and these, fired frequently during the early part of the night, made life very unpleasant for the carrying parties.  There were no communication trenches and no light railways, so that all stores and rations, which could be taken by limbers as far as Packhorse Farm only, had to be carried by hand to the front line.  This was done by platoons of the support and reserve companies who had frequently to make two or three journeys during the night, along the slippery track past Pond Farm and Cookers Corner—­the last a famous and much loathed spot.  There were grids to walk on, but these more resembled greasy poles, for the slabs had been placed longitudinally on cross runners, and many of us used to slide off the end into some swampy hole.  One of “B” Company’s officers was a particular adept at this, and fell into some hole or other almost every night.  These parties often managed to add to our general excitement by discovering some real or supposed spy along their route, and on one occasion there was quite a small stir round Cookers Farm by “something which moved, was fired at, and dropped into a trench with a splash, making its escape.”  A subsequent telephone conversation between “Cracker” Bass and his friend Stokes revealed the truth that the “something” was “a ——­y great cat with white eyes.”

Like the enemy’s, our artillery was comparatively inactive.  Our gunners, though from their Observation Posts, “O.P.’s,” on Kemmel Hill they could see many excellent targets, were unable to fire more than a few rounds daily owing to lack of ammunition; what little they had was all of the “pip-squeak” variety, and not very formidable.  Our snipers were quite incapable of dealing with the Bavarians, and except for Lieut.  A.P.  Marsh, who went about smashing Boche loophole plates with General Clifford’s elephant gun, we did nothing in this respect.

In one sphere, however, we were masters—­namely, patrolling.  At Armentieres we had had no practice in this art, and our first venture into No Man’s Land was consequently a distinctly hazardous enterprise for those who undertook it—­2nd Lieut.  J.W.  Tomson, Corpl.  Staniforth, Ptes.  Biddles, Tebbutt, and Tailby, all of “A” Company (Toller).  Their second night in the line, in 15 trench, this little party crawled between the two halves of a dead cow, and, scrambling over our wire, explored No Man’s Land, returning some half hour later.  Others followed their lead, and during the whole of our stay in this sector, though our patrols were out almost every night, they never met a German.

We stayed in these trenches for a month, taking alternate tours of four days each with the 4th Lincolnshires (Col.  Jessop).  We lost about two killed and ten wounded each tour, mostly from snipers and stray bullets, for we did not come into actual conflict with the enemy at all.  Amongst the wounded was C.S.M.  J. Kernick, of “B” Company, whose place was taken by H.G.  Lovett.  This company also lost Serjt.  Nadin, who was killed a few weeks later.