Diary Entry - 14th August, 1918

I got rather a shock when, just turning out for breakfast at nine a.m., see the Colonel looking down into the trench, along with Vaisey and McKinty, and hear him ask why the parade wasn't ready. It seems Scottie had forgotten to tell me about it. Anyway, it all blew over with a few sparks. I took Sergeant Higgins up to see a new camouflage position we had to build and showed him where to dump the material. On returning to lunch find, on ringing the brigade up, there is much excitement, as the Hun is supposed to be going to fall back. He has already given up Serre and Bucquoy. Daylight patrols go out, and I am ordered to move two guns up to the old position near Adinger Wood. Barrett goes up with them. In the mean time, Brigade HQ moves up to Inf Brigade in the Purple Front line and the Colonel spends the afternoon in No. 13 post. The patrol find one or two machine gun posts with the Huns asleep and scupper them, going on to the main line, where the Hun suddenly wakes up and lets them have it. Up goes the SOS at once, but of course no-one knows where to put their barrage down with safety, until the Colonel rings through from the post. I had just given the forward guns the lines when Scottie appeared with his kit. In the mean time, we had received orders to stand by and be ready to move within two hours notice.