March 25, 1917
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Started the lads working on clearing out the place and then went back to Bernafay to arrange for stuff to be sent to Bapaume. Whilst there, took the opportunity to have a hot bath and change of new underclothing.Went back to the tunnel for my blankets and continued on to Bapaume calling at the various posts on the way, having tea at Susenhof farm. Arrived at Bapaume just before dark and bunked for the night in an up storey room without door or windows and loose boards laid for flooring.
Our station takes up the ground floor of 3, 4 and 5 Rue de Republic, part of a terrace smashed to atoms, but still giving some semblance of shelter. There is no doubt every effort was made by the enemy to make the town uninhabitable, a systematic blowing up of houses and burning being done, and the rubbish in the houses is indescribable. Practically all flooring had been taken up and used and such things as doors, windows skirting boards simply do not exist. By closing up the windows with iron and bagging and covering the floor with miscellaneous boards we managed to make our room habitable altho’ the ceiling is smashed and the rear of the house has fallen out.
Heard a heavy explosion a few minutes after turning in, but left all enquiries concerning it until the morning when I learnt that the Town Hall had been blown up by a mine. It happened about 10 o’clock and the mine was set off in some way unknown with the result that the best building in the whole town was totally destroyed, burying in the ruins about 20 men who were sleeping there.
Actually it was a trap, the enemy thinking that the heads would pick the best building for headquarters, thus giving them a chance to get rid of some of our brains. Immediately a start was made to dig out the victims several being recovered in pieces and I saw five rescued practically unhurt 16 hours later. Some are still missing (48 hours later) the exact figure being difficult to obtain. Early rumours stated 150 men had been entombed, actually it was about 20 odd.
The next evening the 7th Brigade Headquarters blew up, two being killed and the AP.M. was saved from a like fate by discovery of a large bomb in his quarters. Which building will be next we do not know, but many expect our present quarters as altho’ in ruins rank as the best in the place. Traps of a like nature have been discovered in many places so that everyone is now on the lookout for such things.