THE COAST.
(_a_) St. Pol and Ghyvelde.
The Battalion arrived at L’Epinette early in the morning of July 4th,
and there it remained for more than a week. After the recent depressing
time which had been spent near Hulluch, the comfortable billets and
the pleasant and highly-cultivated surroundings were indeed a welcome
change. Some training was done, but the main feature of the stay was
the Brigade Sports, which were held near Paradis. On the whole, the
Battalion was not very successful in the events, but its canteen, the
only one on the ground, did a roaring trade.
On July 13th the Battalion marched to Merville where it entrained.
After a much quicker journey than was usual in France, it arrived at
Dunkerque, and marched thence to a camping ground just outside St.
Pol. Here tents had been pitched by the advanced party. The conditions
were rather primitive, it being an entirely new site, and the number
of tents was so small that about twenty-two men had to be crowded into
each. The camp was pitched among the sand dunes which made an excellent
training area, in view of the operations in which the Battalion
expected soon to be engaged. Large tracts of these sand hills were
covered with furze and other undergrowth, growing in places as high
as six feet, and a highly interesting night march on compass bearing
was carried out there. At first bathing was largely indulged in, but
a particularly obnoxious variety of jelly fish infested the sea and
caused so many casualties that it was practically given up, except by
the few who patronised the deep ditch round Fort Mardyck.
At the end of five days the Battalion marched to Bray Dunes, where it
was accommodated in a former Belgian camp. A further move into one of
the front line sectors near the coast was expected, and an advanced
billeting party actually went forward to Oost Dunkerque. But these
orders were cancelled and the Battalion moved a mile or two inland to
Ghyvelde, and settled down to hard attack training there.
When the Battalion first received orders to move up to the coast, the
49th Division was intended to take part in a big attack on the Dunes
Sector, with its flank resting on the sea. This operation had been
prevented by an enemy attack on July 11th, which had captured the whole
of the Dunes Sector and pushed back the British line to the south side
of the Yser Canal. Now the Division was detailed to make a frontal
attack on the village of Lombartzyde. The 147th Infantry Brigade was to
operate on the left, with its right on the Nieuport-Lombartzyde Road
and its left on the Galeide Brook. The Battalion was to lead the attack
on the right of the Brigade. The operation was a very complicated and
difficult one. A large number of men had to be assembled on a very
narrow front, and, after taking a series of objectives, which included
the western half of the village of Lombartzyde, the Battalion was to
consolidate a line on the light railway N.N.W. of the village, with
another battalion of the Brigade on its left, facing nearly due west
along the Galeide. With the enemy very much on the alert on that front,
the assembly alone would have been fraught with great danger and
difficulty.
A facsimile of the enemy trenches had been dug near at hand by another
division, and this was used by the 147th Infantry Brigade. In order to
approximate to the actual conditions of the operation, the Battalion
used to fall in at 1-0 a.m. and march off to its assembly positions.
All had to be assembled by half-an-hour before dawn. At dawn the
“attack” would begin, and the Battalion would be back in camp about 8-0
a.m. Little was done during the rest of the day.
But this attack never took place. The Battalion never learned
definitely why this was. Perhaps it was due to the severe casualties
inflicted on the other Brigades of the Division by the enemy’s first
use of “mustard” gas. On the last day of July the Battalion moved to
La Panne Bains, and took over coast defence duties from a Belgian
battalion. In those days La Panne was a delightful place, and the
three days spent there were much enjoyed by all. The town had suffered
little from shell fire or bombing, and everything was going on much the
same as in peace time. The coast defence duties were not heavy. Billets
were mostly on the sea front, in good houses or hotels. The “Terlynk”
and the “Continental” were well patronised. It was a regular seaside
holiday for everyone.
(_b_) The Lombartzyde Sector.
On the night of August 3rd/4th the Battalion relieved the 1/5th
Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in the Lombartzyde Right
Sub-sector. Motor buses conveyed them to a point about midway between
Oost Dunkerque and Nieuport, and from there they marched up to the
line. The night was unusually quiet for that sector, but pouring rain
hampered the relief and caused much discomfort.
The Lombartzyde Sector was a position of supreme importance. Since
the enemy attack on July 11th had driven the British out of the
Dunes Sector to a line on the south side of the Yser Canal, it had
become the only British position north of the canal. It was simply
a bridge-head, about 1,500 yards wide and 1,000 yards deep, bounded
on the right by the flooded Bamburgh Polder, and on the left by the
canal and the flooded Galeide Brook. Like the Dunes Sector it had been
attacked on July 11th, but the enemy had only succeeded in maintaining
a footing in the front, and part of the support, lines to the west
of the Nieuport-Lombartzyde Road. To maintain this bridge-head as a
“jumping-off” place for attack was of the utmost importance, and its
capture was as much to be desired by the enemy. Hence, since July 11th,
an enormous weight of artillery had been concentrated there by the
British, and the Germans had been equally active on their side.
The 147th Infantry Brigade took over the defence of the sector from the
148th Infantry Brigade and had two battalions in the front line--the
boundary being the road to Lombartzyde--one in support in the Redan,
and one in reserve on the Nieuport side of the canal. The Battalion
held the sub-sector east of the road, and never in its previous history
had it held a front in such depth. The sector is of such interest that
the Battalion dispositions are given in detail:--
1. A Company garrisoned all the three most forward lines; one
platoon held Nose Trench, a second held Nose Support, and two
platoons were posted in Nasal Trench where the Company H.Q. was
situated. To strengthen the defence, a Lewis gun team from other
companies was attached to each of the two front platoons of A
Company.
2. C Company garrisoned Nasal Support, where the Company H.Q.
was, with two platoons; the other two were in Nasal Walk, a
trench between the two most northerly arms of the Yser Canal.
3. B Company had two platoons in Nasal Lane, but its other two
platoons lived in the town of Nieuport, where they worked under
the Royal Engineers.
4. The whole of D Company was in Battalion Reserve in the Redan.
It will thus be seen that the Battalion had garrisons in five
successive lines of trench north of the canal, and a sixth line was
held south of one of the branches of the canal.
The condition of the sector was appalling. Water lay so near the
surface of the ground that only breast-works could be constructed, and
the borrow-pits quickly filled. The heavy rains of the preceding days
had made matters worse. The enormous volume of shell fire had damaged
the trenches beyond hope of repair. There were only two communication
trenches on the front--Nasal Avenue, which was dug by the side of the
road right up to the front line, and Petit Boyau, better known as
“Toute Suite Alley” from the general habits of people using it, between
Nasal Support and Nose Support. Neither of these could be used for
more than a few yards at a stretch as they had been so badly knocked
about, and most people preferred to walk straight up the road as far
as Nasal Support and then along the top of the ruins of Petit Boyau.
Of course they could be observed from the enemy lines, but so also
could they be if they tried to move along the trenches; and one could
move six times faster in the open, which was always considered an
advantage. The defensive lines were in equally bad condition, and
practically all movement was under observation. Except in A Company’s
area, accommodation was very scanty, especially in Nasal Support where
it became worse almost daily, owing to the shattering of dugouts
and shelters. The foremost lines, which had been the scene of heavy
fighting on July 11th, were littered with dead and all the debris of
battle. To crown all, the whole place was a mass of mud and the stench
everywhere was sickening. Perhaps it was this last characteristic of
the sector which suggested the very confusing system of trench names in
use there.
[Illustration:
German Front Line(dashed line)
British Front Line(solid line)
THE LOMBARTZYDE SECTOR.
Aeroplane Map.]
Just north of the canal was an old fort, the former bridge-head of
Nieuport; on the official maps it is called the “Palingbrug,” but
it was always known as the “Redan.” The ramparts of this fort had
been tunnelled into to provide accommodation for reserve troops, and
these tunnels were fairly safe from ordinary shell fire. There were
also a few pill-boxes scattered about the Redan and one of these,
which contained about six rooms, was occupied by Battalion H.Q. In
dry weather it was fairly comfortable, but, as it had been cracked
in numerous places by shell fire, the water fairly poured in when it
rained. Just over the room which was occupied by the Commanding Officer
was a great shell hole; a working party filled this in with much labour
and it was lucky they did so, for, the very next night, another shell
burst on the exact spot. Had the hole not been filled in, it would have
been a bad look out for the Colonel.
The approaches to the sector were almost worse than the sector itself.
To reach the south side of the canal one must pass through Nieuport,
which was always a most “unhealthy” place. On arriving at the canal
one had the choice of four bridges--perhaps! To the east was a series
of six bridges, one after the other, crossing the different branches
of the canal and called, for some unknown reason, the Cinq Ponts. All
these were very heavily-built structures of masonry which could hardly
be demolished by shell fire. Then, from east to west, came Vauxhall
Bridge, Crowder Bridge and Putney Bridge. These were wooden structures,
four to six feet wide, floating on the water of the canal. Parties of
Royal Engineers were permanently stationed by these bridges to repair
them as soon as they were shot away. The crossing of the canal was
always an adventure. The man who wanted to get to the other side first
noted the areas of enemy shelling, and, when he had decided which was
the quietest bridge, rushed across it as fast as he could go. No one
ever loitered on or near a bridge. At night things were even more
uncertain. In the dark, the middle of a bridge might be missing without
one knowing it, and several men had duckings as a result. Somewhere at
the bottom of the Yser Canal lie the remains of a bottle of whisky and
a dozen eggs, abandoned by a Battalion runner when he had to swim for
it. When the tide was up the bridges lay level on the water; but at low
tide the ends sloped at an angle of about forty-five degrees, and the
quickest method was to sit down and slide to the bottom.
Whilst the Battalion was holding the sector its transport lines were at
Coxyde Bains. It was quite impossible to do any cooking in the line.
Apart from the fact that smoke would be almost certain to draw enemy
fire, the men were far too short of accommodation for themselves to
think of building trench kitchens. So all food was sent up ready cooked.
By far the worst feature of the sector was the great activity of the
enemy artillery. This was mainly the result of two factors. In the
first place, the weight of fire which could be brought to bear was
exceptionally great. All the following artillery groups could be
concentrated on Nieuport:--
1. The coast defence batteries between the line and Ostend.
In the normal way these had little to do, and often they were
switched round to fire into Nieuport.
2. The batteries on the Dunes Sector, which had little to do
unless the British attempted an attack across the Canal.
3. The artillery on the Lombartzyde Sector itself, which was
exceptionally powerful.
4. The guns covering the inundated Belgian front, where an
attack by either side was practically impossible.
Also, the bridge-head was so small, and movement so restricted, that
the enemy could hardly go wrong in his shelling. What was called “a
quiet day” in the neighbourhood of Nieuport would have been described
by some such phrase as “great activity on the part of the enemy
artillery” on most other fronts.
It is hard to say which parts of the sector were most heavily shelled.
No part was free from shelling. Even the transport lines at Coxyde
Bains had their share on more than one occasion. Probably the worst
localities were Nasal Support, the Redan, and the bridges. The quietest
time of the day was the early morning, between 4-0 a.m. and 8-0 a.m.
Just before dawn it was the enemy’s general custom to put down a heavy
barrage on Nasal Support, probably intended to overwhelm any troops
who might be assembled for an attack. After that, most of the German
gunners apparently took time off for breakfast and an hour or two’s
rest. About 8-0 a.m. things would begin to liven up, and there would
be plenty of activity throughout the rest of the day. But the nights
were the worst. Practically every night was one inferno, from dusk
until dawn. High explosive rained down all over the sector, shrapnel
burst above the bridges and the Lombartzyde Road, the neighbourhood of
Battalion H.Q. and the Redan were deluged with gas shells, both mustard
and diphosgene. Shells of every calibre were used, from the giant
15-inch, which came over with a roar like that of an express train
into Nieuport, down to the “whizz-bang,” which harassed one in the
neighbourhood of the Aid Post. No attempt was made to keep telephone
lines going except to Brigade H.Q. and to the Nasal Lane company, and
these were continually broken. Practically all communication had to
be done by the runners, who had a very hard time and suffered many
casualties. There had been a long-standing discussion, between those
who had been near Ypres in 1915 and those who had been at Johnstone’s
Post in the following year, as to which of these places was the worse
shelled. But the Battalion had not been long in front of Nieuport
before it was mutually agreed that the argument might be dropped.
Nieuport beat all previous records.
But, with the exception of artillery fire, the enemy showed little
activity. Machine guns were quiet; sniping was almost unknown. There
was some trench-mortaring of the two front lines, but this was
negligible compared with the artillery fire. The enemy front line was
very lightly held, but on two occasions his patrols were seen in No
Man’s Land, though no encounter took place.
Heavy as was the enemy artillery fire, the activity of the British
gunners was greater. The German attack of July 11th had caused great
anxiety to the higher commands, and an enormous weight of artillery
had been brought up. Behind Nieuport, the country was packed with
guns of all calibres, and firing programmes were so arranged that
some batteries would always be in action. As many as 18,000 shells
were sometimes fired on that front in a single twenty-four hours. The
protective barrage which could be put down by the eighteen-pounders
was thicker than the Battalion had ever dreamed of; where it had
been used to a single gun, there was here, not a battery, but a
brigade. On one occasion, when a S.O.S. was sent up on the sector, the
eighteen-pounders alone fired over 8,500 rounds in about half-an-hour.
And on that sector every available gun fired on S.O.S.
Such was the Lombartzyde Sector in which the Battalion spent the first
half of August, 1917.
As has already been said, the night the Battalion took over the line
was particularly quiet. But a very clear warning was given by the
outgoing battalion that this was not the normal state of affairs. The
only casualty of importance that night was Capt. N. Geldard, O.C. D
Company, who was wounded in the Redan. But the first complete day that
the Battalion spent in the sector it had a taste of what was in store
for it, suffering heavier casualties[9] than on any previous day since
it left the Somme battle in September, 1916.
One of the main features of this tour in the line was the great patrol
activity. Nightly, four standing patrols--one to every two hundred
yards of front--were pushed out into No Man’s Land, to give early
warning of any attempt by the enemy to assemble for the attack. The
whole of the enemy wire, or rather what remained of it for the British
artillery had done its work well, was reconnoitred. But the main point
of interest was a post[10] in the old British front line, which had
been retained by the enemy after his abortive attack on July 11th. This
post lay just to the west of the Nieuport-Lombartzyde Road, and it was
hoped to regain it in connection with a raid which was pending. The
position was carefully reconnoitred by Sec.-Lieut. A. J. Robb, of A
Company, the officer detailed to carry out the operation.
The raid was to be carried out by a company of the 1/6th Battalion
Duke of Wellington’s Regt., and was to penetrate as far as the enemy
second line, on the west of the Nieuport-Lombartzyde Road. It was
arranged that Sec.-Lieut. Robb’s platoon should form up and advance
in rear of the raiding party. When the latter had captured the enemy
post and advanced to its second objective, Robb was to occupy the post,
consolidate and garrison it. Zero hour was fixed for 1-0 a.m. on August
8th, and, by 3-30 a.m., the whole platoon was to be withdrawn, with
the exception of 1 N.C.O. and 6 men, who were to form the permanent
garrison of the post. Thus only two hours and a half were allowed for
the capture of the post and its consolidation, the carrying up of
stores, and the opening up of communication with the left of A Company
along Nose Trench.
At zero hour the raiders went over under a fine barrage. They captured
the enemy post, penetrated to their second objective, and returned with
a light machine gun and several prisoners of the 199th German Division.
The 4th Battalion party was not so successful. Advancing in rear of the
raiding party, most of them lost direction and did not arrive at the
post at all; some of them went forward as far as the German second line
and started consolidation there, thinking they had reached the right
spot. Eventually, they discovered their mistake and withdrew with the
6th Battalion. The result was that Sec.-Lieut. A. J. Robb, on reaching
his objective, found that he had only one N.C.O. (Cpl. J. Yates) and
about six men with him. These he at once set to work, while he went
out to seek the rest of his platoon. He failed to find any of them.
Not long after the raiders had withdrawn an enemy party advanced to
reoccupy its post. A bombing fight ensued in which Cpl. Yates succeeded
in driving off the enemy; but when the fight was over he found he
had only four unwounded men left. About 2-25 a.m. Sec.-Lieut. Robb
returned to the post, and, as the number of men he had available was
quite inadequate even for the defence of the post, and still more so
for all the necessary work of carrying and consolidation, he ordered
a withdrawal. Soon after, the enemy reoccupied the post. Dawn was
now so near that there was no time to organise and carry out another
operation, so the enemy was left in possession.
The following night a combined operation by artillery and gas
projectors was carried out on the Lombartzyde Sector with no other
result, from the Battalion’s point of view, than to bring down heavier
fire than usual. Then, on the night of August 9/10th, the 1/6th
Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. took over the line, and the
Battalion went into Brigade Reserve, in what were known as the Presque
L’Isle Defences.
In the Presque L’Isle Defences a comparatively quiet and quite pleasant
time was spent. A and C Companies lived in Nieuport, B Company had one
platoon on Presque L’Isle itself--an island at high tide, a peninsula
at low--while the rest of the Battalion occupied dugouts in the railway
embankment, south-west of the Yser Canal. About 220 men were found
daily for work in Nieuport or the trenches, but, apart from this, the
Battalion had a complete rest. A number of men, who had remained out of
the line for training, returned and were replaced by an equal number
who had been through the recent tour. The only important drawback to
the position was the almost continual roar of artillery on both sides.
It was during this period that the Battalion witnessed the protective
barrage which has already been mentioned. Suddenly one night, almost
like a terrific clap of thunder, the whole of the British artillery
opened fire. Men rushed out to see what was happening and found
themselves standing in the middle of a half circle of light, caused by
the flashes of the guns. This continued for about half-an-hour, and,
in the rare seconds when one was not almost deafened by the roar, the
screech of the “heavies,” which were flying over from further back,
could be heard. The officer who had sent up the S.O.S. signal believed
he had seen the enemy massing for the attack. It is to be hoped he
was correct, for troops in close order in the open must have been
annihilated by such a storm of projectiles.
After four days’ rest the Battalion returned to the same front as
before, D Company occupying the forward positions, and B Company being
in Nasal Support this time. The conditions were much the same as in
the previous tour. Much time and labour were spent in wiring the front
line, and, by the time the Battalion was relieved, an almost continuous
double-apron fence had been put out along the whole front.
Throughout the time that the Battalion was in the Lombartzyde Sector
the 147th Infantry Brigade was working under the orders of the G.O.C.,
32nd Division. On the night of August 16/17th, the 20th Battalion
Royal Fusiliers of that division took over the line. It was a night
which will remain vivid in the minds of many, particularly certain
officers and men of Battalion H.Q. Fortunately, the full volume of
enemy artillery fire did not open until rather later than usual, and
the majority of the troops were well on their way out before it reached
its worst. But, long before relief was complete, high explosive and
gas shells were raining down on the Redan, the vicinity of Battalion
H.Q., and the bottom of the road to Lombartzyde. It was during this
bombardment that Pte. H. J. Louth, of C Company, earned the high
commendations of the Royal Fusiliers. Detailed as a guide to the
incoming troops, he was wounded early on in the chest, but he remained
at duty and did not report at the Aid Post until he had seen the troops
he was responsible for safely into position.
When relief was complete, a small party of officers and runners left
Battalion H.Q. The air was thick with diphosgene, but the night was so
dark that movement in respirators was extremely slow and precarious.
Hence, everything was risked, and the party rushed through numerous gas
pockets to the Cinq Ponts. The first two bridges were passed without
difficulty, but over the remainder the enemy was putting an intense
barrage of shrapnel and high explosive. The trenches between these
bridges were crowded with men awaiting opportunities to cross. Never
before that night did some realise how fast a man can run when carrying
a “tin” box of Lewis gun magazines, in addition to his ordinary
equipment. One by one the bridges were rushed until the last had been
crossed--and the party was still intact. Then the town of Nieuport had
to be crossed, and, in the streets, one shrapnel shell burst so close
on the top of everyone that all “ought” to have been hit; yet, in some
strange way, everyone escaped. At length Nieuport was left behind and
a long dreary walk brought the party to Queensland Camp, near Oost
Dunkerque, where the rest of the night was spent.
No one wept when he saw the last of Nieuport and the Lombartzyde Right
Sub-sector.
(_c_) Coast Defence and Training.
For more than a month the Battalion remained on the coast under the XV.
Corps, but it did not go into the front line again. The day after its
relief in the Lombartzyde Sector it marched to Oost Dunkerque Bains,
where coast defence duties were taken over from the 2nd Battalion
Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders (33rd Division). It was the first
time the two battalions had met, but they were destined to come in
contact again on several occasions. The coast defence duties were not
burdensome, two companies at a time providing all garrisons. The sector
extended nearly up to Nieuport Bains, and one or two casualties were
sustained from shell fire. Much amusement was provided by a number
of French 37 mm. revolver guns which had been taken over as part of
the defences. The men had never seen these weapons before and felt
compelled to perfect themselves in the handling of them by frequent
practice out to sea. The result showed itself in a few days in a
scarcity of ammunition, and indents for more began to come in from
companies, one Company Commander asking for a large supply of 37 cm.
shells. As he was not known to have on his charge any guns of such high
calibre, the indent was ignored. The shell cases also formed desirable
souvenirs.
Many of the Battalion billets were in good houses or hotels along the
sea front. On a clear day a good view could be obtained from the top
storeys as far as Ostend. But this had its disadvantages, for the enemy
also had the shore under observation, and so no movement was allowed
on the sea front, nor bathing in the sea. While in this area, the
Battalion was working under the orders of the 66th Division, who had
quite a good concert party within easy reach.
[Illustration: Lombartzyde Sector. Aug. 1917.]
Nearly a fortnight was spent at Oost Dunkerque Bains, the last two days
at Surrey Camp just outside the town, and then the Battalion returned
to La Panne. This time the billets were not nearly so good as they had
been a month before. Since then, XV. Corps H.Q. had moved into the
town and had appropriated all the good billets on the sea front, so
the Battalion had to be content with greatly inferior billets about a
mile inland. But the town was the same as ever, though occasionally
visited by bombing planes; bathing was again possible; and there were
now no coast defence duties to perform. Instead, some hard training was
carried out, and several fierce “battles” were fought amongst the sand
dunes. While at La Panne, the whole Brigade was one day reviewed on the
sands by the G.O.C., XV. Corps, who presented medal ribbons to a number
of officers and other ranks, and afterwards took the salute in the
march past.
The most important event of the stay at La Panne was a visit from
the G.O.C., 2nd Army, Gen. Sir H. Plumer. By this time, though the
Battalion was still in the XV. Corps area, it had been transferred
to the 2nd Anzac Corps, Second Army. There was no ceremonial parade.
Instead, the Battalion paraded in fighting order, just on the French
side of the frontier, and carried out a practice attack for the
General’s inspection. It was a time when many ideas on tactics were
changing, owing to the experiences of the early part of the Third
Battle of Ypres; in particular, the old practice of mopping-up by lines
was giving way to the newer idea of mopping-up by areas. It was this
point, more than any other, that the General insisted on when he spoke
to the officers after the scheme was over. Incidentally, he gave the
Battalion the first definite news of what it was destined for in the
near future--to take part in the attack on the Passchendaele Ridge. It
was the first time that most of the officers had heard the name--one
now so well known to everyone, and conjuring up so many memories.
The Battalion left La Panne on the 13th of September, but only moved
as far as Bray Dunes, where a camp was pitched among the sand hills.
Training continued though the district was not so suitable as the last
had been. Two night marches on compass bearings, which took place here,
are worthy of record. The first was for platoon sergeants, and was
easily won by C Company, who received drinks round as their reward.
The other was for officers and produced more amusement, though there
was no prize. One Company, led by an experienced and fully-qualified
surveyor in civil life, never got near its objective. A second company,
trying to steal a march on the others, started from the wrong point and
soon got into difficulty; after negotiating a precipitous cliff, at
least two hundred feet high, and a mass of barbed wire, they threw up
the sponge and retired to rest, calling down curses on the head of the
unfortunate officer who had planned the march. It wasn’t his fault, but
perhaps it was fortunate for him that he was far away. It was at Bray
Dunes too that Capt. N. T. Farrar celebrated his promotion, and rumour
has it that a combination of A Company and the Q.M. Stores is not the
best for a night march without a compass.
(_d_) En Route for Ypres.
Not until the latter end of September did the Battalion start on its
march to Ypres. When it did take to the road its wanderings were so
confusing that many wondered what really was to be done with it in
the near future. Bray Dunes to Ypres should be marched with comfort
in three days, or even two, for the distance is only about 25 miles.
Actually the Battalion marched further than that in the first three
days. Yet, it was not until the night of the twelfth day from starting
that it passed through Ypres. In the intervening time it had marched
about 75 miles, and had halted at various places for five complete days
of rest. But the march had this advantage--it got the men into splendid
condition.
The march was very uneventful. During the whole period up to the last
day--October 4th--the weather was fine. The first few days were very
hot, and the second day in particular, when the Battalion moved from
Coudekerque to Wormhoudt, the march was extremely trying. A rather
late start had been made so that the whole of the march took place in
the heat of the day, and many men fell out. In the neighbourhood of
Buysscheure, where the Battalion remained for three nights, a football
match between Battalion H.Q. and A Company resulted in a win for the
former. As every officer who was qualified to play for either side
turned out, the match provoked an unusual amount of interest. All who
saw the match will remember the roar of cheers which went up when Capt.
A. E. Mander--“Old Man”--headed a goal for his company.
About a week after leaving Bray Dunes the Battalion arrived in the
Second Army training area, some miles to the west of St. Omer. This
naturally fostered the idea that a period of intensive training was to
be carried out before the men moved into battle. But, the very next
day, advanced billeting parties were sent forward, and on the 30th of
September the Battalion was again on the move.
On October 3rd the frontier was passed, the night being spent at Clyde
Camp, not far from Watou. An early start was made the next morning,
and, as the distance was short, it was still early when the Battalion
arrived at Red Rose Camp near Vlamertinghe. That day the weather broke;
it rained pretty steadily throughout the march, and was the beginning
of a long spell of wet. The men were fairly comfortably housed in the
camp, but accommodation for officers was very bad. As things turned
out this mattered little, for only B Echelon and the Transport spent a
night there. At last the Battalion was to be rushed into battle at the
shortest possible notice.