My dearest Mummy & Daddy,—Just got your letter—and cannot tell you how pleased I was to get it. Things have been pretty fast and furious since I wrote night before last. Yesterday morning, having been working all night I was just trying to get some sleep in a new dug-out which I had had built, when there was a shout of ‘The Gas, Sir!’ Out I bounced and was immediately aware of this Chlorine ‘muckins’ coming up the hill. It was just getting dawn and so I knew, as we all knew, that there was going to be an attack—and my aunt—it was an attack. For 2 hrs solid the[14] Germans rained every calibre of shell on us in our Reserve Trenches whilst we were also struggling with the Gas. I don’t know what happened to the Platoon during that time—except that several swines—my servant for one—took panic and ran. Personally I knelt down behind a parapet and prayed. However, the Gas wasn’t a success for the Germans for it soon blew off. They reckoned, of course, that whilst they attacked the first line trenches where A, C, D Companies were, they could make things so hot for us in Reserve (200 yards back) that we couldn’t send help along. However, about 4.15 A.M. I managed to collect the remnants of my Platoon and make a bid for the first line trenches—not by charging across the intervening ground which would have wiped us out—but by crawling along a very muddy communication trench which connected the French line with us. This we succeeded in doing without a casualty—and we then joined D Company in the 1st line trenches. From that time onwards a very fierce artillery battle raged until the evening—and the Germans made repeated attacks from 400 yards off—each time being knocked back into their trenches like a rabbit down a hole. Then, last night, when we heard that the Germans had taken 2 trenches on our left and when we expected we should make a counter-attack—orders came that we should retire right back to the very incomplete trenches in which we are now. We marched back here, then, during the night—dug ourselves in—and are now awaiting developments under a perfectly tropical sun and sky—too hot almost. It was sickening having to retire like that—for we had done magnificiently all day—A & C Companies having been almost wiped out by the German shell fire. They are absolute fiends at that. Anyhow—here we are always merry and bright in our new position, none of us having had any[15] sleep for 3½ days! I never could have believed that our men could stick things like they have these 3 days—they are magnificient—no other word for them. Those fellows who deserted yesterday will probably be shot. I would have shot them myself, and been perfectly justified, if I hadn’t been doubled up with the Gas. If we have to reinforce the first line, if it gets hit badly again, the Essex will pull things together—not ’alf!