Fortunately thirty-six hours terminated our stay there, and we trekked
off south, eventually halting at Hogsthorpe, a village about three
miles from the coast. The two remaining regiments of the Brigade were
one in Skegness and the other half-way between us and Skegness.

For the next few months we moved from one village to another in the
neighbourhood of Skegness. "We dug miles of trenches along the
coast--we erected barbed wire entanglements for the sea to play
with--we patrolled bleak stretches of coast day and night, and in all
sorts of weather--we watched patiently for spies and Zeppelins, and we
were disappointed. Nothing happened; the Germans would not come."

Christmas was spent at Skegness, and in spite of alarms and excursions
we had an excellent regimental dinner, very largely due to the
generosity of our friends in Scotland. The ladies of the Regiment
opened subscription lists for "Comforts" for the Regiment, and
everyone who was asked not only gave but gave generously. Wherever we
went our "Comforts" followed us, whatever we asked for we got and,
except on Gallipoli, we were never without our own private stock of
Grant's or Inglis' oatmeal. We owe a lot to the generosity of our
friends in Scotland.

[Illustration: CROSSING THE BRIDGE, ST IVES.
_To face page 6_]

[Illustration: LIEUT. R.G.O. HUTCHISON AND MACHINE GUN SECTION, 1915.
_To face page 6_]

From Lincolnshire we moved again south to Norfolk. King's Lynn was
found to be unsatisfactory as a billeting area, so we trekked on to