People talk about Fear; I must admit there is such a thing before you start over, but once you get started you are callous to everything. You see you own best friend killed alongside of you, but that does not stop you for you keep right on, never thinking that you may be the next, and even if you did you would say to yourself that you have got to go sooner or later, so what's the odds?
We were getting near to the Sugar Refinery that Fritz had put a barrage across. No matter, we kept on. We got to the trenches held by one of our other brigades. The second wave is supposed to stop here for a few minutes whilst the first wave keeps on. One of the boys who were holding the trench said "Keep on lads, don't be frightened. We gave them hell this morning. You ought to be able to do the same now." I got mad at him for thinking that we were not "playing the game," so I gave my gun team the order to advance. As we passed the Sugar Refinery, Fritz's shells were bursting everywhere--shells bursting in the air, shrapnel coming down on us white hot like snow. One of my men was hit. I took his ammunition and left him to get out the best way he could. Fritz's machine guns were now playing on us.
[Illustration: Aeroplane map of the sector in which the "Fighting 25th" were engaged at "Vimy Ridge."]
[Illustration: Aeroplane map of the sector in which the "Fighting 25th" were engaged at "Vimy Ridge."]
We saw some of the boys turn around and then drop dead. It must be a great death, for in the excitement one would never know what struck him. We opened up our machine guns on the Huns who were hiding in a bit of a wood. My team is up with the first wave by now. Then we all made a dash and arrived at the Convent wall in Courcelette. There were lots there before us. The most prominent of all was Colonel Hilliam, with a cigar in his mouth, stick in one hand and watch in the other. He says, "Now boys, the barrage will play there for five minutes and then we will go right thru the village." He was wounded in the hand, but he only smiled at that. I went and found out that both my guns were O.K. and that I was lucky enough to get over with my full amount of ammunition, which was very fortunate considering that we came thru quite an artillery barrage.