With darkness came orders that the Sherwood Foresters would take over the line from us, but long before they could arrive our Companies in the Redoubt were being very hard pressed, and scarcely held their own.  The German bombers never for a moment ceased their attack, and for some time our bombers held them with difficulty.  Then came the cruellest blow of fortune, for many of the bags and boxes of bombs sent up during the afternoon were found to contain bombs without detonators, many others were filled with types of grenades we had never seen.  In spite of this there was one officer who always managed to find the wherewithal to reply to the German attacks.  Escaping death by a miracle, for his great height made him very conspicuous, 2nd Lieut.  Tomson stood for hours at one of the bombing blocks, smoking cigarettes and throwing bombs.  With him was Pte.  P. Bowler, who proved absolutely tireless, while in another part of the line Pte.  W.H.  Hallam and one or two others carried out a successful bombing exploit on their own, driving back the enemy far enough to allow a substantial block to be built in a vital place.  To add to the horrors of the situation, the garrison had ever in their ears the cries of the many wounded, who lay around calling for Stretcher Bearers or for water, and to whom they could give no help.  The Bearers had worked all day magnificently, but there is a limit to human endurance, and they could carry no more.  Even so, when no one else was strong enough, Captain Barton was out in front of the Redoubt, regardless of bombs, and thinking only of the wounded, many of whom he helped to our lines, while to others, too badly hit to move, he gave water or morphia.  Hour after hour he worked on alone, and no one will ever know how many lives he saved that night.

Soon after 6 p.m., the Sherwood Foresters started to arrive and gradually worked their way up towards the Redoubt, a long slow business, for the communication trenches were all choked and no one was very certain of the route.  One large party arriving at midnight happened to meet Colonel Jones, who advised them to try going over the top, and actually gave them their direction by the stars.  So accurate were his instructions that the party arrived exactly at the Redoubt—­incidentally at a moment when the Germans were launching a counter attack over the open.  Such an attack might well have been disastrous, but the Boche, seeing the Sherwood Foresters and over-estimating their strength, retired hurriedly.  By dawn the Sherwood Foresters had taken over the whole Redoubt, though many of our “A” and “B” Companies were not relieved and stayed there until the following night.  Our task now was the defence of the original British front line, for which Colonel Jones was made responsible, and which we garrisoned with “C” (Farmer) right, “D” (Williams) centre, and “A” and “B” (Tomson) left.  Major Toller, several times knocked down by shells and suffering from concussion, Lieut.  Wollaston wounded, and 2nd Lieut.  Wynne gassed, had all been sent down, and 2nd Lieut.  Williams followed some hours later.  Our only other officer, Lieut.  R. Ward Jackson, was in charge of the Grenadiers, and spent his time in the Redoubt organizing bomb attacks and posts and trench blocks, himself throwing many bombs, and in a very quiet way doing a very great deal.