Also they flew very low, and the anti-aircraft gunners did not dare to
fire, leaving it to the infantrymen to defend themselves with Lewis guns
as best they could.

During the tour in Wieltje the Battalion dug Hopkin's Trench in no man's
land, under machine gun, granatenwerfer and rifle-grenade fire, which were
the cause of several casualties. Fortunately there was a very good mined
dugout at Wieltje containing many rooms which were lighted by electricity.
The shelter it afforded reduced considerably the number of casualties that
would otherwise have taken place, and it was a pity that there were not
more like it.

Though very good work was done by the companies during these months of
trench duty, it should be remembered that perhaps the most dangerous task
was the bringing up of rations and water. Ypres was approachable from
Poperinghe by one road only, along which came almost all the supplies for
the troops in the Salient. From a point on the road called Shrapnel
Crossing to the city it was within convenient range of the enemy
artillery, and being well aware that the road was much used at night, the
enemy subjected it to considerable fire, and caused casualties nightly.
Once arrived in Ypres the Battalion transport had to pass the Square and
the Menin Gate, which were well known danger points, where there was no
cover, and then proceed to Potijze along a road that could easily be
enfiladed by the enemy gunners. No matter how heavy was the enemy shelling
there was no night on which the transport section failed to deliver the
rations.

At the beginning of July the Battalion went to Moringhem to prepare for
the great battle. This was a very small hamlet, and there must have been
a great concentration of troops in the Pas de Calais, as this little