Diary Entry - 31st August, 1917

Have a meeting with the owner of a brick stack in our lines, a claims officer, and Cadonnier. After a heated opening by the Frenchman, who pointed out a number of holes in the stack made since 12th August, he maintained, we asked him if he knew where we had put them. So he got his man with a pick and commenced digging up the standings but we showed him where these bricks came from and they were only a small number out of 16,0000 he claimed as having lost. He then cooled down and threw in the sponge, saying he did not want any money but wanted to be treated fairly and not have his bricks stolen. After an hour and a half, he still insisted that we had stolen his bricks and called the Sergeant Major a liar, so I suggsted to the claims officers that we waited till Hewitson came back off his course as he had been warned to take precautions. Rode up to the guns in the afternoon. It was still inclined to be showery. At six forty-five p.m. I went down to battalion as liaison to the 46th Division infantry who at present cover our front. They were quite a decent crowd and did not make life unpleasant as some batallions do. The Hun put a fair quantity of 4.2 on Old Boots and vicinity of HQ during the night.