England. It was exceptionally bad luck for both, to endure the routine
of six months' trenches and training and then have to leave their unit
on the eve of its first great fight, in which both these officers were
so keen to take part. In their places Lieut. Hills was appointed to "D"
Company, but as he was taken by General Kemp for Intelligence Work, 2nd
Lieut. G.B. Williams took command. No one was appointed Adjutant, and
Colonel Jones decided that as officers were scarce he and Major Toller
would between them share the work at Battalion Headquarters. Two new
officers also arrived and were posted, 2nd Lieut. G.T. Shipston to "C"
and 2nd Lieut. L. Trevor Jones to "D" Company.

On the 12th, after some last words of advice from Colonel Jones, who
addressed the Battalion, we set off to march to trenches, wearing what
afterwards became known as "Fighting Order," with great coats rolled and
strapped to our backs. The Brigade band accompanied us through Verquin,
and a Staffordshire band played us into Sailly Labourse, where General
Montagu-Stuart-Wortley watched us turn on to the main road. There was an
hour's halt for teas between here and Noyelles, and finally at 10-5 p.m.
we marched into Vermelles. The next eight hours were bad, for it took
eight hours to reach our assembly position, the third line--eight hours
standing in hopelessly congested communication trenches, waiting to
move forward. For men heavily laden--each carried six sandbags and every
third man a shovel--this delay was very tiring, for it meant continuous
standing with no room to rest, and resulted in our arriving in the line
tired out, to find that it was already time to have breakfasts. The
Reserve Line was full of troops, but it was found possible to give all a
hot breakfast, and many managed to snatch a couple of hours' sleep
before the bombardment opened at 12 noon.

Compared with the bombardments of the Somme and the later battles, our