13th November 1917 Tuesday

Gas Again!

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“At 10.30 p.m. on the 13th November the enemy opened an intense fire of H.E., shrapnel and gas shells on our right support, and front lines, which lasted for 15 minutes. At 11 p.m. he repeated the dose. The din was terrific. Aida Post was smashed about a good deal, and two men wounded (slightly) there. One of our patrols happened to be out in No Man’s Land at the time, and got caught in the barrage. These men were wounded, and the officer badly gassed. One man had a compound fracture of the left leg, but the others had only slight wounds. The officer (Lt. Wood) did good work in carrying in the badly wounded men. We got a lot of gas at H.Q. and we all got the “wind up”. The gases were mustard and phosgene.” 

This was a ferocious attack to endure. If high explosive and shrapnel wasn’t enough to deal with, then have a hearty helping of gas with it to be going on with.

The officer Lt. Wood for carrying out his courageous acts of rescue may have received some recognition for his act, but so far his identity is eluding detection.

We would be grateful for any information which would be well received.

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