rn about.

Jerry artillery had fitful moods of strafing. Days of wild "searching"
with a disgusting series of violent heavies bursting in all directions,
blowing out candles with the concussion and in the darkness bringing
about language-provoking situations that culminated in clumsy searches
for matches ... light would reveal your watery rice careering smugly
about in a boot and half a dozen fags floating sadly in the remnant of
your mess tin of tea!

Bitter cold of night increased. Boots, however soft and pliable when
taken off, however well oiled, would be frozen hard and stiff in the
morning as if cut in steel. To force these essential protections on
called for painful, struggling efforts.... The only remedy was to sleep
with the boots next the body. Placing beneath a pillow was fatuously
inadequate.

They went into the line on a frontage beyond the actual Passchendaele
village and on the far side of the ridge looking down on Jerry trenches.
Watery mud again everywhere ... a further protection of sandbags around
the legs was not a success; trench feet became more and more prevalent
and the germs of trench fever placed Martel, Robin and a long roll on
the casualty list.

Eight days of it, followed by arduous fatigues and working parties in
the reserve lines. Trenches upon trenches in relays were with difficulty
cut into a spongy soil, having apparently one fixed intention, e.g., to
clog on to the spade in gummy lumps. Redoubts were constructed under
directions from R.E.'s and a series of strong points run up at brief
intervals.

When Jerry decided to come over he would have an ample reception. The
weather had developed a finer, milder tone, enabling the occupants of
enemy observation balloons to peer down on the mass of men engaged in
rapid construction of several reserve lines of defence. At times the fit
would take him to play on these exposed areas with his artillery,
raining on the troops a brief fierce barrage, blowing men, horses and
waggons to fragments in all directions, and playing mad havoc amongst
partially-completed earthworks ... but the work went on.

Another eight days in! Night raids, patrols--casualties. Jerry came over
once in the early morning--he went back!

A party of R.E.'s moving up from the south-ard brought with them tidings
of what had occurred near St. Quentin.

"Jerry started 'is little game. Came over in thousands," The speaker was
overwhelmed with eager inquiries.

"Anythin'