was badly
hit in the thigh with a fragment from a premature and died a few days
after. Sergt. Hogg was wounded in the chest by a bullet, but not
fatally. The wounded and prisoners began to stream back past the
Quarry. And as they came we began to get news of our friends in
front. Though successful the Brigade had to pay a heavy price. The 4th
N.F. were literally cut to pieces. I lost many friends killed,
including Capt. J.W. Merivale, 2nd-Lieut. J. Robinson, and Sergt.
Austin, and many more wounded, including Capt. G.F. Ball.[11] During
the attack thirty-seven out of the eighty bombers of the 7th N.F. were
killed or wounded, and the bombers of the 4th N.F. paid a still
heavier price, including their gallant officer killed.

At 4 P.M. the 151st Infantry Brigade took over the operations on our
front and continued the attack at night. Next day B.H.Q. returned to
Mametz Wood.[12] I had to pay a visit to the nearest large
dressing-station to get the anti-tetanus inoculation. This proved more
troublesome than the small cut I received, and it made me feel fairly
weak for the next ten days. On September 20 I went with Capt. D. Hill
to select a place for a dump near High Wood, and we passed over the
first captured German trench. 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.

About September 22 we returned to the line, and B.H.Q. to the Chalk
Quarry at Bazentin-le-Petit. I have but a confused recollection of the
period from now to the end of our stay in this locality. My servant
had a lucky escape in the Quarry. He was sitting outside my dugout
with two others making some tea, when a small shell fell right in the
middle of their feet. All were thrown over by the explosion, but only
one was really hurt--Capt. Bloomer's servant. We brought the poor
fellow into the dugout, with his right arm almost severed at the
elbow; and we spent the next ten minutes tying him up as best we
could. He died about a week later. I also remember paying two visits
to a most unpleasant spot selected as the Brigade ammunition dump, at
the junction of Crescent Alley and Spence Trench. The German artillery
never seemed to lea