Item 01: Clifford M. Geddes diary, 31 March-1 August 1918 - Page 72

[Page 72]

alert. Soon after dark, I could hear the drone of one of our 'planes in the sky, & then a flash & mighty roar as it dropped bombs in Fritz's territory. It put the wind up him, as he had a searchlight playing about the sky for hours afterwards, but no more 'planes came. Fritz was sending up some very pretty lights spiral green ones like a snake, a signal of some sort. The usual bright flares were also plentiful. The listening post party went out, & a Lewis gun team took up a position in front. A party was also put on wiring round the walls of the brick house. Fritz spotted them, turned on a machine gun, & a corporal came in with that rotten question, that means so much "Are the stretcher bearers there ?" These brave chaps went out twice & carried in two badly wounded men. Later Cpl, Oakes struggled in groaning & said "Is there an officer there, he's coming up the bridge, & we'll lose all our men soon. "Oakes was wounded by a grenade – there were only three chaps in our part of the trench, & Cpl Brandt & I were sent out, the dozen or so chaps lined a bank away from that cursed house, & strained their eyes, but no Germans were coming. The coot kept sending up flares which light the ground like day, but luckily we were behind a bank & kept down, so we weren't seen by him. An officer sent out another