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[Page 126]
and had a close look at the men who had been killed by the 60 pounder shell. They were in a fearfully mangled condition as I have previously described. As I was looking at them I glanced down at my feet and saw I was standing on a lump of brains. I stepped hurriedly aside, disgusted for the second. I noticed that the chap whose head had been half blown away, how thin the skull bone is, I always thought it was much thicker; from the same fellow's torn and bursted tunic, a bible peeped from the pockets, tattered and torn by the explosion.
D--- who had his head blown off, there was a german revolver lying on his stomach, the muzzle chipped, one of his souvenirs, I leaned over and appropriated it." C'est la Guerre". Some chaps who had been wounded had left their equipment, we souvenired their haversacks and ate their food saving our own. The men who were killed by the 60 pounder were all from one Lewis gun section and before the stunt, I was in it, but was pulled out to help form a new platoon. I didn't like it at the time, but I am glad now. About 4 P,M, about 1000 prisoners came marching down the Cambrai road and there was great news. The 5th Divvy had reached their objective, captured a leave train just returning, loaded with men, it had run right into their arms so to speak, they had also captured a 11 inch gun intact "Amiens Annie", and its crew. A staff officer had been captured and a car, and one of our men had volunteered to drive it back with the staff officer in and he waddled the car from one side of the road to the other, over shellholes and everything they say. The armoured cars had gone ahead through the village of Framerville and done some damage.