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[Page 51]
nothing is said of them. I don't regret my receiving this distinction, for at least it has shown the lads that Signaller Silas, the joke of the Battalion, was able to do his bit with them, and also to show a somewhat sneering world that artists are not quite failures on the battlefield, though I would admit that we are not quite cut out for this sort of work. I don't think I can stand much more of it, my nerves seem to be going; what little I did have.
Sundown. I go to Headquarters to see if there are any further messages, as I'm returning to the firing line after a five hour's spell. Colonel Pope to Captain Margolin – "If you're not busy, get your trenches a bit deeper."
On my way along I'm told to take cover, snipers have got much worse; one man, Ibbotson , pulled me into his dug-out, at the same time remarking "For God's sake, take cover; two men have just been hit within the last two seconds within a yard or two of where you are standing." I saw the proof of this; their faces turned to the sky, the sand splashed with scarlet.
I wait in his dug-out two minutes, but feel I must get back to the Captain, he may be wanting me so I start forth again.
All the way along the lads keep calling from their dug-outs "Get down, take cover, snipers are getting us in dozens!" – however I continue my journey and reach the Captain none the