Photostat copy of diaries of Benjamin Bennett Leane, 1915 - Part 21

184
that confounded Hancock's trench,
up which those two prisoners
came. Gott Strage the prisoners!
If they hadn't come there
would have been no trouble,
but now the Staff knows
about the blooming trench
they first want it blocked
up, then the wire taken out
and other put in, and
now they want a plan
of the blessed thing from
where it leaves our trenches
down to where it opens into
the Turks trenches, giving
depths and every other
blessed information. You
can bet Johnny Turk is
also going to send out a
patrol if he is working, so
we'll possibly have the
pleasure of meeting. I confess I
don't relish the job at all,
but it's got to be done.
Midnight. I had a presentiment
that something would happen,
and it has. We've shot one of our
own men. Luckily he wasn't
killed, but the bone of his
right arm is shattered near the
shoulder and the doctor says he
may lose it. I will tell you
how it happened. It was
arranged before I went out that
the party who which had to lay wire
etc. would not leave the firing
line until I returned. This was
definitely settled on. I said
I could not say how long I would
be out, but that I thought
about ¾ hour would see me back
I took a corporal and a private

186
with me, and we went out at
7.45 p.m.  As the trench is very
shallow and winding, and [[litteres?]]
with empty line etc. as well as
covered with prickles, we had
to go slowly so no to make no
little noise as possible, for
naturally we did not want to
draw fire from the turkish trenches,
and also we expected to run
across a patrol of theirs at any
minute, and, of course, wanted
to discover them before they did
us so that we could have
the pull on them.  At a
certain point the main trench
divides into two branch trenches,
each of which leads into the
gully at the bottom of the Turk's
trenches on Sniper's Ridge.  I left
the [[corpe?]], at the intersection while
I went forward with the other
man to explore the southern trench.
In places the trench is only
about 6" deep, where apparently
dead Turks have been buried.
In these places it is necessary to
lie absolutely flat and just 

wriggle across, because of
ourse our dark bodies would
show up very plainly against
the white earth.  In general
places the bodies are only
partly buried, and I can assure
you it wasn't the most pleasant

of sensations to wriggle over the
top of a three-months'-dead body
In one place I went to put a
boot out of my way and found
it was attached to a leg.  In
another I put my fingers through
a hideous skull, also attached
 

188
Also several other little things
which I will spare you.
Eventually we reached the
point where the trench widened
out and entered the gully, and
here we lay for about twenty
minutes listening and straining
our eyes.  I could hear the
Turks working close at hand
and talking to each other in
subdued voices, but could not
see what they were doing on
account of the black darkness in
the gully.  Several times I 
thought I saw figures moving
among the bushes close by
but could not be certain.
After a while we worked
our way back to the intersection
where I had left the corporal.
this time I left the private behind
and took the corporal with me
down the northern trench.  After
explorin this, and listening for
about 15 minutes we returned to
the intersection.  the man I had
left there then reported to me that
he had seen figures moving about
among the trees on the northern
side of the trench.  We watched
for some little while, when all
at once the corporal drew my
attention to a figure working up
the hill from on the southern side
of the trench, and asked me
should he fire at it.  I wanted
to see what the fellow's game was,
and also find out if he had
any others with him before I
disclosed our presence, so I told
him to cover him with his rifle
but to withhold his fire for the time