During May and June there was not much activity on our front. We got many warnings from prisoners and other sources of the imminence of a further offensive, and on the 26th May especially an unusually severe bombardment, extending to the back areas, seemed to presage a fresh German effort. Nothing however came of it, except that on this latter date a big attack was started against the French near Reims. Our Headquarters came in for a good deal of unpleasant attention, chiefly from a high velocity gun firing from near Bapaume which bombarded us with especial intensity on the 18th and 19th May, and on the 9th June. We were also considerably annoyed by bombing aeroplanes at night, and early in the morning of the 17th June several bombs fell very close to the chateau in which we lived. One bomb on this occasion burst ten yards from a small shanty in which two men were sleeping. Fortunately the inside of the hut had been dug down about 2½ feet, and the men were lying below the ground level, with the happy result that although the hut was blown to fragments the men inside were absolutely unhurt. The batteries were subjected to a good many bombardments, but generally without much effect. D/310, however, had an unfortunate experience on the 11th June. A 5.9 shell penetrated one of their dug-outs, going through 12 feet of earth before it burst and killing all the six men who were inside it at the time. Major Foot, who commanded this battery, was at the time studying the duties of Brigade Major at headquarters, and I may mention here that, in order to have understudies always ready to take the place of any Staff Officer who might become casualties, there was generally a Regimental Officer attached to my headquarters to learn the work. We had a good many officers in the Divisional Artillery who had been trained in this way, and who were quite competent to take on the respective duties at a moment's notice. Majors Eeles and Foot, and Capts. Archer and Middleton did particularly good work of this sort at one time or another.