Geoffrey Bell Hughes diary, 1 January 1916-31 December 1916 - Page 112
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[Page 112]
Lieut Smellick who was dreadfully smashed up. He weighed 15 stone 3lb. Minature Railway Roads in awful state. Machine Gun coming & going across to station.
5 July 1916 Wed
At ten o'clock last night we left The Advanced Dressing Station having with me Jeff Wood & Vic Carter. On the way to No. 2 post there is about 180 yds of open country to traverse. A machine gun of the Germans constantly plays across this all night. At one spot a dozen or so bullets kicked up the ground around us. Went down to the station for rations after dinner & played cards till we turned into bunk.
6 July 1916 Thur
When we had just about got to sleep last night all of a sudden our guns opened out. I will as long as I live never forget that night. If we fired one round we fired 5,000 in the course of an hour. We are surrounded by all sorts & sizes of cannon. The noise was dreadful. The windows in the old inn rattled & every minute we expected a German shell to lob in amongst us. As soon as we ceased firing the enemy retaliated and wounded kept pouring in all night. We carried for [six] solid hours. One carry we had was [indecipherable]
[Note in margin]
Slept all day very tired after the heavy night. Steel helmets.