Diary Entry - 19th November, 1916

Walford: Sunday. Relieved Cruikshank at the guns, receiving a lift up to the Sucrerie in an ambulance. We fired on a brigade barrage line during the day. Otherwise everything was quiet. Major Carrington looked us up towards evening and told us all sorts of rumours about going out to rest. From about six thirty p.m. at three intervals of a half hour Bosch searched the tra way on the left of the Mess with his 5.9-inch gun, simply showering our dugout with mud and, although he had several within 10 yards of us, he did not drive us into the cellar. Later on, towards evening, he put about 12 over in front of the battery, three of them being only a few yards short, beautiful big holes they make too, almost as big as an 8-inch.

Bee: We went alongside the pier about eight a.m. and fought our way to the R T O's office where I found our train did not sail until ten p.m. So I then set off for the Officers' Club, which is a long walk from the wharf but a very homely comfortable little place. Had breakfast and a clean up and hung about inside all day. The place was crowded with officers as no leave boat had gone out for five days. I met Ronald Cumming, who had just come over with the staff of the Australian 3rd division. He looks very flourishing. I also saw Jack Russell who has been waiting five days to get across. We had a good dinner and got down to the railway station in good time, to find the RTO did not want to see us until eleven thirty p.m. It was frightfully cold hanging about there and we finally stayed there until two a.m. And some others were then taken back to the middle of the town by motor lorry as our train was starting from there. We got back there, to find there were only a few third class carriages and the rest trucks. I and another man managed to find a third carriage, with some cushions which we shook the worst of the dust off and made fairly respectable. I had a blanket with me, which I found very useful, as it was so cold. We paddled along at about 12 miles an hour, stopping for hours at a time in some places. Finally finished up at Acheux at eleven a.m. I was very glad of Mildred's parcel of food, which she supplied me with before starting, but I could not get a drink for love or money, which was rather depressing.