TheCompleteMemoirsOfGeorgeSherston

5.0. I saw about thirty of our A Company crawl
across to Sunken Road from New Trench. Germans
put a few big shells on the Cemetery and traversed
Kingston Road with machine-gun. Manchester
wounded still out there. Remainder of A Company
went across—about 100 altogether. Manchesters re-
ported held up in Bois Frangais Support. Their
Colonel went across and was killed.

8.0. Staff Captain of our Brigade has been along.
Told Barton that Seventh Division has reached its
objectives with some difficulty, except on this Brigade
front. Manchesters are in trouble, and Fricourt at-
tack has failed. Several hundred prisoners brought
in on our sector.

9.30. Our A Company holds Rectangle and Sunken
Road. Jenkins gone off in charge of a carrying-party.
Seemed all right again. C Company now reduced to
six runners, two stretcher-bearers, Company Sergeant-
Major, signallers, and Barton's servant. Flook away
on carrying-party. Sky cloudy westward. Red sun-
set. Heavy gun-fire on the left.

2.30. (Next afternoon.) Adjutant has just been up
here, excited, optimistic, and unshaven. He went
across last night to ginger up A Company who did
very well, thanks to the bombers. About 40 casual-
ties; only 4 killed. Fricourt and Rose Trench occu-
pied this morning without resistance. I am now lying
out in front of our trench in the long grass, basking in
sunshine where yesterday there were bullets. Our
new front-line on the hill is being shelled. Fricourt is
fall of troops wandering about in search of souvenirs.
The village was a ruin and is now a dust heap. A
gunner (Forward Observation Officer) has just been
along here with a German helmet in his hand. Said
Fricourt is full of dead; he saw one officer lying across

407