5th September 1917 Wednesday

Scared, dirty and hungry in hell, but time for a nice cup of tea!

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“I was relieved later in the afternoon of the 5th, having been in ‘Hell’ for four days. My nerves were shaky and I was unshaven and dirty, and very hungry. However, when I was relieved I ‘hared’ across the open, regardless of enemy bullets or shells, and reached Burnt Farm safely. I had a cup of tea there, and then proceeded to the canal bank where I was welcomed by the Colonel, etc who thought I’d been killed! After a short rest I went on to rejoin the 13th R.W.F. at Malakoff Farm. We got no sleep that night for Huns bombing us from aeroplanes and sending out High Velocity Shells. It was most terrifying.”

Malakoff Farm near Dawson’s Corner (Map corrected to July 1917). Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland. https://maps.nls.uk/index.html

Douglas doesn’t tell us how he made the journey to Malakoff Farm, but it was a distance of around 6 kms. A good way behind the lines but nowhere was safe.

Malakoff Farm today, just to the west of Solpherino Farm Cemetery

Find out about our connection with Dr Page and an introduction to his diary here