Diary Entry - 26th, 27th and 28th July, 1917

At eleven thirty met Thorburn and Claudet at Maison Rouge and went round some OPs with them. That B-fool Thorburn - who is acting Colonel in the Colonel's absence - strolled about in full view and, although I told him about it three times, since we could see Auchie Church plainly, he simply said, 'They can't see us.' Eventually he decided we should take over Braddle Castle, opposite the 400 on the barrier, a good place but impossible for the north of our zone. There are a great crowd registering there in the afternoon, and I get my guns on the brickstacks after a lot of bad shooting by No. 6 gun, who would persist in using the 80 fuze bar for 85 fuzes. In the evening, at twelve thirty, there is another raid by the 15th HLI, just north of the La Bassee Road. This proved another failure. All they found in the Hun front line was wire, but they managed to find and kill one Hun. The casualties were three killed and four wounded. On Friday I was at the OP in the early morning. It was a quiet day. On Saturday, I spent the day at Braddle Castle and nothing of note happened.