r own Bombing Officer. But if any
of these men wished to pass the live firing test, to qualify them to
wear the Bombers badge (a red grenade on the right arm), I had to test
them with six live grenades. Three out of the six had to fall within a
narrow trench about twenty-five yards from the firing point.

Of course I had to watch the grenade till it reached the ground--and
pray that it would not burst prematurely. What a blessing those steel
helmets were during live bombing practice! They were proof against
bomb splinters and gave you a feeling of confidence.

The battalion bombers were also trained at the school to fire live
rifle-grenades. No risks were taken with the Newton rifle-grenade;
during firing all men had to be behind a barricade and the rifle was
fired off with a string and held in position by an iron stand. But we
used to think the Hales rifle-grenade quite safe, so that men were
trained to fire off these grenades holding the rifle to the ground in
the kneeling position. On one occasion several of us had a lucky
escape. The grenade burst at the end of the rifle, instead of bursting
120 yards away on contact with the ground. Sergt. Hogg and another
bomber of the 5th N.F. were holding the rifle and both got knocked
over, Sergt. Hogg with a slight cut on the head, the latter shaken but
unhurt. The Bombing Officer of the 5th N.F. and I both got scratched
on the face with splinters.

During our stay at Bruloose about 420 men went through the recruits'
course and over 1700 grenades were fired.

Later on I had to be content with much less elaborate bombing grounds.
Sometimes they had to be improvised from nothing, at other times a
bombing-pit of a sort was found, and we had to make the best of it.
After the battle on the Somme far less attention was paid to bombing;
but for a time it was thought desirable to have every man trained in
bombing, even at the expense of the rifle.

XI

ST. ELOI AND NEUVE EGLISE

About July 2 the Brigade came out of the line for a short time, and
B.H.Q. moved to a camp between Mont Rouge and Westoutre. During this
stay I was able to carry on the training at the Bruloose Bombing
School. There was a fine view of the trenches from Mont Rouge. We
could of course hear the sound of the bombardment on the Somme, but at
this distance it was more distinct some days than others.

On July 14 the Brigade went into the line again, south of St. Eloi,
the support trenches being in R