On morning of 8th I have a nervous breakdown & feel as if I am going mad. Get into open air and try to walk it off. Tis’ raining hard, my limbs stiffen & I lay down in a disused dugout in agony. My chums find me & want to send for a doctor but I refuse as army doctors know but little & care less. Very weak at night.
Sunday 5 November 1916 and Monday 6 November 1916
L/c White my assistant draughtsman arrives back from hospital. Enemy shelling the road where we walk on to dugouts. One shell bursts on opposite side of a wall where I take cover. Am covered in brick and chalk dust but escape with only a shock. Another bursts over my head higher up the road. Bullets are whizzing past in fine style.
Friday 3 November 1916 and Saturday 4 November 1916
Friday 3 November 1916 and Saturday 4 November 1916
Make trips around trenches to correct them. Go into lines of 9th Brigade.
Thursday 2 November 1916
Rain & high winds.
Little doing re shelling but Lieut. H Wallis exposes his utter ignorance of the duties of intelligence officer. The stubborn, ignoramus, argumentative, ignorant, pig. Young & silly. Inexperienced.
Wednesday 1 November 1916
Fine but cloudy. I go to Neuville St Vaast & the trenches for information concerning the location of HdQrs & trenches.
Enemy very active, many trench mortar bombs & rifle grenades are sent over to us. An RCR man has his leg blown off & succumbs to it & several men are wounded, an officer also. I travel along a trench wherein are several dead Huns & Frenchmen. Ghastly sight.
Tuesday 31 October, 1916
Pte Walls, Whiteside (sleuth) and Crawford are out in Quarry road building an O.P. Enemy busy with his trench mortars. I observe from an “Iron Tree” O.P. enemy shell this area & – I have to leave as am all alone & carry plans.
At 3 PM enemy aeroplane flies overhead. Col Pelly returns from England. Major A Adamson assumes OC of PPCLI.
Monday 30 October, 1916
Fritz busy sending us minenwerfers & rifle grenades. My observers are out trying to find a site for observation post = OP.
Sunday 29 October, 1916
Miserable weather & very cold. I go to Neuville St Vaast to see town Mayor, re plans of village. Pte Kerr of 49th is a VC for valour on the Somme area. Lt MacNeil goes away to Canadian Corps on staff (adj to Instr’n school).
*John Chipman Kerr – A Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. On September 16th 1916, during an attack at Courcelette, Private Kerr ran along the trenches towards the enemy as he knew that they were running short of bombs. He opened fire at point blank range and took 62 prisoners as the enemy was convinced they were surrounded. Some of Kerr’s fingers had been blown off in the attack but he did not seek medical attention until the prisoners had been escorted back.
Saturday 28 October, 1916
Rain. Have located a dugout in La Targette village. Does not suit, too damp! Try another – too many rats! Try another – satisfaction. Lt Wallis says too far from HdQrs but cannot use his brain to provide me with quarters there. Maps are spoiling for the damp has got at them. Damn fools these so called officers. Would that they had to foot the bill of cost. Fritz shells heavily with trench mortars.
Friday 27 October, 1916
No place to work in so no business done. A new dugout is being built for the Brigade Major & I can take his when he goes into the new one. The new one will be shell proof, the old one is not but good enough for me I guess.
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