Capt Wallis goes to trenches to verify disputed junction. Arrives back & – I am right. He has to indirectly apologize. The ass!!
Fritz pounding the road. Col Borden, bro’ of Premier, goes into trenches. Usual cannonading. During last night it snowed but later in day in rained.

Four passes to England are granted the brigade & 3 officers commandeer them, thus leaving only one private or N.C.O. to go. A dirty piece of work. Capt Willis wants L/c White & I to take over a newly erected hut for draughting purposes. It has no windows in the frames, no door & is very damp from recent rain. I reason with him & – with great surprise- succeed in putting it off for a day or two.
Poor 7th Brigade is going to pieces on a/c of a few illiterate, irresponsible, unreasonable, narrow-sighted staff officers. Two brothers & the General is their uncle. Sorry for our General. Aeroplane combats & much activity. I go to 9th Brigade. There they have 3 Sergts to do Intelligence work (with pay) we have an unpaid Corpl. & unpaid L/ Cpl. & turn out more work. – Rotten system.

The ignorant Wallis brothers come to see me. Am cold and repulsive to them, for they really are ignorant & useless. In the words of Lt Col Griesbach of the 49th Regt. “Damn bad staff work” in allusion to work on the Somme.

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.

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.