300894 Sgt. A. S. Durrant British Army 18th Btn. Durham Light Infantry 1st July 1916 Somme I reached the German trenches but I was wounded and I saw the entrance to a dugout, so I dragged myself along to the steps of the dugout and I thought lets see if I can get in there I managed somehow to get myself into a half sitting half lying possition on the steps leading down to the dugout. Suddenly the mouth of the dugout fell in. A high explosive shell must have burst near by and I was thown into a doubled up osition. I didnt seem to be hurt any further, but the entrance down to the dugout was blocked so I dragged myself out and rested in the open. This went on until the evening and I gradually dragged myself in the right direction, to the British Lines and eventually I crawled to safety. On arriving at what I thought was safety I saw an old college friend of mine, nicknamed Whiskers. I shouted Whiskers! he came along -hello what are you doing here?. He was in the Royal Army Medical Corps and he took charge of me and put me on a stretcher and conveyed me to a medical shelter.
|