MacNamara diary, 19 August 1916-29 May 1919 / John Patrick MacNamara - Page 113
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[Page 113]
in a wadi was flooded out. The water had been damming up at the back of it for some time & when it burst a torrent of water came rushing through the bivvy.
All I had time to grab was my breeches & cardigan jacket. Everything else was soaked including blanket, overcoat, tunic etc. My mate was just as badly off. He managed to get into a bivvy with some chaps until morning but I sat shivering in the Command post until day light.
Had no chance to dry anything as it rained during the day we could not even find a dry place to pitch our bivouac. During the afternoon we moved up into some caves on the side of the hill that our guns were below.
We lit a fire in here to try & dry our clothes but the smoke could not get out as there was only one entrance & it faced the wind so that we were nearly suffacated.
Had to sleep the night there without any blankets but it was dry which was some consulation.
There had been a general retirement by the enemy for the last couple