Such a wet day. We don’t go in to the line till Monday or Tuesday, and then for eight days and then back for a fortnight, I think. Pratt and Padre tried fishing yesterday, but caught nothing, as whizz-bangs were coming near them, and they left off after an hour. They are going to give us 14 officers over estab., which means another nine. Had tea with How. By. [howitzer battery] yesterday. Geoffrey White is a Brigadier now, and Malcolm Peake C.R.A. [Commander Royal Artillery] 29^th Div. vice old Stockdale, who has been sent home. I always thought he was too slow. Have got my chair up here and am most comfy. The soil here is like C.B. [Carrick Blacker] and gets ‘lifty’ after rain and takes some drying. Sir R. Chalmers was Gov. of Ceylon, and was weak, I hear. Socks will be welcome. Hope they sack the Sinn Feiners from Gov. employ. We are not working on the Elephant—R.E. and 107^th Bde. We are to have daylight saving out here. Do wish they would do away with the Irish time. Walked over the Brigade Office; with infinite care got Gen. to agree to cancel our working party for tonight of 150. The weather is too dreadful, pouring rain, and no work could be done. Still uncertain whether we go in Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Col. Kentish just sent me an account of the raid carried out by 1^st R.I.F. in daylight. Highly successful. They killed one officer and 12 Germans, counted them, and got a few prisoners. A train load of ammunition has just broken down on the line here, and we have to turn out a party to unload it. Lucky I got the working party cancelled.

Footnote

This extremely successful daylight raid was the first of its kind to be conducted by the BEF. It was carried out near Monchy-au-Bois on the afternoon of 17 April by 2 officers and 26 other ranks of the 1^st Battalion and an officer and four men of the Royal Engineers.