Enemy shell Zillebeke & artillery of ours.
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Friday 12 May 1916
To Ouderdom & make out plans of trench area for intelligence officers.
Around firing line area are 4 of our aeroplanes smashed beyond repair.
Thursday 11 May 1916
To trenches alone making sketches. Have to expose myself but enemy do not discover me. Much shelling by both sides. Enemy blow down our parapet a little.
Wednesday 10 May 1916 – fine
Left Ouderdom for trenches @ 9:30 am alone with maps & plans of trenches.
Went along front firing lines & made sketches. Much sniping & artillery action. One of CMR’s has both legs & an arm shattered by shell fire.
To Voormezele & inspect the graves of PPCLI. In sorry condition, many shell holes.
Stayed all night at Zillebeke. Much shelling by enemy.
Tuesday 9 May 1916 – rain
Raining all day. A small bombardment goes on. Colville & Bradford return off leave.
Monday 8 May 1916 – rain
Showers all day. Very quiet no bombardment.
I sketch plan of our frontage.
Cannot rest at nights. Very restless
Sunday 7 May 1916 – rain
Anniversary of torpedoing of Lusitania.
Lieut Pope officer i/c [in charge] machine gun section is killed by rifle grenade alighting on his shoulder & blowing off his head.
Pte. Myatt of 4 Co is killed by shrapnel passing thro’ his head whilst standing outside dugout.
Pte. Dobey killed
No Sleep
Saturday 6 May 1916
Battn move from railway embankment dugouts into firing line. 52 to 62
Am in midst of bursting shells 4:30 PM. Hundreds of near shaves. Awful din. Huns putting shells around Chateau de Swan. No sleep.
Friday 5 May 1916
Hun aeroplane flys overhead when L/c Macqueen & I are in trenches. The Maltese cross easily discernable.
The 42nd & 49 scared to open up with maxims for fear of exposing their positions – ROTTEN!!
Thousands of rats in our dugout at Zillebeke. One horse & one man struck by bullets.
*Maltese Cross- What Draycott actually saw was the Iron cross, a symbol very similar to the Maltese cross but with a slight variation in shape. The Iron cross was originally the symbol for the Teutonic Knights starting in the early 11th century but later became a German military symbol from 1871 to 1918. In 1918 nearing the end of the war it was changed to another similar symbol the Bar Cross. See an example of the Iron cross below.
Thursday 4 May 1916
Hun airmen drop messages into Poperhinghe to the effect that he will drive out British from Ypres Salient before 9th.
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