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[Page 36]
Sailly
6/4/16
Reveille at 0700 and all feeling pretty stiff after yesterdays 18 mile march. Parade feet washing and examination on at 0930, very cold and bleak. Ready with orderly room at 1000 but CO having gone up to trenches had to be postponed. At 1800 the same performance occurred most exasperating. In the afternoon cut the work up into different headings and essayed some company drill late in the afternoon. May out riding to Estaires fell and broke his arm.
Our supplies very slow in coming to hand and this coy. Goes in to action short 48 identification discs and 50 field dressings to say nothing of men's boots being worn out. No doubt it is the fault of regimental people. After dark the artillery had some heavy exchanges and an intermittent machine gun fire was kept up. At night the enemy flares show line of the trenches stretching round horseshoe fashion. We move off tomorrow in the afternoon sometime.
Eddy and the other batmen foraged around Sailly today and brought some stuff. "Ideal" milk great stuff never go short for cream. The batmen also bought a fowl which they stuffed and served up roast with potatoes for tea so we had high mess in the little back room. Also bespoke charcoal from the housewife and got the stove going. She is in trouble her good man having been killed at VERDUN.
Today at midday we received here yesterday's London Daily Mail. Upon the roads here abouts English tommies are employed with pick and shovel mending and patching. It seems strange to us seeing the dung heap at every backdoor. Reeking in the raw morning air. The twilight hereabouts are long. It gets light about 0430 and not dark till 1915. Early morning is decked with dew jewels every hedge and every blade of grass.
Bed early.