Lieut. H.E. Chapman was sent to help the 5th Lincolnshires, and Capt.
Burnett and Lieut. Ward Jackson went to Brigade Headquarters to look
after Transport and Bombs, while their duties in the Battalion were
performed by Serjt. Brodribb and Serjt. Goodman. We could not afford a
machine gun officer, so Serjt. Jacques was made responsible for the guns
until an officer reinforcement should arrive. "A," "B" and "D" Companies
were commanded by Lieuts. Tomson, Wynne, and Shields, and, as Lieut.
Allen was still in hospital, Lieut. Hills acted as Adjutant. The
officers all messed together at first, and tried to maintain the old
cheerful spirit of the Battalion mess--a little difficult after losing
in one day more than three-quarters of the mess.

On Sunday, General Montagu-Stuart-Wortley came to talk to the Battalion
after Church parade, and congratulated us on the fighting, saying that,
considering the odds against us, he thought we had done very well
indeed. He then went round the ranks talking to some of the men who had
taken part in the battle, and was very amused by some of the answers he
received to his questions. One soldier, asked what he had done in the
fight, replied that he had "blown half a Boche officer's leg off with a
bomb." The General thought this excellent, but wanted to know why he had
chosen half an officer only, and not a whole one.

We stayed ten days at Hesdigneul, and then moved to Drouvin and
Vaudricourt, where the billets were better, and we were able to have a
Battalion officers' mess. During this time, many reinforcement officers
arrived and two large drafts of other ranks. Two of our original
officers returned--Capt. Beasley, who now took command of "B" Company,
and Lieut. Knighton, who returned to "D" as 2nd in Command. The
remainder were new to us, and were posted as follows: "A" Company--2nd
Lieuts. M.A. Hepworth, C.H. Pickworth, and G. Russell; "B" Company--2nd