‘Just a very hasty line to tell you our dugout has fallen in and we have been hard at work all day mending it – which has afforded plenty of amusement but much inconvenience as all our belongings are stacked up together in a heap and difficult to get at.’

And that was all he had time to write to Pips before going off to get a wash before going on duty. A more detailed account would have to wait until he had a little more time to spare.

[Next letter: 9 November]