Fine morning, get orders to move to NOYONELLE but they are cancelled. I go there with billeting party & meet 11th Bttn stay the night with CSM MACKINTOSH meet several old friends arrange all billets and do very well. Not much sleep.
Fine morning some rain later. We hang about all day waiting to move & eventually get lorries about 5.0 pm & march to ETRUN about 5Kls [kilometres]. Stay there the night. Not much sleep too much gunning.
Wet miserable morning, we hang about all day waiting to move but can’t get lorries, very bad day. Quiet at night, good sleep.
Wet morning, we lay in until about 10.0 am. Get orders to move to ETRUN but don’t succeed as lorries don’t arrive. Awful day, very heavy showers & lots of gunning. Not much sleep at night. Saw Red Rocket too much worry.
Fine morning, much air activity & lots of gunning. Get orders to move into the line at night. C.O., Adjt & all OC Coys visit line. Pack up blankets to send them back . C.O. sends me back to X Camp when Bttn move into line at 9.15 pm. Awful night, heavy rain & we get drenched but what a relief to get out of the line. Cold night but sleep fairly well.
Fine day . Air activity plenty of Gunning, we rest all day. I draw Bombs etc to make up. Meet Col. PRITCHARD in morning, have a chat, very nice man, sharp but fair. Quiet for us & get a good nights sleep.
Wet day. Heavy artillery fire all day. No Inf [Infantry] action. Reinforcements which were left at X Camp join Bttn. Col. FORSTER returns to Bttn from Bgde as Col. PRITCHARD takes over. Decent night.
Fine morning slight frost. I move back to line at 5.0 am. Just after I leave LCpl SIVITER gets killed & SMART & GUEST wounded, bad luck. C.O. & Adjt. come back to line about 7.0 pm. C&A Coys moving back about 9.0 pm, good night but cold. Total casualties 2 Officers killed, 8 Officers wounded 220 OR Killed, Wounded, Missing. Numbers who took part about 400. Very bad time.
Fair morning, we get plenty of shelling but hang low. Brig. Gen. visits us about 12.0 noon & gets killed just after leaving, bad luck. Rain in afternoon. Just before 5.0 pm S.A. Bgde [South African Brigade] & 27th Bgde move forward to attack under barrage but are again held up with heavy losses. Hang on to front line which we had consolidated. Get orders for relief but it doesn’t take place, we stop up all night. Fritz makes an awful mess of the village – it’s unrecognisable.
Fine morning, much air activity, we prepare to move at 8.30 am, move forward in fours to BROWN LINE where we wait until 11.20 am. Receive orders to attack Chemical Works & Greenland Hill. Zero Hour 12.0 noon. We move up to jumping off point NE of FAMPOUX. 3 Bosche aeroplanes come over very low force one of ours down & then watch us. Order of Battle C.A. Hd Qrts & B carrying. Fritz puts a barrage on the sunken road & we lose heavy. Bgde moves to the attack but held up by M Gun Fire. Hd Qtrs receives heavy dose of shelling & I lose 1 Off killed (Lt DEVIS) & 8 OR wounded. I mount the parapet with C.O. & Adjt & get through it alright but what a time. No rest and not much to eat only Bully & Biscuits. Hd Qtrs established in quarry which is heavily shelled & we move in the evening into a cellar in FAMPOUX. Good work done by LCpl SIVITER B Coy who is killed later. Get a nice revolver from a dead German but ASHBOURNE loses it for me taking it down. Shall never forget this day to my sorrow. Lt DEVIS & Lt JEFFERY killed, two of our best officers.
Comments: Bad management. Bgde sent forward to attack strong position under 18 pounder Barrage, Machine Guns on embankment, in Chateau, Stn, cottages & Inn. No chance for the men, but they went forward well. CO & Adjt fine, no shirking, also Lt. DEVIS.