[transcription provided by collection donor]
Aug 2, 1918
Rained all night & is raining all day. We formed up at 8:30pm and marched all night over poor roads to Taisnil which we reached at 4:30am. Only six men fell out on this march which was 26 km. They did not carry their packs.
Aug 3, 1918
The 4th C.M.R. have been sent up north. There they have to put over raids & allow Fritz to get identification from them which will be misleading. We are under orders to move again tonight. I have never seen such good morale in the boys as we have at present.
Started marching from Taisnil at 10:30pm, passed through Prouzel across the LaCelle River through Plachy-Buyon where we passed a long column of artillery & ammunition column; then we met the tanks & passed through Buyon & saw more tanks. We are all moving in the same direction. We reached Hebecourt at 2pm & turned in for a rest. The men carried their packs, two fell out but finished the march. Morale is very high. Everybody is happy.
Aug 4, 1918
Visited the P.P.C.L.I. & met Capt. Cruickshanks, their M.O., an old friend of mine. Left Hebecourt at 10:30pm, marched through Rumigny, Sains-en-Amienois to Bois de Boves which is a large swampy wood. Here we rested with the rest of the 9th Brigade. No lights of any sort could be used. It was a case of sleeping on the first piece of dry ground you could find. I slept with my staff alongside the road.
Aug 5, 1918
Rained most of the day. Left the wood at 11:30, marched to Boves across the river to St. Nicolas to Bois de Gentelles. It was 5:30am when we reached the wood. We should have been there before daybreak. Traffic was fierce, no end of congestion. We spent a night in this wood. Capt. Cote, Lft Arn Irwin, Lft Sheppard & myself slept in a very narrow trench. Now & then a shell would come in.
Aug 7 & 8, 1918
Marched up to assembly position under cover of darkness. It took from 10pm to 3:10 am to get into position. We had to pass through a large swamp under machinegun fire and across River de Luce. The assembly position was in an orchard in no-man’s land. We had the 58th on our left & the 43rd on our right. Every now & then Fritz would get some of our men with his machine guns random firing. At 4:20am sharp our barrage opened; the fight was on. What a roar. Shrapnel & machine gun bullets were whizzing all around us. Men were dropping here & there. We moved on rapidly hunting for wounded & getting them out. You couldn’t see five paces ahead because of the smoke & mist. I started with 22 men & in ½ hour there were only three of us left. We got our objective in very short time & a large number of prisoners, machine guns & several batteries. By 11am I had cleared my whole Bn area of all wounded using the Huns for stretcher bearers.
The 116th Bn advanced over 2 miles. Slept in a Hun’s which I had cleaned up. Brigade staff came along & nearly squeezed me out. Capt. McKenzie of 43rd Bn was there with me.
Aug 9, 1918
Moved up to Le Quesnel. Capt. Cote & I slept in a ditch.
Aug 10, 1918
Took sick with B dysentery & evacuated 9th C.F.A..
Aug 11, 1918
No 5 C.C.S. & No. 12 C.C.S.
Aug 12, 1918
Arrived at No. 2 Stat Hosp, Abbeville.
Aug 14, 1918
Improving
Aug 16, 1918
Have Sciatica & Intercostal Neuralgia.
Aug 24, 1918
Up today for a short time. Multiple neuritis still bad. I got around like an old man.
Aug 25, 1918
Back to bed.
