October 31st 1914 Messines
Up early and away. To village on skyline, where saw nunnery. (Hear that it was burnt afterwards) Lots of shelling going on, makes one feel shivery down the spine
As we come into village, notice black smoke suddenly coming out of chimney at the end of a row of cottage. Remark to Corporal that it looks like a signal. Sure enough, in about a minute, a big black thing explodes on the left of the road, throwing up young trees. Our first introduction to Mr Jack Johnson. A few seconds later comes another on the right. Open out to twenty paces between sections and carry on. Several shells come, but we have only one casualty, a man hit by a splinter in the arm.
Take up position in wood – nothing to be seen. Move off and get into field by pumping mill. Lighten packs by general consensus of opinion. Throw away dirty shirt and old pack of cards. Villagers come out and gather up armfuls of clothing. Notice that pumping mill begins to turn, though there is no wind. Wonder if it a signal, or only our people trying to get water. While wondering, get order to move off. Through field, round hedges just like the English country, told to keep still and into hedge because of aeroplane. Plenty of blackberries. Have some. Never thought of blackberrying under shell fire before.
Come up under brow of hill, told we have to get up to trenches about 100 yards over brow on other side. Extend to five paces and get to near brow. Barbed wire fence at top, but as it is not yet on skyline we get through it alright and lie down on the other side, waiting order to advance.
It seems pretty quiet, only a few shells buzzing about. So on we go gaily, when order comes.
But no sooner over the brow, than the trouble begins. No trenches visible in front of us, only a bare field, but a tremendous fire from our left, shells, machine guns and rifles (the latter negligible).
We rush on about forty yards and then halt. Get out my entrenching tool and start digging like mad. Man on my left hit though flesh of both legs above the knee, wonder how it missed mine. Wonder when my turn will come, go on digging. Get a bit of head cover when six from a maxim come into it spattering me all over with earth. Wonder how it missed me. Have to advance, and regret having to leave shelter. Heard afterwards that after we advanced the man with the wounded legs rolled into hole that I had made and had no sooner got there than was hit in the small of the back by a bit of shrapnel, really addressed to me.
Get on another sixty yards as hard as can, and down again. Start digging like mad. Something catches me a hell of a whang on the head, and knocks off bonnet. Put hand up to feel if hurt. Hand comes away wet. Much relieved to find it is only sweat, go on digging hard.
Lots of people seem to be hit, and the air is full of bits of iron. Don’t like it, and can see no German to shoot at. Not what we were led to expect.
See haystack on left front, pass word to people near me to make for it. Rush up and do so, helping one or two wounded on the way. This cover gives us a chance to look round.
See trench near, and, after breather, make for it and jump in. Very narrow, not made for fat man like me. Men on each side of me hit, between stack and trench. Very glad to have got to something like shelter, and breathing space. Atmosphere still very shelly. Carabineers in trench, jolly good fellows. Tell us all about it. Nothing to do but sit still till dusk. Do so. Hear German bands playing hymns at six o’clock (They played “Abide with me” and the Austrian hymn.)
Message comes that we are to dig an advanced trench, so go forward at dusk and dig strenuously until midnight. Sniped from all round. Village to right on fire, burning brilliantly.
This is a sort of nightmare of digging and firing at flashes. All the German bullets seem to go high. Trench gradually gets deep enough to be safe. Send to farm behind for water. Man comes back says farm is full of Germans. Sure enough it begins to burn. A big lot of them come running out. “Who are you?” we shout. “Scotland! Scottish Rifles!” they answer, in foreign accent and wave Union Jack but we can see their “pickelhaubers” against the fire, so we are not to be had, and give them all the “Scottish” rifles we have got, until they sink into darkness.
Then there is a time when they are all round us, and we are facing alternately front and rear, firing as hard as we can. Align my sights on the burning farm, and fire every time a figure comes between them and it. Seems to be effective. Scored a bull on a man in a white mackintosh, evidently an officer. Heard afterwards that they had bayoneted our doctor there, so am in no way repentant.
Finally told to retire to windmill on our right, as the others each side of us had cleared out. Plenty of bullets about, so retired quickly. Could not find my pack in the dark (had taken it off to dig better) and did not stop to look for it, because others behind me were telling me to hurry up. Some blighter had surrounded said mill with barbed wire about a foot from ground. Tumbled over it, thought was shot but wasn’t. Saw pig in dark, though it was a German and was just going to shoot it when it grunted in French. Desisted.
November 1st
After several more nightmares, got into trench behind burning farm, could see nothing so went to sleep. Woken up by order to retire, so did so, forgetting entrenching tool. Getting shelly again, broad daylight now. Came into turnip field and lay down in the middle of it. Saw alot of Germans coming over hill. Had several shots at them. Was using rifle as single loader all the time, as sand in the early afternoon had bunged up the magazine. Saw another lot of Germans coming over another hill. Realize we are nearly surrounded again. Hurrah! See reinforcements coming up over another hill in our rear.
So that’s all right. Find later that we have held on long enough to save an awkward situation. Glad.
Get water bottle filled at farm. Consider that war as a sport is very much over-
Return to diary script November 1 cont.
This is Duncan’s account of the London Scottish action at Messines
on October 31st 1914 and the following morning.