in his line brought him to within 80 yards. The sniping here was as
deadly as at Kemmel, though round the corner in "A1" we could have
danced on the parapet and attracted no attention. On the other hand "49"
and "50" were comfortably built, whereas "A1" was shallow and narrow and
half filled with tunnellers' sandbags, for it contained three long mine
shafts, two of which were already under the German lines. "A2," "3" and
"4" were the most peaceful of our sector, and the only disturbance here
during the tour was when one of a small burst of crumps blew up our bomb
store and blocked the trench for a time. This was on the 5th, and after
it we were left in peace, until, relieved by the Staffordshires, we
marched back to Ouderdom, feeling that we had escaped from our first
tour in the ill-famed salient fairly cheaply. Even so, we had lost two
officers and 24 O. Ranks wounded, and seven killed, a rate which, if
kept up, would soon very seriously deplete our ranks.

[Illustration: GENERAL MAP OF FLANDERS to illustrate Chap' II & III.]

On reaching Ouderdom, we found that some huts on the Vlamertinghe road
had now been allotted us instead of our bivouac field, and as on the
following day it rained hard, we were not sorry. Our satisfaction,
however, was short-lived, for the hut roofs were of wood only, and
leaked in so many places that many were absolutely uninhabitable and had
to be abandoned. At the same time some short lengths of shelter trench
which we had dug in case of shelling were completely filled with water,
so that anyone desiring shelter must needs have a bath as well. This wet
weather, coupled with a previous shortage of water in the trenches, and
the generally unhealthy state of the salient, brought a considerable
amount of sickness and slight dysentry, and although we did not send
many to Hospital, the health of the Battalion on the whole was bad, and
we seemed to have lost for the time our energy. Probably a fortnight in