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I had also two or three rather important court-martial cases to attend to during the evenings. Before going back into the line I was given nine men to act as Brigade observers; the 6th N.F. sent L.-C. Chappell and Ptes. Wright and Hume; the 7th N.F. Ptes. Fail and Ewart; the 4th N.F. Pte. Brook and another; the 5th N.F. L.-C. Roxburgh, who had once been in the 7th N.F. and Pte. Garnett. Pte.
C.R. Stride, the Q.M. of the 7th N.F. Without his aid the heavy telescopes would never have gone into action, and the observers would often have been without rations. He always took an interest in the little party, and provided us with many welcome comforts from his store. On March 19 the following observers reported to me. From the 7th N.F. L.-C. J. Cowen and Ptes.
Staniforth, Ptes. Their second night in the line, in 15 trench, this little party crawled between the two halves of a dead cow, and, scrambling over our wire, explored No Man's Land, returning some half hour later. Others followed their lead, and during the whole of our stay in this sector, though our patrols were out almost every night, they never met a German.
Bapaume was on fire, and the British Army defeated and broken in the south. This was the first definite news I had of the misfortunes in the Somme area. It was disquieting enough and I determined to approach Logeast Wood with caution and to keep a sharp look-out for unusual movement as we went forward. Accompanied by Ptes.
Carmichael set out with two battalion scouts, Ptes. Pirie and Kinniburgh, to reconnoitre a part of the Bosche wire. The men were armed in the usual way for those adventures, i.e. with bayonet and a few bombs only and dressed in burberry suits, which made them look more like deep-sea divers than soldiers.
This ended the tour in the Somme region, but the Battalion did not leave the area till the end of the month, the period being spent in huts at Morcourt, where an energetic programme of training and sports was carried out. The principal feature of the sports was the success of members of the Battalion, including Sergt. Young and Ptes. Nimney and Moody in the Brigade and Divisional boxing contests.
However, the new act had to be learnt, and a Battalion bomb squad was soon formed under 2nd Lieut. R. Ward Jackson, whose chief assistants were L/Cpl. R.H. Goodman, Ptes. W.H. Hallam, P. Bowler, E.M. Hewson, A. Archer, F. Whitbread, J.W. Percival and others, many of whom afterwards became N.C.O.'s.
Next day I visited D.H.Q. who were in some tents outside Grevillers, and Capt. Kirsopp told me that the observers were urgently needed. It was proposed to send a party of them forward on bicycles to keep in touch with the retreating Germans. And so the same day Ptes. It had been intended at first that I should go with them, but it was found impossible to provide me with a horse.
Several of the posts held by B Company were blown in, and in one, occupied by Sergt. Bennison and ten men, all were hit except Ptes. Walters and Fenwick. In another post the shelter was blown in and several men wounded and buried. Pte. Robinson, the only man not hit, crossed the open to the next post, but was unable to obtain assistance.
At 10 A.M. on October 20 I called at B.H.Q., a house in Prayelle, to get the latest news. Then I joined Ptes. Fail and Greenwood at the O.P., which was now under the muzzles of the field guns. We left this post and went towards Briastre, and, crossing the road from Viesly, we finally selected a position near the Briastre Cemetery.
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