TCD MS 10821 folio 17recto
[June 22nd 1916] for nearly two hours & it was wonderful how much stuff could be put over our heads without causing any casualties. Our dug out had one narrow escape from a 5.9 with delayed action fuze which badly shook it. The night was very stuffy & beyond a good deal of machine gun firing was fairly quiet.
June 23rd. A few rifle grenades came over during the night. I got very little sleep, bey being constantly disturbed. After breakfast just as I was lying down for a few hours rest, the minnenwerfer, finn bombs & all the unpleasant enemy’s missiles started to come over & made sleep impossible. Our retaliation was I am afraid nil. Went down to Batn Head Quarters where we had a conference about the work to be done. Henry Porter had arrived here, whether to command or not I do not know. A heavy thunderstorm came on in the afternoon & the water poured into our dug out. It rained most of the night & the trenches soon got into a very bad state, full of mud & water. All the afternoon there was a ceaseless bombardment to the South of us: the heavy guns were going all the time & the air quivered with the vibration.
June 24th. It rained all night & while we were standing to in the morning, so the trenches are in a horrible state. Luckily it cleared up in the course of the morning. The