Lord's Wood

A misty early morning walk through Lord's Wood. This Remembrance Sunday I've been re-reading the diary of my mother's cousin, a Lance Sergeant in the 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment. This is part of his entry for May 24th 1915:

"Our particular trench was perpendicular to the German trenches so we had to keep low because the Germans were enfilading us with their rifle fire and also with their artillery fire which was very heavy all day. One of the KO's next to me got hit on the head with a piece of shell. I bandaged him up and sent him out. Shortly after, while we were waiting for orders, I was hit in the knee with a piece of shell .... at the time I thought it had taken my kneecap off. It was at this time that we lost fairly heavily in our battalion ..... it was a trying time. Our casualties that day were heavy. Killed Sergts Cook, Hope, Hately. Rfn. Picavance, Rfn Beech. Wounded Capt Pilkington, Lt. wood, Sergt Millener, Cpl Dickson, Rfn Peake. After a while we left our perpendicular trench and went to a new front line trench..... At night I had the painful job of burying some of the above chaps. Altogether I buried thirteen that night, they were men just in our .... section of the trench. I don't know why I was picked for the job." 

The diary ends a few days later. Thomas died from the wounds he sustained that day.