Tuesday 4th January 1916: A trooper of the Bedfordshire
Yeomanry has been telling us about his time in France: “The first two days after
we left here we were in billets. We had to do fatigues from about 3.30 to 11
each afternoon and evening. Then on the third day we marched off, and my
platoon was one of those to go direct to the front line. When we got there we
were told that if we left the Germans alone they wouldn’t molest us, but we
didn’t. All day the only thing we had to do was to keep watch through the
periscope and improve the trench – and eat. Two of us were on for an hour
together, and then we had two hours off – one of which was supposed to be of
work and one of rest. The first night we spent largely potting at supposed
Germans. There was a sniper opposite me and we tried to get him. We were firing
at the flashes and so was he. I don’t know how near to him I got but I do know that
he sent several bullets whistling by my head. It got rather exciting As long as
they kept to rifle fire we didn’t mind, for nothing but a chance shot could
have hit, although it was a light night. But they started sending rifle
grenades and trench mortars, and they aren’t so pleasant. We had a rifle
grenade apparatus in my trench and the Germans were trying to hit it, so for
some time we were the centre of attraction. I think they actually put three in
our trench and several on the parapet but by some stroke of great good luck no
one was hit, though the trench suffered. On the second day there was a good
deal of shell fire and though the Germans don’t generally shell the front line
they got very near it then. Also our own guns started and dropped a dozen or so
shells within a few yards of us. Our second night was quieter, for there was a
working party about and we didn’t fire for fear of drawing too much German fire
onto them. It is a curious thing that although we didn’t have a man touched in
our squadron in four days that working party had at least two killed and one
badly wounded in three or four hours(1). All the time we were there we only had
three casualties, I believe, and they were not dangerous. They were in other
squadrons, too. We have a reputation as a lucky Regiment and are living up to
it”.
“After two
days in the front line we were moved back to the reserve some 100 yards or so
back. There we had no actual fighting to do, we missed the rifle grenades and
so on but we got we got shell fire, and hot, too at times. We also had to do
fatigues – fetch rations from outside the trenches, and so on. It was there
that I happened on the most exciting piece of work I’ve yet had to do. In front
of our trenches we have saps. One of these sapheads is 30 yards from the German
trenches – others are nearer – but I’m concerned with this one – and the
Germans also have a sap coming to within 13 yards of it. The ground in front
was unprotected and several of us had to put barbed wire round. We couldn’t fix
it up outside so we had to put the wire on frames and then roll them over the
side of the sap and afterwards creep over, put them in position and join them
up. It was a bit exciting. Once I was out alone and I thought I was under the
cover of the saphead. I was half sitting up and cussing our own men who kept
sending up flares and shooting in our direction. I was called back and then I
learn that so far from being under cover the German saphead was round that
side, 13 yards away and there was a sniper there. I guess he wasn’t on the
look-out, but he was a few minutes later for he nearly got one of my men who
had his head over the parapet. I’m perfectly fit - more so than before I went
in, I think, and after the good night’s rest, ready for nearly anything”.
Source: Bedfordshire Times 4th
February 1916
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