rations. The chief impression I
brought away with me was one of all-pervading dust. I have
witnessed a few scenes of destruction in my time out here, but
nothing to match a certain village in this area. Vermelles was
bad enough, but this place is even worse. Everything in it has
been razed to the ground. Except for an occasional square foot of
masonry protruding out of the earth, there is nothing to suggest
that there was ever a village here at all. In one old German
trench I saw a cross with the following words written on it:
"Hier liegen zwei Franz. Krieger," which interpreted would be:
"Here lie two French warriors," a tribute by the enemy to two
Frenchmen buried here earlier in the war before we took over this
portion of the line.

Alas! another old pal of mine has been killed, namely W. J.
Henderson,[10] a captain of the Loyal North Lancashires. In the
old days at Dulwich he did well in football. He got into the 2nd
XV under Evans, and frequently played for the 1st XV. He was also
decidedly clever, and won a classical scholarship at Oxford. The
war is taking a frightful toll of the best of our race.

[Footnote 10: Captain W. J. Henderson, M.C. Born, 1895.
Killed in action, July 6th, 1916. A senior classical scholar
at Dulwich. Won a classical scholarship at Corpus Christi
College, Oxford. Joined the Army, September, 1914.]

_July 27th, 1916._

I should like to have your permission to apply for a transfer to
the Royal Field Artillery. The procedure will be quite simple. I
will send in my application to the O.C., who will forward it with
the Medical Officer's health certificate to the higher A.S.C.
authorities; then it will go forward in the usual course. If the
people in charge think my record satisfactory and my eyesight
good enough they will take me. I want to give the authorities a
chance to take or refuse me for a really combatant corps. In this
way, whether refused or accepted, I shall have satisfied my
conscience. After all, the doctor will state on the medical
certificate exactly what my vision is. So there will be no
question of trying to deceive the authorities. They will have
before them all the facts _re_ my record and my eyesight. If they
then refuse me, well