This was not altogether a healthy spot, but a good
+view was obtained towards Moorslede.
+
+In this area observers were asked to pay special attention to the
+enemy's shelling, noticing the direction from which the sound of the
+firing came and the areas shelled and approximately the number of
+rounds. I had of course to write out the Brigade Intelligence Report
+each morning. The last night we were in these quarters a number of
+gas-shells were fired round the batteries and B.H.Q. They made the
+atmosphere very unpleasant; and though they were not thick enough to
+necessitate wearing the respirator, I suffered, especially the
+following night, from their effects.
+
+On December 20 we were relieved and moved back to the rest area at
+Brandhoek, where we were glad to have four days' rest. On Christmas
+Eve we moved to our old quarters at Ypres, and the following night we
+had an excellent Christmas dinner thanks to the good services of
+Lieut. Behrens, our French interpreter, an old machine-gunner of
+Verdun. On December 28 we again went to the front area and held the
+line for four days. It was always the custom for one of the officers
+of the Brigade to keep awake on duty during part of the night. We
+took it in turns and did two-hour shifts. On the morning of December
+31 it happened to be my turn to be awake on duty just about dawn. And
+this saved me from a very rude awakening. That morning the enemy had
+decided on a bombardment of our Divisional front and he commenced
+proceedings by shelling Dan Cottages with a battery of 4-inch naval
+guns, a very accurate weapon. We got a shell on the roof of the
+pill-box which gave a nasty concussion and put all the lights out.
+That woke the rest of the Staff up except the Artillery Officer. I had
+hardly got the lights on again when we got another shell on the roof.
+Again the lights went out, and this time a piece of concrete fell out
+of the roof and crashed on to the floor, knocking over some of our
+belongings, but fortunately missing the officers inside.
+
+A few small fragments of concrete also dropped on the face of the
+Artillery Liaison Officer who had slept peacefully through the first
+concussion. He woke up then with a comical look of surprise, as if some
+one were playing a joke on him. Although another shell struck the bank
+at the doorway we had no more on the roof, and no casualties--only we
+found that all our telephone wires had been cut. I wonder whether our
+roof would have stood another direct hit! Later on in the day I filled
+the holes in the roof outside with blocks of ice and frozen earth, in
+fact anything I could find to act as a 'burster' in case of further
+shelling. At 12 o'clock midnight, being the beginning of New Year's
+Day, our artillery fired their usual reminder at the enemy. It has been
+a point of honour with us to fire off all our guns as soon as possible
+after the New Year came in. On the evening of January 1 we were
+relieved and moved back to Brandhoek. On January 3 the Division was
+taken farther back for a rest, and the Brigade marched to the district
+about Watou on the French border.
+
+Having served for two years abroad I applied for a month's leave--it
+was a privilege granted to Staff Officers who needed a rest. My leave
+warrant reached me on January 5, and next day I left Watou and
+entrained at Poperinghe for Boulogne.
+
+
+
+
+XXIX
+
+GOOD-BYE TO THE 50TH DIVISION
+
+
+When I returned to Ypres on February 8, 1918, I found that some very
+drastic changes had taken place in the grouping of battalions. Instead
+of four battalions to a brigade, there were now to be three; and every
+division was to be provided with a Pioneer battalion. This meant that
+the 50th Division, who already possessed a battalion of pioneers, had
+to part with a battalion from each brigade. And these battalions would
+have to be attached as pioneer battalions to other divisions who
+possessed no pioneer battalion. As the junior battalion in the
+Northumberlands, the 7th N.F. were selected to go from the 149th
+Infantry Brigade; and their companions in misfortune were the 9th
+D.L.I. and the 5th Border Regiment. Major-General Sir P.S. Wilkinson,
+K.C.M.G., our Divisional Commander, was good enough to say that he was
+parting with three of his best battalions.
+
+Although I had been attached to the Staff of the 149th Infantry
+Brigade since May 1916 I was included in the General Order that all
+detached officers should join their respective battalions before they
+left the Division. At the time this looked very hard. I had been a
+specialist for over two years and had got completely out of touch with
+company work. But I have no doubt now that in the events which
+happened I was very lucky to leave the 50th Division at this juncture.
+In six weeks' time I was, through the good offices of the Battalion
+H.Q., given an Intelligence job with our new Division; and the
+experience I had gained with the 50th Division was not wasted as I had
+feared it might be. Also there went with me from the 149th Infantry
+Brigade four highly-trained observers who formed the nucleus and
+backbone of the 42nd Divisional observers. On returning to the 7th
+N.F. I lost my acting-captaincy and became second in command to C
+Company. Also I had to part with many good friends in the old Brigade:
+some of them I was destined never to meet again. Lieut. E.W. Styles
+who was attached to the 149th Trench-Mortar Battery was unhappily
+killed during the German offensive; a great friend whom I shall always
+miss. My bombing orderly, L.-C. Fairclough, was also killed during the
+same operations.
+
+When I joined the 7th N.F. they were stationed at St. Jean--in Alnwick
+Camp. And here the battalion said good-bye to the Brigade.
+
+It was a singular turn of fate that this should occur here. The 7th
+N.F. had fought their first battle with the Brigade on this spot in
+April 1915, and the name of the camp was of course taken from the town
+where their H.Q. were stationed at home. When he came to say farewell
+to the battalion, General Riddell referred to this curious
+coincidence and also bade us remember the regimental motto 'Quo Fata
+Vocant' (' Whither the Fates call'). So we left the Ypres Salient for
+the last time. And although I went into Belgium again with the Army of
+Occupation, I have never set foot in Flanders again. Of all countries
+on earth it is surely the most dismal and unhappy. At least so it
+appeared to me.
+
+
+
+
+XXX
+
+DIGGING TRENCHES ABOUT LOOS
+
+
+Before we left the 50th Division we learnt that we were to join the
+42nd (East Lancashire) Territorial Division, commanded at this time by
+Major-General A. Solly-Flood, C.M.G., D.S.O. The latter Division had
+seen service in Egypt and Gallipoli before coming to France, and they
+were now resting in the Bethune area, having just left the trenches
+between Cambrin and Loos. This was in the I Corps area of the First
+Army. As pioneers to the 42nd Division the 7th N.F. became Divisional
+troops, directly under the command of the Divisional Staff and no
+longer in a brigade. The three brigades of our new division were the
+125th (Lancs. Fusiliers), 126th (East Lancashire), and 127th
+(Manchester)--all Territorial brigades. The Staff of the 42nd Division
+treated their new pioneer battalion with kindness and consideration;
+and I believe we were called on occasion 'Solly-Flood's Pets.' On the
+other hand there was friction at times between the men of the 42nd
+Division and the men of the 7th N.F.
+
+The whole Division had hitherto been drawn from the East Lancashire
+area--Manchester, Oldham, Bury, &c., and they looked upon us rather
+as intruders. The Northumberlands were of course not the people to let
+slip so admirable an opportunity of accepting a feud: and in October
+1918 they committed the unforgivable sin of winning the Divisional
+Association Football Cup, which completed their unpopularity.
+
+And for a battalion which had seen the hard service of the 7th N.F.,
+the stock jests generally levelled at a pioneer battalion were a
+little out of place. The 42nd Division proved themselves a hard
+fighting division in 1918, and lived up to their motto 'Go one
+better.'
+
+The 7th N.F. left the Ypres area about February 11, 1918, and after
+spending a few days at Brandhock they were conveyed in motor-buses to
+the small village of Fouquereuil, west of Bethune.
+
+Here the battalion was instructed to help the pioneers of the 6th
+Division, who were holding the front line trenches between Cambrin and
+Loos. Accordingly three companies of the 7th N.F. were detached from
+the battalion and sent to the forward area. I went with C Company
+(Capt. Herriott) to Philosophe, a small colliery village still partly
+inhabited by civilians, though fairly close to the front line.
+
+Our daily work was making reserve defences, trenches, deep dugouts,
+and machine-gun emplacements between Vermelles and Loos. During our
+stay of about a week at Philosophe the village was quiet. But one
+night the enemy's guns sent a perfect stream of shells just over the
+tops of the cottages for about twenty minutes. About a week after we
+left the village it was completely knocked to bits by the enemy's
+10-inch howitzer shells.
+
+Our next visit was to some reserve trenches at Cambrin, where we
+stayed for about a week, improving the defences. It was a quiet, easy
+time, though not far behind the front line. After this the four
+companies of the 7th N.F. were reduced to three, and I was transferred
+to A Company at Sailly-Labourse. Here we were some distance behind the
+front line, but working-parties were taken up to the forward area, and
+I used to go and inspect them. Shortly after our arrival at Sailly the
+enemy began to shell the back areas, causing great annoyance and some
+casualties to the civilian population, generally to children. They had
+been allowed to live here many months in peace, although not five
+miles away from the enemy's trenches. Even Sailly-Labourse received
+almost daily salvoes from long-range guns.
+
+I had a very unpleasant experience myself in my billet, a brick
+cottage, one night about March 12. I was in bed on the first
+floor--the only person in the cottage except monsieur and madame who
+slept in the cellar. About midnight the enemy's 4-inch naval guns
+started shelling the place. Three shells in succession passed just
+over the roof of my cottage, one smashed the next house to pieces; the
+next fell into our little back garden, eight yards from the cottage;
+and the third struck the road on the other side. After that I got up
+and joined monsieur and madame for ten minutes in the cellar, until
+the shelling had ceased. Then back to bed. But next day I took the
+precaution of changing my billet--going to the cellar of the broken
+house next door.
+
+It was a piteous sight to see the poor French folk as they fled from
+their homes, with their most cherished belongings packed on to small
+carts.
+
+About this time the 42nd Division decided to form a party of
+observers, known as 'Divisional Observers,' who were intended to keep
+a watch on the enemy during a battle and to report all sudden
+movements to the Division. They were really intended to collect
+information for D.H.Q. at times when the ordinary avenues of
+information had broken down. At first the party consisted of one
+officer and nine trained observers: but later on it was increased by
+the inclusion of signallers and one or two additional men.
+
+On March 15, 1918, I was instructed to return to Lapugnoy to Battalion
+H.Q. in order to organise and command this new party of men. I
+obtained this job through the kind recommendation of the Colonel and
+Adjutant of the 7th N.F. Although this side of Intelligence was not
+perhaps the one that I had most experience of, yet I hailed my return
+to an Intelligence job with delight.
+
+When I reached Lapugnoy no observers had yet arrived, but next day I
+went to interview Capt. E.C.B. Kirsopp, M.C., the G.S.O. III, who was
+the officer on the Staff directly responsible for the equipment and
+movements of the observers. Capt. Kirsopp was, I believe, the father
+of the observers, i.e. responsible for their formation, and he showed
+at all times an interest and a kindness which were fully appreciated.
+His faith in the possibilities of the party never wavered, although
+for some time it was difficult to know how to make their information
+quick and effective. However, he never lost hope in us, and he never
+ceased to try to improve the means of communication between the
+observers and D.H.Q. Amongst other things he got for the observers two
+very powerful telescopes, with a magnification of forty-five times.
+And although these glasses could not, owing to their size and the
+weight of their fittings, be used during the moving warfare, at a
+later stage they proved simply invaluable for making target sketches
+of the enemy's defences. Another officer who did us good service was
+Lieut. C.R. Stride, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. Without his aid the heavy
+telescopes would never have gone into action, and the observers would
+often have been without rations. He always took an interest in the
+little party, and provided us with many welcome comforts from his
+store.[16]
+
+On March 19 the following observers reported to me. From the 7th N.F.
+L.-C. J. Cowen and Ptes. J. King, W. Fail, and R. Ewart--all of whom
+were old friends and observers of the 149th Infantry Brigade; from the
+125th Infantry Brigade L.-C. J. Flynn; from the 126th Infantry Brigade
+Ptes. F. Dunkerley and F. Turner; from the 127th Infantry Brigade
+Corp. Walker and Pte. A. Morris. Owing to casualties and to the
+observers being recalled to their battalions the personnel of the
+party was always changing. But of the above, the four men of the 7th
+N.F. and Pte. F. Turner practically remained with the observers from
+first to last.
+
+For about a week I stayed at Lapugnoy, giving lectures to the
+observers and carrying out some field training with the compass and
+protractor. But our peaceful existence in the back area was not
+destined to last long. On Friday, March 22, I was instructed to take
+the observers to the 42nd Division Signal School at Bethune, in order
+that the men might go through a course of signalling. We reached the
+Signal School at 4 P.M. on Friday, and at 10 P.M. the same night, we
+received orders that all officers and men at the school were to be
+ready to move at 6 A.M. next morning. The long expected blow had
+fallen at last. The enemy had already launched the first wave of his
+great offensive.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[16] Lieut.-Col. H. Liddell, D.S.O., M.C., was most generous in
+providing men to replace casualties and in sending us four signallers
+from the 7th N.F. H.Q.
+
+
+
+
+XXXI
+
+THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE 1918--SECOND BATTLE OF ARRAS
+
+
+March 23, 1918 was a fine day: and that was lucky for us, for we had a
+long day in the open before us. We got a hurried breakfast about six
+o'clock, and were soon marching by road to the place of assembly on
+the road from Bethune to Hesdigneul. Here we had a wait of several
+hours on the roadside, whilst an unending stream of motor-buses
+hurried past all going southwards. It was rumoured that our
+destination was Basseux, five miles S.W. of Arras; and I hoped it was
+true, for I knew the district better than any other in France. At last
+the buses allotted to the Divisional troops drew up and we got aboard
+and set off on our journey to the south. We went through Labuissiere
+to St. Pol, and thence through Frevent to Doullens, and then
+north-east along the road towards Arras. Except for a few large and
+recent shell-holes by the roadside we saw little unusual until we
+began to get near Arras. We stopped for a few minutes near the C.C.S.
+at Laherliere, and I got off and asked one of the hospital orderlies
+how things were going on. We were told that our fellows had had a bad
+day on the 22nd, but that to-day far fewer casualties had passed
+through the station. Soon after that we met a number of French
+civilians with carts streaming back from Arras, guarded by French
+soldiers. We knew then that things were not going too well in front.
+
+When we reached Basseux about 6 P.M. the buses were turned round and
+we went on in an easterly direction till we reached Ayette. Here we
+got down and marched in the darkness to the ruined village of
+Adinfer. Continual flashes in the direction of Monchy-le-Preux and an
+intermittent roar from our long-range guns near at hand showed that
+fighting was still going on. But no shells arrived to add to our
+discomfort. The observers had to bivouac in Adinfer Wood, a cheerless
+proceeding after our long journey down, for we had no blankets and no
+chance of getting a hot meal. Some artillerymen gave me a drink of
+water, which I remember with gratitude, for I had had no chance of a
+drink since 6 A.M., and the roads had been choked with dust. There
+was a keen frost that night, and I could not sleep for long. When
+daylight came I managed to light a small fire and to heat up a tin of
+'Machonchie'; and this put a little more life into me. After that I
+went to Adinfer where the Divisional Staff were quartered in wooden
+huts. Here I got a cup of coffee and had a chat with the Divisional
+Intelligence Officer, Lieut. G.F. Doble, M.C. I found that D.H.Q.
+were moving back to Monchy-au-Bois. My instructions were to
+reconnoitre the roads from Ayette towards Bucquoy, Ablainzevelle,
+and Courcelles-le-Comte. So after getting quarters for my party at a
+ruined cottage in the wood, I set out with most of my men and spent
+the whole afternoon tramping the roads as far as Ablainzevelle and
+back again towards Moyenneville. Unfortunately as events proved this
+was time and labour lost. For when I reported to Capt. Kirsopp at
+Monchy-au-Bois I found that the 42nd Division had received orders
+from the IV Corps to hold the line farther south, towards Behagnies
+and Sapignies. D.H.Q. were to move next day to a camp between Logeast
+Wood and Bucquoy. I was told to send a party of observers to the east
+end of Logeast Wood and to pay a visit myself to the H.Q. near
+Bucquoy. The night was again spent in Adinfer Wood; but it was more
+comfortable for we had collected some rations and blankets and were
+less exposed to the weather.
+
+Next morning (March 25) I moved across country with L.-C. Flynn to the
+camp between Logeast Wood and Bucquoy. The country-side seemed
+deserted and no sound of firing could be heard. L.-C. Cowen took two
+observers to the east end of Logeast Wood and spent the day there, but
+nothing of importance could be seen. They were, however, shelled by
+the enemy for a time in the afternoon. Later on in the day there were
+more signs of the enemy's activity. A large dump exploded at
+Courcelles, but it may have been done by our own R.E.'s. And it was
+reported that the Germans were advancing towards Achiet-le-Grand. I
+found out that evening that D.H.Q. had moved back to the village of
+Fonquevillers; so I decided to move my men more in that direction; and
+after nightfall the observers marched along the road through
+Monchy-au-Bois to Bienvillers.
+
+On this road we saw guns and transport in large numbers, mostly going
+south. It was fairly evident to my mind that the enemy had made
+another advance during the day, but definite news was hard to get.
+Hundreds of shells from the German 4-inch naval guns fell about the
+roads all night, but I heard not one of them explode. They must have
+been a rotten lot of ammunition. On arriving at Bienvillers the
+observers got a billet in the cellars of a shattered house at the
+north end of the village. A little later I went to Fonquevillers to
+get news from D.H.Q.--and instructions for next day. The Divisional
+Staff were quartered in some Nissen huts. When I arrived they had no
+particular news, but I was asked to send a post of observers again, if
+possible, to the east end of Logeast Wood, which was thought to be
+still in our hands. After this I returned to Bienvillers about
+midnight and arranged for an early start next day.
+
+In the morning (March 26) we were cooking tea and bacon about 3.45
+A.M. when a very tired and draggled officer came in. He said he had
+just ridden over from Bapaume on a motor-cycle and he told us a sorry
+tale. He evidently thought that the Germans had broken right through
+on the Fifth Army front (i.e. on our right), and that the British
+forces were about to be surrounded. Bapaume was on fire, and the
+British Army defeated and broken in the south. This was the first
+definite news I had of the misfortunes in the Somme area. It was
+disquieting enough and I determined to approach Logeast Wood with
+caution and to keep a sharp look-out for unusual movement as we went
+forward. Accompanied by Ptes. Fail and Ewart I went across country
+towards Bucquoy as the light was beginning to break. We noticed that
+the large trees on the road to Hannescamps had been prepared by the
+R.E.'s for felling with gun cotton--the charges being ready and tied
+to the trunks so as to throw them across the road. The roads were
+already full, mostly horse transport pouring rapidly through
+Bienvillers towards Souastre. Transport from the south-east coming in
+our direction through Hannescamps appeared to be in a panic and
+expecting pursuit by the German cavalry. Once we got away from the
+road and reached Le Quesnoy Farm there was little movement to be seen.
+A few small parties of our men moving towards us across the open and
+here and there a limber. Nothing in a hurry, nothing at all to
+indicate a retreat on our own front, though it was actually taking
+place at the time. There was no sound of firing, and no shells. A
+battery of field guns still lay in a hollow just west of Bucquoy, and
+this sight rather reassured me; so I decided to push on a bit. Leaving
+my two observers on the ridge west of Dierville Farm I approached the
+ruined buildings of the farm which lie a little west of the road
+between Bucquoy and Ayette. While I was here I saw some of our
+infantry marching along this road out of Bucquoy and forming a line
+along it. One of them asked me where they could get in touch with our
+troops on the left. Though I had been told to expect them east of
+Logeast Wood they had in fact fallen back during the night and were
+even now about to leave Ablainzevelle. The troops I saw on the road
+were in fact taking up a line of resistance, for they were the British
+front line. After this I decided that Dierville Farm could be held as
+an O.P. for the time being; and so sending my two observers on, I
+returned to Bienvillers to get a little much needed rest. As I went
+back there was still no shelling and no sound of rifle fire. Yet it
+afterwards transpired that the enemy had already pushed his outposts
+forward into Ablainzevelle and west of Logeast Wood. Surely it was on
+this part of the front one of the most silent advances made in the
+war. When they returned my observers reported all quiet at Dierville
+Farm, but the two observers that relieved them at 10 A.M. found the
+enemy guns more active. After midday a number of shells were sent into
+the village of Bucquoy and not far from the farm.
+
+When I got back the roads through Bienvillers became more crowded than
+ever with horse transport, and many guns were being moved on the road
+from Monchy-au-Bois. The sides of the road, too, became crowded with
+infantry, who were apparently awaiting orders to move forward. In
+spite of the congestion on the roads the enemy made only one attempt
+that day to harass them. A 10-inch shell from a long-range gun fell in
+an open field about 100 yards short of Bienvillers Church, but it did
+no damage except to the field. The stream of traffic through the
+village continued without ceasing all that day. At 4 P.M. I received
+orders from the Division to join the 7th N.F. near Essarts and to come
+under the command of the O.C. 7th N.F. It was found impossible to make
+any direct use of the observers at the time owing to the
+disorganisation and uncertainty that prevailed; so they were added
+temporarily as a reinforcement to the battalion. It was indeed a
+crisis in the fate of the right wing of the Third Army, though at the
+time we did not realise it. At 6 p.m. the observers left Bienvillers
+and went forward along the road to Hannescamps, meeting many wounded
+on the road and a few other parties of troops returning. We found the
+battalion in a hollow west of Essarts. They were just preparing to
+move. On reporting to Major McLeod, who was in temporary command of
+the battalion, I was told to attach the observers to the H.Q. Company.
+
+The battalion had already had a brush with the enemy. On the preceding
+day, March 25, about midday they had advanced in artillery formation
+from Logeast Wood towards Achiet-le-Grand.
+
+Near that village they had come under direct fire from the enemy's
+field artillery and they had been shelled also with 5.9-inch
+howitzers. One company suffered rather severe casualties, but the
+battalion succeeded in passing through the village and filling a gap
+in the line. Later on in the day they had been relieved by the
+neighbouring Brigade and received orders to fall back first to Logeast
+Wood and later on to Ablainzevelle. The latter place they were ordered
+to leave at 8 A.M. that morning. Eventually they reached the place
+where I found them. The men were all in good spirits and evidently
+pleased with their part in the rearguard action. Very soon after I
+joined them the battalion was moved again, this time about a quarter
+of a mile to the south across the Bucquoy-Bienvillers Road. Here we
+waited till further orders should arrive, and meantime some hot soup
+and rum were served out. Then we all lay down in the open, with
+blankets it is true, but the air was so frosty that little sleep was
+possible. About midnight we got orders to go to some trenches just
+east of the village of Essarts. We marched forward to this place,
+about a mile, without any interference from the enemy. H.Q. were
+established in a small tin hut in the village. Although there were
+still many trees about the place, all trace of the buildings had
+disappeared except one or two cellars and some piles of rubbish. We
+found our field batteries stationed quite close to us, to the west and
+north of Essarts, and one in a small hollow to the east. These
+batteries kept up a pretty constant fire during the night; but so far
+the enemy did not reply. All our heavy guns seem to have been taken
+away, except possibly one battery of 60-pounder guns near Hannescamps.
+
+The two following days, March 27 and 28, were memorable for a
+continuous series of attacks by the enemy along the whole of our
+front.
+
+On the morning of the 27th I went to the east side of the Essarts Wood
+to note what was going on, and I sent a party of observers farther
+north to the high ground at Le Quesnoy Farm. About 10.30 A.M. the
+enemy's artillery opened a scattered fire on the neighbourhood of
+Essarts, apparently searching the hollows for our battery positions.
+But it was not until 11 A.M. that the enemy started to shell our
+forward positions. From 11 A.M. to 11.25 A.M. a heavy barrage of
+flame-shells was put down about Dierville Farm and along the road
+leading from Bucquoy to Ayette. I am told that they did not do much
+damage, but they were certainly a terrible sight. The flames that
+burst from these shells when they reached the ground rose up thirty or
+forty feet in the air, flared on for a few moments, and then
+disappeared into a dirty black smoke. For twenty-five minutes they
+came over fast, and they did not finally cease till 11.45 A.M. At the
+same time Biez Wood on our right was heavily shelled and the area to
+the south of Bucquoy. Our field batteries at Essarts made a gallant
+reply, pouring in an unceasing rain of shrapnel wherever the enemy was
+suspected to be concentrating. This in turn drew a very unpleasant
+fire on to Essarts, which went on without break till 2 P.M. After that
+the enemy's counter-battery guns must have run out of ammunition, for
+they gave little more trouble for the rest of the day. Our field guns
+however continued to fire all that day and through the greater part of
+the night; their fire did not slacken whether shells were bursting
+around them or not. And great credit must be given to these gunners
+for their share in dispersing five enemy attacks. The battery on the
+east side of the wood, belonging to the 41st Division, came in for
+some very severe shelling, but the gunners never ceased to fire or to
+carry ammunition forward to the guns in full view of the enemy. As
+things had become rather hot around our tin hut, H.Q. were moved to a
+cellar, used as a dressing-station, where the doctor, Capt. C.F.
+Lidderdale, made room for us.
+
+During the evening the battalion got orders to be prepared to form a
+defensive flank between Le Quesnoy Farm and Adinfer Wood. The enemy's
+attacks had made progress on our left towards Ayette, and it was
+feared that he might break through in that direction. Next morning,
+however, March 28, still found us at Essarts. The battalion was
+ordered to leave the trenches and to fall back behind the line of
+batteries on the west of the wood. In order to get a view of what was
+going on in front, I was sent by the Adjutant with two observers[17]
+to a point east of the wood, and we dug ourselves in in some
+partly-formed trenches there. In these trenches we stayed till well
+on into the afternoon, sending in reports every half-hour of what we
+could see to the H.Q. of the Infantry Brigade in Essarts. Evidently
+the enemy had renewed his attacks, for there was heavy shelling all
+along the front, and a number of shells again came in amongst the
+batteries about Essarts. During the afternoon the 7th N.F. moved
+forward to some trenches in support, on the ridge east of Essarts. And
+there the observers joined them after dark. The firing had been hot
+all day, but it now died down. And it really looked as if the enemy's
+attacks had become exhausted for the time being.
+
+This forward move by the battalion was, I found, preliminary to taking
+over the front line trenches to the north and east of Bucquoy. And
+shortly before midnight we moved out through the darkness and took
+over these trenches.[18] The front line lay on the high ground beyond
+the village. The H.Q. which we took over were in a mined dugout to the
+west of the village. This dugout had been made by the Germans before
+the end of 1916, and it was small but very deep. It soon became
+unconscionably stuffy, as there was only one entrance. But it was
+better than being in the open.
+
+Next day the enemy kept fairly quiet, but the village was shelled
+occasionally with heavy howitzers. I went out with two observers to
+the high ground west of Dierville Farm. But we saw no movement by the
+enemy's troops. Later on the enemy's guns became more active on the
+roads, and the road leading back to Essarts received salvoes all day.
+Orders came for our relief which was to start after dark. It was not
+until 10 P.M. that the companies in the front line were relieved and
+the H.Q. Company was free to move off. The journey to Fonquevillers,
+where we were going, was not without interference from the enemy.
+Hitherto I had had great luck in escaping being shelled on the roads
+at night, but to-night my luck was out. As we moved back along the
+road to Essarts--the doctor and I at the end of the column--a number
+of gas-shells were dropped on the windward side of the road. They were
+not thick enough to stop us, but they smelt very bad. As we approached
+the cross-roads east of Essarts a 5.9-inch shell fell close by the
+roadside. We had a shower of mud thrown over us by this shell, and
+three more came in quick succession, but not quite so unpleasantly
+close.
+
+An incident also of a disagreeable kind occurred near the end of our
+journey. Between Gommecourt and Fonquevillers we had to halt, until
+the trenches allotted to us had been located. At this point the road
+was packed with troops returning from the line; and some battalions
+brought their cookers here, so that the road was crammed almost tight
+with men and transport. For a long time nothing happened, but
+eventually a German field battery fired several rapid salvoes of
+shells enfilading the road. Fortunately the greater number fell
+slightly wide of the road, but a few men in one of the Manchester
+battalions were hit. It was however a lucky escape. After this the
+road cleared quickly and we moved on into Fonquevillers. This village
+had been badly knocked about in the early days of the war, and few
+houses were in anything but ruins.
+
+But there were still many cellars intact, and also a number of tin
+huts built for the French refugees in 1917. Officers of Battalion H.Q.
+were billeted in a cellar, and this was improved by mattresses,
+tables, and chairs brought in from the huts outside. Here in spite of
+intermittent shelling we got a much needed rest. But Fonquevillers was
+no place for a permanent rest cure. The village was shelled on and off
+all day, and several of our men were hit. I assisted the Adjutant,
+Capt. S.P. Brook-Booth, M.C., to collect a supply of early vegetables
+from the little gardens; and the officers in our reserve camp at
+Souastre thoughtfully sent up a couple of cooked chickens and a few
+other luxuries, so that evening we had something in the nature of a
+feast. Next morning, March 31, Lieut. Johnston, temporarily in command
+of A Company got a shell splinter through his hand and had to be sent
+back. I was then put in command of A Company and left Battalion H.Q.,
+so that for some days the observers were not under my charge. About
+this time L.-C. Flynn, one of the observers, was seriously wounded by
+a shell, and we learnt later on that he died of his wounds. It was an
+unlucky affair, for he was one of the best observers. But I had no
+further casualties for a long time. I found A Company quartered in a
+line of old trenches between Gommecourt Wood and Fonquevillers. I
+believe they were part of the old British front line before the Somme
+battle started. Accommodation was very limited, and I found the other
+officers of A Company,[19] four in number, with their batmen and cook
+all crowded together in a small shelter. It was as may be imagined
+uncomfortably hot at times, especially during the night, part of which
+I spent in the trench outside. We only got a few shells from the enemy
+here, his attention was directed more to the village behind us and
+Gommecourt Wood in front.
+
+On April 1 we got orders to proceed after dark to the front line
+trenches at Bucquoy--A Company was to hold those on the left, with B
+Company to their right. We were also given a route, but in the
+darkness it was difficult to find and it led to a curious incident on
+our journey forward. We assembled the company on the road outside
+Gommecourt and made towards the village as fast as the crowded state
+of the road would allow. Happily we were not shelled here, but there
+were signs on the road that others had not been so fortunate. When we
+reached Gommecourt, a mere ruin now of broken trees and buildings, we
+were clear of the press of transport and troops. We turned south-east
+hoping to strike a tramway running towards Biez Wood. Nothing,
+however, could we see of the tramway, and we could only push on,
+hoping to find it. After going on awhile we certainly seemed to be
+reaching a rather queer place, for we saw our men setting out wire,
+and a rather scared little man appeared out of the darkness and told
+us that 'Jerry was over there,' pointing down the road. We did not
+stop for this, but when a German Verey light shot up almost under our
+noses, we decided that we had indeed come too far and that it was time
+to turn back. This we did without waste of time and retraced our steps
+to Gommecourt. I was expecting any minute to hear a machine-gun open
+on us down the road. But if 'Jerry' was there in any force he had
+decided to keep quiet, and we got safely back to Gommecourt. After
+this experience we took a way that we knew, although it was not the
+one laid down for us. And after a long march in the dark we struck the
+Essarts-Bucquoy Road, and found our guides awaiting us on the road
+near Bucquoy. Whilst this relief was going on our field batteries kept
+up a hot fire on the enemy's front, but he made no reply.
+
+The guides took us by a winding route through the north end of Bucquoy
+to the trenches, which consisted of an old German drain, very straight
+and about six feet deep. It ran parallel to the east side of the
+village and about 200 yards from its outskirts. The Company H.Q. lay a
+little way behind the front line and consisted of a short narrow slit
+in the ground, roofed over with tin--one of the smallest shelters I
+have ever been in. It was possible to sit down, but not to lie down,
+and the floor was inches deep in cold mud. Here I found two very
+disconsolate officers awaiting relief. They seemed to be nearly
+perished with the cold and wet, and quite worn out by their cheerless
+sojourn in the trenches. The trench lay on the slope of a slight hill,
+the crest being about 200 yards away. The enemy were not close, their
+position was out of sight and unknown. But to the left Logeast Wood
+was clearly visible, and the enemy were known to be there. Our trench
+ended abruptly on the left, and the nearest British troops on this
+flank were some way off and more to the east, so that there was a
+considerable gap in the line here. On the right of course we were in
+touch with B Company, who were commanded by Lieut. Affleck, M.C., a
+veteran of the Houthulst Forest battle, and one of our most
+redoubtable warriors in the 7th N.F. I knew that I need not worry
+about my right flank! No smoke from fires could be allowed in the
+trenches, and cooking had to be done over small fires of fine wood
+splinters. When morning came it was possible to have a better look
+round. All the reserve ammunition, about 5000 rounds, had been pulled
+out of the boxes, and the bandoliers were mostly buried in the mud. It
+was a great business clearing the trench of mud and salvaging and
+cleaning the ammunition. The enemy did not know where we were. All
+morning three of his aeroplanes, flying low, hovered about our little
+trench, occasionally firing bursts at us with their machine-guns. We
+only replied with an occasional shot, and of course they could not
+tell where that came from. At any rate the German guns let the trench
+alone and poured a stream of heavy shells all day and night into the
+village behind us and into the hedges at the east end. The fact
+appeared quite clearly later on that the enemy could not locate our
+front line. A messenger dog, belonging to the enemy, was captured at
+this time near Bucquoy, bearing a message in German as follows: 'The
+affair of Bucquoy is off for the present, as we don't know where Tommy
+is.' It was well indeed for our two companies that the drain trench
+was not suspected by the enemy. There were no traverses in it from one
+end to the other, and a very few well-aimed shells would have blown us
+to pieces.
+
+That night (April 2) the British forces made a counter-attack at
+Ayette and drove the enemy as far back as the old hangars at
+Moyenneville. Seen from the trenches at Bucquoy it was a fine sight.
+The enemy put up all kinds of coloured lights, including silhouette
+lights and 'flaming onions' both orange and mauve.
+
+Meanwhile we of the 7th N.F. undertook a small venture against certain
+parties of the enemy that had been seen and sniped at from B Company's
+trench. These parties were busy digging trenches about 400 yards away
+to our front. Soon after dark 2nd-Lieuts. J. Dodds and J.H. Edmunds
+took out a raiding party of over twenty men in order to secure a
+prisoner if possible. As it turned out this was done quickly enough
+and without firing a shot.
+
+For on the party creeping forward to the wire belt at the top of the
+hill, a German N.C.O. walked towards them, was surprised by 2nd-Lieut.
+Dodds, and surrendered without a struggle. He was already slightly
+wounded, and had come forward perhaps to have a look at the wire. He
+was brought back at once to the trench, and it fell to me to examine
+the man and to remove all papers from him except his pay-book and
+identity disc. I went out and examined him in a mixture of such broken
+French and German as I could summon at so short a notice. I also went
+through his papers with the aid of lighted matches. After this he was
+sent down under escort to Battalion H.Q., and thence to D.H.Q.
+
+It proved to be a useful capture, for it showed that a fresh German
+division had arrived opposite our front. Later on 2nd-Lieut. Dodds was
+awarded the Military Cross for the capture. Early next morning (April
+3) the Division sent orders that I should return with the Divisional
+observers to the rear. So I left the trench in charge of 2nd-Lieut. N.
+Holt and went back with my servant through Bucquoy, taking care to
+avoid certain large shells which were falling every now and then about
+the village. Calling at Battalion H.Q. I found that the observers were
+now in some trenches about half a mile farther back in the direction
+of Essarts. I soon found them, however, and whilst waiting for them
+to get ready I was hospitably supplied with some whisky and soda by
+the officers of one of the Lancashire Regiments.
+
+At last we set off in small parties towards Gommecourt, our
+destination being Souastre, a long march for tired men. Whilst passing
+Biez Wood we came in for some rather unpleasant attention from the
+enemy's artillery, whose observers could see movement at this spot all
+too well. However we got away at last without mishap and collected
+again short of Gommecourt, where we halted for a meal of bully and
+biscuit. Eventually after passing through Gommecourt and Fonquevillers
+we struggled on to Souastre, very footsore and completely worn out.
+
+From March 23 onwards it had been one long strain, heavy marching most
+days and, with few exceptions, sleepless nights. For myself I was a
+very tramp, boots worn to pieces, clothes hanging with mud, and thick
+with mud up to the eyes. Undoubtedly it was the most trying experience
+physically that I have ever been through. At Souastre I called at rear
+Battalion H.Q., where Capt. Herriott of B Company kindly lent me his
+rubber boots and some clean socks, a great luxury and comfort. Then I
+went on to the Officers' Hut at the battalion reserve camp, and was
+able to lie down and sleep till well on into the next day. Souastre
+was not a bad place to rest, for it was shelled only very occasionally
+with long-range guns.
+
+The following afternoon (April 4) Capt. Kirsopp came to see me and he
+brought a motor-car. He wished to reconnoitre a 'battle O.P.,' i.e. a
+place in the back area from which to observe enemy shelling of the
+forward areas or enemy attacks on our line. I was told that things
+were expected to happen next day; and I was instructed to find a post
+where I could see what was going on, somewhere in the neighbourhood of
+the Chateau de la Haie.
+
+In the morning (April 5) I went with Corp. Walker and L.-C. Cowen to
+the Bayencourt Ridge, south of the chateau, and we got into a small
+trench. Things certainly were happening, for the enemy was scattering
+his heavy high-velocity shells broadcast over the country. He seemed
+to direct them chiefly against our battery positions and the roads and
+trenches in rear of Fonquevillers and Sailly-au-Bois. The number of
+these shells was unusually large; but later on towards 10 A.M. things
+began to quieten down in the back area. What had happened was this.
+The 37th Division with the assistance of tanks made a counter-attack
+on Rossignol Wood. The Germans had prepared to make another of their
+grand attacks that same morning. But it was anticipated by about half
+an hour. The result was a fierce struggle in which we gained a little
+ground and a certain number of prisoners. The German attack therefore
+came to nothing, and this proved to be his last attempt of a serious
+kind on our part of the front. Anxiety was not however, at an end for
+many days to come.
+
+During the next few days the observers held a battle O.P. near the
+orchard in Fonquevillers. It was a long walk from Souastre and back,
+but fairly quiet, for it could be reached by going across country and
+avoiding the sorely harassed roads.
+
+On April 8 the 42nd Division was taken back for a short rest to the
+area round Authie.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[17] Ptes. Fail and Ewart.
+
+[18] Major V. Merivale, M.C. (C Company), Capt. Herriott (B Company),
+and Lieut. P. Cole (A Company) were, I think, in charge of the three
+companies.
+
+[19] Second-Lieuts. N. Holt, C.R. King, J. Dodds, and J. Lassey.
+
+
+
+
+XXXII
+
+TRENCH WARFARE--HEBUTERNE
+
+
+During Divisional rest the observers were attached for rations and
+accommodation to the H.Q. Company of the 7th N.F. We marched back,
+therefore, with the battalion through Couin and St. Leger to Authie.
+We found nice billets awaiting us in this pleasant French village,
+which was too far from the enemy to be afflicted with shell fire. It
+was full of French civilians, and the small shops had various little
+luxuries to which we had been unused for some time. From Authie Woods
+to Bayencourt ran the 'Red Line' trenches, a sort of 'last-but-one'
+reserve line, which had been hastily dug by Chinese labourers and were
+still only about four feet deep. We did not stay long at Authie, for
+the billets were wanted to accommodate French troops who were being
+hurried northwards to the battle now raging about Kemmel.
+
+On April 12 the 7th N.F. moved forward to the village of Coigneux and
+H.Q. were established in a French estaminet. There were civilians here
+too, but the village was liable to be shelled and half of them had
+gone away. A distressing attack of tooth-ache took me twice to the
+C.C.S. near Doullens. I found that town more deserted than it used to
+be, for the Germans had shelled and bombed it vigorously since their
+offensive started.
+
+On April 16, after a week's rest, the 42nd Division took over the
+trenches running from Gommecourt to Hebuterne. The same day the
+observers moved to some old trenches north of the Chateau de la Haie.
+It was a cold place in wet weather, and we were occasionally shelled.
+But after a few days through the kindness of Col. Guy, the G.S.O. I,
+billets were found for us in a cottage at Bayencourt, which lies about
+half a mile south of the chateau. It was indeed a pleasant oasis in a
+badly shelled area. Why the enemy left the place alone I cannot say.
+But when we got there there were still plenty of old French folk, who
+lived quietly on amid the surrounding strife, and continued to keep
+their cows in the fields and to cultivate the land. The church had not
+been shelled, for a wonder, and the clock was still going and striking
+the hours.
+
+The observers sent up two parties of two men every day to an O.P.
+north-east of Hebuterne. The other men manned a battle O.P. on the
+Bayencourt Ridge during the morning.
+
+April 23, St. George's Day, provided a little excitement for three of
+us. We were told to try to find an O.P. near the Quarries at
+Hebuterne, not generally a very healthy spot. As we were shelled
+incessantly all the time we were near the place, the idea of
+establishing a post here was abandoned. And eventually another post
+was fixed on, on the north-east side of Hebuterne. Some useful work
+was done here by the observers; they obtained some valuable
+information about enemy movement and got the artillery to shell a
+relief that was taking place. At the close of our tour in the line,
+which occurred about May 4, the IV Corps directed all Infantry
+observers to take sound bearings of enemy guns and to wire them at
+once to the Counter-Battery Office. This was gratifying, as we had
+made a special effort to report these sound bearings, a system of
+which I had learnt something in the Salient.
+
+From May 4 to June 9 the Division remained in the rest area about
+Couin. The observers left Bayencourt and joined the 7th N.F. at
+Coigneux, where we lived in tents on the high chalky ground south of
+Rossignol Farm. I messed with the officers of A Company, and shared a
+tent with Lieut W.H. Fisher and 2nd-Lieut Dodd. Owing to the bombing
+and shelling in the neighbourhood, we were ordered to fortify our
+tents. So we had a small trench dug for each inside the tent and in
+these we put our valises. It was rather like a shallow grave, but it
+gave you a feeling of security when bits were flying about. During
+this month the observers had a little mild training each day; but the
+G.O.C. sent word to me to rest the men as much as possible. I amused
+myself at the battle O.P. on Bayencourt Ridge and sent in daily
+reports of sound bearings to the IV Corps Counter-Battery Office.
+
+On the whole the enemy let our camp fairly well alone. We had one
+large bomb dropped in the camp, but it failed to do any material
+damage. Latterly the 4-inch naval guns took to sending a few shells
+over daily, but we had only a few men wounded from splinters. Other
+units near us came off worse. During the rest at Coigneux we had a
+visit from some American troops. I think they had come to gain a
+little mild experience of our methods. Anyway a small party of their
+observers came to see how we held our posts. And they were taken to
+the battle O.P. and to the forward O.P. at Hebuterne.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIII
+
+TRENCH WARFARE--THE COLINCAMPS RIDGE
+
+
+No offensive operations on a large scale were undertaken against the
+enemy on the IV Corps front, Bucquoy to Auchonvillers, before the
+middle of August 1918. The period from May onwards was spent in
+strengthening the defences and in wearing down the enemy's strength
+and morale. The latter object was achieved by continual harassing fire
+from our guns, strong counter-battery, periodical gas projections,
+bombing from our aeroplanes, and raids. It was still necessary to work
+hard on our defences, for the German offensive was by no means over,
+and it was impossible to say at what moment the enemy might renew his
+attacks on this part of the front.
+
+The part played by the Divisional observers during this period of
+trench warfare was more important and useful than at any other period
+of their employment. This was partly due to the excellent position for
+ground observation on the ridge between Colincamps and Auchonvillers,
+and partly to the improvement in means of communication with D.H.Q.
+and the artillery. Great credit is due to Capt. Kirsopp for his
+continual efforts to make the information obtained more rapid and
+effective. And also to the men who got the information by patiently
+sticking to their job for ten long weeks, sometimes under trying and
+discouraging conditions.
+
+The observers were quartered in a number of small shelters on the high
+ground between Coigneux and Bus, well back from the shelled and bombed
+area. The shelters were in the side of a green mound, near the Bus
+waterworks; and this place was used as a battle O.P. and became known
+as 'Eve' O.P. From here there was a splendid view of the country just
+behind the British front line. So that the observers stationed here
+could say at once where heavy shelling was going on, either by day or
+by night. A telephone connected 'Eve' O.P. with D.H.Q. and also with
+the forward O.P. The latter post was about four miles away in a small
+trench on the ridge north of Auchonvillers near some apple trees,
+which perhaps suggested the name 'Adam' O.P. In many ways it was an
+admirable place for an O.P. If care was taken it could be approached
+without being seen by the enemy. It was screened by a thick hedge and
+also by a deep belt of wire about thirty yards in front of the hedge.
+The O.P. itself was in the hedge bank, and was roofed over with
+several small 'elephant' shelters, with earth on top of them. There
+was plenty of room for at least three men to work inside. And
+observation was obtained through a small opening in the hedge bank.
+The opening was always further screened by sandbags, so that only
+the end of the telescope was exposed to the enemy and that was always
+in a deep shadow. A few yards away outside the O.P. in the trench was
+a small mined dugout. This was not very deep, about six feet down at
+the most; but it was under the roots of the hedge, a good protection
+against the shells of field guns. In this dugout the observers who
+were not on duty were able to sleep, and the men in the O.P. could
+take refuge in case of heavy shelling. The O.P. was connected by
+telephone with D.H.Q. and also with Eve O.P. Not far away in the same
+trench there were other O.P.'s, one held by the Lovat Scouts (Corps
+Observers) and another, 'Rose' O.P., by the heavy artillery.
+
+   [Illustration: Panorama from Adam O.P., July 1918.]
+
+Our method of working the two O.P.'s was as follows. The N.C.O., L.-C.
+Cowen, remained at Eve O.P. and assisted me with various duties there,
+and with the duty of inspecting the working of Adam O.P. The other
+observers, eight in number, were divided into two groups of four, one
+in charge of Pte. J. King and the other in in charge of Pte. W.O.S.
+Fail. Three observers from No. 1 group went forward to Adam O.P. and
+stayed there for forty-eight hours, drawing their rations each day
+from the nearest Battalion H.Q. After this they were relieved by three
+observers from No 2 group and so on. By this arrangement I was able to
+rest the men and to carry on observation continuously for ten weeks
+without unduly tiring the men. Out of the four observers in a group,
+only three were at Adam O.P. at the same time, the fourth man
+remaining back at Eve O.P. for a rest. Thus during sixteen days each
+observer had three tours of duty at Adam O.P. lasting two days each,
+two rests of two days, and then a rest of six days. This kept all the
+men fresh, an important matter if you wish for good observation.
+
+At Adam O.P. two of the three observers were always at the telescope
+during daylight, and one was resting in the dugout. And at night one
+had to remain awake, to be able to report heavy shelling to D.H.Q. and
+to act as gas sentry for the others. It was of course all done in a
+system of reliefs amongst themselves. During these summer months
+observation was possible in the most favourable circumstances from
+3.45 A.M. to 9.10 P.M., so the night was comparatively short. Adam
+O.P. was visited on alternate days by L.-C. Cowen and myself. I went
+invariably in the early morning, so as to arrive at the O.P. about an
+hour or so after observation had become possible. The enemy exposed
+himself more freely during the two or three hours after dawn than at
+any other time during the day. By going up early I was able to see
+that the men were at their post at this important time, and to get
+their early information, often of importance, as soon as possible. It
+meant starting in the dark, and often a cold wet journey across
+country, but the good fellows at the O.P. always had a cup of tea for
+me--a little act of kindness which illustrates our friendly
+relations.
+
+The most interesting things we could see from Adam O.P. were the
+German front line trenches south and south-west of Serre, two spots
+known as 'L. 33. a. O. 9.' and 'Q. 6. a. 9. 8.' where anyone
+approaching these forward trenches had to cross a ridge and so come
+under our observation, the German transport roads about
+Achiet-le-Petit, Irles, and Loupart Wood. The German front line was
+within 2000 yards, Q. 6. a. within 4000 yards, L. 33. a. rather over
+6000 yards, and the roads well over 10,000 yards away. Near to Pys was
+a German C.C.S., which was narrowly watched, for any increase in its
+size would have probably meant preparation for an attack. And behind
+Irles was a derelict British tank which the Germans used as an O.P.,
+for it was invariably visited by a number of men just before one of
+their reliefs took place, and at no other time.
+
+Every day two reports were sent in to D.H.Q. of all movement seen
+during the preceding twelve hours. And every movement seen was entered
+into a Log Book. This was my special department; and after a time it
+was possible to compile a further book called the Summary Book, with
+coloured charts of daily movement. In a short time we discovered the
+average or normal movement for the twenty-four hours. And after that
+it was quite simple to warn the Division at once whenever any movement
+of an abnormal character was taking place.
+
+Owing to weak eyesight I could not do much telescope work myself--my
+part of the field work was map reading, in which I had considerable
+assistance from aeroplane photographs at D.H.Q. I asked the observers
+to make telescopic sketches, on every compass bearing, of what they
+could see. And then from these sketches and with my own maps and
+protractor I was able to tell them what they were looking at on the
+map, and to prepare a panoramic sketch for their use at Adam O.P. Pte.
+King sent in an admirable series of sketches which were most useful in
+this work of discovery. Later on the more powerful telescope was also
+taken up to Adam O.P., and with this Pte. Fail did some most useful
+work. With his exceptional eyesight and a gift for sketching he made a
+series of excellent artillery target sketches. These I copied out and
+coloured and sent to D.H.Q.; and they were sent on to the IV Corps
+Heavy Artillery. These targets were fired at with great success. For
+example one of the first sent in was of a cook-house and wireless
+station at L. 33. a. On July 11 the heavy artillery carried out a
+successful shoot on the place, using Adam O.P. as their observing
+station. In order to place on record some of the work done by my
+observers at Adam O.P. I will give some of the results of their
+systematic observation.
+
+A Divisional relief on July 3 and 4 was spotted by Capt. Kirsopp on
+information given by the observers of exceptional movement in the
+forward area. Another Divisional relief was detected by largely
+increased movement on July 25. And a battalion relief on August 6,
+with disastrous results for the enemy. At least fifty copies of
+different telescopic sketches were sent in to the Division, including
+a series of eight showing new workings by the Germans in their front
+line system. Reports of nearly seventy gun-flashes were sent in as
+well as many sound bearing reports. The following numbers of German
+infantry and transport vehicles were reported from Adam O.P.
+
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+| Month  | Days |  Days of  | Effective | Infantry | Transport |
+|        |      | Bad Light |   Days    |   Seen   | Vehicles  |
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+|June    |  21  |     8     |    13     |   2,100  |     83    |
+|        |      |           |           |          |           |
+|July    |  31  |     7     |    24     |   5,400  |    413    |
+|        |      |           |           |          |           |
+|August  |  20  |     4     |    16     |   4,650  |    205    |
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+|Total   |  72  |    19     |    53     |  12,150  |    791    |
++--------+------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+
+
+Our two best days occurred on August 6 and 12. On the 6th a large
+movement was observed in the early hours, indicating a relief, which
+was reported to the Division at once by wire. So that when the relief
+was continued at night, our artillery were prepared to deal with the
+German parties moving in or out of the trenches. On this day alone
+1126 infantry and 55 transport vehicles were seen on the move. The
+42nd Division Intelligence Report of August 7 reported the matter as
+follows:
+
+    'Relief south of the Serre-Mailly Road which commenced on a
+    large scale on the morning of the 6th was continued during the
+    evening; between 6.50 and 8.20 P.M. 197 men with packs in
+    nineteen parties came towards the front line past Q. 6. a. 95.
+    80. These parties were engaged by H.A. with great success.
+    Casualties caused being estimated to be at least fifty; four
+    direct hits were obtained on a party at 7.15 P.M., and on one
+    occasion an out-going party was seen to have a free fight with
+    an in-going party to gain possession of a sunken track or trench
+    in Q. 6. a. Total hostile infantry seen by Divisional O.P. on
+    the 6th reached the high number of 1126.'
+
+The observers had their share in those fifty casualties, as Pte. F.
+Turner went to Rose O.P. and directed the Sergeant Gunner in charge to
+the proper map reference of the German troops. That 6-inch battery
+shot superbly, and I wish I knew the Sergeant's name. The G.O.C. sent
+his congratulations to the observers on the day's work.
+
+On August 12 at 6 A.M. the observers informed me that the Germans had
+been seen going out of their trenches in large numbers and all
+carrying packs, rifles, and boxes as well. On this I sent a pigeon
+message to the Corps, saying that the enemy might be retiring now. As
+it happened this was quite correct, as the Germans admitted themselves
+a few days later in their communique.
+
+I also wish to put on record an act of kindness to the observers by
+the Division and Corps. On August 8 the enemy began to shell the
+neighbourhood of Adam O.P. rather severely with a 5.9-inch howitzer
+battery. As this went on, I rang up D.H.Q. and asked if anything could
+be done in retaliation against the enemy's O.P.'s in L. 33. a. Col.
+Guy told me that he would see what the Corps would do for us; and rang
+up later to tell me to ask the observers at Adam O.P. to note results
+at 2.30 P.M. At the appointed time, every active heavy gun in the
+Corps fired a shell simultaneously against selected targets, including
+L. 33. a. There were at least four brigades of heavies in the Corps
+and the noise was colossal. It must have astonished the enemy as much
+as it did me.
+
+On August 9, 2nd-Lieut. Edmunds of the 7th N.F. came to assist me, and
+to take over command of the observers during my leave which was now
+drawing near. I told him that we had never been shelled at Eve O.P.
+But as luck would have it that very afternoon, about 2 P.M., a
+long-range gun shelled the O.P. for about twenty minutes; and I had to
+clear the men off into the neighbouring Red Line trenches till the
+annoyance ceased.
+
+On August 14 the enemy were attacked all along the IV Corps front and
+a considerable advance was made that day. Pte. King remained at the
+telescope all day, and sent in a number of interesting reports about
+the enemy's movements.
+
+At this point I have to break off the narrative, as my leave warrant
+arrived that night and I left the observers till August 31 in charge
+of 2nd-Lieut. J.H. Edmunds.
+
+One word about the admirable services of my batman, Pte. W. Critchlow.
+For ten weeks and more, in addition to looking after my own personal
+comforts, he cooked for the whole party of observers at Eve O.P. This
+may seem a small matter, but he never had a rest like the other men,
+and his hard work contributed materially to the comfort and efficiency
+of the section.
+
+
+
+
+XXXIV
+
+THE BRITISH OFFENSIVE 1918--BAPAUME RETAKEN
+
+
+On my return to France, I reached Authieule railway station on August
+31, and went on next morning, partly by car and motor-bus and partly
+on foot, to Miraumont. Here I found the observers with B Company
+(Capt. W.N. Craigs, M.C.) of the 7th N.F. near the railway station. It
+had been strange passing over the smitten ground on the Serre Ridge,
+and it was possible then to realise the terrible effects of our heavy
+shell fire. Gangs of men were now mending the road all the way to
+Miraumont; but it must have been in a shocking state. In one place
+part of a transport cart hung suspended from the shattered branches of
+a tree; and everywhere the ground was absolutely churned to pieces.
+
+I learnt that D.H.Q. had moved forward to Grevillers, and on September
+3 I decided to make a move forward to Loupart Wood, in order to get
+the observers more in touch with them.
+
+We were badly handicapped in all the succeeding stages of the campaign
+by having no transport to move our belongings. Besides the ordinary
+infantryman's equipment, no light weight, we had our blankets, three
+telescopes, compasses, and a lot of maps, books, and stationery, and
+our daily ration to carry as well. By good luck, however, we found an
+old German hand-cart in very fair condition about the station yard;
+and we used this hand-cart for getting our gear along for many a weary
+mile. In fact we finally dropped it at Le Quesnoy on November 5, not
+because it was worn out, but because other transport was found for us.
+By the evening of September 3 we got settled into some dugouts at the
+north end of Loupart Wood. There were a few dead Germans scattered
+about, but a lot more dead horses than men. And as the weather was
+hot, the air was none too pleasant.
+
+Next day I visited D.H.Q. who were in some tents outside Grevillers,
+and Capt. Kirsopp told me that the observers were urgently needed. It
+was proposed to send a party of them forward on bicycles to keep in
+touch with the retreating Germans. And so the same day Ptes. King and
+Drake (7th N.F.) and F. Greenwood (10th M.B.) went forward towards
+Havrincourt Wood to get such news as they could. It had been intended
+at first that I should go with them, but it was found impossible to
+provide me with a horse. The British forces had already taken Bapaume,
+Villers-au-Flos, and Riencourt, and the enemy were supposed to be
+retreating fast in the direction of the old Hindenburg Line which lay
+beyond Havrincourt Wood. Pte. King's party did good work; they went
+through Barastre and Bus in front of the advance guards of the
+infantry, and met with no opposition beyond occasional long-range
+machine-gun fire. Their first O.P. was just south of Bertincourt, and
+the following days near Neuville-Bourjonval. For this expedition Pte.
+King was awarded the Military Medal. On September 3 I went with Pte.
+Turner to some high ground just south of Bapaume and stayed there
+several hours. From here little shelling could be seen, the main body
+of the enemy must have retired as far as Havrincourt Wood. Long-range
+shells fell near Bapaume and the railway during the day. The same
+evening I reported at D.H.Q., and found things pretty lively during my
+visit; for two or three German 'planes dropped a number of bombs about
+the place, not a pleasant experience for those living in tents. Next
+day (September 4) the observers moved forward with the hand-cart
+through Grevillers and then to Thilloy and across country to the high
+ground south of Bapaume. Here there were plenty of small German
+shelters and dugouts partially protected by a shallow trench. In these
+we took up our quarters, whilst D.H.Q. moved to some ammunition
+dugouts on the other side of the road from Bapaume to Peronne. Next
+day (September 5) accompanied by Pte. Turner I reconnoitred the high
+ground about Bus. There were many German dead still lying about near
+the approaches to Villers-au-Flos, where a considerable stand must
+have been made by the German machine-gunners to cover the retreat.
+Also we saw on our way back a party of the 7th N.F. preparing to bury
+a number of our own men who had fallen in the advance. The same
+evening I was told that the 42nd Division would be relieved that night
+by the New Zealand Division, and that the observers should stand fast
+until further orders, Pte. King's party joined us the next day. We
+stayed here for the next two weeks, in what proved to be quite
+comfortable quarters. A German soda-water factory was discovered at
+Beaulencourt, and we were in time to secure a few bottles. Training
+was now resumed in the mornings, and the observers practised sending
+and receiving messages with four signallers of the 7th N.F. who were
+attached to us. In the afternoon we were free to roam over the recent
+battle-field, where many souvenirs of the enemy could be picked up. We
+now lay just to the north of the old Somme battle-ground. And on
+September 15 I went to Martinpuich by bus down the Albert-Bapaume Road
+and revisited the scene of our attack on the High Wood Ridge, which
+had taken place just two years before. During our stay at this place
+we had visits every night from German aircraft. But they fared none
+too well. I saw one aeroplane brought down in flames at night near
+Villers-au-Flos by our anti-aircraft guns; and two others shared the
+same fate. This was a great feather in the cap of the anti-aircraft
+gunners; for an aeroplane is particularly difficult to hit at night.
+
+The 42nd Division was ordered to relieve the 37th Division on
+September 22. The latter Division had now reached the old British
+front line east of Havrincourt Wood. And the Germans were now in the
+Hindenburg Line, behind 'the walls of bronze' which had checked us
+once and which they hoped would again stay the pursuit of their beaten
+legions.
+
+One particularly disgusting feature of our journey in pursuit of the
+enemy was the dreadful state of the huts he had occupied. They all
+appeared to be moving with lice and fleas, and it was a most difficult
+matter to keep oneself free from their unpleasant attentions. It was
+the same wherever we stopped.
+
+
+
+
+XXXV
+
+THE STORMING OF THE HINDENBURG LINE NEAR TRESCAULT
+
+
+On September 20 I went with Lieut. G.F. Doble, the Divisional
+Intelligence Officer, to visit the new area in front. We found D.H.Q.
+established in a wonderful series of huts south-west of Velu Wood.
+These had been the H.Q. of some German Corps, and wonderfully well
+barricaded they were. Inside each hut, which was panelled with wood,
+there was a sliding panel which admitted to a deep shelter dugout
+beneath. Here in case of bombing by our aeroplanes, the German officer
+had been able to retire quickly and without loss of dignity to a place
+of safety. From here we paid a short visit by motor-car to the B.H.Q.
+north-west of Havrincourt Wood. On returning through Bapaume I had the
+great pleasure of meeting Major W. Anderson, D.S.O., M.C., my old
+Brigade-Major, who was now G.S.O. II of the 37th Division.
+
+On September 21 the observers went forward with their hand-cart
+through Riencourt, Villers-au-Flos, and Haplincourt to the outskirts
+of Bertincourt. We first selected some empty huts near Velu Wood as
+our place of residence. But as we were shelled about five minutes
+after arriving, we decided to move a little farther from the wood.
+Finally we found two useful Nissen huts built into the roadside and
+sheltered by some tall elm trees, just west of Bertincourt. It was not
+a very quiet or healthy spot anywhere near Bertincourt; but we were
+not damaged by the enemy's shells, though occasionally annoyed. The
+same afternoon I went forward by myself to reconnoitre a position for
+the Divisional O.P. And I found a useful place in the north of
+Havrincourt Wood, or rather in the rough thorny scrub that had once
+formed part of the wood.
+
+   [Illustration: Scene of the Attack on the Hindenburg Line, Sept.
+   28, 1918.]
+
+Observation was obtained through the branches of a tree, and a small
+shelter dugout was close at hand. The field of view extended along the
+left flank of the Corps and Divisional front, and went a long way back
+to the high ground between Niergnes and Esnes. Flesquieres, Ribecourt,
+Marcoing, Rumilly, and Masnieres could all be seen. The next few days
+were spent in locating our surroundings and in reporting the traffic
+seen on the back roads. On September 27 I went with L.-C. Cowen to
+inspect an O.P. in the British front-line system south-east of
+Trescault. We went through the wood and then along a winding C.T.
+which brought us to the front line. Here we found a deep dugout with a
+ladder leading up to an O.P. on ground level. The view in front was
+not altogether satisfactory, but towards the left it was good.
+
+At dawn on September 28 the grand assault on the Hindenburg Line
+began. It was quite successful on our left and on the left of our
+front, but the Division on our right had great difficulty in getting
+forward. By the following day, however, the line was advanced along
+the whole front, and the N.Z. Division, taking over the pursuit from
+us, made good captures of men and guns. L.-C. Cowen and Pte.
+McGarrigle went to the O.P. in the front line on September 28 and had
+rather a rough passage. Pte. Fail had a small party at the other O.P.,
+and obtained a fairly good view of the battle. On September 29 Pte.
+King went with Pte. Chappell in the direction of Ribecourt, but this
+expedition was brought to an end by a shell which wounded Pte.
+Chappell badly in the face. This was the second and, as events turned
+out, the last casualty amongst my observers. I spent a long time the
+second day with the observers at the O.P. in Havrincourt Wood and we
+saw much German transport hurrying back south of Niergnes. On the
+night of September 29 the 42nd Division was relieved, and I received
+instructions to remain at our quarters near Bertincourt. After the
+battle we were no longer troubled with any shells. Second-Lieut.
+Edmunds who had been on leave since we left Miraumont came back to
+assist me, for about another month. Great droves of German prisoners
+now began to pass us several times a day, a cheering sight in one way,
+but not a pleasant one in another. They were truly a desperate-looking
+collection of men, mostly of a very low class.
+
+This halt enabled me to get round the country and make sketches of the
+various battle-fields.
+
+One night I had dinner at D.H.Q. as the guest of Capt. Kirsopp, and
+enjoyed the hospitality of 'Z' Mess. I found a great curiosity in the
+fields near Bertincourt. An old cannon-ball pitted with rust and
+dating possibly from Marlborough's days. As I could not take it away
+with me, I gave it to Major Clarke, the G.S.O. II.
+
+On October 7 the observers moved to some dugouts near Trescault, where
+we remained two days. On October 8 I went on to Welsh Ridge, but
+nothing much could be seen from there. The battle-field was strewn
+with Germans who had fallen in the battle ten days before. On October
+9 we had a long march which took all day. We went through Beaucamp and
+then towards Masnieres, finally reaching the shattered village of
+Crevecoeur. Next morning we moved on again to Esnes, where we had
+billets in a nice farm-house.
+
+At last we had reached the land of vegetables, and for the rest of the
+campaign we had a plentiful supply. We had been very short of this
+kind of food since May.
+
+On October 11 we moved on again and got a billet in a small cottage in
+Fontaine-au-Pire. Next day on again to the next town, Beauvois, which
+was not at all badly smashed. We had billets in a couple of small
+cottages off the main street and we were fairly comfortable here. The
+plague of house-flies was very bad at this place; the whole place was
+full of them.
+
+The 42nd Division relieved the N.Z. Division on October 12 on a front
+extending south of Solesmes and covering Briastre.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVI
+
+THE GERMANS' LAST STAND
+
+
+On October 12 I went with Pte. Firth to a ridge south of Viesly to
+look for an O.P., and selected a spot in the open, but near a sunk
+road. However, the G.O.C. required a post to be held on the high
+ground north of the village. This was only half a mile from the
+enemy's front line and in full view of the enemy, so that I suspected
+we should not be allowed to stop there very long. A regiment of
+Hussars was attached to the Corps and stationed at Caudry.
+
+It was arranged that an officer and six observers from this regiment
+should work in conjunction with the Divisional observers. These
+mounted men were particularly useful in getting messages back quickly
+from the O.P. to a report centre, for during this open warfare it was
+impossible to connect the observers by telephone to D.H.Q.
+
+The first day at the O.P. north of Viesly passed quietly enough, and
+Ptes. King and McGarrigle made a useful sketch of the view in front.
+Next day, when I went up to the O.P. to make additions to the sketch,
+conditions were not very good. Our only cover was a shallow trench
+about one foot deep; and for an hour whilst I was trying to sketch
+the details of the landscape the enemy's 4.2-inch howitzers shelled
+the hill persistently. I told the observers, when I went back, to
+leave this post if things got no better and to man the post south of
+Viesly. And this was done soon afterwards, as the shells began to fall
+very close. Unfortunately from now onwards the light was no good for
+long-range observation. Day after day the country was covered with a
+thick white mist, a common experience in October, which made
+observation quite out of the question. However, from the sketches that
+had been made, I was able to make a drawing of the panorama in front,
+which was printed out for the use of the troops in the line.
+
+It was decided to attack the German positions at midnight on October
+19-20. Taking advantage of the heavy mist the British field artillery
+placed their guns in two long lines, twenty-eight guns in a line and
+almost wheel to wheel, behind the ridges south of Viesly. This was an
+extraordinary sight, for they had no cover whatever except the thick
+white mist overhead. Behind the second row, there was a battery of
+heavy howitzers (8- or 9-inch calibre), and a little farther back
+several batteries of 60-pounder guns. The night attack was carried out
+by the 126th Infantry Brigade and was wonderfully successful.
+
+At 10 A.M. on October 20 I called at B.H.Q., a house in Prayelle, to
+get the latest news. Then I joined Ptes. Fail and Greenwood at the
+O.P., which was now under the muzzles of the field guns. We left this
+post and went towards Briastre, and, crossing the road from Viesly, we
+finally selected a position near the Briastre Cemetery. Just across
+the valley the enemy's guns were pounding the positions we had won
+that morning. It was in preparation for a counter-attack, which,
+however, was crushed by the fire from our own artillery. We sent in
+several situation reports to D.H.Q. through the H.Q. of the 10th
+Manchester Regiment, which were now in a cutting not far from the
+cemetery.
+
+On my way back to Beauvois I met a number of tanks travelling slowly
+forward towards Viesly; but I believe they were unable to get across
+the River Selle that night. For the next two days the observers held a
+post on the north side of Viesly; and on October 23 the 42nd Division
+attacked again, the N.Z. Division taking up the pursuit of the enemy
+about midday. The men of the 42nd Division have every reason to be
+proud of their battle at Solesmes; the Germans were very strongly
+entrenched and they were picked troops, and a night attack is, of
+course, one of the most difficult of all to carry out successfully.
+
+The observers were instructed to remain at their quarters in Beauvois,
+and for the next eleven days training was resumed. I was told that
+great advantages might be obtained from panoramic sketches, if rapidly
+and accurately drawn by the observers. And so I directed most of the
+training here towards making these sketches. There was nothing in
+training that the men liked better than that.
+
+During our rest at Beauvois the New Zealanders had pushed the Germans
+farther back, to the outskirts of Le Quesnoy, and towards the end of
+October we were warned that the 42nd Division would relieve them after
+a further attack.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVII
+
+THE FINAL RUSH FORWARD
+
+
+On November 3 I moved with the observers to the village of Viesly and
+got a billet in a cottage. The village had been badly mauled by the
+German guns during the recent fighting. The German does not behave
+nicely when his nerves are shaken, and we heard stories of
+ill-treatment of women in Solesmes.
+
+Next day we went towards Romeries to reconnoitre the roads, and on
+November 5 we had a long march in the rain. Hitherto we had been lucky
+to have fine weather for trekking, but now it began to rain almost
+every day. We went on over crowded roads through Briastre, Solesmes,
+Romeries, and Beaudignies. At the latter place our heavy guns were
+still firing, for the Germans had only been pushed out of Le Quesnoy
+that morning, and their main body was retreating through the Mormal
+Forest. Our advance party, L.-C. Cowen and Pte. Addinall, who had gone
+forward on bicycles to find a billet in Le Quesnoy, met with a very
+warm reception from the French civilians in the town. After a little
+trouble I managed to get possession of a nice empty house near the
+railway station, where we were glad to turn in and get our clothes
+dry. Next day I went to D.H.Q. at Potelle, a moated farm or chateau.
+
+There was some idea of disbanding the observers at this time, for
+Capt. Kirsopp found difficulty in getting us forward fast enough to be
+of any use. However the G.O.C. would not hear of it, and said the
+D.A.Q.M.G. must arrange to transport our things.
+
+The same day I went forward to the advanced B.H.Q. at Forester's
+Point, on the N.W. side of the forest, east of Carnoy. And I arranged
+with the Brigade-Major of the 126th Infantry Brigade to send some of
+the observers to help him next day. This, however, was cancelled, as
+the Germans began to retreat towards the River Sambre. I saw some
+French children still about the cottages near the Mormal Forest,
+though there was still shelling going on. Coming back I avoided the
+village of Carnoy, as it was being heavily shelled by the enemy's
+long-range guns. This was the last time I came anywhere near the
+enemy's shell fire. The German dead lay in little clusters in the
+fields east of Le Quesnoy, and at various points along the railway.
+
+On November 7 I moved my quarters to a small house at Herbignies, our
+belongings being brought for us by Divisional transport. Our hand-cart
+was finally dumped at Le Quesnoy. The next day I sent a small party of
+observers through the forest to Petit Bavay, and also detached Ptes.
+Fail, Ewart, and Austin for duty on the following day, sending them
+with bicycles to the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. at Petit Bavay. Also I
+walked through the forest to D.H.Q. at the same place. It was a long
+tramp in the mud, and I was thoroughly tired out when I reached
+Herbignies again that night.
+
+On November 9 we had our final trek forward, some fifteen miles
+through the most glutinous mud. As the observers had been overlooked
+when the Divisional transport left Potelle, we had now to transport
+all our belongings as best we could without the aid of the hand-cart.
+This unfortunately meant dumping all our stores except such as were
+absolutely essential; and I lost a number of interesting records,
+maps, &c., in this way.
+
+We loaded ourselves up then with everything we could take--very full
+packs and a blanket rolled on top, about the heaviest marching-order
+possible. By midday we had got through the forest to Petit Bavay,
+where we halted for a meal on the road side. Then we went on through
+Vieux Mesnil, where we had to ford the river, as the bridge was
+destroyed. On through Neuf Mesnil and at last to Hautmont. I was glad
+to get a billet in the first empty house I came to, 135 Rue de
+Gambetta. No beds, but a moderately clean floor to sleep on. Pte.
+Fail's party rejoined me here. They had gone right on to the firing
+line on the north bank of the River Sambre, where the Guards were
+advancing. They brought back useful information as to what had been
+going on.
+
+After disputing the crossing of the Sambre the Germans fled rapidly
+for about eight miles, and gave no further trouble beyond shelling the
+villages of Quievelon and Ferriere. Cyclists and cavalry were pushed
+out to keep in touch with them, but owing to the difficulties of
+transport the infantry could get no farther. There was now a general
+feeling that the end was not far off.
+
+On November 10 I was told at D.H.Q. that there was a 'holiday air'
+about every one, and that nothing further need be done by the
+observers. Early next morning I heard two transport drivers discussing
+the situation in the road outside. They were quite convinced that the
+war was over. And they were right; a little later I got the message
+from D.H.Q. 'hostilities will cease at 11 A.M. to-day.' Heavy firing
+was still going on to the north, about Mons, and this only ceased at
+11 o'clock. Then the silence and stillness outside were most uncanny.
+It was a silence that could be felt.
+
+
+
+
+XXXVIII
+
+THE END OF IT ALL
+
+
+After the armistice the Divisional observers were not disbanded at
+once. They remained in my charge till December 6, when orders came for
+us all to return to our own units. So ended the most pleasant command
+that I held during the war.
+
+The men who were with me when we were disbanded, were:
+
+  _Observers_ (_7th N.F._)      _Signallers_ (_7th N.F._)
+  L.-C. COWEN                   L.-C. CROZIER, M.M.
+  Pte. KING, M.M.               Pte. WARD
+  Pte. FAIL                     Pte. ROBINSON
+  Pte. EWART                    Pte. PARKIN
+  Pte. DRAKE
+  Pte. ADDINALL
+  Pte. AUSTIN
+  Pte. GREENWOOD (_10th M.R._)
+  Pte. FIRTH (_6th M.R._)
+
+From the nature of the organisation and equipment of Infantry
+observers, they were of more use during trench warfare than moving
+warfare. You cannot turn an observer into a scout at a moment's
+notice. Only a few of the men ever acquired any real knowledge of map
+reading--they did not take the same interest in it as in other parts
+of the training--and for moving warfare it is absolutely essential.
+Another handicap was lack of transport, we were nobody's children and
+left to fend for ourselves. The Q.M. of the 7th N.F. adopted us so far
+as rations were concerned, but the collection of rations alone
+prevented us from being a really mobile force: we could not move far
+away from the source of food supplies.
+
+During the ten weeks on the Auchonvillers Ridge the men did wonders.
+But we never stayed long enough at the same place after that to give
+them a real chance; and they never settled down to moving warfare.
+
+On December 6 I was attached to B Company of the 7th N.F., commanded
+by Major Smail, and living at Boussieres; once more I became a platoon
+commander, after nearly three years of continuous warfare.
+
+About December 15 the 42nd Division moved into Belgium, and D.H.Q.
+were established at Charleroi. After arriving here I became
+Demobilisation Officer for the 7th N.F. and continued at that till
+January 19.[20] Then I went on leave to England. On February 10 I got
+back to Charleroi, and on February 13 I left Charleroi for
+demobilisation or rather 'disembodiment.' I reached home at 4.30 P.M.
+on February 22, glad to be back.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[20] I had the greatest assistance from Cpl. Seals (7th N.F.),
+formerly N.C.O. in charge of Brigade Orderlies.
+
+
+
+
+Printed by SPOTTISWOODE, BALLANTYNE & CO. LTD.
+Colchester, London & Eton, England.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+    | Typographical errors corrected in text:                   |
+    |                                                           |
+    | Page   5: similiar replaced with similar                  |
+    | Page  29: keeness replaced with keenness                  |
+    | Page  49: 'man the the defences' replaced with            |
+    |           'man the defences'                              |
+    | Page  61: missfire replaced with misfire                  |
+    | Page  74: 'on both sides this trench' replaced with       |
+    |           'on both sides of this trench'                  |
+    | Page  78: 'one of the the Divisional' replaced with       |
+    |           'one of the Divisional'                         |
+    | Page 134: chateau replaced with chateau                   |
+    | Page 159: Passehendaele replaced with Passchendaele       |
+    | Page 183: Divisonal replaced with Divisional              |
+    |                                                           |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
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