Had about 2 hours sleep on and off

17th December 1915

Woke 6.30 am from doze having had about 2 hours sleep on and off – in one of the worst nights I have ever had or ever fear to have. Oh! The discomfort of lying down in sopping clothes with your hips on a great stone, the only thing that did not squelch; and then the murmur of the men like myself unable to rest!
A fairly fine morning with signs of a great race between the sun and the mist that fortunately the sun won and gave us a warm grateful day, in which my clothes dried on me fairly soon. Went out with rifles, bandoliers and entrenching tools and made a road for the transport to take our provisions up to us. A road in the military sense is made by taking a stretch of ground 16-20 feet wide, digging a trench 1 foot wide by 1 foot deep down each side and putting a layer of stones on the top of it! Transport goes up this and the stones are rolled into the ground giving a solid foundation which the trenches on each side drain and incidentally save from the water off the land on each side. The trenches are then filled loosely with stones so that drainage may remain but vehicles not get into it.
Returned to camp 4pm, had a rattling good meal of stewed meat and coffee and turned in on a bright night with a promise of frost at 6.30 pm.
Renewal of the rumour that we are going to leave this damned place the latest edition being a Divisional Motor Dispatch rider who got into camp here at 2 am this morning looking for Brigade Headquarters and said we were going to dig these trenches then hand over to the French and clear out -to France. God preserve me from France after Wilfie’s letters!
Moffatt got away yesterday to rob Anderson of his cushy job in camp. Dirty trick! All in the pretence of not being up to scratch!