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Updated: June 19, 2025


Some of the dug-outs were actually in the bank, but the most extraordinary erection of all was the mess, a single sandbag thick house, built entirely above ground, and standing by itself, unprotected by any bank or fold in the ground, absolutely incapable, of course, of protecting its occupants from even an anti-aircraft "dud."

Looking across No Man's Land one could easily pick out a line of trenches by a red, a vivid blue, or a saffron sandbag. The Turkish dug-outs were most elaborate places of security. The excavators had gone down into the hard earth well beneath the deep strata of sand, and they roofed these holes with six, eight, and sometimes ten layers of palm logs.

"Serves you right, Flynn, for boasting," said Armstrong, with a grim smile, as he stretched himself out and rested his head on a sandbag. "Moreover, you are unjust, for these black fellows are as brave a lot o' men as British troops have ever had to face. Good-night, boys, I'm off to the land of Nod!"

The adjutant curled himself up among leave-rosters and ammunition and horse returns; I began writing the Brigade Diary for October, and kept looking over the sandbag that replaced the broken panes in my window for first signs of finer weather. The colonel and the adjutant played Wilde and myself at bridge that night the first game in our mess since April.

There were few of our men lying about, for the burial parties had been hard at work. But farther back around Intermediate Trench there were piles of British and German soldiers still lying where they had fallen weeks before. We had now to get a number of sandbag carriers made for taking more grenades up the line, and I was given a small party from the 5th N.F. to get this done.

When the wood was reached the sand from the small bags was to be emptied into the big bags; the machine-gun parts were to be put together, the guns mounted behind the sandbag redoubt, and then, as Major Von und Zu pleasantly observed, "the English pigs shall to gehenna-fire quickly come."

A few days later Brigadier-General Ovens, an Irishman, came to take command of the 149th Infantry Brigade. My job was now to prepare the Brigade bomb stores and to see that the grenades were properly packed into sandbag carriers for taking up the line.

I spent hours and hours examining the grenades and packing them into sandbag carriers. One of our transport-wagons had a lucky escape, whilst carrying a load of 2000 Mills grenades, all detonated, to one of our dumps.

It refers to 25th September 1915: 'The brigade formed up in the trench in the following order from left to right, 1st Gordons, 4th Gordons, 2nd Royals, one company Royal Scots Fusiliers. Each battalion received separate point of attack, namely, Bellevarde Farm, Hooge Château, Redoubt, Sandbag Castle. Artillery bombardment 3.50-4.20 A.M. General attack then launched.

Instantly the redoubt replied; bullets whizzed overhead, and our hero received what has of late been called a "baptism of fire." But he was so busy plying his own weapon that he scarcely realised the fact that death was ever and anon within a few inches of him, until a bullet ripped the sandbag on which his rifle rested and drove the sand into his face.

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