while the weather was as bad as possible. There never was a wetter
June, and the new assembly trenches, the recently cleared or newly dug
communication trenches, Derby Dyke, Nottingham, Stafford, Lincoln and
Leicester Lanes, Roberts Avenue and "Crawl Boys Lane," and the cable
trenches were always full of water. Work on the gun pits was seriously
delayed, and many batteries had to move in before their pits were
complete. Fortunately the enemy's artillery was not too active, and
Foncquevillers was almost left alone, though he did one day bombard the
Church. No damage was done, except that afterwards the one remaining
face of the clock stated the time as 2-15 instead of 11-45, as for the
past many months. The village was full of stores and explosives, and
almost every cellar held a bomb or ammunition reserve, while the Church
crypt was filled with Mills and Stokes mortars under the care of
Serjeant Goodman.

On the 24th June our Artillery registration started, and, with early
morning bombardments and sudden harassing shoots at night, we made a
considerable noise--"the sullen puffs of high explosives bursting in
battalions," as Beach Thomas wrote in the "Daily Mail"--and clearly
showed the Boche that we meant business. This apparently was the
intention of the Staff, for, as the main attack was to be South of us,
it was the object of the IIIrd. Army to attract as many enemy as
possible on this the extreme flank of the attack. So successful were we,
that we did actually frighten the enemy into reinforcing the Gommecourt
area with an extra Division--unfortunate for us who were to attack the
place, but doubtless of value to the 4th Army, who would thus have one
Division less against them, Gommecourt was naturally strong, and this
addition to the garrison made it doubly so, while the Artillery found it
very difficult to destroy the wire which was thick along the whole
front. The trees in the wood were all wired, and there were strong belts