I was serving with the M.G.C. at Ecoust. Two men of the Middlesex
Regiment had been busy for a week digging a sump hole in the exposed
hollow in front of the village and had excavated to a depth of about
eight feet. A bombardment which had continued all night became so
severe about noon of the next day that orders were given for all to
take what cover was available. It was noticed that the two men were
still calmly at work in the hole, and I was sent to warn them to take
shelter. They climbed out, and as we ran over the hundred yards which
separated us from the trench a high explosive shell landed right in
the hole we had just left, converting it into a huge crater. One of
the men turned to me and said, "Lumme, mate, if old Hindenburg ain't
been and gone and finished the blooming job for us!"--_J. S. F.,
Barnet, Herts._