| Regiment | 1st Wiltshire |
|---|---|
| Location | France, In the line |
| Entry | (11th - 16th) On the afternoon of the 11th the Battn relieved the 10th Cheshire Regt in the line. The relief was effected without casualty. On the right was the 2nd S Lancs of 75th Bde, and on the left the 8th LN Lancs Regt. The Battn's line was extended from WOLFE RD (A 9 d) to northern end of WARWICK SOUTH ISLAND, (A 3 a 8.6). Three Coys held the front line and one was in Support in GUNNERS SIDING, THE AVENUE and UPPER CUT. During this time the Battn remained in the line : the enemy's attitude throughout was very quiet, and his line appeared to be held lightly, particularly at day : his artillery was not active except on the neighbourhood of GIVENCHY CHURCH which was shelled almost daily with 77mm and 5.9" shells. Enemy's trench mortars only fired occasionally, chiefly upon the right Coy's Sector, and the greater part of these fell in rear of the front line. A special labour platoon was formed for purposes of work in the line, and these men and all available men of Coys were employed upon the maintenance of front, support and communication trenches. The work was particularly urgent as on the approach of wet weather portions of the trenches began to collapse : to combat this a large amount of revetting was taken in hand and the work continued throughout the Battn's tour. In addition the trenches were kept well drained. The Regimental snipers had few targets, but some hits were claimed : good retaliatory fire was opened by the Stokes mortars in this Sector whenever the enemy's mortars opened, but our artillery generally was inactive. Officers patrols were out each night and succeeded in locating a few of the enemy's posts and Machine Guns, but no identification was obtained. The following officers joined for duty:- On the 11th for duty as Chaplain, Capt W B Church, CF in place of Capt Polhill. On the 12th 2nd Lieut J J Riddle and on 16th 2nd Lieut A F Frost. On the 13th owing to the absence on leave of GOC 7th Inf Bde, Lieut Colonel S S Ogilvie, DSO assumed command of the Bde, and Major Blew that of the Battn. |
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