"I am pleased to say that I am feeling much better and my wound is
getting on nicely. I hope my letter will find you feeling much better
for the rest you have worked so hard for. I saw in the casualty list
that the Colonel had died of wounds, the Adjutant killed, Sec.-Lt.
Gratton missing, Captain Andrews wounded, and Lt. Telfer missing. I
think I have told you all the news you require, and hope you enjoy
reading it.
"With best wishes,
"Yours sincerely,
"ROBERT CHARLES BALDWIN, Sgt."
Sergeant Baldwin was awarded the Military Medal for his services on July
31--August 1, 1917.
Having reproduced the personal narratives of our experiences at Ypres,
first by myself and then by my platoon sergeant, it is now desirable to
see what happened to the Battalion as a whole. For this it will be
necessary to quote the official account in the _Lancashire Fusiliers'
Annual_. After mentioning the machine-gun fire which caused me to extend
my platoon the account goes on to say:
"This fire was so heavy that it not only inflicted severe casualties,
but caused confusion in the shaking out into extended order, and it is
to be believed that from this moment the correct formation was never
absolutely regained. Machine-gun fire was active chiefly from Wine
House, Spree Farm, parts of Capricorn Support and Capricorn Keep, Pond
Farm, Hindu Cot and other points.
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