er up the trench I found a series of shell-holes
threading their way off to the left. By the light of some German
star-shells I discerned an officer groping about these holes, and I
stumbled over mounds and hollows towards him.

"Is this the support line?" I asked, rather foolishly.

"Yes," he replied, "but there isn't much room in it." I saw that he
was an officer of the Royal Engineers.

"I'm putting my smoke-bombers down here," he continued, "but you'll
find more room over towards the sunken road."

He showed me along the trench--or the remains of it--and went off to
carry out his own plans. I stumbled along till I could just
distinguish the outlines of the sunken road. The trench in this
direction was blown in level with the ground. I returned to W----k,
whose headquarters were at the juncture of New Woman Street and the
support line, telling him that the trench by the sunken road was
untenable, and that I proposed placing my platoon in a smaller length
of trench, and spreading them out fanwise when we started to advance.
To this he agreed, and putting his hand on my shoulder in his
characteristic fashion, informed me in a whisper that the attack was
to start at 7.30 A.M. As far as I can remember it was about one
o'clock by now, and more of my men had come up. I ensconced them by
sections. No. 1 section on the left and No. 4 on the right in
shell-holes and the remains of the trench along a distance of about
forty yards, roughly half the length of the trench that they were to
have occupied. At the same time I gave orders to my right-and
left-hand guides to incline off to the right and left respectively
when the advance started. I was walking back to my headquarters, a bit
of trench behind a traverse, when a German searchlight, operating from
the direction of Serre Wood, turned itself almost dead on me. I was in
my trench in a second.

Shortly afterwards Sergeant S----r arrived with No. 8 platoon. I
showed him one or two available portions of trench, but most of his
men had to crowd in with mine. The Lewis-gunners, who arrived last,
found only a ruined bit of trench next to my "headquarters," while
they deposited their guns and equipment in a shell-hole behind.

It was somewhere about four or half-past when I made my last
inspection. I clambered over the back of the trench and stood still
for a moment or so. Everything was uncannily silent. There was just a
suspicion of whiteness creeping into the sky beyond th