Diary Entry - 19th May, 1918

Come up to the guns after going to church at Madagascar Corner in the theatre, held by our Padre - the colonel and adjutant were there. On arriving at the guns, Vosper walked me up to the detached gun in Athies, telling me on the way that I was a candidate for the captaincy in the seven ones but that the Colonel said that if I was going to apply for six months' leave in August, as I have every intention of doing, it would hardly be worth my while to accept it. It took no deciding, as I had no intention of taking a job in any other battery in the brigade, so I agreed. Major Thorburn goes in a day or two to GHQ as interpreter to the French army and his captain will in all probability get command and leave a vacancy for captain which I think Armytage (Charles) will get. The gun is in a splendid place just having flash cover and that's all (15 feet) and there are large pill boxes with four feet walls for the detachments only a few feet away. In the afternoon I watched the Major and Nicholson bathing in the public gardens lake, not having a towel myself. There were a large number of Jocks bathing off the other bank. What a chance for the Hun, only 300 yards from the front line.