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.

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 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.

War Dairy Entry: 3rd July 1916

It was the intention at one time to withdraw the 29^th Divn into reserve to recoup, but it has now been decided to withdraw the 31^st instead.The 4^th Divn are taking over the 29^th Divn line as far up as Broadway, & we are to hold from there to the Ancre, the 88^th Bde on the left & 87^th on the right, 86th bde in reserve in Englebelmer. 

De Lisle came up this morning and I went all along our frontline with him. On the right down by the marsh the trenches are blown about a good deal & trees are lying across them in several places, on the left they are not so bad, but all the trenches want deepening, revetting & traversing. The Germans again bombarded Thiepval Wood once or twice, & seemed to be putting in some gas shell. It is just across the Ancre above our hd qrs so we get all the benefit of the noise, but very few of the shells. All our machine guns are laid on the Bosch trenches in front of this wood. We are being left entirely alone by them at present.

War Diary Entry: July 1st 1916

The bombardment began again early & became more intense. At 7.20am the mine under Hawthorn Redoubt went up. As this mine contained 20 tons of ammonal (4 times larger than any single mine we have put up during the war) everyone cleared out of our dugouts in that part of the line. It made quite a good show, masses of earth going up in the air. The crater was immediately rushed by a party of 86th brigade.



After the explosion our Brigade began to file out of the trenches and form up in no man's land. A certain amount of machine gun fire was at once opened on them. At 730am the barrage lifted and the whole line advanced on the german 1st line, while the reserve companies moved forward out of our trenches. Very heavy machine gun fire was immediately opened on them. It looked as though a number of our people (the SWB on the left & RIF on the right of the line in the front line) were pushing through their frontline. One party of RIF were seen to place their bridge over the German 1st line, look down into the trench and then pass on. About 10 minutes later the 2 reserve battns (Borders on the left and KOSBs on the right) moved out of our 2nd & 3rd lines and advanced across the open swept by machine gun fire. About 745am flares began to go up in the Station Road. As this was the signal that the leading troops had reached their objective, things looked quite satisfactory. It was then seen that a number of Germans were still in their front line showing themselves and shooting at the men lying out in no mans land. This looked as though we had passed over their 1st & 2nd line without leaving enough men to deal with the Bosch as he emerged from his deep dugout. After waiting some time to see if the leading battns would send back a number of men to mop these up, the Newfoundland & Essex Battns were ordered forward to clear the frontline and pass through the 87th Bde. During this period it was reported that parties of the 87th had been seen fighting down by Beaumont Hamel cemetery and the station buildings. The Newfoundland battn started across the opne and was mown down by MG fire. the Essex were somewhat later, and I believe only 2 companies advanced and they met the same fate. By now no mans land was a mass of killed and wounded, and the Germans were firing at them with guns, rifles and machine guns. They also shelled our frontline very heavily with 5.9" HE shells. This trench was already packed with killed and wounded. Orders were then received that a fresh bombarment would be carried out after which the Worcesters (88th Bde) would assault the trenches about 1245pm. The bombardment started, but at the time laid down for the attack nothing happened.The Worcesters had been quite unable to get up the communication trenches into the frontline all of which were blocked with killed and wounded. The 88th bde were then told to report when the Worcesters were ready in position to attack. Fortunately shortly after the attack was cancelled, as it was bound to have met the same fate as the previous one. The afternoon was spent trying to clear the trenches of casualties and reorganise the battns (their remnants) of the 87th & 88th Brigades. It was subsequently sicovered that hardly a single man had reached the German frontline and that te best part of 6 battns were lying out casualties in no mans land. all the afternoon the Germans bombarded our front line. the 88th bde took over the front line and the 87th Bde collected their remnants in St Johns Road. this account only refers to what happened on the 87th Bde front (about 1000 yds).

During the night about 300 unwounded men of the brigade were collected, most of whom had crawled back from no mans land, including about 6 officers of about 80 who had gone over the parapet. A large number of the wounded were got in including a number of officers. Raikes (SWB) came in about 10.30pm, he had previously been reported killed. Welch (KOSBs) had fortunately not taken his hd qrs forward so was all right, all other COs and adjutants were killed or wounded.Every battn had left behind in billets 10% of their men & all officers over and above 22 per battn. With these and the survivors by morning (2nd) we had collected some 700 men. The 36th Divn on our right made no headway this side of the Ancre but S of it they went straight through the the German 3rd line. In the afternoon they were counter-attaked and driven back to the Germans 1st system of which they still hold a part. The 86th Bde got into the German line in places, I believe, but by the evening they were all in their own lines.

War Dairy Entry: 29th June 1916

Last night it was quieter, as far as we could hear in our dugout. The Dublins carried out a raid and struck the only place where the wire was not cut and so they did not get it in. The Corps are making us carry out these raids at a moment’s notice, & therefore without adequate preparation they are not a success. Both the R.I.F and SWB sent out small parties last night & they successfully removed  more of the enemy’s wire. Raikes came in from the firing line just after breakfast. He says the men are all standing up looking over the parapet watching our big shells bursting, and the Bosch never fire at them as they are all down below ground. Opposite the SWB there seem to be no Germans in their frontline, no one takes any notice of them when they remove the wire. De Lisle and Fuller were also both in this morning. The rain still keeps off.

War Diary Entry: 28th June 1916

Last night’s wire cutting and raiding parties were not a great success anywhere. The Germans seem to have expected it as all the parties were fired upon, and so came back. At 3am this morning they put about 20 shells round our headquarters, one fell in the middle of the road and knocked out some gunners, we had no casualties in the brigade. Pouring with rain this morning, the trenches will be in a filthy state; it cleared up during the afternoon. Shelling went on as usual all day, it doesn’t sound very much from here as we only hear the big guns going over, but it is pretty noisy in the firing line. 

We have cleared away nearly all their wire in the front system of trenches. They do not reply very much.  The 15” guns and 190lb trench mortars have layed Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt level with the ground, and the trenches round Thiepval are blotted out, but the trenches in front of us are not so badly damaged yet. Went onto a conference at the divn at midday, a car came and took Williams and myself in . Afterwards I went & saw the KOSBs & Borders in Acheux Wood & got back here about 2.30pm. Got a message from the divn at about 3pm to say that operations were postponed 48 hours (I believe because of the weather) so the attack does not start tomorrow. 

Went for a walk with Cookson after tea,  we went and watched one of the 15” guns firing, you can see the shell in flight for quite a long way; then we went on to have a drink with Gillon at his prisoners camp, between here and Foxeville. Just as we were getting back the Bosch put a few 5.9” shells into Englebelmer so we hung about outside til it was over.

War Diary Entry: 26th June 1916

Borrowed a car from the ASC and Brand went in to Amiens for an outing. A few shells were fired into Englebelmer at 7am but as no one was about no damage was done. I did not know it was going on at the bottom  of our dugouts. We are rather like rabbits in a warren sitting round the entrance to our burrow. 

We discharged our gas at 1015 am. It did not excite the Bosch as there was very little shelling. I watched the shelling most of the day, it is warming up a bit , and there are big shells going over our heads from behind at much shorter intervals all day. The 36^th Divn let off their gas between 2.30 and 3.30pm. This appeared to excite the Bosch as he was shelling their line very heavily about 4pm. I hear our 190lb trench mortars are knocking Beaumont Hamel flat, but we can’t see the village from here. 

All the german wire has been pretty well knocked about. All 3 german observation balloons in front of this army were brought down in flames yesterday by our aeroplanes.They knocked in the divn northern observation post about lunchtime, killing the telephone operator, both the officers had gone underground to lunch a few seconds before. We let off a lot of smoke along the line both morning and afternoon which brought on a little extra shelling.

War Diary Entry: 25th June 1916

The bombardment today was a good deal heavier, though by no means deafening. The 15” and 12” guns behind us did not (I think) open till the evening, and did not blow the farm down as we expected. I went out twice to watch the bombardment, there was a medium amount of smoke all along the line. About 12.15pm the Bosch put it across Collincamps (next village N of Mailly). They just kept on pumping clusters of big shells into it for ten minutes, causing a lot of smoke. Monkhouse came into tea. He has moved his headquarters up to be close to the forward batteries, with the result that the Bosch yesterday evening blew up his kitchen and cook, so he had to move house again. The Bosch is not replying much to our bombardment, everything appears to be fairly quiet in the trenches, but he opens furious squirts at intervals on batteries and villages behind. When the 4^th Divn discharged their gas last night , the Bosch opened a heavy bombardment on their firing and support line, but did not shell the trenches just behind at all.

We were to have discharged our gas tonight but wind again unfavourable.

War Diary Entry: 24th June 1916

The first day of the bombardment. Sent round about 9am to ask the gunners if the show had started, as everything was as quiet as possible. They were rather hurt. The guns got a little brisker this evening. They are only wire cutting today and the 12” and 15” guns are not firing. I walked into Acheux & back in the afternoon to see our two battns in the wood. I went out after dark and watched all the guns firing, you see the shells bursting along the line well past Albert. 

We were to have let off gas at 10pm but the wind dropped, the discharge was postponed an hour and a half and then cancelled althoether. It hung up work and rations going up, as one did not wat the wind to turn and gas everyone. The 4^th Divn on our left discharged their gas, and I believe it hung around in no man’s land all night, and gassed one of our own men. After this the Bosch shelled Mailly for the first time since we have been in the line killing 14 and wounding about 32 of the 4^th Divn (we have recently handed it over to them). 

We all moved our quarters into the deep dugout behind the office this evening, it goes down 24’ below ground and has 3 shell-breaking layers above the ground level; in spite of its 3 entrances it is very clammy down below, partly due to its being flooded out by the storm yesterday.