[17] During a bombardment of Fonquevillers a considerable portion of a house was blown into Major Johnson’s motor, and as he could not spare the time to empty it, he brought the debris to D.H.Q., where he had to endure much chaff on the subjects of looting and furniture removal vans. [18] An officer of this battalion wrote home: “My C.O. is the most energetic man I ever struck; he is at it from morning till night, and in the night too. He does not stop for meals, and I invariably go to meals with a notebook and pencil, as all sorts of points strike him suddenly, and down they go in my notebook.” [19] “Riddick was a tower of strength, combining energy, capability, and inventive genius with other soldierly qualities. His gallantry and unassuming loyalty to the Division could not be surpassed. Under his leadership no job of work, from constructing mined dug-outs or bridging rivers in the face of close enemy opposition, to fighting in the front line, came amiss to the sappers of the Divisional R.E.”—_Extract from letter of the Divisional Commander to the author._ [20] The relations between officers and men are exemplified in the following extracts from two letters to the mother of an officer, the first being from the officer himself, dated September 4, 1918, and the second from a sergeant after the officer’s death— “Oh, my splendid men! Even the most unlikely ones did wonders, and I never felt so proud of men!... It speaks volumes for Englishmen and for the righteousness of our cause. The British Tommy is a great man, and don’t let any one forget it.” “His thoughts were always for the boys. He helped them in all fatigues as one of themselves. He worked like a slave carrying tents and doing anything to make the boys comfortable. When he saw that one of us was tired he would do his two hours trench patrol himself.... I fairly trembled for his safety on many occasions.... His first greeting was: ‘Well, sergeant, are the boys comfortable?’ He thought all the world of his platoon, and they just idolized him.” [21] One tank caught fire and had to be abandoned on the ridge east of Trescault. It carried a number of T.M. bombs, and presented a most ludicrous spectacle, hopping about like a wounded rabbit as each bomb exploded. [22] The following description of the barrage is taken from an officer’s letter, dated 30-9-18—