Читать книгу The War History of the 1st/ 4th Battalion, 1914-1918. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment онлайн

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Our casualties amounted to one killed and three wounded in this period, mainly from sniping, which was fairly active. We had a sniping post, heavily sandbagged, in an orchard to the rear of the line, and a sniping party with telescopic-sighted rifles to garrison it.

There was an order that equipment must never be removed for any purpose. One day a man emerging from his billet with equipment on but the shoulder straps of his jacket unbuttoned cannoned into the R.S.M., who accused him of having had his equipment off. This he denied, and muttered that he had just been having breakfast. “Do you need to unbutton your shoulder straps to have breakfast, then?” enquired the R.S.M. in his silkiest tones. The man stood glowering for a moment, and then in desperation burst out, “Well! Ah’ve got to saay summat, ’evn’t I?”

We were relieved on the night of the 16th/17th July by the 1/4th Royal Lancaster Regiment, about 10 p.m., and moved off to reserve billets near Headquarters. Detachments from A Company, under Second Lieutenant Evans, and C Company, under Second Lieutenant R. A. Ostrehan, garrisoned “fort” supporting points behind the line. There was a heavy trench mortar bombardment of the trenches held by the 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers on the night of the 19th/20th July, which caused a Brigade “stand-to,” but nothing happened. The 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers had rejoined the Brigade the week before.