Ypres and the Somme, July, 193a.
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THE YPRES TIMES
Ypres-wards after I had got all identification. Next we were fired at by a light
M.G., and on replying with our Lewis we killed the German officer responsible,
and I can see him now, twenty yards away, on his back, breathing his last in the
mist.
After this, opposition disappeared by degrees until we got to the last barrage
linethe brickworks, which suddenly confronted us, together with the village, our
visibility being now about 100 yards, and I pointed it out to my men to their
great excitement.
We had kept marvellously to our direction. A few snipers among the heaps
of brick rubbish had to be dislodged, and we had three-quarters of an hour wait
when we got there for the final barrage preparation for the objective, a line
running along Zonnebeke Lake. A number of Huns were dodging about here
still with machine guns and we had to be very careful, having some narrow
escapes from snipers. We had arrived about half strength, and it had taken us
over two hours to do that one mile. I secured various papers from prisoners,
and then we all threw ourselves flat among the brick mounds to wait for the
lift." Unfortunately, two of our field guns were firing short and a number of my
men received ghastly wounds in the back as the shrapnel tore into them. We
could do nothing however. Suddenly the Australians, who had taken Polygon
Wood on our right, joined up with us and our happiness was complete. In all
directions the enemy were running away up Broodseinde Ridge, and if only
Haig had had the men that day the ridge would have been ours andwho knows
the bloody Passchendaele struggle over much earlier.
We had come through tired but cheery and had to remain four days and nights
in our shell-hole homes, working all night on consolidation and experiencing
by day intense 5.9 shelling. I was knocked out the first night by one of our own
whizz-bangs fired short, and my life was saved by the softness of the ground
I did not receive a scratch. We had glorious weather and rations came up
regularly; so life became quite sweet again, except for the nightly burial of the poor
fellows who had started with us.
We suffered much interference during the following days from low-flying
planes, including Richthofen's circus and at least four heavy counter-attacks
were launched on either flank, but we all held on and the Battle of Zonnebeke,
as far as we were concerned, came to a triumphal conclusion.
ON Saturday, July 30th, an optimistic party left Victoria Station, under the guidance
of Captain G. de Trafford, for a trip to Ypres and the Somme.
After a very mild crossing we arrived at Ostend about 1.30 p.m., leaving
again for Ypres at 4.40, which was safely reached about 7 p.m.
We were met at the station by the brothers Parminter, who took the majority of us
by car to our hotels, the Splendid and Britannique and Skindles respectively. Dinner
was served almost immediately, to which we did justice, after which we spent a pleasant
hour in conversation. Then to bed.
The following morning we were up betimes, and after breakfast had a good look
round Ypres (especially the Menin Gate Memorial I tried in vain to find the
old Canal Bank Dug-outs, but found they had all been demolished to make way for
a fine row of houses. At 2 p.m. we set off, under the guidance of Mr. C. J. Parminter,
