Up about 5 o’clock. After sleeping very little. Read inscription in Testament on a heap of woundeds’ equipment, From your loving mother Dear Will read a verse every day and God will keep you safe. Mind you say your prayers.
Marched back to near the chateau and went to our old bivouacs. Weather still fine. Had bath in a horse bucket. Felt better after it. Newspapers from home and letter from Sandwith. Went to bed about 9 o’clock.
This is an extract from Arthur Linfoot’s own transcription of his diary, written in 1976.
Had an egg for breakfast then we proceeded up to some dugouts, German, where there were places with long underground tunnels. Some Canadians in them and one of them sat and told us yarns. They were making a new (corduroy) road1 over recently [?gained] ground. Ordered up the line at 5 o’clock and went to Capt. King’s dressing station at the chalk quarry. Nothing for us to do. Sat about in the cold all night. Managed to scrape about two hours sleep. Felt very miserable and “funky”. Not many German shells over but our guns bombarded fearfully all night and the noise was deafening in the quarry. 6th Black Watch cut up badly in the reserve trenches. Lavere and I tried and failed to build a shelter against splinters. Very cold. Wrapped myself in an overcoat and ground sheet I found on the aid post dump to try to keep warm. Seven dead men lying side by side on stretchers at the aid post.
A corduroy road is a type of road made by placing sand-covered logs perpendicular to the direction of the road. ↩
Had egg for breakfast then proceeded up to some dugouts near the A.D.S.1 Wonderful places with some long tunnels underground. Some Canadians in them and one sat and told stories. Were ordered up the line at 5 o’clock. Went to Captain King’s dressing station. Nothing for us to do. Sat in the cold all night and managed to scrape about 2 hours sleep. Felt pretty miserable and funky all night. Very few German shells over, but our guns bombarded fearfully all night and the noise nearly deafened us. The 6th Black Watch2 cut up a good lot in the reserve trenches. Lavere and I built a shelter, and then the side fell in and pinned me until I got Lavere to lift off the packs. 7 dead men lying on stretchers outside the aid post. Wrapped myself up in a wounded soldier’s overcoat and ground sheet. Kept awake with, *, guns, *, lice, German shells and nowhere to lie.
“A.D.S.”: advanced dressing station. ↩
The Black Watch’s own (on-line) newsletter says that their 6th (Perthshire) battalion was in the central sector at the Somme, but does not give dates. However according to information gathered from the Aberfeldy Museum by a correspondent to whom we are grateful, the 6th Black Watch had arrived at the Somme battlefield shortly after 20 July, and as ALL records, suffered considerable casualties. ↩
This is an extract from Arthur Linfoot’s own transcription of his diary, written in 1976.
Got a piece of shrapnel out of the shoulder of a Y. & L soldier. Stayed up until about 1.30 a.m. and slept until about 7 o’clock. Had good night though Germans sent over gas shells after a while. Were relieved at 8 o’clock and marched down to about the dressing station then on to billets near the chateau. After calling at ASC park got to know that a big munitions dump had been fired and that Sergeant Jones had been killed and Sergeant Brown wounded at about 8 o’clock. Two men had been gassed the night before and five men had gone down the line. Fine day. Returned to old billet with Lavere. Heard that Ted Trim (stretcher bearer) had been awarded the DCM on 2nd July. Parcel from home and letter from Joe. Had eggs, brown bread and butter for tea.
Got piece of shrapnel out of the L & Y & L1 shoulder2. Stayed up until 1.30, then lay down until about 7 o’clock. Had quiet night although the Germans sent over gas shells all the while. Were relieved at 8 o’clock. Marched down to dressing station, then to the billets near the château, after calling at an Army Service park. Got to know a big ammunition dump had been fired. Sergeant Jones killed and Sergeant Brown wounded about 8 o’clock. 2 men gassed the night before and a few men down the line. Fine day. Returned to old billets with Lavere. A dead German buried in the side of the trench and his foot sticking out and smelled horribly. Got to know a day or two ago that Ted Trim had got a DCM3 on July 2nd. Received parcel from home and letter from Joe. Had eggs and brown bread and butter to tea.
Y & L: ALL first wrote “L & Y”, but corrected this to “Y & L”: the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Yorkshire & Lancashire Regiment were in 70th Brigade, 8th Division – not the 34th or 19th Division, but nevertheless in the central sector of the front. ↩
ALL wrote in his more detailed 1976 narrative that he had kept this piece of shrapnel as a souvenir – possibly though by no means certainly the one in the illustration accompanying this entry. ↩
“DCM”: the Distinguished Conduct Medal was for Other Ranks; officers got the Distinguished Service Cross. ↩
This is an extract from Arthur Linfoot’s own transcription of his diary, written in 1976.
Slept badly owing to “chats”1 and a big naval gun. Up at 6 o’clock. Marched off to Capt. Johnson’s for breakfast and got it there. Marched off about 7.30 to the trenches. Our squad (Bascombe, Houghton, Hall and me) at the aid post (German dugout) near Bazentin Wood. Expected a few light wounds and sick cases. About 9 o’clock at night a man walked in with an ugly shrapnel wound in his shoulder, a man with his skull smashed and one with a knee wound besides smaller cases. Carried the worst down to the dressing station in the chalk quarry on the road. Germans had been shelling all day but stopped while we went down with these cases. Had two cases of shell shock all day. Very heavy journey down with the stretchers; dark, heavy ground (battered out of shape by countless holes and three men to a stretcher) Sergeant Fraser and Hall joined us and they took a string of walking wounded down to the quarry aid post and went into a German gas barrage. I stayed up until 1.30. All quiet – went to sleep.
(Note: a dead German buried on his face in the wall of the trench near the entrance to the deep dugout we were using as an aid post near Bazentin Wood had only his left leg from the knee downwards and his right foot sticking out of the side of the trench. In the dark we knew when we had reached our dugout by feeling this stiff sticking out leg.)
Slept badly from lice and a big naval gun. Up at 6 o’clock. Marched up to Captain Johnson for breakfast and had it there. Marched off about 7.30, up to the trenches. Our squad (Bascombe, Houghton, Hall and I) in the aid post near the Bosantine [sic] Wood1. Not much to do all day excepting a few slight wounds and sick cases. About 9 o’clock at night a man walked in with an ugly shrapnel wound in his shoulder, a man with his skull smashed and one with a knee wound besides two smaller cases. Carried the worst ones to the dressing station on the road. Germans shelled all day but stopped while we were down. Had two cases of shell shock in all day. Very heavy journey down with the stretchers. Dark, heavy ground. Only 3 to a stretcher. Got back safely. Sergeant Fraser and Hall went with a walking case and found the German using gas shells. I stayed up until half past one.
“Bosantine Wood”: There are two woods near the village of Bazentin, about 10km NE of Albert. These are shown on old maps as Bazentin-le-Petit wood (A) and Bazentin-le-Grand wood (B). ALL could have been referring to either of these although Bazentin-le-Petit wood (A on the map and, somewhat counter-intuitively, the larger of the two woods then as it is now) seems the more likely as it is more easily accessible from the road. It seems quite likely that ALL had never seen the name Bazentin in writing, at least up to the time when he wrote his diary entry for 25 July, and this could account for his spelling. ↩
This is an extract from Arthur Linfoot’s own transcription of his diary, written in 1976.
Arrived at some place at about 10 o’clock and lay down with Lavere. Ordered to move again and after delay moved off to the place near the chateau where we were on Friday. Lay down to sleep again with Lavere and slept well in spite of being very damp with heavy dew. Had breakfast about 10 o’clock. Had shave and wash. Received parcel and letter from home. Lavere and I built a shelter against the heavy dew. A wall of old sandbags and our ground sheets tied together and raised in the middle as a cover. Letter from Leishman from the barracks with photograph of NCOs.
Arrived at a place about 10 o’clock (23)1 and got down2 with Lavere under a waggon. Ordered to move on again. After delay fell in and marched to the place near the château where we were on Friday. Got down in the open with Lavere and slept well although damp. Got up and had breakfast about 10. Shaved and washed. Washed feet and hunted for lice. Received parcel from home, and letter from home and a letter from Leishman with a photograph of the barracks R-, N.C.Os. Spent day agreeably. Made good shelter for the night.
This is an extract from Arthur Linfoot’s own transcription of his diary, written in 1976.
Bazentin Wood “searched” by German shells from end to end. About one o’clock a shell struck the edge of our trench and blew it in about 6′1 from us burying Denham and Hughes (machine guns played over us.) Bascombe and I dug them out with our hands and electric torch. A nightmare. Got them into the big dugout. (German – one corner almost down to the ground – been hit by a 15” shell.) Spent a short time there. Glad to get out. Rather be hit by splinter than buried alive. Breakfast tea and biscuits at 8 o’clock. Resumed carrying from aid post to Bazentin Wood to East Lancs post behind it. Mortally wounded Sergeant on stretcher left out to die. Beyond doctor’s aid and unconscious. Took string of walking wounded down. One couldn’t keep pace. I carried him. Tremendous heavy bombardment by our guns. Noise deafening. Some hideous sights in Wood both British and German.
6′ – 6 feet; a little under 2 metres. ↩