Most of
the operation orders were partially
destroyed, and everything was somewhat
confused.
We did not get orders to move for the remainder
of the day,
although we were all in readiness,
messages to collect bombs & fill
water bottles
were sent out to the companies. The shelling of
Bernasay
Wood had diminished and after dark
things were a bit quieter.
Orders
at last came some time after midnight
and we were to move up and relieve
the 24th
R F in our old position. We started off at about
2am. I was
back with the Company again
and we were once more on the left of the
farm
moving up at the rear of the battalion. The arrangement
of companies
was "D" Company on the right, "C" Company on both
sides of Waterloo Farm, "B" Company in Delville Wood, &
"A" Company as before. The journey up Longueval Alley
was
not quite as bad as on the former occasion,
but there was a heavy barrage
on the top of it,
where it joined the front line, and nine men of
"C"
Company, who were just in front of us, were obliterated
by one shell,
and we scurried across the still
smoking crater and the remains of the
unfortunate
men who had been caught there.
On this
occasion the shelling in the front line
was much worse than in the communication
trench; in fact it was just about dawn by
that time, and the Huns had
a sort of protective
barrage down in case we renewed that attack.
We
found the 24th R F very fed up with half the
battalion missing and dead
lying all about the
trench. Delville Wood was especially unpleasant
and Allen of "B" Company & Capt Edwards of the 24th
R
F were both killed during the relief,
and poor Watkyn Thomas was reduced
to a
state bordering on shell shock. Lindsay of "C" Company
was also killed and several men were put out
of action. After the light
broadened into day, the
shelling diminished, but it was still worse
than
our previous tour in the front line, and behind
Waterloo Farm there
was almost an incessant
stream of shells and I must confess that I
usually
passed the place at the double with ears
cocked for the sound of approaching
shells. We were
suffering a steady flow of casualties all this time
and that without actually carrying out an attack
ourselves.
August
1st passed in fearful anticipation of
what was to come as the incessant shelling &
little rest was rather affecting our morale, & we
felt that if we sat and were shelled much
longer, the men would not make such a good
show in the attack when it came off.
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