Page 13

April

over level country. Machine gun
fire very heavy. Formed a line about
noon & held it till late in the afternoon
Retired again. [Mcdermott?] killed. I was
going back on the village when I
found poor old Bill Marsden dead.
Counter attack about dusk, we got
back most of the ground lost in
the day. 5th Btn. out of the line.
6th came to the wood, found we had
pretty heavy casualties. 21 out of [no.2]
8th In cellars in village, had my
first wash for 8 days. Went out
salvaging & got a change of clothes
& a bed. It is funny to see the troops
in & out of the houses souveniring
all kinds of things, beds, blankets,
clothes, eatables. 10th Still in cellars
at Villers-Bretoneaux. Had some
Mustard Gas put over last night
11th Blown up in the yard by a shell
got a bit of a shaking up. 12th Moved