I had a fairly decent trench there, as I always had everywhere, knowing that the harder I worked on my trench the more chance I had of safety. I here lost a decent chum, killed on that day, the fourth of November, by a bullet through his brain, whilst he was spreading jam on a biscuit. When it became dark two of my comrades came into my decent trench, and there we soon dropped off to sleep, all three of us, the Germans shelling us all the time. When we awoke, it was nearly nine o'clock; we were roused from our sleep by some one throwing, or rather showering, earth in upon us. Up I jumped and inquired sotto voce: "Who are you?" Back came the reply: "Who are you?" On telling him, he replied that he was a Royal Engineer digging a communication trench; we were not sorry to hear that he was not one of the enemy. He then inquired what we were doing there, remarking that the Lancashires had been relieved and gone back some time ago. After wandering about for an hour, we found the Regiment in the reserve trenches in the wood. Every one had settled down for the night, rations and rum had been issued, and we had perforce to make the best of it. I did not sleep so well as usual, feeling the loss of my pal. However, next morning, November the fifth, we were told that, as we had had such a hard time of it of late, we were to be put into reserve on some fairly easy trenches on the left of the road and just in front of the wood we occupied on our first coming up. All we had to contend with was cross-fire from the enemy's guns. It does not sound very dreadful, nor to us men did it sound hard; most of us thought that we were going to have a fairly easy time of it; so into the trenches we went quite happily. But the shell-fire there was terrible, and the way the shrapnel whistled through those trees, to say nothing of the high explosives, fairly made one's hair stand on end.
I was just in front of the wood, where we had one company entrenched; fifty yards in front and the other side of a hedge was another company. These were the only two companies we had, as we had become very weak. In this reserve trench my company lay for twenty-four hours, exchanging with the company in front of us at the end of that time for another twenty-four hours; but we were kept in that line for another four days through an unfortunate incident. We went into the front line of the reserve trenches on Saturday, November the sixth. In front of us were supposed to be the Zouaves. On our right front fifty yards off was a small house beside the road, the hedge just behind us running parallel but gradually getting to a point at the extremity of the trench, which ended in a cul-de-sac. Just over the top and in line with the main trench was a small trench, which we called the Thirteen Trench, as thirteen men occupied it. It was situated just off the road and commanded a view straight up it. Fifty yards along the main trench was a communication trench reaching to the hedge, where it stopped, letting us out on the other side. Sunday morning, November the eighth, broke with a heavy mist; it was one of those hazy mornings that denote heat. Every one was taking things fairly easy, when a man next to me, on glancing over the top, exclaimed: "Look! here's the Germans."
We thereupon sent for the Officer, but he could hardly believe his eyes: we were then supposed to be in reserve. The enemy was advancing upon us in close formation fully a thousand strong, and our full strength could not have been more than a hundred in that trench and a hundred in the trenches behind, as I know that the whole Regiment at that time was not more than two hundred and thirty (not including Transport).
They were advancing by way of the little house and on to the Thirteen Trench. We kept up a brisk fire for a considerable time into the advancing masses; but we were hopelessly outclassed, and had to fall back on our other company behind. On reaching them, we all retired into the wood, drawing the enemy in behind us. It proved to be a fine piece of strategy, as we drew them on to unfamiliar ground and away from the trenches. We then turned round and made a counter-attack, driving them well back and leaving heaps of them dead and wounded behind.
We had almost reached our original line, when a chum of mine called to me by name. I went over to him, and found him lying on the ground: he had been hit and could not help himself, and he asked me to take him back to the dressing-station. I could not well refuse; so, dragging him and carrying as best I could, I made for the road, and there we nearly both got taken by the Germans, who were coming down that road in hundreds, and were only a few yards off. So I had to drag my man back into the wood, dropping into a ditch with him at the side of the road, where I was able to ascertain the extent of his wound. There was not much to show—only a small bullet-hole through his hip entering his stomach. In this ditch was a Zouave; and he gave me some black stuff that looked like coffee. Getting, a little later, into the wood, I was able to take him that way to the dressing-station. I heard a few weeks afterwards that he had died from his wound.
On arriving back, I found that the Regiment had again retired a little way behind the trenches we had before occupied; and I also found that I had lost another old and valued chum, the one who had originally enlisted with me and had up till that time been through the campaign unscathed. I am thankful to say he was not badly wounded, although he lost the use of his left hand. There were not many of us left; our ranks were more depleted than ever; not more than seventy or eighty all told remained—nevertheless, they were planning to retake the trenches. On reaching the communication trench unmolested, we started to file in, myself going second man. Of all the trenches I had been in that was quite the worst: we had to absolutely walk the whole of the way over dead bodies—our own men and Germans. It was eight o'clock at night, and of course dark, which made our task more unpleasant; but we reached the end of the communication trench safely, though we had not got more than three or four yards down the main trench to the right, where it ended in a cul-de-sac, before a German patrol of about twelve men came walking along the top of the trench. We waited until they were on top of us—then I let drive. I can hear the yell of the fellow I hit to this day, as he threw up his hands and dropped. The man next to me on my left also let go, and I thought he had blown the top of my head off!—he must have had the muzzle of his rifle quite close to my ear, as I was deaf for some time afterwards. He thought I was hit!
On gaining the end of the trench, I was, with three others, sent into the communication trench to clear out the dead. A London Scottish Officer—they had only been out, or rather in action a week—came up with his men to relieve us, and remarked to our Captain, who was the C.O., that he did not mind seeing dead Germans but he did object to walking upon them; so we had the job of clearing them out, which we did in this way: two men stayed in the trench and two stood on the top of it, the two in the trench each lifting a leg of the dead man up to the two men on top, who then hauled him over. We had been at work for about an hour at this interesting job, when who should walk along the top under cover of a hedge but a German right up to where we were working! He was fully equipped, but we had discarded our equipment, on account of it hindering us at our task. On reaching us, I exclaimed to my pal, who was bending over in the trench: "Look, chummy, here's a German!" The two men on top having just gone further up had not seen him. On hearing me speak, the German made a motion with his hands and said, "Hush!" I was never more surprised in all my life—he evidently took us for Germans, too. I then said to my pal: "Find us a rifle": there were plenty at the bottom of the trench. He handed me one up, and, pointing it at the German, I was foolish enough to say: "Hands up!" He again said: "Hush!" I said to my pal: "Hand me up some ammunition, quick." He handed me up five rounds, and, pulling one out of the clip, I placed it in the breech of my rifle. When the German heard the bolt of the rifle go home, he turned round and bolted off—but he was too late: I had him right through the back. We thought it best, then, to return to the company; and we did so.
When we had reported this little episode, I remarked to the Captain that I thought the man had come from the Thirteen Trench. He replied: "That's all bosh." While we had been away there had evidently been a discussion over this Thirteen Trench, and the Captain had asked a man who had been in it early the day before we had been driven out to go over the top—only a matter of ten yards—and see who was occupying it then. This man said that he knew a safer way round, when the Captain said: "Take two more men and go over." Again this man replied, asking if he might not go round. Then the Captain, becoming wild, said: "If three of you won't go, thirteen of you go. If you prefer to go the other way round, go, and I'll come and see you do go." I made one of those thirteen, and we filed down the communication trench; and, coming out on the other side of the hedge, we crept along behind it amidst the cries of several wounded soldiers of both sides until we came to the gap in the hedge facing this small Thirteen Trench a few yards away. The Captain was leading, then another man, and then myself. We had no sooner reached the top of the trench than a guttural voice challenged "Halt!" and then I could see the forms of the Germans: they were packed in there like sardines. Of course, the next minute they had opened fire, our Captain and C.O. being killed on the spot; the remainder of us, being unprepared, turned and ran. The Zouaves, who had then taken up a position behind us, thinking it was the Germans coming, opened fire on us, too; and there were we running between two fires! I remember on coming close to the Zouaves' line that I took a flying leap clean on top of one of them as he was about to shoot. I knocked him down, of course; but, on getting up and seeing who I was, he clasped his arms around me, very pleased that I was not a German. Then, along with the remainder of the men, I returned to our old trench, reporting to the only Officer we had left the death of our Captain.
As we could not hand over the trenches complete, the Germans having possession of the Thirteen Trench, we were not relieved by the London Scottish, as it is a rule with the Regular Army that, on being relieved, trenches have to be handed over precisely as they were taken over, any that may have been lost having to be retaken. Consequently we were kept in these trenches another forty-eight hours, and during that time we were, if possible, to retake the one we had lost.
As we were so very weak we were reinforced by a platoon of the 2nd Black Watch and one machine-gun belonging to them. The gun was fixed in position at the bottom of the communication trench close to the hedge, so as to cover any movement of the enemy from the Thirteen Trench. At the bottom of the main trench and in that traverse we had eight men ten yards away, and in line were the enemy occupying the Thirteen Trench. At daybreak the next morning each of our eight men received a bullet in his head from the waiting Germans, six being killed outright and two wounded.