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Thursday 1 November 2012

Diary Entry - 1st November 1917

Another bright day. Siggers and I spend our morning until stables in building a fireplace in the Mess and also complete a sandbag wall at the entrance. We got news down with the rations that Gnr Anderson (Capt servant) had been killed in the cookhouse during the night. We sent up a large fatigue party of 30 men in the morning to remove a gun out of a huge shell hole. This gun was one which was taken up on the 31st but it had been left on the plank track while the men went for breakfast and some rotters had pushed it off into this hole. When some of this working party were coming back to lunch they got caught in a burst of fire and Cpl. Bing, Gnr. Alsop, Gnr. Bates, Gnr. Cuthbertson, Gnr. Higgins and Br. Barr were all wounded. During the night, we had a heavy bombardment from the air. The Hun started about ten thirty p.m and kept it up until dawn. He seemed to unload his bombs then rush back to reload. It was a very bright moonlit night and he could probably get a fair idea of the country. One wagon line nearby lost 35 horses in the night. we were again lucky and though some dropped remarkably close none dropped in the lines. One coud hear the earth falling on tin roofs after the burst and these seemed to be near the left section but on inspection in the morning there was no sign of any holes.

Gnr. Anderson - killed
Cpl. Bing - wounded, severely
Gnr. Alsop - wounded, severely
Gnr Bates - wounded, a scratch
Gnr. Cuthbertson - wounded, a scratch
Gnr. Higgins - wounded, a scratch
Br. Barr- wounded, very slightly
(Bates and Barr - left section men)

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