Lieuts. J.W. Brittain and, when they returned, the two officers lent to
other Battalions; "C" Company--Capt. S.J. Fowler, 2nd Lieuts. A.M.
Barrowcliffe and A.L. Macbeth; "D" Company--2nd Lieuts. A.H. Dawes,
H.W. Oliver, and J.R. Brooke. 2nd Lieut. C.L. Saunders became Machine
Gun Officer. With these additions we were able to start training again,
and devoted our time to route marching, bayonet fighting, and, most of
all, bomb throwing. At no time during the war was more reliance placed
on bombs, and scheme after scheme was invented for "bombing attacks up
a trench," to such an extent that the platoon organisation was now
re-modelled with the one idea of forming bomb parties. The rifle seemed
to be temporarily forgotten.

On the 28th October, as many Units as possible of the 1st Army were
inspected by H.M. The King. Our Brigade formed a composite Battalion
commanded by Col. Jones, and, with the rest of the Division, and
representatives of other Divisions, was drawn up along the
Hesdigneul-Labuissière Road. His Majesty rode past us from Labuissière
and, after taking the salute, came down the hill again in his car with
the Prince of Wales. He acknowledged our cheers with a smile, and it was
not until afterwards that we learnt of his accident soon after passing
us, and knew the pain he was suffering during his drive back, pain which
he had so admirably concealed.

After the inspection we sent a large party, six officers and 230
N.C.O.'s and men, to Sailly Labourse, to carry gas cylinders and other
material to trenches, but except for this we were spared all fatigues
during our period of rest. A week later we marched through Béthune and
Robecq to Calonne sur la Lys, a little village outside Merville, where
we remained another week before going to the line. Lieut. Allen rejoined
us and became Adjutant; Lieut. Hills, after a few days with "A" Company,