The frontage allotted to us was a long one, and the front line was thinly held, some of the posts being as much as 200 yards apart. Frequent visiting patrols were necessary during the night to prevent any daring Boche from getting into our lines. In the communication trenches, blocking posts and gates were fixed at various points to hold up the enemy if they did ever get in and attempt to push forward. To look after the rear portion of these communication trenches the system of Trench Wardens was instituted during our stay at Bellacourt. These were usually light duty, or warworn men drawn from the various Battalions, whose duty it was to repair broken trench grids, relay any that required it, clear falls of earth, and generally look after upkeep.
This sector was reputed to be the quietest on the British Front, and though we had one or two lively times, there is no doubt that for the period of three-and-a-half months we were there, it lived up to its reputation. Rumour said that some of our troops had been in the habit of going out and repairing the barbed wire by daylight! Certainly it was normally extremely peaceful. The trenches were from 300 to 400 yards apart, and in the region of the Ransart Road on the right, one could indeed go out for some distance without coming in view of the Boche trenches. The weather during most of our stay was of the best, and there could be few things more pleasant than to stroll on a quiet afternoon round some of the communication trenches, e.g., "Dyke Street," "Couturelle," and "La Motte," where masses of wild flowers of every kind and of brilliant colours were in full bloom, and in many parts completely covered the sides of the trenches. Cooking was normally done out of the trenches, and hot meals were carried up in kettles or food containers (something in the nature of large thermos flasks) by the Reserve Company billeted at Bretencourt.
We had something of a shock during our first tour in the trenches, and began to suspect the reports as to the quietness of the sector, for on our second morning the enemy poured over for nearly an hour, between 4.0 a.m. and 5.0 a.m., showers of heavy trench mortars on to part of the front line held by B Company. Their aim was very good, several bombs falling right into the trench and doing considerable damage, whilst Lieut. Lomer's Platoon, which was holding the part bombarded, had four men killed and nine wounded. One man had to have his foot amputated by Johnstone, the Medical Officer, in order to be released from a shelter that had been smashed by the bombs. Sergts. Tanner and Yeomans did splendid work in rescuing the wounded, as did also Sergt. Bescoby, Pvte. Axon and other Stretcher Bearers. This, however, turned out to be the only "hate" of its particular kind that the enemy inflicted on us during our stay. Possibly it was to let us know that he was aware of our recent arrival, and wished to give us a welcome, but most likely it was what we knew as his "Travelling Circus" which he brought up at certain times in order to carry out an organised "straff" on a particular piece of the line.