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[Page 393]

have taken eight years to complete but which under the organization of the then Minister of Munitions was caught up & passed in one year. Only those men at the front can really appreciate this fact properly for at one time when the Hun held the preponderance of numbers and weight of metal, the first indication of a determined shelling was sufficient to send every man scurrying for shelter, just like the rush of a lot of rabbits. Now, when things are slightly different unless the shelling starts quite close, men who even may be at work "in the open" will on the first screech of a Hun shell merely stop & listen.

They are listening for the screech to let them know where the shells will burst, but more especially are they listening for their own batteries to take up the challenge, & as soon as the screech of their own shells, is heard passing overhead, they will merely pass some such remark as Oh! that's better! & as often as not, will continue working as if nothing is happening well knowing that with the Command of the air on our Sector, if the Huns continue their shelling they stand a big chance of losing their guns for our fire will go on gradually increasing till the Huns stop, move their fire to another sector or the guns are knocked out.

Notwithstanding this apparent inapprehensiveness to the effect of ordinary shell fire, the men working on the "aid post" were really startled about 10 o'clock one night by the report of the burst of two very large shells indeed. Of course work had to be stopped above & the men below came flocking up to try and discover what two such terrific reports meant. However as the men on top could only say

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