War Diary Entry: July 2nd 1916

Get orders in the middle of last night that we (87^th) were to take over the 36^th Divn trenches between the 29^th Divn right & the R Ancre by noon today. The 108^th Bde were holding these trenches and had been badly knocked yesterday. No one knew the trenches and everything was a little upside down, but we managed to complete the taking over by about 1pm. The KOSB (337 strong) took over the right down by the river, the SWB (200) the centre, the Borders (280) the right , the Inniskillings(200) reserve in Hamel. The Germans are giving Thiepval wood (just the S side of the river) a bad time, but on our side it has been fairly quiet. We carried out 2 bombardments on their trenches today, which brought a certain amount of reply. 

The 48^th Divn were ordered to attack the trenches in front of us at daybreak tomorrow. They are at present somewhere just behind Mailly. All their COs were round this morning reconnoitring the trenches. There is very little room for them to get their men in preparatory to an attack although the trenches are now almost clear of killed and wounded. About 11pm, just as they were all marching up the order was cancelled. Some of their battns had reached our trenches by that time and had to return to Mailly. Both sides have been heavily bombarding the Thiepval Wood area all day. The 49^th Divn have relived the 36^th in this area are still in possession of some 300 yards of the German 1^st line system, the result is both sides are very frightened of being attacked there.

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.

War Dairy Entry: 27th May 1916

Rode up to Englebelmer in the morning to see Cayley about taking over the trenches tomorrow. Went to see the KOSBs in Mailly Wood on the way back, then to the SWBs in Acheux Wood, then on to the breaking up show of the divn school at Acheux Chateau, and back here to lunch. Pierce and Brand got back off leave today. Pierce having just lost his wife & looking very old & cut up.