7th January 1915
The wet weather destroyed much of the hard work done to the trenches by the East Surreys and the Dorsets. Water ran freely up over the bottom of the trenches. At some points men stood up to their waists in freezing water. The left hand end of Sector C, to the left of the Dorsets in Sector D, was totally flooded.
So, for Frank and his “Bhoys”, it would have been a godsend to hear that, at the end of a quiet day, they were being relieved by the 1st Bn Bedfords. This was completed by 7.45pm. The Dorsets marched to billets in Dranoutre.
One man is listed on the CWGC as having been killed today. James Griffiths was another territorial reinforcement; a proper cockney, hailing from Bow in the East End of London. His death is not listed in the war diary.
The winter rain was affecting people back in Britain too. Like last year’s flooding, much of the Thames burst its banks between Marlow and Windsor, and all the way down to Chertsey and Teddington, leading to widespread damage and overblown prose from journalists.