Bell war diary, 16 December 1915 - 26 October 1916 / Roy Pinto Bell - Page 30

[Page 30]

June 18th – Had some battery action but the Germans did not retaliate.
June 19th – Building our pit to-night, had some more shooting in afternoon – German must have thought they had a battery in the field at other side of billet for they put in over a hundred crumps.
June 20th – On fatigue, building new positions all day
June 21st – No shooting to day – On new pits to night till about 12.30.
June 22nd – The 42nd Battery arrived to-day and in the afternoon we fired about 30 rounds in salvos, battery fire and gun fire. We were just letting them have the gun fire for all we were worth when, bang came a crump (5.9 shell) just the other side of the hedge near D pit, then they put another in the front of C and then another just behind D again, so then we knew they were ranging on us and the Captain withdrew the detachments and we took shelter in the trenches. Altogether they put in 149 shells and lobbed them all round the pits without actually hitting them. Our gun was very lucky as they put one right in front of the gun and sending a lot of earth down the bore, whilst another actually clipped the edge of the pit. We came down to the wagon line to night only leaving the gunners in each pit to instruct the battery taking over.
June 23rd. Usual routine, went to the pits on the bike.
June 24th. Usual routine, went to the bathes.
August 4th. At last I am adding a few more words to this very incomplete diary. Somewhere about the end of June we left Erquinham and after marching all day found ourselves at Neave Eglise in Belguim and relieved a Tommy battery on a portion of the front and not far fromYpres and Plug Street. At Erquinham I was made Battery Commander's Directorman and at this front I was put on observing with Bdr. Hill. Our O.F. was on top of Hill 63 and from there we could plainly see every detail of the German's first system of trenches, however, we only stayed here a couple of days when we went to Saint Omar breaking our march for a couple of days rest at a billet on the road. At Saint Omar we entrained and when we at last came to the end of our