13Dickebush Rest Camp, Monday, 30 July 1917
John watched the men emerge from the bathhouse. The new reinforcements gathered in nervous groups. The old hands, a mere thirty-three survivors, collected in a single party. They had a confidence and easy comradeship born of shared experiences, but they too were subdued. There had been two hundred and fifty men on the company strength before Messines. The survivors of the men who had been new before that stunt had passed their initiation and were now equals.
He was proud to be their leader, but his pride was overwhelmed by sadness. So many men were missing. Those who had fought on with their wounds had been taken to a CCS and it would be at least a couple of weeks before the first of them rejoined the company. Some would never be back. He cross
