Letter · 8 Aug 1917 · Flanders Fields, Belgium
Digging for our lives
Citation for Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM): 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in an attack. He led a small party on his own initiative to fill a gap between his company and another unit. He rushed a pill-box which was inflicting casualties on two battalions and captured thirty prisoners and three machine guns. He showed the greatest initiative and courage throughout.' (London Gazette, 26 November 1917)
Extracts from this letter
"One wet misty morning at 4.45 we attacked Fritz. In the early dawn our Bombardment was magnificent to watch and yet terrible..."
"The roar of the guns the scream of the shells, the brilliant flashes of light, the rattle of machine guns, the whine of aeroplanes over head, the mist, the mud, & the wet made a scene that I will not forget in a hurry…"
"Three times he counter attacked that day but three times he was driven back... That night at 11.30 we went out into No Man’s Land to dig a communication trench up to a position we had taken. We had 800 yards to dig and there were 150 of us. We expected Fritz to attack…"
"We got to work & we dug, truly dug for our lives. Any minute he might have seen us and turned on his Machine Guns. We knew that once we got down about two feet we were fairly safe… Every man & officer too breathed a sigh of relief when it was over."
