Diary of Apcar Leslie De Vine, 6 August 1915 - 17 May 1916 - Part 6 of 6

28/4/16 At 11 pm the gas alarm 
was sounded as the Germans were
usg gas on our left, all the [[billets?]]
roused & put on helmets at once 
& fell in fighting order on the
road & marched to our stag 
post had us stopped on the way 
by our relief, saying that [[?]] 
attack was over & that helmets 
could be removed, returned to 
billet & turned in at 12.30
 
28/4/16 A coy for fatigues on the
firing line. did not go up myself
had the day off grand day on
the whole 

29/4/16 Quiet day today, detailed off 
for? an Engineers fatigue at rail

head at 8^o/c from marked [[?]]
for firing line, told we are going into   
the trenches on Tuesday to relieve the  
2^nd Bn 

30/4/16 Sunday Very busy day 
dozens of high explosive shells fallg 
on the roads & billets near, some 
fell nearer than 400 yds to our 
billets. Some houses & trees blown 
down 
  
1/5/16 Nothing to do during day. in charge 
of engineers fatigue on railing to trenches 
at 8pm, get back safely although a 
machine gun was turned on us 

2/5/16 Coy on fatigues all day 
did not get a job myself, warned

that we are going into the trenches 
tomorrow, mounted as R O C at 
5 pm this evening 
  
3/5/16 R O C all day easy time 
nothing to do. Bn went to the 
trenches at evening & relieved the 2^nd Bn 
Very quiet during night 
  
4/5/16 Fairly quiet day, plenty of 
sniping, during afternoon get some shelling  
from the 77 mm, not much damage 
done 
  
5/5/16 All day very quiet, at 
7 pm a very violent bombardment 
opened on our L the whole  
place shook with the vibrations of 
the high explosive shells, our big

guns replied. the bombardment lasty 2 hourly 
about 9 am the 9^th Bn reported 
gas from the left & the alarm 
was given & all gas helmets put 
on, attack lasted until 9.30 
stood down at 10 o/c, no attacks 
on our front 
  
6/5/16 Our part of the line quiet  
all day. nothg doing 
  
7/5/16 Sunday our firing line shelled 
during the morning many shells passed 
over into the vacant ground in  
the rear, all were high explosives 
paid today 60 Francs =£2. 3 . 0 
everything pretty quiet. very little 
sniping 
[[?]] A  Coy 4^th Bn  

8/5/16 Heavy shelling on our R  
during the day, otherwise nothing 
doing on our direct front 
Germans relieved in front of us 
during night  [[P W Anjou?]] 
  
9/5/16 Germans in front of us 
relieved during the night & are 
very quiet, we think that 
they are Saxons, they are much  
quieter than the others with 
very little or no sniping, they  
greeted us this morning by waving 
a yellow shirt & putting up 
notices, rained constantly during the 
night. very muddy  P W Suvla 
10/5/16 Ground very muddy & slippery 
all day owing to constant rain 
everybody cold & wet through

Germans very quiet all day it [[looks?]] 
they are in a worse condition than 
we are   P W. Sydney 
  
11/5/16 No rain during the night 
ground drying quickly, Bit of excitement 
about 11 am, the Germans [[siezing]] a  
mine within 12 to 15 yards outside 
our parapet, without doing any damage 
to the fire trench, the ground shook 
very considerably, & the parapet got 
a good shaking up, but it did 
not dislodge one single bag, a  
considerable crater was thrown up 
which we occupy each night 
everything quiet the rest of the  
day                 [[P W? Yoss]] 

12/5/16 Everything very quiet very little 
sniping during day.    P W Albury 

13/5/16 Very wet today, rained all 
day practically without stopping, everythg 
in the firing line one sea of mud 
everything quiet on our front  P W Serapeum 

14/5/16 Sunday Everything pretty muddy 
no further rain during day, vy 
dificult to move about trench, owg  
to the suction of the mud  P W Judy

15/5/16 Everything quiet as usual 
on our front during the day, at night 
several bombs were thrown over into 
the rear of our firing line, but 
did no damage, only about a dozen  
bombs were used, we replied P W April  

16/5/16 Warned during early morning that 
I am going on leave to England at 
4.30 pm, sun shining today the 
first for several days, mud drying 
up quickly, packed up full marching 
order & reported at the Bn orderly 
room at 4.30, marched into 
[[?]] & caught the motor bus 
at 8.30. slept this night 
at a Y M C A shed near 
Steenwerck 
  
17/5/16 Up at 3 am & 
marched to Steenwerck 
station & entrained for  
Boulogne arriving there  
at 11 am, & went direct 
on board the S E & C Rly 
steamboat the Invicta 

arriving at Folkstone in about 
an hours time, left by train 
for London at 2:15 pm 
arriving at Victoria about 
4:30 after reporting at 
Horsferry Rd, all leave spent 
in London 
18/5/16 Leave starts 
today & expires 
on the 25/5/16 

Orange 11 
5798  [[Mac?]]
  
Miss Lenni Thompson 
Iduna 
[[? Central] Avenue 
East St Kilda 
Melbourne 
  
L/yl 23-2-16 
leave 4-3-16 
  
            £46-11-6 } up to May 15 
D [[?]] £30-12-0} 
               52.12.6 
               10.0.0 
               ——— 
18/5/16   62.12.6