remainder as quickly as possible. I did so. We went along the road all
the way from Potijze to Ypres. We were literally chased by gas-shells;
we had to run in respirators as fast as we could go; we came round by
the Menin Gate and got back into the Ramparts, safe and sound, about
4.45, very thankful that nobody in our party had got hurt. Other
battalions out on working parties had had a good many casualties. One
party of the King's Own had had one killed and eleven wounded by one
shell on the Canal Bank.

"When I got back to the Mess dug-out I found Captain Andrews, Dickinson,
and Allen all sitting there. They had not been to bed. They had had a
deuce of a time. The shells had been falling here as well--also the gas.
But due precautions against gas had this time been taken! Captain
Andrews declared that the rain had saved the lives of hundreds of men.
Giffin got back soon after me. He is feeling the gas. We all got to bed
about 6 a.m....

"It was 3 in the afternoon when I got up. Before rising I read nine
letters which were awaiting me--_some_ post!"

After describing the happenings of the previous night in a letter
written home that Sunday afternoon (July 15) I went on to say: "I shall
pull through all these exciting little episodes all right. I am quite
all right so far. Cheer up! Better times in store! We all look forward
to that great day 'When war shall be no more.' It will be a glorious day
when, at last, peace is attained. I am looking forward to the happy days
to come and intend to have a good time then. We are now going through
the storm. But there is a calm ahead: 'Peace shall follow battle, Night
shall end in day.'"

My diary of July 15 carries on:

"In the evening I went on a working party with Allen. It was a case of
extending the trench in Pagoda Wood another fifty yards. We set to work
at 10 a.m. Our guns were bombarding the enemy trenches most of the time,
but there were not many shells coming from the enemy. A few fell some
hundred to two hundred yards away during the night. Our chief annoyance
on this occasion was a German machine-gun firing from Kaiser Bill. It
swept our trench completely. One man in my platoon, Berry by name, was
wounded in the leg. It was a wonder there were no more casualties: the
bullets were flying amongst us in great profusion. But they were mostly
low, so not very dangerous. 'This is the place for "Blighties"!'
Lance-Corporal Livesey encouragingly observed to me while they