He then immediately climbed out, and in his hurry fell into a shell hole just outside of our barbed-wire entanglements. As he fell, he shouted, and with the shout up went some German flares that illuminated their sector of No Man's Land. Before the flares died out, the machine guns of Fritz began to search out the spot. Our hero had sense enough to keep in a shell hole and, after the lights had died down, he heard the voice of the N.C.O. who had crawled on his stomach to the lip of the shell hole, asking him if he had lost anything. He afterwards told me that if he had answered truthfully he would have said "Yes," as his nerve had played him false.
However, he replied, "No, I have not lost anything, but I have found something."
He had by then regained his courage, so he moved like a veteran towards the German wire entanglements. Having accomplished their mission, they returned to our trenches, the Junior Sub and the N.C.O. leading. As they disappeared into the trench, our hero had just got to the shell hole where he had fallen in previously. In his haste to reach the trench, he was caught on the entanglements by one leg, with the result that he was thrown to the ground.
Again he shouted, but this brought a quick reply from the Huns. The flares were sent up and then began a fusilade of machine-gun fire at our luckless hero, with the result that the baggy part of his breeches was riddled with bullets. But, strange to say, he himself did not receive a scratch.
Eventually he reached the dugout just as a drink was being served to the Junior Sub. Lieutenant F. was asked if he would like a drink, and his reply was, "Certainly I will have one, thank you." As the drink was handed over to him we noticed that he was perspiring very freely. And as he reached over to take it, we all saw that his hand was shaking like a man with the palsy. One of the officers asked him if he was scared. He replied, "You are damned right I'm scared. See what Fritz has done to my breeches!"
During the attack on Vimy Ridge, Number One Platoon, under the command of Lieutenant Clements, who afterwards received the Military Cross for his good work in connection with this attack, was detailed to capture the Volker Tunnel. His men were supplied with electric flashlights, and, in order to distinguish them from the other platoons, they all wore white armlets above their elbows. Their special work was solely to capture the tunnel and to cut all the electric wires, as we suspected that mines had been laid under the various German trenches.