Diary Entry - 19th December, 1915

A fairly quiet day as regards shooting. It was spent at the guns, but one Ormonde was put under my wing – I was to show and instruct (?) him what the routine of work is at the guns. By twelve - or really lunchtime – I had told him everything I could, and he had poked his nose into every corner of the gun pits, and so he left me in peace during the afternoon. There was great activity in the air all day, and I saw several petty duels during the morning, but no damage was done. At midday, the O.C., who was at the O.B., started shooting No. 4 gun on some new target, (a supposed machine gun emplacement behind Les Bruque), and he fired at it solemnly until he had finished off 50 H.E. and a few odd shrapnel, with what results I know not. After tea, in the evening, being crowded out of house and home, Siggers and I took a long walk to a village about half a mile to the rear of Fosse 9. I spent most of my time trying to teach him to crack a crop, without much success and, although it was bright moonlight, I had one or two narrow escapes from the lash. Again, the gas show was postponed, on account of the wind.