"On July 1st, the Battalion returned to the forward area. We were to have gone into our old billets in the Prison and the Magazine, but, as a 17in. shell had just landed in the Magazine and the foundations of the Prison had been shaken by 8in. duds, it was impossible to do so. Half the Battalion therefore found billets in the Ramparts, etc., the other half and Headquarters went back to Goldfish Chateau. During the afternoon of July 1, the Battalion suffered the most severe loss it had suffered for some time. Four officers, Lieut. W. C. Ronald, Lieutenant H. A. Wood, Lieutenant J. Halstead and Second-Lieutenant H. A. Barker, one officer from each Company, had started up to reconnoitre the line. At Wells Cross Roads a shell landed and wounded all four. Second-Lieutenant Barker died of his wounds a month later, but the other three have all recovered." The _Lancashire Fusiliers' Annual_ goes on to say that "On July 2nd the Battalion moved up into the Potijze sector. We had a hot reception, the enemy sent over 1,500 shells all round Battalion Headquarters between midnight and 5 a.m." But, as the following extract from my diary will show, the move took place while I was otherwise engaged: "July 2nd. " ... There came an order for a working party of one officer and twenty men to report at Potijze dump at once. So Captain Andrew detailed me to take Sergeant Baldwin and twenty men of 5 Platoon. We went by the Water-pipe track across the open, in broad daylight. Enemy observation balloons were up all the time and spotted us. A few shells were fired, but nobody was hit. When we got to Potijze the men were given material to take to Pagoda Trench; so we proceeded there in small parties. We got to Pagoda Trench at 7.30; but enemy observation balloons were still up, and a few bullets whizzed over the trench, so it was not yet safe to work. We accordingly sat in the trench and waited. Darkness fell upon a beautiful summer evening before the observation balloons disappeared. At 9.30 we decided that it was safe to begin work. The work to be done consisted of repairing duck-boards. It did not require much supervising, especially as representatives of the Royal Engineers were managing it, so Baldwin and I sat down and chatted most of the time. As a matter of fact, we had six men too many; so they had nothing to do. One or two machine-gun and rifle bullets whizzed past while we were there, but no one was hit. We stopped at 11.30 and filed back down the communication trench through Potijze Wood. Coming round the corner here--near Bottle Wall--we were shelled rather badly; the shells were bursting very near us--one within six yards--but none of my party were hit. An R.E. officer close by was wounded. We got back to Potijze dump at 12 midnight. I reported to Captain Andrews, who was there in a dug-out. The Company had moved up while we had been on this working party. I saw my party into their new dug-outs here, and then came back and spent the night in the