The shelling was very hot throughout the tour, and, at night particularly, there was plenty of machine-gun fire up the streets, which made ration carrying a dangerous job.  “D” Company suffered most in casualties, nearly all of which were caused by shell fire on Cooper Trench, where they were unlucky in losing, in addition to some twenty others, Serjeants Williams, Queenborough and Goode, all of whom were wounded.  The other Companies had some ten casualties between them.

All this time the enemy were inclined to be nervous after our attack on “Hill 70,” and almost every day the columns of smoke in Lens showed us where he was burning houses and stores in case he should be forced to retire.  His Infantry remained comparatively inactive in the front line, and when one night 2nd Lieut.  Banwell and his platoon of “C” Company raided Cite St. Edouard Church they found no enemy there.

One humorous episode is handed down concerning this otherwise rather grim tour.  Battalion Headquarters lived in a very small cellar—­mess and office below, clerks and signallers and runners on the stairs.  The Boche, the previous occupants, had left a suspicious looking red and black object on one end of the table which we used for meals and work.  This took up a large part of our very scanty room, so an R.E.  Specialist was called in to examine it.  He examined the object, at once condemned the cellar as dangerous, and advised our immediate departure.  Cellars were hard to find, we consulted another specialist.  His actions are best described in the words of one of those present:  “He (R.E.) clears dug-out, or rather dug-out clears itself, and ties string gingerly to object; the string he leads upstairs and along a trench to what he considers is a safe distance.  When all is ready the string is pulled.  Nothing happens.  Suspense—­a long pause—­two hours—­several drinks—­R.E. proceeds to examine result lying on floor—­an improvised lantern used for photography!”

On the 29th, after a big gas bombardment against the enemy’s positions in Cite St. Edouard and St. Theodore, we were relieved by the 4th Battalion, and went into the St. Pierre cellars—­in Brigade support.  The whole place was under direct observation, and movement by day was impossible, which made our existence very unpleasant.  It was while here that we began to realize what a magnificent man was Padre Buck.  Nothing worried him, and even Cooper trench formed part of his parish, to be visited each night.  In St. Pierre he held a service every evening in one of the cellars, undeterred although on one occasion a shell burst in the doorway, scattering its bits inside, but doing no damage.

On the 3rd of May we again relieved the 4th Battalion and stayed for three days in the Cooper trench sector.  We had a quieter time than before, and only lost one killed and nine wounded during the tour.  Amongst the latter were L/Cpl.  Waterfield and “Pat” Collins the runner, who were both hit by a shell, which burst on the orderly room.  Our chief difficulty was the water supply.  With the hot weather the demand for water increased, and it all had to be brought to the line in petrol cans.  Fortunately the limbers could come as far as Battalion Headquarters, and cans had to be carried forward from there only; even this took many men, and our numbers were by no means large.