"On the morning of the 25th we fired a barrage to cover the attack; Tara and Usna Hills were taken with three 77 mm. guns and some prisoners. That afternoon the 310th Brigade went into action near the crest in front of La Boisselle. The infantry advanced this evening and the next day, with little opposition after the morning's success.
"On the 26th the brigade was in action in the valley between Contalmaison and Pozières. That evening B/310 and D/310 did a combined shoot on a counter attack by two companies of the 3rd Grenadier Regiment, made against the right brigade of the 38th Division; the Germans came out of Trones Wood across the open, and Jim Currie (commanding B/310) caught them beautifully; we counted about 40 dead there next morning.
"On the 27th we were in action by Mametz Wood and Bazentin Wood. Here we fired a barrage for an attack on the Longueval—Guillemont area that morning. The 28th saw us in action at Ginchy covering the advance on Morval, which proved rather a difficult place to take. Here Latter behaved very gallantly under heavy shelling, for which he was subsequently awarded the M.C. I had some very nice shooting from here on some infantry dragging light trench mortars; I hit two teams and counted 12 dead and all three mortars left there next day.
"We remained at Ginchy two days, and on the 30th went into action at Morval. From this position we covered the advance on Sailly Saillisel Ridge, which was taken on September 1st.
Sept. 1918.
"Reconnoitring the long forward slope down to the Canal du Nord at Manancourt on the 2nd was a nasty job, and some 38th Division batteries who were pushed on in front of us here had a bad time. Meanwhile my battery moved up close behind Sailly Saillisel.
"On the evening of the 3rd we moved up close to the canal. I went in rear of B/310, about 800 yards from the canal, which our infantry were to cross in the morning. By bad luck I came under a German gas concentration, which lasted from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. I had to stay there to fire a barrage, and consequently got about 90 per cent. of the men at my gun positions gassed. We were digging, and carrying ammunition all night; the position was close to Manancourt. Nelson got an M.C. for his work that night.
"The Brigade crossed the canal on the 5th, but on the 6th was withdrawn from action. The advance had been 18 miles as the crow flies, in 13 days, over the old Somme battlefield."
The official records of the two Military Crosses mentioned in the above account are as follows:
"When ordered to reconnoitre at Ginchy for a gun position for an advance, Lieut. Latter found the enemy in possession of the area, and sweeping all approaches with machine gun fire. He successfully marked a position, although he was at times in the open within 300 yards of the hostile machine guns. Later, in command of a detached section, he displayed great gallantry and initiative, moving to and fro several times from his section to the main battery position for orders, in preference to sending runners from his men."