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Through the latter part of March and into April allied attacks on the German defensive positions on Monte Cassino met with little success. The battle seems to have turned into an artillery stalemate, and the Irish Brigade were unable to progress, eventually being relieved.

Saturday 25th March
Another beastly cold wet and miserable day with nothing but wind shaking the tent. It has been awful. The battle for Cassino has lulled for the time being both side having had enough of it. However, the guns have been cracking away all day and evening. Jerry is putting a fair few over in our direction, but nothing near. We now hear we are to move to relieve 4 Regt 鈥�. Tunisien in the mountains north of Cassino.

Monday 27th March.
This morning started well 鈥� fine sun and no wind. Having filled camera overnight took some photo of Mignano and surrounding country. Informed this morning that we are off after dinner so pulled up sticks. Camouflage net on the truck mysteriously caught fire this morning. Burnt two bivouacs underneath, but the truck was not damaged. Ready at 14.30 to start. Got going on to highway 6 to S. Pietra. The amount of war material and men on the lee side of those hills is unbelievable. S. Pietra looks badly knocked about. Here we got on to an awfully bad track and very dusty. Our tent on top came adrift and nearly broke my neck in front of cab. Got going again to S Vittore also badly shot up. Just near here we was one of the American 240mm guns very well camouflaged. The biggest thing in the gun line I have ever seen. On this ghastly track to Cervaro, then on an even worse one with about 1 in 4 gradient down to a narrow bridge at the bottom. Wow! Soon afterwards we got our first glimpse of Cassino and the monastery lying away to our left. An amazing sight just appearing over the smoke screen our guns are laying in the plain below it.After another mile or so we got to our destination on the forward slopes looking over Cassino. Got tent up and Cowboy away after BM blew up. Got settled down then jerry started slinging them over, fortunately in front of us to the bottom of Troccio Very noisy evening

Thursday 30th March
A good night鈥檚 sleep after what promised to be a noisy start. A lovely morning. From just outside my tent through the olive trees I could see a perfect cameo. On the blue green precipice on monastery hill lit by the sun were the ruins of the monastery. I had a look through binoculars and telescope. The shell only remains. I took a photo, which I hope will come out. Apparently during the morning twenty feet of wall collapsed and the American 240mms pumped 70 shells into it. The day was fairly quiet, the smoke screen continues all day. Chalky was in charge of the Def PL party. During the afternoon I saw him in a deep slit trench, his very red face only showing and the parapet of the pit strewn with empty beer bottles. The end of the NAAFI .

Friday 31st March
This morning I happened to look in the direction of the abbey and was amazed to see it being shelled. Apparently the 240s were taking it on, covered by mediums. It was a most amazing sight when the 300lb shells burst. Great columns of smoke, dust and rubble rose almost covering it and one could see bits missing after each hit. The shooting was very accurate and lasted about half an hour.
The Inniskillin鈥檚 brush last night cost the life of the well known Cpl Delaney who was on our first long distance patrol in North Africa and was the namer of Delaney鈥檚 Cross just outside Medjiz on the way to Tunis.

Saturday 1st April
Bit noisy overnight. Later proved to by enemy patrol in Cassino getting the worst of it. 23 dead , 5 Pow. I had a look at the town through binoculars this morning. Very little left of it now. Piles of rubble at the foot of the Abbey hill and Castle hill to its right. A number of buildings only one wall left. Hotel Continental a bit more solid. Very clear this morning and could see figures moving about in the town. I expect our chaps. During afternoon Kittihawks had a go at the guns behind Abbey hill and strafed. Bits of it the monastery look mighty precarious.

Monday 3rd April
A nice day though cool during the morning. Bill Stansfield came in this morning. First time have seen him since Testoum. They are apparently now lying in front of Cassino! At night John and I spent some time watching the queer fireworks. We were firing bofors onto the hill. I learnt of the explanation of the mortars I saw the other night. They hit, then the rear is projected up to three feet then they explode. Jerry not replying much to our shelling. During the night he put one or two down near to us.

Friday 7th April (Good Friday)
A very nice day. Much cloud in the valley and Monastery hardly visible. During last night precisely at 03.15, CQMS White RIF came back with some evacuees. I awoke and found him talking to me asking me where they had to go! I felt like telling him, but was in too much of a stupor to argue. Jerry was dropping a good few shells onto the plain below us during the day. The afternoon turned out quite hot and during the Church service and communion which John and I partook it was if anything unbearable. Capt Radice took the service. Today 6th Inniskillins got two prisoners from 3 Company 115 Recce Brigade. JD O鈥橰ouke rang me up about them. When I asked their identity he said they were from 3 Coy 115 P.G.R. but they were puzzled by the mystic initials aa in the book! Ye Gods! When I told him they stood for Aufkl盲ramps Abterling, he seemed rather annoyed and surprised! Anyhow they came in about 11.30. I examined them and searched them. One Loumel, and obergefreiter (Lance corporal) the other Sicar, and youth of 19 about six foot three and as thin as a tent pole. I took them in ignorance on foot to CMP camp where they had an ambiguous notice board with PoW cage on it. However, after peering in the officer鈥檚 tent I got my directions of S Michele where the cage was.
Saturday 8th April
Another grand day. Very busy getting out the details of the 44x15 PG鈥� The great news today is of the Russian advance to the Czechoslovak border. A great stroke. They played the Soviet national anthem and Czech anthem after the news tonight. After dark about 22.00 Jerry started warning airbursts and a spot of HE quite close to us 鈥� indeed too close to be pleasant.

Sunday 9th April (Easter Day)
A nice day plenty of sun and really warm. John and I went to the communion service at 11 Brigade HQ this morning. Service taken by Capt. Solomon. Saw Lt Roy and Blondie Haynes there. It seemed a bit incongruous that in the midst of such a service the intermittent bursts of machine gun fire and artillery quite close on us perhaps served a more than a reminder of where we were.

Monday 10th April (Easter Monday)
Early this morning (01.00) L/Cpl Hopkins woke me to inform me that 3 PoW were on their way down. About 02.30 they arrived and I got up Once again Skins picked them up in the same place as the night before. A sergeant (Gruber) and two obergefreiter ( Zimmer and Freitag). The sergeant was unfortunately wounded in the hand and thigh. Apparently when they were taken Jerry put some mortar fire down.. evacuated Gruber to ADS and sent the other two to cage. They were better specimens than the other two. Apparently Gruber had been in disgrace with his C/O and as a punishment had been sent to the front and on patrol. He was previously Regimental MT sergeant. He was depressed as his wife had been injured and his little daughter killed in an air raid. This afternoon soon after dinner Jerry started dropping shells uncomfortably near us and I took shelter in the dugouts left by the Argylls. The plastering went on for an hour and a half. The nearest one was about 75 years away, hitting a couple of chaps from 36 Brigade pretty badly. Behind us he also hit some LIR chaps and some Italian muleteers. (I have heard various reports ranging from 5 killed to 2 wounded) Anyway it was most unpleasant while it lasted. When we returned to the tent I was horrified to find a shrapnel hole in the fly and another on the left wall. When I worked it out it meant that if Eynon had been sitting in his usual position it would have caught him in the neck! That decided me. I set out at once to dig my bed in. It was not easy working but the soil was gravely. In three hours I made it so that I am just below the surface when in bed. Jerry started up again tonight and I felt a lot happier below the soil.

Tuesday 11th April
Much quieter today thank heavens though noisy during the night. Enemy harassing the road below and behind us. This afternoon a violent thunderstorm. We were all sitting inside the tent thanking our lucky stars that we were in the dry when all of a sudden a mighty rush of water came in under the wall and poured into my foxhole. It was desperate as the rain was pelting down. We rushed outside to a seemingly hopeless task but after picking and shovelling frantically managed to divert the torrent. The inside of the tent was a sorry sight. A layer of sandy slush overlaid everything but by digging up a bit of the floor that was high we managed to dry it up a bit.

Thursday 13th April
Good day. Had my blankets out to dry this morning. Sandbagged my sleeping pit for more comfort from the falling dirt. A mole started to push down the side this afternoon!

Friday 14th April
Went down to see S/Sgt Fletcher this morning. Grand view of the Rapido valley from his place. Tessele, S. Elia and Belmonte clearly visible. Made arrangements to go back in the afternoon for a haircut. Went back at 15.00 with Charlie Smith, but were unlucky barber didn鈥檛 materialise. Whilst waiting Divisional AMGOT arrived to try four chaps picked up without permits. Decided to fine them the amount of money they had on them. That was OK but when one of them denied a statement AMGOT got rather annoyed and pasted him. It surprised us rather. This evening John, Eynon and I started throwing stones at beer bottles for a bottle of beer. John ko鈥檇 two 鈥� poor Eynon. Eynon, who regularly goes out to a civvy joint every evening for wine and came back very wet and browned off, without wine. We were just finishing off the last bottle of his beer!

Tuesday 18th April
Today it was cooler but as John pointed out, spring was well and truly here as the trees have in the last two or three days pushed out new bright green leaves. Speaking to J O鈥橰 this morning and he tells me Jim had a close shave last night. Both he and Ribbetts were outside MS office when a shell landed between them 鈥� fortunately not touching them by I gather Harry Turner got all of it which is bad. This evening Harold, Robbo and I were having a sling around with the rugger ball when some 5.5 guns were being hauled up the road. It was broad daylight and very clear. It passed through my mind鈥� I hope your man doesn鈥檛 see them鈥� Well they hadn鈥檛 got very far before down it came. I waited for the second one to fall then went to ground. Then followed 20-30 in quick succession and was all over within half a minute, but it was a ghastly experience. When things quietened down a bit a jeep came flying up the road and later the ambulance went down. I expect some poor chap paid for someone鈥檚 stupidity. I felt very uneasy and could see Harold was too. He seems very jumpy these days. In bed Jerry started replying and I just laid still hoping and praying until I fell asleep. What a good thing one can sleep. One鈥檚 worries fade.

Wednesday 19th April
The arrival of the Polish to take over from us once again was heralded by much shouting and babbling in the night. S.C. told me that the two maps I did of enemy and own positions shook them at main Brigade last night. I myself was shaken when I heard from J O鈥橰 that there were several mistakes. How I cussed. However, perhaps they will be perfect when I get them back. This evening several of the Poles joined us in our rugger. Hellish tough fellows(gunners). One spoke fair English. He was a school teacher from Tarnopol (liberated by the Russians two days ago). Their views on the Russo-Polish question were obviously dyed in the wool and I did not pursue the argument. Very good fellows but apt to be misguided. The day passed relatively quietly, a trifle cool however.

Thursday 20th April
Quiet day. Enemy shelling spasmodically late evening. Went to Division this morning. Really nice run, warm and clear. Car park behind cemetery in Cervaro, then a rough walk to a gully where everything is well dug in. The walk round the side of the hill was grand, blue sky cherry blossom white against the sky and grass very green. Had a long talk with Capts. Larsen and Corbett over my layout of enemy and invasion prospects. They have very good dugouts lined with corrugated iron. Larsen is apparently an old Clare man (1934-1937) and knows Francis Bennett. Started on trace of second edition when returned

Saturday 22nd April
The wind which sprang up yesterday persisted all day and dust is flying all over the place. About 12.00 we had another bout of enemy shelling. After the first one we dived for it and a good thing too. He seemed to be putting them over one every two minutes and then three every two minutes. He put one in the dip below us and another up on the road both about 100 yards from us. It lasted about three-quarters of an hour. It makes one very windy. I have noticed that my heart persists in beating about four times its normal speed in spite of every effort to remain normal. To improve matters the Poles are now busy digging gun pits in the gully behind up. All lines blown in the shelling. This evening the Boche opened up again on the road to Portella. Nobby tells me it was most unpleasant.

Sunday 23rd April
Another awful windy blustery day with extremely good visibility which made on feel all day as though you were being looked at through binoculars. Fortunately jerry didn鈥檛 shell us today, though one was listening hard all day. Our 8-inch howitzers were firing all day and at night it stepped up to a terrific barrage. This evening some FW 190s flew over and connected with a returning Tac R. In a twinkling of an eye one FW was shot down and landed on Mount Gagliando a conical shaped hill behind us. It set the whole hilltop on fire and blazed most of the night.

Tuesday 25th April
This morning after many efforts to get DR to ride bike down to B echelon I finally had to take it on myself, the first time I had ridden it. Some hectic moments occurred in the first half mile, but eventually got there. Tough going. Saw Frank there and had tea. S. Pietra is very badly knocked about. Returned with Williams in a jeep 鈥� picked up McWhinney whose bike was broken down. Got past control point at Cervaro and found visibility splendid. Felt very nervous of the open spaces and was relieved to see our big boys knocking spots of the monastery as we passed. It was very clear. Started packing this evening after tea. Was glad to see Cowboy arrive early, before it got dark especially as jerry had put some down on the up route. Got packed up and sat and waited. Terrific rose pink light to our rear was later confirmed as ammo dump at Mignano going up 鈥� four shells right on it. After a bit of trouble with some Poles who pulled into our area, and a curious incident with a Polish officer 鈥淧olaki鈥� is the finish of my Polish 鈥淧arlate Inglesi鈥� 鈥淪i 鈥� I speak English鈥� laughter all round. Chalky, Johnny Legge O鈥橰ouke and boy arrived about 23.00. Got packed up and about 00.00 pulled out. Very bad going for the first two miles 鈥� very dark, but improved. Got to Cervaro and were then diverted towards Cassino and went right down to route 6 within a few miles of the place. After a few doubts in my mind as to the correct direction got nearly to S Pietra. Road blocked again with Poles who were going to Venafro. Sorted them out and got through. Slept in Frank鈥檚 tent.

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