Diary Entry - 8th December, 1917

I come up to the guns at ten a.m. to stay, Siggers and Cruickshank going down in the afternoon. We worked hard on the Mess in the morning, getting the trench well covered with both large and small cupolas. It was just as well we had completed the job too, as it began raining steadily about six p.m. There was great activity going on at two mineshafts and they had already made very good progress in the afternoon. It was a rotten light but smoke shell proved excellent stuff to do the job with. Well we did not attack in the afternoon; it was put off, being such a rotten day.