cover of some ruined
buildings, and taking the camera, and bidding my chauffeur bring the
tripod, I started out. A captain conducted me. We quickly got to the
communication trenches. As usual, a good deal of "strafing" was going
on, and the German snipers were very busy. When we reached the first
line firing trenches, I peered over the parapet through a periscope, but
found I was too far south of the block-house. So I proceeded higher up,
and about eight hundred yards further on came a traverse, which I had
chosen, and the loophole through which I was going to film the scene.
The distance to the German block-house from where I was standing was
about 150 yards.

The thickness of the parapet, I should say, was roughly four feet; and
through the parapet was a conical, square-shaped, wooden cylinder. In
front, under cover of darkness, the night previous, I had had two
sandbags placed, so that when everything was ready, and my camera fixed,
a slight push from the back with a stick would shift them clear of the
opening. Fixing up the camera, I very carefully pinned an empty sandbag
over the back of the aperture, with the object of keeping any daylight
from streaming through. I placed a long stick ready to push the sandbags
down. I intended doing that after the first shell had fallen.

This particular loophole had been severely sniped all the morning, the
Germans evidently thinking it was a new Maxim-gun emplacement. Time was
drawing near. I thought I would try with the stick whether the sandbags
would fall easily. Evidently I gave them too vigorous a push, for the
next moment they came toppling down. Knowing such a movement as that was
certain to attract the German snipers' attention, I quickly ducked my
head down and hoped our 9.2's would soon open fire. I did not relish
the idea of having a bullet through my camera.

Sure enough the Germans had seen the movement, for bullets began
battering into sandbags around the loophole. At that moment the C.O.
withdrew the whole of the men from that section of the trench, and I was
left alone. But the prospect of getting a fine film drove all other
thoughts from my mind.

A few minutes later the first shell came hurtling over and exploded
within ten yards of the block-house. I started filming. Shell after
shell I recorded as it exploded, first on one side then on the other,
until at last the eighth shell fell directly on top of the block-house,
and with a tremendous explosion the w