Personal Diary:September 11th 1916

Motored into Boulogne after lunch, dined at mony’s. Stayed the night at the Folkestone. The place was very quiet, everything closed down at 9pm. I went in in the car that goes weekly to change our cinematograph films. Met Wilding (Bde Genl 10^th Bde) at the hotel, also Fenner and Nicholson of the 6^th Rl Berks.

Personal Diary: September 10th 1916

Attended SWB church service. Went in to watch the polo in the afternoon, played one chukka. Took Gillan for a walk after tea.

Personal Diary: September 9th 1916

The enemy put about 50 trench mortar bombs into the Borders during the fog this morning, so after lunch we gave a hundred trench mortar bombs assisted by a 6” battery a 4.5” and two 18 pdr batteries, so they will think twice before they do it again. Bde Hd Qrs & the Borders & R Inniskilling fus were relieved by rest of 86^th Bde after dark & went back into rest camp.

Personal Diary: September 7th 1916

Went round the trenches with Welch & Cookson, starting at 4.30am, the work the KOSBs did last night was rotten, their offiers are rather hopeless. A flight of about 17 of our aeroplanes passed over us at 9.30am heading for Germany, they got well peppered, but I did not see any hit. There have been one or two airfights above here lately, in every case the Bosch has bolted precipitately. The Bosch were firing big mortars away on our left at dusk.

Personal Diary: September 8th 1916

The SWB and KOSBs were relieved by the 86^th Bde after dark and went back into rest camp near Poperinghe.

Personal Diary: September 6th 1916

Walked all round the outside of Ypres before breakfast. General Hotham and Col West (20^th Divn Art) came in to say goodbye. Fine sunny day which helped to dry things up a bit. More shelling than usual.

Personal Diary: September 5th 1916

Collected some more tiles out of Ypres before breakfast. After breakfast a pasan came in who knew something about tiles and said none of them were any good. A good deal of rain during the day. Our own artillery is coming back to us from the Somme & the 20^th divn art. Is going to take their place there.

Personal Diary: September 4th 1916

Went round the trenches with De Lisle, he was quite pleasant. Started 6am got back at 10.30Am. Bayley dined and slept. Wind still unfavourable to get rid of our gas. A little rain in the afternoon.

Personal Diary: September 3rd 1916

Everything very quiet here of late. Before breakfast searched Ypres for glazed tiles.

Personal Diary: September 2nd 1916

Went round the trenches at 5.30am with Handress Lloyd. The Strand and Fleet St very wet. Motored back to near Poperinghe with Welch at 9am to see the breaking up display at the Divn school. Lunched at the 86^th Bde Hd Qrs. Two gas alarms during the night, but no gas came our way. I certainly saw from the ramparts, when their flares went up, large clouds of what looked like smoke blowing northwards along no man’s land but it may have been from the shells. The Australians are back taking over the line again in these parts & the 4^th Divn are coming out into Corps reserve.

Personal Diary: September 1st 1916

Got the news that Roumania had come in. We may be home by Christmas now. Wind still unfavourable for our gas. The Bosch still keeps very quiet  though there was a little shelling yesterday.

Personal Diary: 31st August 1916

The 88th Bde got their gas off tonight but the wind can't have been very good as our people decided not to let it go. Went round the trenches at 5.30am with Morris, they are in a better condition than I expected after the rain. Bayley dined & slept.

Personal Diary: 30th August 1916

Rained all day with a fine drizzle, getting heavier at times, & a strong wind. Cleared up at dusk. Trenches flooded and falling in. Gas could not be let off again tonight as wind unfavourable. All four battns out clearing out drains and getting the water out of the trenches.

Personal Diary: August 29th 1916

Went round the right subsector with Welch at 5.30am, found lots of gas cylinders not properly sandbagged in. The gas was to have been let off tonight accompanied by a bombardment but the wind changes so it was off. Rain started coming down in torrents about 3pm and flooded all the trenches. A gas alarm started some miles S of us and spread all along the line about 10.30pm, we managed to stop it going further. Have not heard whether any gas was really let off. Bayley dined & slept.

The Inniskillings and Borders relieved the KOSB & SWB respectively after dark & must have got nice and wet going up.

Personal Diary:28th August 1916

The Corps and Divn commanders went round our trenches at 6am. Going (SWB) had to meet them and take them round. I was left behind to meet the army commander who turned up at 8.30am. Hunter-Weston & De Lisle both expressed themselves satisfied with the work we had done in the trenches. I got up at 5.30am and met Morris (Borders) on the canal bank at 6am, I went round their bank and the canal defences. The Army Commander (Plumer) turned up shortly after 9am and talked for about half an hour. He was very pleasant. 

Got a wire about 8pm  to say Roumania had come in. COs conference at 4.30pm to discuss work, reliefs etc. Completed carrying gas up after dark, it took all our spare men, we now have 200 cylinders in place.

Personal Diary Entry: August 27th 1916

Began carrying gas up tp our sector between Warwick Farm & the Haymarket.

Personal Diary Entry: August 26th 1916

Went up to the trenches at 4am with Handress Lloyd and Morris to look at the work in Wieltje. The Inniskillings had not completed their full amount. Fuller & Bayley came in in the morning. Bayley again dined & slept last night. Harrington (Maj Gnel) came to see me this afternoon. West (left group RA) dined. They are starting to turn 4 gun batteries into 6 again to economise officers, this rather upsets the gunners.

Personal Diary Entry: August 25th 1916

As the defences of Wieltje have got to be pushed on the Inniskillings were turned on tonight to dig a new trench to connect B.10a with Monmouth trench. Yesterday morning a German got into the front line trench held by the left coy KOSBs about 9am. The line is very thinly held owing to lack of men, and there are some holes in the breastwork where it has been blown down by shells. The man was removing his clothes and apparently intended to put on a sergts greatcoat which was lying near. He was flushed by a passing signaller who had no arms; the German escaped whilst the signaller went for assistance. One of our aeroplanes had to land behind the german lines in our front this afternoon.

Personal Diary Entry: August 24th 1916

Started round with De Lisle at 6am and got back at midday. He was in a good temper. He distributed tasks but evaded all the difficulties by turning everyone on to dig a new drain behind the firing line. This isn't much help when the parapet is blown down and wants immediate repairs.

Personal Diary entry: August 23rd 1916

Went round the trenches 5am with Going and Raikes. Conference of COs at 10am. De Lisle came in just before we started and said no work had been done in the line, & that he would come round tomorrow and allot tasks to companies. Bayley dined and slept.

Personal Diary Entry: August 22nd 1916

Nothing unusual

Personal Diary Entry: August 21st 1916

Went round the trenches with Welch starting 5am. The recent rain had not had much effect . Met De Lisle on the way back. A deserter reported a few days ago that the Germans had still got a lot of gas cylinders in their trenches so this afternoon we knocked their trenches about for 2 hours with shells of all sizes up to 9”. They damaged ours a bit in return. We had 5 killed and 2 wounded. Bayley lunched, dined and spent the night.

Personal Diary Entry: August 20th 1916

Dined with Handress Lloyd at the Inniskilling hd qrs in Ypres prison. Gillan came too. A quiet day, hardly any shelling. A KOSB patrol brought in 2 dead Germans from in front of their wire.

The 4^th Divn and 4^th Canadian Divn are going to take over the Canadian Corps line to allow them to go south. This means that all our 3 divns will be in the line the whole time, and no one in Corps reserve.

Personal Diary Entry: August 19th 1916

Took over the line from the 86^th Bde after dark. They relieved the 88^th Bde in the right sub sector, & the 88^th Bde went back into reserve. Brand, Gillan & I went up to Ypres in a car about 9pm. There has been a good deal of rain the last 2 days.

Personal Diary Entry: August 18th 1916

The SWB and KOSB went up to Ypres preparatory to taking over the trenches tomorrow night. Dill came in to lunch. Rode in to Poperinghe with Cookson after tea.

Personal Diary Entry: August 17th 1916

Presented medals to two men of the Inniskillings and 2 men of bde hd qrs at 9.30am. Delivered a short oration to the battn, Dined with the SWB and went on afterwards to see the 4^th Divn follies; it was the best show I have seen for years; all 6 men were 1^st class professionals with very fine voices.

Personal Diary Entry: August 16th 1916

Morris arrived and took over command of the Borders. Tanner & Cruise (King’s oculist) came in in the morning, Tanner is on 2^nd Army staff.

Personal Diary Entry: August 15th 1916

Handress Lloyd, Raikes. Ross and I went over to inspect the 2^nd Army School at Wyske starting at 930am. We lunched at St Omer & found all the shops shut as it was a saints day. We came back through Hazelbruck stopping at Poperinghe where we had tea in the 29^th Divn cinema theatre & watched the ‘movies’. Dined with McBrien at the 3^rd Canadian Divn Hd Qrs. Webber, Ironside & Panet were there.

Personal Diary Entry: August 14th 1916

Went to divn hd qrs at 4pm to meet the King. Brigadiers & Staffs of the 4^th & 29^th Divn were there. Everyone was introduced to him, he stayed to tea and cleared off at 4.45. The Prince of Wales was with him. They had an intense bombardment this morning for his benefit on the trenches in front of the Canadians. He is staying at Cassel, which is at the moment (on that account) a prohibited area for all aeroplanes. Yesterday morning one of ours flew over the place and was fired at furiously by every gun we’ve got; the officer was put under arrest when he landed.

Personal War Diary Entry: August 13th 1916

Went to SWB parade service 10am. Corps commander gave us a very earnest sermon , and gave us to understand that all the divns in the Corps were as rotten as could be. Bobby Nickalls dined and we had a rubber of bridge. The King will see one of our battns tomorrow, along the road near Poperinghe, and all brigadiers are to go and shake hands with him.

Letter to Mother: August 13th 1916

My dear Mother

I am having an easy at present and have seen numbers of old friends. Percy came round and looked me up the other day. If we can keep on catching Germans and Austrians at this rate we ought to have mopped them all up in under a yea. The news all round is most satisfactory. I got a taste of German gas last week for the first time. I did not get it strong and it had no effect whatever on me.

The weather here is poisonously hot and muggy, we want some rain badly.

Tell Cecil the peas don’t travel well, they get tasteless and flowery before they arrive. They would probably do better in their pods. The melon was excellent. There is any amount of fruit and vegetables procurable here now, so it is hardly worth sending any out here, though it is jolly good of her to think of it.

I shan’t get leave for another month yet. I have really quite a lot to say, but it’s not much good when you are not allowed to.

I have lost Father’s last letter but I believe he said Raymond’s memorial would cost £80 so I enclose a cheque. If it turns out to be more please let me know.

Your loving son

Cuthbert

War Dairy Entry: August 12th 1916

I was going with Welch to look at the 2^nd Army school behind St Omer, but had to stop behind to attend the breaking up day of our Divn school. Corps & Divn commanders present. After the inspection was over De Lisle had a conference at our hd qrs. At 3pm the Corps Commander turned up to inspect our camps. He spent 3 hours over it, never stopped talking, and after it was over asked me to make a précis of all he had said and send it on to him.

War Dairy Entry: August 11th 1916

Went over to lunch with Webber at the 2^nd Canadian Divn Hd qrs. He sent a car for me. On the way I called in at No10 Casualty Clearing station to see Nichols who is recovering from gas. McBrien was also lunching with Webber & Ruthuen was there too on the divn staff. After lunch I went on to the 19^th Divn. Monkhouse was away sick with sciatica, but I saw haskard. Morgan dined and we played bridge.

War Dairy Entry: August 10th 1916

Inspected all the transport lines in the evening. Welch, Raikes & Micklejohn started their inquiry on the gas attack.

War Diary Entry: August 9th, 1916

This morning we discovered that practically the whole of the left coy of the Inniskillings and the left coy of the Hampshires (next to us on the right) had been gassed, but not the right company of the Inniskillings which was between them. All the rats in the trenches and the birds and a cat in Potije Wood had died. 21 transport animals of the Inniskillings which were up in Potije died after they got back to their lines. Later in the day (about midday) several men in the right company of the Inniskillings began to go sick many of them dying quite suddenly, until the total casualties in this battn reached 15 officers and about 150 men, about a third of these being dead by the afternoon.

Those who succumbed at once when the gas was first discharged died peacefully without apparent pain, those who were only affected some hours later turned blue and foamed at the mouth & nose.

The alarm worked well & everyone appeared to have had the warning, but I think some of the officers & NCOs went about without their helmets on seeing the men were all right waiting for the first sniff, and then it was too late. Other men apparently exhausted after wearing them for 2.5 hours took them off after midnight and lay down to sleep in the bottom of the trenches and dugouts which were still not properly cleared of gas.

Then a number of men who had been affected, but did not know it worked hard all the morning clearing away the casualties, and this exercise had fatal results. We found a number of dead and dying rats in Ypres. One of the bdes in the 4^th Divn on our right was also gassed and had several casualties, the Germans attempted a raid on them but were beaten off. Some Germans came out of their trenches opposite us, but our machine guns kept up a fire the whole time so they did not come on.

The Borders and Inniskillings were relieved after dark by the 86^th Bde & the whole bde came back into reserve just E of Poperinghe.

War Diary Entry: August 8th 1916

More shelling during the day, particularly at a battery about 200 yards N of our hd qrs. they got direct hits on all the emplacements and dugouts but did no damage.

At 10.30pm the gas alarm was sounded, and everyone was warned. The guns opened a heavy barrage on our front. I got onto the Borders and Inniskillings and both sent in messages that though they could smell gas it was not being discharged on their front. The Inniskillings message proved to have been a mistake on the part of the signallers. On this information I stopped the guns firing on our front. Fuller & Mellor were up regulating the transport & came in to our hd qrs. After about 20 minutes we began to smell gas in Ypres so we all put our helmets on, but it never got really bad, occasionally getting thicker and then dying away. The relief of the two reserve battns went on at the prison and on the canal bank and they hardly felt its effects at all. At 12 midnight everything seemed to be over so I went to bed. The prepared blankets over all the doors and windows kept the gas out of the dugouts quite effectively.

War Diary Entry: August 7th 1916

Went around the right sub-sector with De Lisle starting at 5am. We crawled over the open to look at Mill Cot, Nickalls was with us. A big trench mortar is being dug in there. So as to give the whole show away he then insisted on the 3 of us sitting on the old windmill mound close by, with an open map between us for ten minutes, in full view of the whole German line. He was not very pleased with our trenches, but then went on to the 88^th, these appeared o annoy him more than ours, so he decided that we should be relieved tomorrow and the next day instead of the 88^th. 2 or 3 of the KOSBs were gassed during the night by gas shells whilst working on the Strand and Fleet St. Bayley stayed the night with us. Welch dined and we had some bridge. Dill looked in after tea.

War Diary Entry: August 6th 1916

The Borders relieved the SWB & the Inniskillings the KOSB in the firing line after dark. The Bosch was very quiet during the relief.

War Diary Entry: August 5th 1916

Went round the KOSB trenches with Welch at 5am. Bayley left a t3.45am. Mellor (O.C. group RA) came in in the morning. Ruthven and Abbot (corps staff) looked in about tea time. Percy called in for a few minutes at 6.30pm.

War Diary Entry: August 4th 1916

Bayley again turned up after dinner with Rich; the former slept here. Went in to Corps Hd qrs (about 3 miles N W of Poperinghe) with Cayley & Williams , at 9am for a conference.

War Diary Entry: August 3rd 1916

Went round the trenches at 5am with De Lisle, Going, Raikes & Nickalls; everything was very quiet. Got back at 9am to meet the Army Commander (Plumer) at our hd qrs; he came to see how we were getting on. Bayley & Handress Llloyd dined & Bayley spent the night in my dugout.

War Dairy: August 2nd 1916

Our bde hd qrs are quite comfortable and fairly safe. They are in the Ypres ramparts. My dugout looks and smells like a cabin on board ship but is much bigger. It has 2 electric lights fitted in it. It has a light shaft which lets in a good deal of light. It only has one entrance so I trust it wont get blown in. The mess has a very fine tiled porch with hat racks and umbrella stands, and a glass door which has not been blown in yet, with quite a good mess room inside; it has not been knocked down yet though it requires a good many more feet of sandbags all round yet, to make it quite safe. We have one of the old cathedral bells stuck up on the ramparts just above us to give the gas alarm.

Warfare Magazine: Issue 2

Just read an article in Warfare magazine that describes the Somme - incl. preceding bombardment and July 1st from the German point of view. 

It is particularly relevant for CHTL and the 87th Brigade because the battlefield testimony of those troops directly opposing them was ...

'The entire garrison was able to occupy battle positions and then open fire'

The article is extracted from a book by Jack Sheldon

Editor's Note

So the 87^th Brigade, one month after being decimated with 70% casualties on July 1^st is moved to the quieter sector of Ypres… 

This blog will continue to record the reflections of Brigadier General Lucas as his troops take up position in this other area synomnous with the suffering, bravery and loss of British forces on WW1… having already been at Gallipoli in 1915 and on the Somme in 1916. 

Many thanks to the Centenary Team at the Imperial War Museum who have recognised the blog and made it one of their partnership projects.

I have some ideas for enhancing the impact of the blog, particularly with reference as to how it can be used by secondary school students in their studies in Year 9 and above. Interactive maps - Western Front and sector-specific - showing 87th Brigade activity and key events  - are one of the features I'd like to create.

War Dairy Entry: August 1st 1916

The Brigade took over the trenches in the left sector tonight. The SWB took over the left half and the KOSBs the right half . The Borders came up to the canal bank and the Inniskillings into the prison. Relief completed by about 12.30am.

War Dairy Entry: July 31st 1916

Borrowed a car from the ASC and started off for LA Panne at 1130am with Gillon. We passed through Furnes, which has a very nice old market square and Hotel de ville. The NE end of the town has been shelled a bit but not much damaged. The Belgian army are all over this area, and are smarter than I expected. On arrival at La Panne we stopped at a house to ask the sentry the way to the British Mission (Military with Belgian Army). The house turned out to be King Albert’s, and he was there at the time. O’ Connor is with the mission and we intended to have lunch with him but Prince Algernon of Teck who is head of the mission met us at the door and asked us to lunch. O’Connor turned up later. We had a very good lunch, and borrowed their bathing kit afterwards and bathed. All along the cost there are wire entanglements along the sand and machine gun emplacements just behind, which form the defences. O’Connor showed us round the town. We started back about 3.30pm ,  we wanted to go through Dunkirk but were told we should be stopped without proper passes, so we went back through Furnes. Outside Furnes we were stopped by a sentry, and as we had not got a pass to travel in the Belgian area, he would not let us go through the town but made us take a detour round the E side. However we took a wrong turning and some found ourselves going through the square again.

The 88^th Brigade took over the right sector of the divn line last nigh.

The SWB and KOSB moved up into Ypres this evening , the SWB relieving a battn of the 71^st on the canal bank and the KOSB, a battn Ypres prison and surrounding cellars.

War Dairy Entry: July 30th 1916

Started off in a car for Ypres at 5.30am with Fuller and Gillon, and went round the trenches of the 71^st bde which we are taking over on the night of 1^st/2^nd. The Bde Major 71^st Bde took us round. The trenches are very bad, as the line runs along the low ground and water stands 1’6” below the surface. You have to build up breastworks which the Bosch continually knocks down. In several places he looks into the back of your trenches. We got back about 9.30am Went over to the 6^th Divn hd qrs after lunch as De Lisle had a conference. Our divn hd qrs are living with the 6^th Divn at present & take over from them tomorrow or the next day. Dined with Walsh at 6^th Divn hd qrs Evans was there, he is GSO2 to the divn.

Letter to Mother: July 29th 1916

My dear Mother

Everything very peaceful at the moment you can hardly hear the guns; the flat country looks quite nice with all the hop fields, poplars and ripe crops, and one can almost smell the sea.

Lord Cavan came to look me up yesterday morning which was very nice of him. I also got a message from Percy saying that he and a pal of mine were quite handy and would I come in for a meal, so I rode over to lunch yesterday. He was looking very well indeed, and had entirely lost that tired War Office look. I also found that his Corps commander was an old friend who looked after us earlier in the war, and the other brigadier there was a man I knew, so I had quite a pleasant lunch. I put my horse up in Percy’s stable and his groom took a keen interest in me as a brother of Johns. Several other friends have looked in at odd times.

When we go into the trenches we have got he best hd qrs in Europe, absolutely safe, tiled floors, electric light and all modern conveniences.

No leave going at present, but it must open again soon.

Very good news from the Russians again today, the Belgians have completed their 567^th? Day of intense bombardment so I expect the trenches in front of them are nearly fit to attack.

The peas and beans arrived today. The peas are in excellent condition, some of the beanslooked a little bruised and were turning brown, but will probably be excellent, we are having them tonight.

I got an awfully nice letter from Uncle Fred last night, I feel very sorry for him.

I hope you will be amenable to discipline and remain in bed as along as you are ordered, so that you will be up and about and quite well again when I come home on leave. Is Peggy allowed to do everything again now?

All parcels are arriving regularly. Best of love to you all

Yr loving son

Cuthbert

Personal Diary Entry: July 29th 1916

Walsh (AA & QMG 6^th Divn) came over to see me after tea. Rode round in the morning to see the battns in their respective camps.

War Diary Entry: July 28th 1916

Cavan came in to call on us about 10am, he is commanding the corps we are relieving. Got a message from Percy Radcliffe asking me to come and see him at Canadian Corps Hd Qrs and that Dill was there too, so I rode over to lunch calling in to see the battns on the way. Byng is in command of the Canadian corps, he used to command our Corps at Suvla. He said he was very glad to see us again, Percy was looking very fit, Dill was out for the day. I also knew Farmer who is their Bde Gen: Administration.

War Diary Entry: July 27th 1916

The brigade moved by train to Poperinghe. Bde hd qrs left Doullens at 9am followed by battns at 3 hours interval. We did the journey in 6 hours which was very quick. Got into our hd qrs at Proven St (where all the troops detrained) by tea time. The Battns went into camps just N of Poeringhe.

War Dairy Entry: July 26th 1916

Bde remained in Amplier for the day. I was witness on a court martial after lunch.Rode into Doullens after tea. Went into Amiens with Williams Overy and Ross to dine and see the censoring of the cinematograph films taken during this battle. The Godbert was full up so we tried to get dinner at L'Univers, that was full up too but we eventually got a table. The films were quite good, but too much of the slightly wounded walking back followed by unwounded men pretending to assist, also photos of German prisoners and our dead were overdone. all the early ones were of our Divn before the attack and on July 1st. Got back to Amplier about 1230am.

Letter to Mother (envelope mis-labelled): July 9th, 1916

My dear Mother

Please send out at once a uniform coat and trousers also a pair of breeches. The ones I want are the ones sent by Flight and Hammond after I had returned from last leave.

I can’t tell you much more about this scrap than you see in the papers, it is still going quite well down south of us. In our area it stopped on the first day. We met the main German strength, as they expected main push from us and so had everything ready. The result was that our brigade and another on the left went over the parapet and got a very unpleasant mauling, hardly anyone got through their wire. We collected a small percentage that night after dark. We came in for a good deal of heavy shelling all the remainder of the day, and there were some very nasty sights.

During the 7 days bombardment our headquarters were well underground about 1200 yds behind the firing line and we were not worried much. The noise was not very much, though we had all our biggest guns firing over us from just behind. The last evening we moved up to our deep dugout 150 yds behind our front trench. The dugout bounced about a good deal during July 1^st, but nothing was blown in, even when our mine containing 20 tons of explosive went up 500 yds away. Since then we have been holding the noisiest bit of line I have ever been in (in the same old place). An incessant stream of shrapnel, 5.9 high explosives, and gas shells bursting all round, but never exactly where we were and none of the gas reached us. It is a great strain on the men, we have just started a few days breather which ought to put them right again.

I am making inquiries about John but fancy he must be 5 or 6 miles south of us. The Germans seem to be very disorganised down there; all the prisoners seem to have had a very rotten time before they were captured. We are still pushing on satisfactorily there, though of course slowly, as we are not right through their numerous systems of trenches. I doubt we shall have enough fresh troops to push on very much further. 
I am afraid there is not much prospect of leave til August now. 
Brand is going to leave us, he has just been pushed up into a bigger job. 
I hope the two invalids are progressing satisfactorily. 
our loving son 
Cuthbert

War Diary Entry: July 25th 1916

The brigade marched back to Amplier and billeted in huts, the other 2 bdes are at Beauval. We started off 9am & everyone got in before 1pm. Brand passed in a car just as we started from Bus and asked me to dine. Rode over to Beauval after lunch to see the Divn hd qrs, & had tea with Cayley. Started 7.30pm in a car to dine with Brand at Hennu; found Bayley there on the same staff. They telephoned to Gervice Thorpe who is GSO1 of the divn next door, & he turned up after dinner.

War Diary Entry: 24th July 1916

The relief started just after lunch and was completed by 6.30pm. Battns marched back independently to Bus-les-Artois where they billeted for the night, our hd qrs was there as well.

War Diary Entry: 23rd July 1916

Various officers came up to look round the trenches. Bayley came in to tea, & Gillon and I walked back with him to near Martisnart afterwards. We put up 5 coveys of young partridges en route.

Letter to Mother: July 23rd 1916

My dear Mother

I am very sorry to hear about poor old Lance he was such a good fellow. We are being moved right back and will probably shortly go to the neighbourhood John has come away from. I shall be rather sorry to leave this place as one has only to walk 200 yds from our front door & watch the battle going on about 3 miles away, in perfect comfort and safety. At the moment we have gone to ground again as they began to shell our late hd qrs, and made things rather uncomfortable though no one was injured, so we have decided to forego the pleasures of a house. 

I have had all sorts of nice letters from people about Raymond. It really is awfully kind of the Becks, even if Raymond did not make his fortune he made many genuine friends. I am still optimistic about leave, but not probably till late on next month.

Will write again when we get settled down behind

Your loving son

Cuthbert

War Diary Entry: July 22nd 1916

The Borders & Inniskillings relieved the SWB & KOSB respectively in the trenches during the afternoon. When the relief was half through we received a message saying the whole divn was being relieved in the line tomorrow, but it was too late to stop the relief then. The 25^th Divn are taking our place. I went down to tea with the divn, and whet through our honours list, just going in, with De Lisle. Hear we are being moved to Ypres. When I got back to Englebelmer I found Armitage) Brigadier of 74^th Bde, relieving us) waiting there, he had just been round the trenches.

Letter (re-discovered, out of sequence): to Mother - July 17th 1916

My dear Mother

Gwynne, bishop of Khartoum, an old friend of mine , was here today conducting the morning service;  we had a special prayer for the dead and another for all our people at home asking that it should be made as easy as possible for them to bear their grief. You mustn’t let Kitty worry about it, as it is only one in a million who succumb to an operation of that kind. Will you tell Dolly that I should like some small thing of Raymond’s that he used to carry about him or always used, as a keepsake. 

I have a very fair chance of getting back on leave about the 7^th or 8^th of August, but of course leave just now is very uncertain.

Keep as cheerful as you can and go away with Father for a holiday somewhere for a fortnight. I’m sure it will do you both good.

Will write again when we get settled down behind

Your loving son

Cuthbert

Letter (re-discovered, out of sequence): to Father - July 12th 1916

My Dear Father

I got your letter this morning. I hope mother is not taking it too hardly and you are all keeping as cheerful as possible under this terrible shock. We shall miss him most frightfully as he always had such a soothing effect on everyone. I am very sorry for you all after what you have gone though. I hope Dolly is taking it bravely as that will help a good deal.

I am fit and well and still living a life of ease and luxury well behind the firing line.

Your loving son

Cuthbert