On
leaving Kemmel, we went so far by train and part of the distance by
road down South, our destination at the time being unknown. Packing
up and getting away was a big job, as during our stay there we had accumulated
many things which we had not with us when we arrived, and further, as
it was an old battery we had taken over, our equipment in wagons, etc,
was not so good as that brought out from England.
Towards
the end of July 1916 we arrived near Albert, and at once saw signs of
the British "push" which had started on the Somme. Our new
Chief's headquarters were situated there. He invited me to lunch with
him so that our future plans could be discussed. I sat next to one of
his Staff Officers. The town at the moment was being heavily shelled
and this officer very cheerfully remarked "I would not be surprised
if a 5.9 shell dropped through here presently." I believe the General's
reason for living here was to show the troops that he was sharing their
dangers. Whatever his reason may have been, it did not materially add
to the comfort of my lunch. Our wagon lines were just outside Albert,
and remained on the same ground for a period of eight months which included
the winter. We settled down on a clean green field near a potato field,
and for a long time were not short of potatoes. As the winter advanced,
this green field developed into a sea of mud which defies description.
There were many places where you could stand in liquid mud which reached
to the knees, and it is a fact that a horse from a neighbouring battery
fell into the mud one day and was smothered. A great change from the
wagon lines near Kemmel, but, as usual, all settled down to make the
best of an unpleasant situation. The only time during the winter that
we were free from the mud was during hard frosts, which were frequently
so severe that we had to release our wagons by means of picks. It was
very trying for the horses, but all ranks joined in to make them as
comfortable as possible. The recreation tent which we had used during
the warmer months was turned into a stable for the light riding horses.
We did everything possible to accumulate corrugated iron sheets, tarpaulins,
etc to make shelters for the heavy draught horses. We also made brick
standings wherever possible, and, on the whole, were successful in keeping
our animals in good condition. Getting about in the mud was a matter
of some difficulty. If you stood still for a few moments, you had to
be careful when you started moving again. On more than one occasion
I shared the by no means unusual experience of stepping right otut of
my gum boots which remained stuck fast, leaving me in the mud, in my
stocking feet. This was invariably a source of amusement to any on-lookers
who happened to be present, but was extremely unpleasant for the person
concerned.
Our
first gun position near Albert was in "Sausage Valley", so
named, I understood, because of the sausage-shaped balloons to be seen
in all directions. It was a most unhealthy place, as we had to live
in ground which had been won from the enemy, full of shell holes, cut
up with old trenches, strewn with filth of every description. I heard
some of our men one day singing an old song, "The Valley of the
Bhong", and learnt that they had christened the district we were
in bythis name. If my recollection serves me rightly, the chief characteristic
of The Valley of Bhing was its peacefulness, but this valley was certainly
the reverse. We trekked up "Sausage Valley" with four batteries.
Our battery was considered to have had the most experience, and were
therefore given the place of honour well forward. As a matter of fact,
when we arrived, the whole of the guns on this part of the line, the
whole of the guns on this part of the line, with the exception of one
small field battery were behind us. Guns of much smaller calibre than
ours fired over our heads. We had to go up to our Battery position in
the dark, and on our road up the first night all the guns in this valley
were firing over our heads. It was a new experience to all of us, and
a rather trying one too, as we hardly knew exactly where we were going.
It was a great change from a comparatively comfortable billet at Kemmel,
to have to settle down to a shell-swept piece of groun, and to make
our homes as best we could in shell holes and old trenches. Sleeping
out was by no means uncomfortable when we had become accustomed to the
incessant din of our own guns behind us, a din to which our Battery
very soon added its voice. We had only been in this position two or
three days when the Battery was very heavily shelled, and one shell,
fortunately a "dud", came through the Officers' Mess, just
as we were sitting down to our mid-day meal. The Officers' Mess was
a square hole in the ground near our guns, which we had dug ourselves
with a few sheets of corrugated iron for cover. We left without ceremony
quickly, and, a few seconds later, a live shell landed very near the
same place, exactly in the same place, exactly in the spot where one
of the officers had lived, and the whole of his kit "went west".
Our
Battery joined in all the subsequent battles on the Somme. including
the taking of Thiepval, and, as progress was made ahead by our infantry,
the smaller guns behind were rapidly moving forward, and went ahead
to what we heavy artillery considered to be their proper position, and
then began a time when all the noise was in front of us, and it was
comparatively quiet in the position we had originally taken up.
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