La Boisselle, believed impregnable, was a concentrated hell. The Germans were putting shrapnel into the woods that lie in the triangle between Hamel, Bouzincourt and Aveluy. Here our guns were massed. And now and then a mushroom of smoke would spring up in unexpected places. The noise was so terrific that it became monotonous. We were served out with cotton wool for our ears, but in spite of this the concussion on the 1st of July was so great that we all became stone deaf, and for days after almost without the use of our voices. We prepared for 'battle order.' All our belongings we packed into our valises, and these were stored in an empty house in Bouzincourt. We wore steel helmets, at that time they were without sandbag coverings, and in strong sunlight reflected almost as brilliantly as polished steel. I noticed on the 1st July, looking back from the advanced line to the German original front line, how the helmets of our reserves holding that line shone up and made their wearers clear targets. We wore the haversack on our back containing mess tin, small kit, two days' rations, 'iron rations,' pair of socks and waterproof sheet. We carried four sandbags just below. Then we had the usual equipment, pouches containing 120 rounds, bayonet, water bottle and entrenching tool. Another 100 rounds in bandoliers, and I had extra an apron containing 12 Mill's bombs and butterfly wirecutters. The whole formed fairly heavy equipment. In the late afternoon when we were all lined up prepared to march off, orders came to cancel all orders. We stood by for two days. On 'X' night the 16th H.L.I. sent a platoon over to find out the condition of the enemy defences. Owing to an accident they were almost entirely wiped out. On the following morning while playing a football match the Sixteenth again suffered casualties from a 5.9 which burst between the goal posts. In the evening of 'Z' day, the 30th of June, we marched off by platoons. The thunder of the heavy guns as we passed through their belt was almost unbearable, and nearer the lines long lines of eighteen-pounders were giving 'battery fire' down long rows of twenty batteries, sometimes all speaking at once. We entered 'Oban Avenue' at the right end of the village of Authuille. It was the 'up' trench for the advance and 'Campbell Avenue' the 'down.' Both trenches had been deepened, in some places, to twelve feet, and were fairly safe from shrapnel. The line in which we were to spend the night had been blown almost completely out of existence and it was difficult to find sufficient cover for the men. I and the bomber who was next to me in the line found a corner and there slept for the night. We were once disturbed by the enemy destroying a trench mortar store situated close to where we slept. Daybreak came and still there was no word of 'zero.' We made some breakfast, and about half-past five word was passed along that zero was 7.30, and to move into battle positions.