1st Battalion on the Somme, 7th Battalion on Parade

Monday 2^nd August : We hear from the adjutant of the 1st Bedfords that they have moved to the area of the town of Albert, just north of the River Somme, where the British Expeditionary Force, with new divisions swelling its ranks, is taking over a substantial portion of the line from the French. This will mean that the British armies in Belgium and France will hold the whole of the front line from Ypres to the Somme

The Battalion will relieve the 410th French Regiment in trenches near the village of Fricourt, east of Albert during the night. This is deemed a quiet sector with little likelihood of serious fighting(1)

The 7^th Battalion will march to Val-des-Maisons today to be inspected by General Officer Commanding 3rd Army, Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Monro, at 2.30pm. He tells us that it is raining heavily.

Sources: X550/2/5; X550/8/1

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(1) Fricourt would be the scene of fierce fighting on 1st July 1916, first day of the Battle of the Somme.