A Story of War

The Brigadier drove out to the Narai, the other R.P. day. He found a bomb there, and so told the Khassadars to destroy it when the troops had left. They had a few shots, and, thinking it a waste of ammunition, brought it in and laid it on the Bde verandah. The sappers and miners then took it out and blew it up, with the devil of a bang.

A bomb exploded in the R.A. mule lines in Crocus yesterday, wounding two IORs. I always thought that was a pretty safe spot there. They also shot up Tower from the heights above, Khassadars and no Khassadars. Was out covering the range the other day, up a spar near Bakhshi. Suddenly there was a shot, in the bushes in front of that piquet, and movement was observed in the bushes. Then a Ghurka appeared, doubling back to Bakhshi piquet, in shorts and vest. In his left hand was a rifle and in his right a long fat hare.

Went out on chapao last night, 1:30 until 5:30am. My platoon lined the wall and slept, by number 4 gate, and Wardle’s went out, under Conical near the nullah, to try and catch the dawn snipers, who pot at mules being exercised. They wounded two IORs in their lats a couple of days previously, like this.

Nothing seen of course, save dawn breaking in Waziristan.

I see in “Picture Point,” Geoffy Holt, in the role of “a day in the life of an undergraduate.” The cinema here us getting bloody awful films just now. Sort of type you get as runner up in a provincial cinema, only rather longer. Donald Gordon has returned from his course, and I met him where he will always be found, in the club. R.P. tomorrow and there seems to be a lot of lead flying round here these days. Tribesmen broke into the British cemetery the other day, and hacked trees about, and generally made a nuisance of themselves. I’m told they like the lead in the coffins to make ammunition. Ipi is reported very short of ammunition, but the Dushman round here seem to have plenty to spare.