Wednesday 17th May 1916

Front line trenches west of Angres

The weather was much improved – “a beautiful day” – as noted in the War Diary. ADMS 23^rd Division met with Battalion Medical Officer, Capt. Cecil Berry (see 11^th March); they discussed “general points … especially arrangements for handing over of trench medical stores”. Orders were received for the Battalion to be relieved in the evening by 11^th West Yorks. Through the day, “nothing of importance transpired on our front, though both to our right and left there have been heavy artillery duels”. The relief began around 4.30pm and was completed without incident or casualties by 9pm, with the Battalion returning to their billets in Sains-en-Gohelle.

The town (Sains-en-Gohelle) had suffered little from German shelling but there was an increasing danger of shells, from long-range German artillery, directed at the pit-head, close to where some of the men were billeted and where they also visited to take advantage of the bathing facilities. Reflecting many years later, J.B. Priestley described the effect this shelling had,

“Far away, behind the ridge they held, the Germans had a great naval gun that had the range of this village. The shell it fired was of such a monstrous calibre that you could easily hear it coming, like an aerial express. We would be hanging about, smoking and talking, enjoying the sunshine and the quiet, when suddenly we would hear this monster coming. There was only one safe place, behind the slag-heap, and everybody would run for it pell-mell. Shirrr-brirrr-bump! There it went, and we would come from behind the slag-heap and see the smoke clearing and another six houses gone. Fortunately that gun did no night-work, and we did not really mind it during the day”.

Another attempt was made to progress the case of 2Lt. William Neville Dawson (see 10^th May), who had been reported as being unfit to continue as a platoon officer. Following a request by 23^rd Division, 69^th Bde. wrote to Lt.Col. Hayne, commanding 10DWR: “can you please furnish any further suggestions as to how this officer should be disposed of: viz. what other employment in the field, if any, he may be suitable for or whether he should be sent home and his services dispensed with, or utilised for training purposes”.

A payment of £3 5s. 9d. was authorised, being the amount outstanding in pay and allowances to the late Pte. Harry Briggs (16040) (see 23^rd March), who had been killed in action in March; the payment would go to his widow, Ada.

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