TCD MS 10821 folio 22 recto
[June 28th 1916] as big shells were falling all round my dug out. The afternoon was quieter as I think the ‘cracker’ has used up its supply of shells. Two or three miles away I could see a gas attack going on, clouds of gas & smoke rolled along like a great fog over the enemy’s lines & a constant roar of artillery forming a barrage on either side was heard & the shrapnel could be seen bursting in long lines. How the Boche must regret having started using gas as the prevalent wind is W[est] so we get plenty of opportunities & he gets none. The evening passed quietly, the Boche being evidently very nervous from the number of flares that he put up.
June 29th. The night passed quietly & I was just leaving my dug out to go up into the front line for the ‘stand to’ when I was greeted with bursts of shrapnel. I just managed to get as far as the signaller’s ‘dug out’ where I at once telephoned to the artillery for retaliation. For half an hour our fire trenches & support lines were very heavily shelled. Two men were killed just outside the signallers dug out & four more were wounded in the fire trench. The fire trench was badly blown in in several places & quite impassable for a time. They have absolutely got the range of it & burst most of the shells right on the parapet. At 5 a.m. we had another heavy shelling for half an hour, blowing in more of