four fairly rapidly, but Pte. G. Kelly, of "D" Company, greatly
distinguished himself by holding on well past "five," with the result
that the infernal machine exploded within a yard of his head,
fortunately doing no damage.

All this time we were about nine miles from the line, and were left in
peace by the Boche, except for a single night visit from one of his
aeroplanes, which dropped two bombs near Bailleul Station and woke us
all up. We did not know what they were at the time, so were not as
alarmed as we might otherwise have been. In fact "B" Company had a much
more trying time when, a few nights later, one of the cows at their
billet calved shortly after midnight. The sentry on duty woke Captain
Griffiths, who in turn woke the farmer and tried to explain what had
happened. All to no purpose, for the farmer was quite unable to
understand, and in the end was only made to realise the gravity of the
situation by the more general and less scientific explanation that "La
vache est malade."

On the 1st April we received a warning order to the effect that the
Division would take over shortly a sector of the line South of St. Eloi
from the 28th Division, and two days later we marched through Bailleul
to some huts on the Dranoutre-Locre road, where we relieved the
Northumberland Fusiliers in Brigade support. The same evening the
Company Commanders went with the C.O. and Adjutant to reconnoitre the
sector of trenches we were to occupy. It rained hard all night, and was
consequently pitch dark, so that the reconnoitring party could see very
little and had a most unpleasant journey, returning to the huts at 2
o'clock the next morning (Easter Day), tired out and soaked to the skin.
During the day the weather improved, and it was a fine night when at 10
p.m., the Battalion paraded and marched in fours though Dranoutre and