Easter Sunday 8th April 1917
The 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment have spent Easter Sunday on the move. On Saturday they moved from Allouagne, west of Béthune to Bruay-la-Buissiere and this evening they have arrived in Cambligneul between Béthune and Arras. Here they are acting as part of a reserve to the Canadian Corps a few miles away to the east on Vimy Ridge. Major R le Huquet has joined the battalion as second-in-command.
The 2nd Battalion, meanwhile, had an exciting night. About 2.15 am the enemy tried to rush one of their advanced posts just west of the village of Saint-Martin-sur-Cojeul, shown by the blue cross on the map above, but were repulsed.Tonight, the adjutant reports, the commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H S Poyntz is not at all well and will probably have to go to hospital. His brother is currently away from the Battalion, so Captain R O Wynne will assume command(1).
(1) This illness occurred a few hours before the Battalion went into action in the opening hours of the Battle of Arras
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