Soldier Record

Albert William Andrews served with the 19th Battalion Manchester Regiment (90th Brigade, 30th Division) until December 1915, then 21st Brigade from September 1916 to August. He fought in France from November 1915-1917. He wrote his memoir of the Battle of the Somme whilst convalescing from shellshock and a bullet to the shoulder during engagements at Trones and Guillemont, July 1917.

My mate said "We must have hit him or he has gone to sleep."

Text published by the BBC with permission from the soldier's relatives and the Imperial War Museum.

Memoir

May 9th 1916 Place: Bray - the sniping of Fritz on our post was very hot, being a lot too near at times to be comfortable, but my mate and I just let go every now and then to let them know we had not gone home. About 1am I had just got my rifle up to fire when Fritz put one right in our parapet, burying itself in the earth and sending some into my eyes, nearly blinding me. I had to get off the fire-step. One of my pals relieved me until I got my eyes right. After I had got them right, I jumped up on to the fire-step again in a bad temper, and just as I got up he fired again. My mate and I both spotted by flash of his rifle where about he was, so I said "should we have five rounds rapid at that spot Herbert?" "If you like," he said, and so we did.

Well all was quiet after this for about ten minutes. My mate said "We must have hit him or he has gone to sleep." I jumped up on two sandbags just nearby, exposing my body over the parapet when, thud! Something dropped right on the sand bag I was leaning against. We both dived and ducked down - of course, we would have been too late. We felt about in the dark. I picked something up right under my nose. It was a rifle grenade - a large bomb on a rod, fired like a rocket [...].

- One morning I had two rum issues and was firing at a sniper when Bennett, whose nerves were not at all the best, asked me what I was firing at. I told him and he said "keep your head down or he will get you." Of course, I was three sheets to the wind - two good rum issues on an empty stomach - and therefore did not care whether the Germans were there or not [...].