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[Page 34]
Daylight arrived far too soon but knowing I had a duty to perform it was not long before I was making my way with others to Jacksons Dump for it was from here the food had to be carried forward for the battalion transport were taking it to the dump for us which was a very great help. On arriving at the dump two men were detailed to each dixie & my mate, the same one as I had the previous day & I was given a four gallon "dixie" of tea which was a fair weight considering the distance it had to be carried. While at the dump I noticed men there from all the Second Division Units & learned that they were occupying the old trenches in & about "Sausage Gully". There were also a number of German prisoners in a big Shell crater near the dump & from what I could learn had been captured by our Division early that morning. The Huns were a very mixed lot there being some very young looking soldiers among them & at the same time I saw them they were being searched prior to being sent to the prisoners cage. our ration party consisting of twenty men had not proceeded very far when it suffered its first casualty, one man being wounded by a shell which fell close by. Fritz's artillery was still going as strong as the night previous which meant we had about three miles of hell to go through & having a fair load to carry I knew that it was going to be a warm job before it finished. The Quartermaster who was in charge of the party issued orders for the men to spread out for it was useless trying to keep them together, also where to take the rations to & every effort was to be made in getting the rations there. My mate & I made our way as quickly as possible to the sunken road near Casualty Corner to have a rest before attempting to cross the open country to the old front line. While having the spell in the sunken road I noticed large parties of our Second Division who were engaged in ammunition fatigues to our Division (1st) in the front line. There were several horse ambulances at the Dressing Station being loaded with wounded for the casualties were very heavy, with numbers continually arriving from the forward area s well as around about Casualty Corner. Even while we were waiting in the sunken road several men were hit by flying pieces of shells some of the wounds proving fatal. after about ten minute spell we set off for the front line & on passing round Casualty Corner a 20th Battalion corporal joined us volunteering to give a hand with the dixie as he had been instructed to go forward to have a look round the front line positions so I promised to show him the way. After going a couple of hundred yards being very much troubled by shells which were falling like hail stones, the Corporal took my mate's handle of the dixie, my mate coming round beside me. The change had hardly taken place when a shell exploded right beside the corporal killing him almost instantly but luckily we both escape free. This incident shook both of us considerably for it had been very close & the thoughts of the corporal being killed while filling the place of my mate also having to leave him lying there for our duty would not permit of us neglecting our mates in the front line. Our progress was very slow for the ground was like a newly ploughed field for it had been turned over several times by the huns shells which up to that time had been falling continuously for twenty hours. The track we had used the previous night to go out by was absolutely wiped out, it being a case of picking your way as you went but through all this we struggled along with our load which was getting heavier every step but determined to see the journey through