My section were short of ammunition and as there was a continual banging through the day, I had to get the men onto a cart and move it from the left end battery (8 guns). At about 11 a.m., Bosche got a very nice line on our battery, dropping one short, one over. Everyone thought it looked like business so went to ground, into the good German dugouts we possess – being in the Bosche old support line, the dugouts are pretty good. Well, we gradually filled the officers' dugout with odd men found outside and awaited our fate. Of course, the mouths of the dugout were facing the wrong way, but that was a minor detail, and we were glad of any cover, as lots of other batteries had none. The show was finished by twelve thirty p.m. and we came out to see the damage. Two of 71s's guns were out of action, splinters having penetrated the buffers from bursts just in front of the muzzle. The damage to my section was a shell in F sub's ammunition, resulting in a fire and 40 rounds going west and also Sergeant Head's field glasses, which were on top of the ammunition. Another of the 71s's ammunition pits had been on fire and lost 40 rounds, but the No.1 had gone out in the middle of the conflict and calmly put out the flames and burning sandbags amongst the ammunition. I'm glad to say that there were no casualties. The rest of the day was spent in clearing away the debris and sandbagging the pits as much as possible.
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