After four days in support, under Capt. Dowden, spent in fatigue and patrol work, our battalion was relieved and returned to quarters at Le Rossignol camp about a kilometre to the south of the village of Pont Nieppe, so here we remained resting and cleaning up for a period of eight days. The battalion was then due to relieve the 17th Btn and so accordingly, we returned to our old positions again, No. 8 platoon reoccupying the same dug outs and posts as heretofore with the exception that by night a post was told off to occupy a farmhouse, standing about 200 yards in front. This post was withdrawn by day to the main front line, the men being allowed to sleep and do no fatigue duties. During this term in the line, it rained heavily, filling the trenches with slush and mud, making conditions very uncomfortable as any movement entailed the necessity of wading about up to our knees in mud of the consistency of glue. At the end of four days, “B” coy was withdrawn again to supports and there spent another four days doing fatigue and patrols as during our previous tour of duty in this position, the days and nights passing off without any extraordinary incident happening worthy to relate. The battalion was then quietly relieved by the 17th Btn returning to the billets previously occupied at Le Rossignol hut encampment. For eight days more the battalion remained resting in reserve ready at any time to move to the assistance of the front line if necessary, but doing no work other than the necessary camp duties.

The Brigade Vaudeville Show, known as the “Green Diamonds” having come into existence again, a performance was staged in a barn standing some distance further back from the camp, so that a percentage of the officers and men were thus enabled to spend an enjoyable evening in witnessing a programme of song, dance and music by amateur artists drawn from the ranks of the various units of the Brigade. These entertainments later became more regular and were staged whenever opportunity offered, becoming very popular with all on account of the chance they afforded the men to forget even for a couple of hours, the hardships and rigour of front line service.

Short respites of comparative rest in reserves such as the battalion was at present experiencing, were, as I mentioned before, mostly spent in cleaning up the mens gear and persons in an endeavour to preserve the self respect, health, etc. of the troops. As most of the men’s hair was long and unkempt, opportunity was taken for a general hair cutting parade, the men lining up and having their hair trimmed by volunteer barbers. Whilst the barbering was rather rough and ready, it generally served the required purpose however, and the operation usually being a welcome one. It was always a practice also to parade the men by platoons for foot-washing parade, since it was found that by frequently cleansing the feet in clean water and drying them with talcum powder, the evil of “trench feet,” caused by standing about in slush and water, was much abated. This also became a general practice throughout the army where troops occupied wet trenches for any length of time, the duty of carrying the operation through falling to the Btn A,M.C. About this time most of the men had not had a bath for over six weeks, nor a change of underclothing for a month, and it was decided to attempt the task of a bath parade, udder difficulties. A disused house was requisitioned and several petrol tins salvaged from the wayside were opened up and used as tubs. A fatigue party was then told off to heat water, sufficient to wash the battalion and in two days by this means, all the men had experienced an impromptu bath.

The battalion, now being due to return to the relief of the front line, moved up at dusk one day in drizzly, foggy weather, taking over without incident as before. “B” coy, however instead of going into the front line, proceeded to a position about 1,000 yards behind the battalion sector, known as the ‘Corps Line.‘ That night, snow began to fall continuing heavily all night until in the morning, the landscape was covered to a depth of quite four inches. At intervals the snow fell all the next day, which was Christmas Eve, whilst a driving keen wind blew all the while forcing us to keep as closely confined as possible to our meagre shelters in the trench. Christmas Day was spent in a similar fashion, but the event was marked by a double issue of rum ration, a few Christmas puddings and other extras whilst a Christmas parcel from the Australian Comforts Fund was given each man. With the snow falling and the days gloomy and dark, visibility was not good, therefore, both sides seemed to mutually consent to let the war slide for the time being, hardly a shell falling on our sector.

Our three days in the Corps line being completed, “B” coy relieved “D” coy in our old positions in the front line and for three days, I was in charge of posts 13, 14 and 15 on the extreme left of our position. Our time was spent in simply sitting on the fire step with feet dangling in the mud, dodging an occasional shower of pineapple bombs and in counting the shells as they flew over our heads to burst some distance in rear on our roads and artillery positions. The 5th Brigade Trench Mortar Company had installed a 6″ mortar just to the rear of my platoon, much to my indignation and kept up a desultory bombardment of they enemy trenches day and night for the three days we were in the line. “Fritz” by way of retaliation returned the fire with an occasional “flying pig” a huge mortar weighing about two hundred pounds. These, when they fell on our trenches whilst not doing much harm to the garrison, would tear up several yards of trench, revetments, duckboards and all, thus we were kept at it clearing away the debris to make the portion of the trench passable again until we heartily wished our 6″ Stokes mortars in Kingdom Come.

As we were only garrisoning the trenches at this time, nothing exciting happened to upset our line, and the days just simply passed as above until on the third night we were withdrawn again to the support line, the support companies A and C taking over our posts. The next three days were spent as usual in fatigue work, such as ration carrying, draining and revetting the tumbled down trenches and in erecting barbed wire entanglements sometimes in No Mans Land and at other times between our front line and supports. After a six days term of monotony and hard work, the battalion returned to the reserve billets at Le Rossignol about four kilometres to the rear, remaining there for the succeeding six days, cleaning up as usual.

Although the weather was cold and bleak with snow on the hard frozen ground for the past three weeks yet, it was not as cold as the January of the year before when we were struggling in the mire down south on the Somme Sector. The snow and ice made the ground like a skating rink with a surface like glass making it difficult for man and beast to walk upon, shod with iron as they were. The numerous shell holes were covered with ice to the depth of a foot or more. All vegetation, including trees were absolutely bare of leaves and no birds except robins, starlings and rooks were to be seen, even they seeming fed up with the cold and snow generally being too cold to even move out of ones way. In the trenches we always managed to obtain three hot meals per day carried from the cookhouses in rear to the men on posts in food containers, made on the thermos flask principle, whilst a system was introduced whereby the men were able to obtain a dry and clean pair of sox daily, which also was instrumental in keeping down that evil “Trench feet.” Altogether we were fifty times better off than we were at the same period of the year before. We were in a quiet part of the front near Armentieres where it was only necessary to garrison a stationary position, we received three hot meals per day and could purchase things from canteens in rear, we had two blankets per man, dry sox and had regular tours of duty in the front line, followed by decent spells of rest in huts at the rear of our Brigade Sectors. Whilst we kept strict watch on the enemy by means of patrols and observers and kept our positions in repair, we had not much else to do and as compared with the misery and hard fighting of the Somme, we were well off indeed and our casualties were very slight.

About the end of the second week of January, I was one day handed a note from the adjutant which turned out to be an order detailing me to proceed to Baileuil and there to attend the Corps Gas instructional school. I therefore rolled my valise and accompanied by Edwards, my batman, proceeded by motor lorry to a chateau on the outskirts of Baileuil. This house had been turned into a billet for the officers attending the three days course at the school and the grounds had been fitted up with the various contrivances and arrangements necessary for doing the theoretical and practical work of the school. For the succeeding three days I applied myself to the study of gas warfare, finding the work to my liking and very interesting. Here we had the opportunity of smelling, observing the colour, specific gravity, boiling point and general characteristics of all the known German poison gases. Also we studied the many defensive measures necessary to combat them including an exhaustive investigation of the several respirators used by the belligerent nations and so on. We also were required to put our knowledge into practice and were subjected to respirator tests by standing in the open whilst Chlorine and Phosphene gases were liberated from cylinders towards us, making it necessary to adjust our helmets in quick time and thus getting us used to the real thing.

Here also we witnessed a demonstration of a projector attack which had by this time become a common means of gassing the enemy. The projectors were iron tubes about 5 ft. long, closed at one end like a Stokes mortar tube with a base plate to absorb the shock of the discharge. These tubes or projectors were placed in the ground in rows, leaning towards the enemy at various angles thus.

They were then loaded with a charge of gunpowder and connected up with an electric ignition appliance so that they could all be discharged simultaneously. The projectile itself was an iron cylinder, just big enough to be freely inserted into the mouth of the projector and was also fitted with a detonating or bursting charge, and filled with the volatile fluid gas. The range was judged by the size of the charge and the angle at which the projectors were set in the ground. On a suitable night with the wind not too strong and blowing in the direction of the target, a battery of any number of up to two hundred or so would be “pooped” off. With a roar and tremendous flash a hundred projectiles would be hurled together towards the enemy. On bursting on the target the charge of explosive in the projectile would have the effect of bursting the shell and vaporizing the fluid gas, thus liberating a dense cloud of poison gas right on the enemy position. Before the Hun could adjust his respirator he was probably gassed before he was aware of the fact.

After being subjected to an examination and obtaining an “Excellent” pass, I returned to where the battalion was still resting on the outskirts of Nieppe. The 5th Brigade was now due for a rest in billets in the back areas behind the line, so that on March 18, 1918, the battalion marched to a railway siding on the outskirts of Baileuil and there entrained and proceeded to the Village of Lumbres not far from St. Omer arriving at night fall. After disentraining, the battalion marched a distance of three kilometres to the farming village of Bayenghem, there going into billets in barns and houses, Lts. Smith, Balmanno and myself occupying a room in an estaminet near the Church. For the first three days, owing to the fact that we had only just come from the, firing line, we were required only to clean up and arrange such details about camp necessary for the comfort of the troops during their sojourn in the village. Then the whole battalion settled down to do some solid training to help recuperate and to recover some of the lost efficiency and discipline etc. caused through a I protracted spell of duty in the forward area. Parades were held for the purpose of thoroughly inspecting the clothing and equipment of the men. Boots, clothing, arms, etc. were thoroughly overhauled and reissued where necessary, whilst bath parades were held weekly and a change of underclothing given each man.

Having cleaned the men up, strict discipline was enforced. A parade ground and training area was allotted while such things as ceremonial drill, punctuality, saluting of officers were practised and the necessary improvement and smarter appearance of all being quickly gained. The men were mostly billeted in barns holding from 20 to 50 each. At night, they spread their waterproof sheets on the clean straw and lay down to rest in breaches and shirt, with two blankets to cover them. By day, the mens gear was neatly stacked up at the head of their respective sleeping places and the billets cleaned up ready for the daily inspection by the Battalion Orderly Officer.

Although at this time there was much talk of a food shortage the troops ration for the most part showed no difference from what they had always been used to from the commencement of the war. The bread certainly contained more of the wheat then hitherto, but the weight as issued daily to each man was still the same as ever. For breakfast, they received a large rasher of bacon, and frequently got porridge. The midday meal consisted of a regulation army stew composed of 40% fresh meat, mixed with 40% bully beef, the rest being pork and beans, peas, potatoes and rice. This was generally very tasty and the men were allowed as much of it as they could eat. For tea at 4.50 pm, the troops got tea with boiled rice permeated with some kind of dried fruit, such as raisins, currants or dried figs. Tea was served with each meal, whilst cheese, biscuits and jam were also a daily ration. The above menu was supplemented by comforts obtained through the various Comforts Fund Societies and through the battalion canteens, so that for food the troops really were well off and fared much better than the men in the ranks of any other army.

On January 17, 1918, I was promoted to first Lieutenant superseding eight other officers who had arrived from England with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. As I now had the duty of training my own platoon, a certain amount of book study was necessary to enable me to keep myself sufficiently instructed to do so. Instructing never was my long suit, as I was inclined to be a little self-conscious, but by degrees I gradually acquired the habit and very soon could hold my own with any other officer of the battalion. In addition I had to take my turn at such duties as officer of the piquet, orderly officer and do guard duties, etc. At Bayenghem, parade commenced at 9 am and lasted until 11.30. After dinner, the work was carried on from 1.30 pm until 4 pm when parade ground work was finished for the day. The work included the usual training exercises which were put into effect every time opportunity offered, such as bayonet fighting, extended order work, patrols and piquets, rifle exercises and company and platoon drill. Route marches were frequent whilst the battalion was also put through a course of musketry firing exercises on the 4th army rifle range at Lumbres, three kilometres distant. Positions were also dug in an area set aside for the purpose and firing exercises with ball ammunition were practised in conjunction with trench to trench attacks with fixed bayonets (bags filled with straw being used to represent the enemy.)

Whilst every effort was made to train the battalion to perfection on the parade ground, recreation was not neglected. The weather being cold, a Brigade football competition was drawn up and some of the matches resulting as follows: 20th v 5th TM battery won 8 to 5; 20th v 17th lost 16 to Nil; 20th v 18th lost 9 to Nil; 20th v 5th F.A, won 25 to Nil. A Day’s athletic sports were also held on an open space nearby under the jurisdiction of the Padre. The programme included running and jumping, sack racing, three legged races, pole vaulting, relay racing by the representatives of the various companies and so on, the prize money being raised by contribution by the Officers and Sergeants.

The enemy was at this time known to be preparing for a huge push somewhere on the British front but it was not certain where, consequently the battalion together with other units, was held in constant readiness night and day to be rushed to any part of the fighting front at a moments notice. On March 2nd, the 20th Battalion was entrained again at Lumbres and moved back via Baileuil to our old billets at Le Rossignol hut encampment near Nieppe. Two days later on March 5th, we marched to the front line taking over from the 41st Btn in the rain about midnight, in exactly the same positions as we had occupied during our previous tours of duty at Le Fouquet. No. 8 Platoon of which I had charge, took over their old posts No. 14 and 15 together with the post out in front known as “White Farm” it being a farm house with a cellar below and standing in a promontory jutting down the slope towards the River Lye. For eight days we held these posts, the rain pouring down incessantly, day and night. Trenches soon became flooded, falling in in many places, whilst the action of the rain loosened the clay sides causing miniature land slides into the water at the bottom of the trench. Soon the front line resembled a quagmire similar to those of Flers on the Somme of 1917, any movement entailing a struggle through heavy mud up to the knees in depth.

The River Lys soon became flooded and overflowed its banks until the water rose higher and higher reaching our parapets places and even pouring into certain parts of our front line. no patrols were necessary so that our support companies escaped Whilst the area known as No Mans Land was in this flooded state this nervy job, for which I suppose they were thankful. To escape the water in the trenches, I moved my platoon headquarters into a concrete ‘dugout’ near Post 14. Here it was I slept by day on a sheet of galvanized iron raised above the water level on two ammunition cases, coming out at night to keep my watch wading up and down the trenches in 18 inches of water. Although the shelling was practically nil during this term in the front line, yet we were all glad to be relieved on the eighth night by “D” coy, “B” company taking over their positions in the support line. The waters had now subsided a good deal owing to the hard work of all and sundry in draining and baling the water out whilst the weather became drier, with heavy fogs.

Owing to the expected German attack in this sector, it was decided to strengthen the barbed wire entanglements about our positions. Accordingly a wiring party was sent out to put up a barbed wire entanglement in No Mans Land on the extreme right of the battalion front. “B” company was therefore taken out loaded with barbed wire and piquets and for three hours worked hard under the direction of the Brigade Engineers, an intermittent fire from enemy machine guns being kept up on them the whole time. Since the company was working out in front of our positions it was necessary to send out a covering patrol to cover them from danger from enemy patrols while they worked. Of this covering patrol, I had charge. It consisted of No. 8 Platoon armed with three Lewis gun sections each under an N.C.O. These three sections I placed some 150 yards in front of the working party at intervals of about 100 yards apart, each section laying down with intervals of about six paces between each man. Thus a screen was placed in such a position between the enemy and the working party that it would have been practically impossible for an enemy to take them by surprise.

However, so much noise was made by the wiring party in unrolling the wire that the enemy very soon became aware of what was going on. Presently trench mortars began to arrive and a machine gun was turned on, sweeping the area from end to end. Several casualties soon occurred but the men kept steadily at the job until at last it was completed. However, I was comparatively free from danger as most of the fire went over the covering patrols heads, lying down as we were in the soft mud of the flats of No Mans Land. After about 3½ hours of this kind of thing, I fancied things were rather quiet where the party had been working so sent a man to investigate. Presently he returned and reported that no one was to be seen, the working party having returned half an hour before. This rather annoyed us all as we by right should have been notified when the work had been completed. Instead, we had not been warned and so were left for half an hour longer than we should, exposed to an unnecessary danger. However, there was nothing left for us to do but to make our way back again to our dugouts in the support trenches, from which we had set out earlier in the night.

The enemy now began to liven up and shelled our roads more heavily than he had ever done, whilst we had occupied this sector. His patrols became more active and he even ventured on to our side of the River, having more than one brush with patrols sent out by the 18th on our left. One night a patrol of the 18th was surprised by a German patrol in hiding and a stiff fight ensued in which two men of the 18th Btn were killed by what was thought to be some of our own mills grenades which the Huns had evidently captured some time before. The night following after the wiring party just described, our Lt. Treacher took out a fighting patrol and in course of his survey of the river, discovered that the Huns had thrown two bridges across the river, built in such a way that they were immersed by about a foot of water. In ascer- taining this fact also, he had been shot at by a Hun sentry who had been keeping guard on the enemy side of the river. This was startling news as it showed that probably the enemy had designs of attacking on this sector so that from then on our vigilance was redoubled and the patrols were arranged in such a way that some of our men were always in No Mans Land during the night hours.

However, nothing further happened to alarm headquarters and the work of wiring the front line and supports, digging machine gun emplacements and generally strengthening the forward positions was carried on with renewed vigor. During the third night of our term in the support trenches “B” coy was ordered to transport 400 coils of barbed wire from a dump at Gasometer Corner to the vicinity of our front line. All night long, we worked like slaves in loading trucks, with pickets and wire and in pushing them over two kilometres to the forward dump along light tram tracks which had been laid down for the purpose. Next night was spent in erecting the entanglements, work ending just before dawn. We had scarcely returned to our various positions in the support trenches when the Germans opened up a terrific bombardment on the right half of our battalion sector. The Divisional line of the barrage left “B” company immune but on our immediate right about 200 yds away, shells literally rained down with a terrific crashing and banging, “A” and “C” coys suffering heavily. The barrage lasted for quite 20 minutes, whilst “B” and “D” coys “Stood to” in readiness to repel the expected attack which we all thought was what had been expected for the past month, that is, the German big push. At last the terrific bombardment dwindled down to normal but an almost impenetrable haze of smoke and fog enveloped the whole area we were in being so thick that it was impossible to see more than ten yards ahead. Telephone communication was cut off and runners found it difficult to find their way about so that we were in ignorance of what had happened for quite an hour afterwards when the fog cleared off somewhat and a runner from Headquarters delivered an order instructing all ranks to “stand to until the fog lifted.

In the meantime a patrol of over 100 men in the charge of two officers was pushed out into No Mans Land to intercept or to give warning of the approach of an enemy. However, nothing further happened and things quietened down to normal when the fog lifted about three hours later after a period of excitement and suspense which was aggravated by the knowledge of the threatened big German onslaught and which was expected at any moment and anywhere along the British Front. The right half of the Battalion positions suffered badly. Trenches were in some cases flattened out, pill boxes overturned or blown up whilst several dumps of barbed wire and duckboards were blown to smithereens. In fact the whole place was in chaos. In casualties the companies had not suffered much, only three men being killed and seven wounded. Various reasons were put forward as to the cause of such an outburst of hate on a quiet sector like ours, one of which was that the enemy had got wind of a big gas projector attack which was in course of preparation from our sector. Probably this was the reason and in any case, the bombardment certainly hastened the completion of the gas attack arrangements. The projector which had been installed in position prior to the bombardment had withstood it well, not many having to be reset.

On the fifth night in support, the garrisons of the out- posts and front line with some of the men in support were withdrawn to some trenches in rear of the gas attacking position and at 2 am over 500 gas projectiles were pooped off into the German lines and into the Village of Frelinghein opposite. The flash and roar of the explosions followed by the loud hissing, swishing noise of the gas bombs in transit through the air was very awe in- spiring and within a few seconds, the projectiles could be distinctly heard bursting in Hun territory. What effect the attack had on the enemy we never learned but I sincerely hope that ample revenge was taken on the enemy for the fright he had given us on the previous night.

On the night of March 18, the 20th Btn was quietly relieved by 17th Btn B company moving out in the twilight and making its way back under Capt. Morgan-Jones to the rest billets at Le Rossignol camp. The first day out was as usual spent in cleaning up. On the next, I obtained leave to go to Baileuil in order to visit the Officers Clothing Store, there to procure some items of clothing of which I was sorely in need. Setting out at about 10 am I soon obtained a seat in a lorry going in the required direction and as Baileuil was only distant a few kilometres I was not long in reaching my destination and made my way to the Officers Club. There I obtained a brush up, and was able to peruse the official news bulletin and had a very good three course meal for a charge of four francs. Troops and civilians alike all seemed to me very much perturbed on account of the threatened German attack, many civilians even having their portable goods packed in readiness to leave at a moments notice. After leaving the clothing store and procuring some other etceteras from various other shops, I returned to camp per medium of the usual motor lorry of which there were any number to choose from, going in the right direction.