TCD MS 10821 folio 32 recto
[July 14th 1916] then hurried back to our own trenches to avoid retaliation as the moon was full.
July 15th. A quiet morning & very little shelling. An officer from the 11th Divn came up to be attached to us. I wonder whether they are going to take over our trenches & give us a rest. In the evening we were relieved & came back to Arras for a three days rest. There was a bright moon so the relief took a very short time & we got back to our billets by midnight.
July 16th. I had a real good nights sleep in a comfortable bed & thoroughly enjoyed it. It rained unfortunately most of the day & night, which will make the trenches most unpleasant again. The news from the South seems quite good, especially the capture of some big guns. I saw Maurice Crum in the afternoon & had a walk with him round the citadel & through some very pretty gardens full of nice shrubs, copper birches & other fine specimen trees. During the night we sent out a raiding party to try & get into the German lines, but they found the wire far too thick to get through & though they spent four hours in the pouring rain trying to cut it, they made very little impression.
July 17th. Another wet day. The trenches will be in