Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 100]
[30th July contd]
in half an hour. Everything else forgotten we made frantic efforts to get our gear together & in half an hour we were on parade ground in steel hats iron rations water bottle etc & 2 gas masks awaiting instructions. Even whilst there Fritz's long range gun was putting them into the paddock next door & I can tell you the whizzing of those shells was very unpleasant.
We were given 5 minutes to get a bite & then we pushed off to march the 8 miles to trenches. Some cursing the Colonel for not providing a waggon but all of good cheer. It had rained that morning & ground was sloppy – hence the trenches must be worse still.
At length we arrived at Kandahar Farm – our H.Q's for the stunt – where an Army Hut chap gave us each a drink of artificial lemonade & a cigarette each (the latter being sent from Queen Mary to the soldiers) There we were detailed into parties – Gooseberry Farm – German Dugout – Advanced Fanny – Cross Av R.A.P. – Sunken Road (being the different posts in our Sector (the southern sector) 'A' Section had to work the northern sector. The stunt does not start until 3.50 tomorrow morn,