Friday 19th
October 1917
Yesterday the
7th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment went back into the front line at the Canal
Bank on the Ypres-Comines Canal near Hollebeke where 2nd Battalion have also been
at times this year. Today they have been severely attacked by gas shells. The
adjutant reported that the mud is very thick and the duckboards few, meaning
that the men are constantly over their ankles in a cold, glutinous mess, to the
detriment of their feet, their temper and their health generally. The line, it
should be noted, is not a continuous trench but often merely a series of shell
holes filled with water. The adjutant hoped that their stay would be a short
one otherwise there may be many men fit for nothing but being sent to
hospital(1).
Source: X550/8/1
(1) It would
be a short tour, relief taking place the following evening.
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