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Date: July 1916
Diary

July 1 Started bombardment at 3 a.m. Infantry went over at 7.10 a.m.
9 a.m. lots of German prisoners passed by battery positions. Many of our
own wounded also passed. Weather fine and hot.
" 2 Firing all day on Mametz Wood, 200rounds. Weather fine. Cavalry started
to come up past battery's position.
" 3 Raining, fired 200 rounds on Peak Wood.
" 4 Fired at intervals all day on Mametz Wood, 200 rounds.
" 5 Fine, fired 100 rounds on trenches near Flat Iron Copes.
" 6 One of our planes hit by a shell and landed just behind battery Pilot not
hurt. Fired 100 rounds on Caterpillar Wood.
" 7 Rained all day. A little firing done on Mametz Wood and Shelter Wood.
" 8 100 rounds fired on Acid Drop Copes and Quadrangle Copes.
" 9 Big Bomb Dump in front of the battery blown up by hostile shell 100
rounds on Contalmaison.
" 10 Fired 100 rounds on German second line near Baxentine La Grand Wood.
" 11 50 rounds fired on Caterpillar Wood, weather fine.
" 12 Raining, fired 100 rounds on Baxentine La Petit Wood.
" 13 Weather fair. Fired 100 rounds on Contalmaison.
" 14 Started to fire on a bombardment at 3 a.m. on Mametz Wood and
Baxentien La Petit, then on Hight Wood, Quite a few prisoners taken.
" 15 Germans shelled the hours lines to the right of the battery, started to
dismount the guns.
" 16 An advance party went to Bottom Wood to prepare new position.
" 17 Raining, worked all day putting guns in new position.
" 18 Still raining. Worked all day fixing up battery and getting in ammunition.
Shelled at night by Wizz Bangs and gas shells.
" 19 Brount remainder of stores up to new position. Started on bombardment at
9.30 p.m. Battery shelled with gas shells during the night.
" 20 French 75 Battery beside us had direct hit on one of their guns.
Dismounted B sub gun and mounted on new platform. Worked until 12
Midnight. Gas alarm going all night.
" 21 Started to make concrete platform for A sub fired 50 rounds on High
Wood. Enemy aircraft very active.
" 22 Enemy started to range on the battery and at 2 p.m. put a barrage along the
valley and again at 4 p.m. Nobody hit. A lot of night firing done on High
Wood.
" 23 Weather fine. Fixing up dug outs. Sent a gun to the workshop.
" 24 Started to build concrete platform for B sub. Reported that we had to take
High Wood.
" 25 Enemy doing a lot of shelling around the battery.
" 26 Gunner Bower and Dale wounded.
" 27 Weather very hot. Started a bombardment early in the morning on High
Wood, then on Switch trench. High Wood captured.
" 28 Very Hot. A dud landed near the cook house. Night firing on Switch
trench.
" 29 First Aeroplane shoot on a hostile battery, very successful.
" 30 Weather fine. All hands working fixing up battery positions and getting in
ammunition. Steel helmets issued to the whole Battery.
" 31 Very Hot. Gunner Lawton, killed and Gunner Milne wounded.

Original Scans

Original Scans