May 27, 2017
We get descriptions of the Battle of Fromelles, although painfully brief, from brother Vern, a good look at Delville Wood and the aftermath of the Flers engagement. Here is a bit of what Percy has to say;
"Turned off to the left, to some old disused trenches, near where was a wrecked "tank", one of those Hun-dreaded monsters which are the latest development of modern warfare. This one did not look such a very terrible thing, and was much smaller than I had expected them to be. It was heavily armoured, and had machine-gun emplacements protruding from each side and in front, and had a steering wheel in rear. Side-on, it had the shape of an irregular ellipse, and it moved on two caterpillars, one on each side, running right over and under the machine from end to end. One of these caterpillars was broken, and was doubled up in a loop on top. This was my first view of one of His Majesty's Land Ships, of which we have read so much in the papers, and which did such good work at the capture of Flers, Martinpuich, Courcelette, and Ginchy".
Now, if that doesn't excite you, how about a bit of stretcher-bearing through deep feezing cold mud?