His outbursts of shelling,
therefore, although at times disagreeable, gave one the impression that
its chief purpose was to remind us of his constant presence. At times,
especially in the evening, it seemed to afford him amusement to dust our
lines indiscriminately with gas shells. Our gunners, however, were not
so lenient and they frequently made excellent use of their good ration
of ammunition, so that we were able to make daily notes of the changes
in the scenery, particularly in Havrincourt village. Considerable
interest was aroused one morning, soon after our arrival, by the sudden
disappearance of Havrincourt Chateau in a cloud of red brick dust and
smoke. This was always a mystery and a frequent source of controversy.
Did the Boche blow it up, and if so, why? Or did it go off as a result
of our shelling, and again, if so, why? Some said they saw
stretcher-bearers moving about amidst the debris afterwards, which
rather indicated the second theory.
We enjoyed the advantages of a continuous front line here, but naturally
a good deal of time had to be spent in perfecting the system, both in
digging and wiring. The brigade was given an opportunity of leaving its
mark on the war-geography of France, two copses in No Man's Land being
dubbed "Wigan Copse" and "Dean Copse" by the 5th, while we were
responsible for "Manchester Trench" and "Cheetham Hill," "Henley Lane"
serving to keep green the memory of the brigadier. Two great chalk
craters showed up in front, "Etna" and "Vesuvius" respectively, and one
of the jobs of the patrol commanders by night was to find out if the
former was occupied by the Hun.
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