a Lewis Gunner, killed, and one or two men wounded, had decided to wait for some Artillery.  Meanwhile, the French had reached the Railway further South, so the C.O. sent Lieut.  Hawley with half “D” Company to try and take the Station from this side.  He moved off to do so at midday, leaving C.S.M.  Cooper to command the other half Company.  “A” Company (Edwards) now arrived, and, with “B” Company (Cosgrove), dug themselves into a bank on the South side of Mericourt village.

Lieut.  Hawley and his party made their way rapidly down to the Quarry, and keeping just inside the Southern outskirts of the town, soon found the French left flank, from which they were able to reconnoitre the Railway Station.  This last seemed to be the only place where the enemy was still offering any resistance, and there were apparently three machine guns somewhere near the Base of a large factory chimney in the Station yard.  Lieut.  Hawley divided his party into two, and while he himself gradually worked his way direct, the other party under Serjt.  Marston, M.M., armed with as many bombs as they could carry, rapidly made their way round towards the enemy’s rear.  The Boche apparently thought he would soon be turned out, and some twenty of them, hurried along by one of our Lewis Guns, managed to escape before we arrived.  However, they did not all get away, and when Serjt Marston lobbed his bombs on to them from behind and the others came up in front, they found five Germans still sitting there with their gun.  These were promptly captured and sent down, and the town was now entirely in our hands.

Between 5-0 and 6-0 p.m. we received orders that the 5th Lincolnshires would take over the whole of the Railway, and that we were to come back into Mericourt and rest as much as possible.  At the same time the enemy started to bombard Fresnoy with every available gun and howitzer.  For an hour gas and high explosive shells fell in every corner of the town and its immediate surroundings.  Capt.  Banwell, who was returning to his Company from Headquarters, and the C.O., who was trying to find “D” Company, both had a very unpleasant time.  One runner with the orders for the relief did manage to reach “D” Company without being hit, and soon after 8-30 p.m. they moved out from Fresnoy and dug into a bank just outside Mericourt.  “C” Company, however, no one was able to find; it was a dark night and consequently very difficult to keep one’s direction amongst the little streets and sunken lanes in the Northern end of the town, where they had taken up their position.  The C.O. himself spent a large part of the night looking for them without success, but one of the messages, which he left at every post and Headquarters he called at, eventually found its way to Capt.  Banwell, and between midnight and 1 a.m. on the 10th “C” Company at last came out and occupied a bank near “D” Company.  Most of us had not had any sleep since we left our “shell-holes” Camp at dawn on the 8th—­some of us none since the 7th, and when we finally lay down, tired out, we slept far into the next day.