Item 01: Clifford M. Geddes diary, 31 March-1 August 1918 - Page 76

[Page 76]

him a great shock, after talking for a while he asked for a drink & fainted. He will lose the middle finger. There will be an enquiry, & he will have to account for a self inflicted wound, as some chaps do that to get away from the shells, but Stone would be one of the last, & there will be several to say how it happened. Had tea with Boo & Eldridge, they had been to the canteen & had biscuits & salmon as well as the issue rations – one thing , once you get out of the line, there is a canteen attached to the Brigade where you can buy some luxuries. It is a lovely peaceful Sabbath, the beautiful green slopes of France are all round, I feel clean & refreshed & can't imagine I was in the front line opposite the Boche not many hours ago. Unfortunately, we lost some good men while up there, but "c'est la guerre." Am in a very cosy dug-out with Shortland, we have candles & blankets & a quilt, the latter being salvaged from the village by the chaps before us evidently. Had a read "in bed" by candle-light. Monday 6 May We were up at 4 a.m., our platoon had to do some wiring making another position to beat back the Hun in case he comes again. There was a magnificent chateau not far from where we were working, & when an officer told me to see if I could find some pickets to drive into the