In the middle of June, during a stay at La Pierriere, the Battalion was ravaged by a mysterious epidemic, which claimed hundreds of victims before it passed. Starting among the signallers, it first spread through Headquarters, and then attacked all Companies indiscriminately. Among the officers, Cubbage and Shields (the doctor) were the first to go to hospital; soon followed by Clutsom, who was adjutant at this time, and Tobias the very doctor who had come to replace Shields. The Colonel and myself were the next victims, and when the time came for the Battalion to go into the line, it was necessary to send for Christie-Miller, of the Gloucesters, to take command and to make Murray from quartermaster into adjutant. This epidemic was not confined to the Battalion, nor to the 61st Division. Isolation camps had hastily to be formed, for the evil threatened to dislocate whole corps and even armies. Among the Germans the same complaint seems to have spread with even greater virulence; indeed, it may well have prevented them from launching a further offensive against Bethune and Hazebrouck. By doctors it was classified under the name of Pyrexia of Unknown Origin ('P.U.O.') while in such guarded references as occurred our Press spoke of it as 'Spanish Influenza.' The symptoms of the illness consisted in high temperature, followed by great physical and mental lassitude. Most cases recovered within a week, but some took longer, nor was a second attack following recovery from the first at all uncommon. Such was the only epidemic of the war. Thanks to the care and efficiency of our Regimental M.O.s the dreaded scourges of past wars—cholera, dysentery, and enteric—in France could together claim few, if any, victims.

On June 25 it was time for the 184th Infantry Brigade to move out of the line to Ham and Linghem, two villages south-east and south of Aire. The relief took place, but at the last minute it was decided that the 182nd Brigade was so depleted by the epidemic that it was necessary for the 2/4th Oxfords to remain at La Pierriere to assist them in holding the line. At the Brigade sports, held at Linghem on July 7, the Battalion easily carried off the cup offered for competition by General Pagan. In the relay race Sergeant Brazier accomplished a fine performance, while in the boxing we showed such superiority that no future Brigade competition ever took place.[12]

[Footnote 12: In the realm of sport a later achievement of the Battalion deserves record. On July 27 at the XI Corps horse-show our team won the open tug-of-war.]



Before we left La Pierriere what can well be looked back to as a red-letter day was spent in sports and a full programme of entertainments, including the Divisional 'Frolics,' who were prevailed on to perform in a farmyard. Jimmy Kirk also brought his coaching party of clowns—who on this occasion avoided a conflict with the Military Police—and of course the Battalion Band regaled us with choice items throughout the day. In the sports a race had to be re-run because one of the competitors, instead of waiting for the 'pistol' (A. E. G. Bennett with home-made 'blanks') started at the report of our 6-inch gun in the next orchard, which occurred a fraction of a second earlier. The evening was saved from bathos by the news that the Division was to be relieved. Life operates by contrast, and though the war was going on a few miles to the eastward I believe as much pleasure was experienced that day in the small orchard behind Headquarters at La Pierriere as in any elaborate peace celebration in this country. Indeed, to see the crowd 'celebrating' the armistice up and down the Strand was enough to make one recall with regret such an occasion of the war as I have described.

On July 10 we moved back, most of the way by 'bus, to Liettres, a very pretty village well behind the line and south-west of Aire. Hardly were we settled before we were ordered to move, which we did with no very good grace to St. Hilaire, a much inferior village. Two days later our tactical location was discovered to be still unsatisfactory, so we tried a march northwards to Warne, where for the third time in ten days a quartermaster's store had to be built from the materials we had managed to drag along with us. Almost before our headquarter runners had learnt the whereabouts of companies we were on the road again. This time we left the XI Corps, with which so many of the Battalion's fortunes and misfortunes had been associated, and passed into General Plumer's Army as part of the XV Corps. The paradise which every division, sent back for 'rest,' fancies will have been prepared for it, now degenerated to a mere field. Still, there are many worse places, if some better, than a grass field; footballs were soon bouncing merrily, and on the air floated the monotonous enumeration of 'House.' One evening the Colonel, myself, and the company commanders returned wet-through from a voyage of inspection of the Hazebrouck defences, for a German attack was still anticipated. The last of these shuttle-cock moves occurred on July 31, from our field at Pont Asquin back to St. Hilaire, whose billets few of us were anxious to revisit.

As I have not loaded my narrative with marches my readers shall hoist full pack (no air-pillows allowed!) upon their backs and fall in with the Battalion. It is already dusk as the sanitary men, like so many sorcerers, stoop in the final rites of fire and burial. Some days ago I taxed the band-master, Bond, with the possibility of playing in the dark; for a moment his face was as long as Taylor's bassoon, but since then by means of surreptitious practice and, I fancy, the sheer confiscation of his bandsmen's folios, the impossible has been achieved. Every band is the best in France, but only ours can play in darkness. Thus, as the column swings past the pond and waiting cookers, the Band strikes up one of its best and loudest marches....

Such midnight music, if it drowned the drone of German aeroplanes, which ever and anon swam overhead, looking like white moths in the beams of our searchlights, served also to arouse the village inhabitants, whose angry faces were framed for an instant in windows as we passed. Our musical uproar set dogs barking for miles, cocks crowed at our passage, and generals turned in their second sleep to hear such martial progress in the night. The march—through Racquinghem and Aire—was long, lasting nearly all night. To flatter its interest a sweepstake had been arranged among the officers for who should name the exact moment of its conclusion. Years of foot-slogging in France made my considered guess formidable in the competition. More dangerous still was that of the Colonel, for to him would fall the duty of the decisive whistle-blast, and his entry ultimately was not accepted by the 'committee.' As in most sweepstakes, the first prize fell to a most undeserving winner.

July closed with a feeling of dissatisfaction at the cycle of moves which had rendered futile both rest and training. Consciousness that one was helping to win the war was more often imputed than felt. Early in August, 1918, the 61st relieved the 5th Division in front of the Nieppe Forest. Minor attacks had already cleared the enemy from the eastern fringe of the forest and driven him back towards Neuf Berquin and Merville. At 7 p.m. on August 7 A and B Companies attacked and captured the trenches opposite to them, causing the enemy to retire behind the Plate Becque, a stream as wide as the Cherwell at Islip but far less attractive. We had a dozen casualties in this attack, which was rewarded by half as many German prisoners and a machine-gun. Sergeant Ravenscroft, of B Company, for an able exploit during the advance, received the D.C.M.



Already the Forest of Nieppe had become notorious for German gas. It was now a nightly programme of the enemy to drench the wood, which was low-lying and infested with pools and undergrowth, with his noxious 'Yellow Cross'—shells whose poisonous fumes bore the flavour of mustard. Throughout the night of August 7/8, when things generally were very active, a heavy gas-bombardment was kept up. The Colonel was away from his headquarters at the time. He returned after the shelling to find that gas helmets had been taken off. No harm was expected, but the next day, after the sun's heat had awakened dormant fumes, the Colonel, Symonds (the adjutant), Kirk, who had brought up the rations, and Cubbage, as well as the Regimental Sergeant-Major and many signallers and runners, all found that they were gassed. Their loss was serious. It was known that Wetherall would soon have to leave the Battalion, for he had been appointed to a command in the Machine Gun Corps; indeed already his successor, Colonel Woulfe-Flanagan, had arrived to take his place. Under the present unlucky auspices (for more than half Headquarters were knocked out) the interchange took place.

Herodotus says of the kings of Sparta that the last was always regretted as the best the country had ever had. Colonel Wetherall's merit did not depend on his being the last of a series. Phrases such as 'he was worshipped by the men' have become so hackneyed as to be meaningless, nor shall I use an even worse commonplace, that 'he was sparing of his words.' Wetherall was just a rattling good Commanding Officer, a true friend, and a fine soldier. His successor, E. M. Woulfe-Flanagan, came from the East Surreys. He bore a distinguished record of pre-war service and had been wounded in the Mons retreat. A regular soldier of the old school, in ideas and methods he differed widely from his predecessor. But he was worth his salt every time. Certainly no braver officer ever set foot in France.

After we had finished our first tour in the Nieppe Forest sector, both the Berks and Gloucester were sent forward against the enemy, who was rightly suspected by the staff to be on the point of retreating from the Lys salient. The attack had to cross the Plate Becque, whose eastern bank the enemy was fighting hard to hold. Gloucesters and Berks rushed forward at misty dawn and flung bridges over the stream; but the machine-gun fire was too intense, and though some parties got across, others did not, co-operation broke down, and the attack gained no result. A few days afterwards the Germans went back, giving up Calonne, Merville, and Neuf Berquin-villages which our artillery had utterly pulverised. As in the March retreat of 1917, the 184th Brigade had no immediate share in following up the enemy as he retired. The Oxfords had withdrawn on August 14 to Spresiano Camp, in the forest, and waited without eagerness to be ordered forward to the new devastated area. It is curious to reflect that at this time, so distant did the end of the war still seem, we grumbled at losing our comfortable base at Steenbecque, which we hoped to keep perhaps through the winter. Most thinking people could see neither value nor wisdom in pursuing the Germans in their retreats, planned and carried out in their own time, from salients. Hardly on one occasion did we hustle them, and the policy, deprecated by most commanders of lower formations, of snatching at the first morsels of abandoned territory always cost us heavy casualties. Between war and chess there is a close analogy. In front of Nieppe Forest there were now a hopeless crowding of the pieces, moves aimlessly made from square to square, and the reckless calling of 'check,' which to a good opponent means time and renewed chances to escape defeat.



During the early stages of the retreat the Battalion was sent to fresh fields of conquest among the crops, which the German withdrawal had done nothing to ripen but had at least removed from shell range. Plans were afoot to harvest a large area adjacent to the forest and present its fruits to the rightful owners. If harvesting weather should be hot, conditions were ideal. This novel form of working-party at first delighted the men, who set about the crops in goodly earnest. In a short space of time wheat, oats, and barley were added to our battle-honours. But if the spirit was willing, our reaping implements were correspondingly weak. The Corps 'Agricultural Officer' had collected from surrounding farms a fantastic assortment of cast-off scythes, jagged hooks, and rusty sickles, which fell to pieces 'in the 'ands' and refused to do more than beat down the crops to which they were opposed. The scythes seemed hardly able to stick their points, in the approved manner, into the ground, sickles were back-to-front or left-handed, and the entire panoply issued to this Reaping Battalion should have been seconded for duty at a music-hall or gazetted out of agricultural service as old iron. The Major-General, visiting the scene of our labours, was scandalised to find that fewer acres of corn had been put out of action than reports from other parts of the harvest front inclined him to expect. A 'stinker' followed, to which we could only retaliate by posting sentries the next day to warn us of the General's approach. Of course he came by a fresh road. And now, to avoid the inevitable anti-climax, I will ring down the curtain as the General steps from his car, demoralised reapers bestir themselves into some semblance of activity, and the commander of the party simply is not.



CHAPTER XVII.

LAST BATTLES,

AUGUST TO DECEMBER, 1918.

German retreat from the Lys.—Orderly Room and its staff.—The new devastated area.—Itchin Farm, Merville and Neuf Berquin.—Mines and booby-traps.—Advance to the Lys.—Estaires destroyed.— Laventie revisited.—The attack on Junction Post.—Lance-Corporal Wilcox, V.C.—Scavenging at the XI Corps school.—On the Aubers ridge.—The end in sight.—Move to Cambrai.—In action near Bermerain and Maresches.—A fine success.—Domart and Demobilisation.—Work at Etaples.—Off to Egypt.

While the Battalion harvested the corn behind Nieppe Forest, on the other side of it hue and cry were being raised after the enemy, whose tail was well turned in his last retreat. The Lys salient, which had proved so useless to him, was being evacuated. On the evening of August 20, 1918, the Battalion was ordered forward from Spresiano Camp to occupy the old trenches near Chapelle Boom, a quaint moated farmhouse on the eastern outskirts of the forest. We found the area already overstocked with troops; indeed Chapelle Boom itself, though assigned to us, was the headquarters of not less than two units of the 183rd Infantry Brigade. The arrival of the Battalion, loaded as it was with the encumbrances of advance, further contributed to the congestion. In a few days the Suffolks and Northumberland Fusiliers suddenly disappeared, and Chapelle Boom fell into our power. There we stayed until the Colonel went upon a course.



As usually when the Germans genuinely retired, to use their own phrase, 'according to plan,' early immunity from shells preluded days when the last spite of their artillery was flung as far as possible. Harassing fire against our exits from Nieppe Forest was cleverly manipulated by the enemy. Our guns, which had the choice of few orchards or buildings to screen their flashes, were vigorously searched for when they opened fire. Bonar Farm, Dene Farm, Rennet Farm—places of ill name during the fighting for the Plate Becque—were freely shelled. From the explosion of a chance 4.2 Ellis and several men in D Company were casualties. Whilst in reserve we bathed in the river and for a time resumed our harvesting pursuits. The method became more unique and amateur than ever—we were directed to pluck the ripe ears of corn by hand. I laid down the standard task of one sandbag-full per day per man. Some men used nail-scissors, and it was found that a 'one hour day' was ample to ensure a good 'return.' Soon a pile of bags lay by the roadside. One wonders instinctively what became of the corn and whether it was used.

The word 'return' should set some readers agog. I am sure no battalion had a better Orderly Room than the 2/4th Oxfords. Though only a Company Commander, I was struck by its efficiency when I joined the Battalion. Units were apt to be judged by the promptness and accuracy of their returns, and Cuthbert, who for longer than anyone was Adjutant of the Battalion, won a deserved reputation in this respect. But inside the Battalion as well as out of it his efficiency was understood and valued. Cuthbert was a good instance of an officer without pre-war training whose common-sense and agreeability made him the equal in his work of any Regular. In the office Sergeant Birt had now for two years been a pillar of reliability; few officers or men of the Battalion but owed something to him. Spring 1918 brought an interregnum in the adjutantcy, till R. F. Symonds, formerly of the Bucks, returned from a staff attachment to take the post. Symonds had a remarkable gift for office work. Wrapped up in the routine of the Battalion, he was never happier than in Orderly Room with a full 'basket.' Since the gassing of Headquarters, Shilson, a recently arrived officer with antecedents in the A.S.C., had acted adjutant; right creditably did he acquit himself in the duties suddenly cast upon him. Other new officers were now filling important positions in the Battalion. Faithfull, another disciple from the A.S.C., whom also we got to like very much, was now in command of D Company; Clutsom commanded C, and Young, who had seen long service with the 48th Division, B Company; Jones still led A. Time had wrought changes among the Sergeant-Majors of the Companies. At this period in Cunningham of A, Mudd of B, Smith of C, and Brooks of D, we had a quartet of tried experience. The recurrent conflicts about 'strength'—a word which in effect meant the number of men employed with Quartermaster's Stores and at Headquarters—were now at a high pitch. After much 'camouflage,' by aid of Bicknell, of the real facts, we had reluctantly to choose between the 'return to duty' in the line of either Band or Buglers. The choice was hard, but in the end we kept the Band intact, for loss of a few bandsmen as casualties might leave such gaps as would prevent the Band from playing at all.

On August 24 we relieved the 5th Suffolks in the outpost line, which had remained stationary for several days. It lay upon the eastern fringe of Neuf Berquin, through whose scattered ruins one picked a way to find the posts. Headquarters were some distance back, but most wretchedly accommodated in an orchard close to a lonely brick-stack known as Itchin Farm. The German guns showed marked persistency, not actually against the holes which formed Headquarters, but all around. No area more dismal could be imagined than the flat, dyke-ridden country north of Merville. So thoroughly had our artillery during the last four months plastered the ground behind his former lines that little scope had been left for the retreating frenzy of the enemy. By bombs and shells we had driven the Germans not only from such places as Merville and Neuf Berquin, but from the mere proximity to roads or houses. They had concealed themselves as best they could in ditches and narrow tunnels made with corrugated iron or planks. The 'Huns,' indeed, had been meeting with their deserts. Their life in the Lys salient must have been a nightmare. One required only to read a few of the notices displayed to realise the difference of life behind their line and ours. Everywhere appeared in big letters the word 'Fliegerdeckung!' i.e. cover from aircraft. No testimony more eloquent of British superiority could have been offered.

Further behind, round Estaires and La Gorgue, the Germans were busy blowing up and burning ere their retreat ebbed back across the Lys. Black palls of smoke rose daily from where mills and factories were aflame. One day the tall church of Sailly had simply vanished; the next, one looked vainly for Estaires' square tower. Often, when idly scanning the horizon or watching aeroplanes, eyes were arrested by huge jets which sprang into the air to become clouds as large as any in the sky. Combining with this present orgy of destruction numerous booby-traps were left behind, whose action was delayed till our advance should provide victims for their murderous art. Cross-roads and level-crossings especially 'went up,' or were expected to, and so many houses were mined that it became impossible to rest secure in any. In fact, the 182nd Brigade ordered its men out of all buildings. Some measure of vile ingenuity must be accorded to the authors of these booby-traps; but whether bombs under beds or attached to pump handles can be included in legitimate warfare is a case for judgment.

At short notice we attacked from Neuf Berquin on August 28. In some places the advance was quite successful, but in others not. German counter-attacks obliged A Company, which had made good progress south of the Neuf Berquin-Estaires road in the morning, to withdraw its patrols at dusk. A few days later, however, the opposition lessened, and companies went forward several miles. Soon afterwards the 182nd Brigade took turn as the advanced guard, the Lys was reached and crossed, and presently patrols were passing through the old 'posts' and grass-grown breastworks which used to lie behind our front-line system. We followed, and for several days lived in reserve among the scattered farms and houses north of Estaires, over the ruins of which Crosthwaite, an officer of mature service, who had just joined the Battalion, was appointed Town Major. His task was not entirely enviable. Houses, roofless or otherwise, had to be subdivided into safe, doubtful, or certain to 'go up.' I cannot help regarding this Flanders retreat as a subject supremely dull. The constant suspicion of mines and booby-traps rendered doubly sordid the polluted ruins which formed the landmarks of our advance. One feature alone provided interest to some. We were approaching, from an odd direction as it seemed, the old area where the Battalion had first held its trenches. La Gorgue, Estaires, Laventie were places rich in association. How much the two former were altered! La Gorgue, where in 1916 Divisional Headquarters and Railhead had been, was heaped in ugly ruin. Its expensive church had been blown in two. Of Estaires proper little more than its charred walls remained. In such shape was victory passing into our hands.

When the enemy was holding the line Picantin—Junction Post, the Battalion went forward to hold an outpost line north-east of Laventie. On September 10, while he was taking over his new piece of front, Clutsom, of C Company, was badly wounded by a German shell. No officer could have been more regretted. I am glad to say his wound healed steadily and he was soon writing cheerful letters to his friends from England. Command of his company passed to Stanley.



Headquarters now were in the old dressing station at Laventie. It was a house of quite pretentious size, left standing by the enemy. Although its floors were heaped with shavings, prophets of all ranks assigned a violent end to tenants of such a residence. For the next tour we were content to move into Laventie North Post, but all the time the house belied our fears, nor have I evidence that any mine existed. I walked through the village, and I must say it seemed less damaged than I had expected. Most of its buildings were quite recognisable. The house formerly Battalion Headquarters might, with labour, have been made to serve again. The line of small plane trees, which gave Laventie the meretricious semblance of a garden city, was standing yet. In the war's passage over it Laventie suffered less havoc than had seemed probable.

At a few hours' notice and in weather calculated to make any operation a fiasco, the Battalion on September 12 attacked Junction Post, a grass-bound breastwork where the enemy was offering a stubborn resistance. Though finally unsuccessful in result, the fighting, which was accompanied by driving storms of rain, produced two noteworthy incidents. Rowlerson, one of C Company's platoon commanders, after reaching the German trenches, somehow lost touch and was captured with several of his men. In A Company an exploit was performed, which gained for the Battalion its second Victoria Cross. Lance-Corporal Wilcox came to close quarters with some enemy defending a piece of trench with four machine-guns. Each of these guns Lance-Corporal Wilcox, followed by his section, successively captured or put out of action. Wilcox was shortly afterwards wounded and was in hospital in England when news of the award arrived. His deed lent lustre to a profitless attack.

A few days later the Battalion was relieved and spent a period in reserve among fields and orchards west of Sailly-sur-la-Lys. We suffered much from the night long attention of the German 'pip-squeak' guns, whose range, longer considerably than that of the English 18-pounder, was made fullest use of by the enemy. A move came as a welcome surprise. Under mysterious directions the Battalion was ordered back as far as Linghem, a village I have mentioned before as lying south of Aire. Arrived there, we were placed in some huts, destined for eventual occupation by the XI Corps school. More than a day elapsed before the object of our visit was explained: the Battalion was to sweep and clean the camp for its inspection by the Corps Commander. We were not present at the ceremony, but for a week preceding it all four companies were daily engaged weeding potato patches, tarring roofs, and evacuating a dump of several hundred thousand empty tins. Rarely were the energies of an Infantry Battalion more curiously devoted.

At Laventie no startling events had filled our absence. But after our return—Junction Post had not yet fallen, so that the outpost line was still in front of Rouge de Bout—developments began. On September 30 the enemy lost Junction Post to a spirited attack by the Gloucesters, the line that he had been holding for three weeks was broken, and his retreat became fast and general. After relieving the Gloucesters our companies were hard put to it to advance rapidly enough to keep touch. At last we stood upon the Aubers Ridge itself. Lille was almost in view; but at this point the Division was relieved by the 59th and sent southwards to join our armies before Cambrai, where the final issue between British and German arms was destined to be decided.

Out of the closing phases of the war I feel there must be material from which historians will find that climax which so grand a conflict deserves as its termination. But I confess that I find scarcely any.

After its dramatic and sinister opening the war seemed almost belittled by its tame conclusion. Years of nerve-racking experiences, the hardships, and the immutable association which towns like Ypres, Arras and Albert, and the trench-dwellings of Flanders and the Somme possessed, had indisposed the mind to receive new impressions from the last battle of the war. Patient from a hundred moves from trench to billet, from billet to trench, the British soldier accepted with characteristic resignation moves which were sweeping him to Victory. By gas, liquid fire, night-flying aeroplanes, and long-range artillery, the war had in four years demonstrated the incredible. The mere collapse, on one side, of the agencies military and political which lay behind, was in itself commonplace.

The Battalion joined the XVII Corps half way through October, 1918, and was soon put into important fighting. The enemy, who had lost Lille, Douai, and St. Quentin early in the month, was now in full retreat between Verdun and the sea. To preserve his centre from being pierced and his flanks rolled up, rear-guards eastward of Cambrai were offering the maximum resistance. Most villages, though they passed into our hands nearly intact and in some cases full of civilians, had to be fought for. The German machine-gunners rarely belied their character of fighting to the end. In an attack on October 24 from Haussy, the Battalion, advancing rapidly in artillery formation, captured the high ground east of Bermerain; and the next day B and D Companies (the latter now commanded by Cupper) again attacked, and captured the railway south-east of Sepmeries. For these operations the weather was fine, the ground dry, and the leadership excellent. A period followed in reserve at Vendegies and afterwards at Bermerain, villages which were liberally bombarded by the German long-range guns. Moving up again on November 2, the Battalion made its last attack of the war. A fine success resulted. The objectives—St. Hubert and the ridge east of it—were captured, together with 700 prisoners, 40 machine-guns, and 4 tanks, recently used by the enemy in a counter-attack. The fruits of this victory were well deserved by the Battalion, the more because so often in the course of the war it had been set to fight against odds in secondary operations. It was a good wind-up.

Of some battalions it was said that on November 11, 1918 they found themselves standing within a mile or two of where they first went into action in 1914. We, naturally, could claim no such coincidence; yet a dramatic touch was not wanting when the telegram, which bore the news of the cessation of hostilities, was read out by the Colonel to a parade formed up at Maresches upon the very ground whence the Battalion had started in its last attack.



The Battalion was never in the Army on the Rhine. After time spent at Cambrai we travelled back to Domart, a village mid-way between Amiens and Abbeville. In duration the journey surpassed all records. Three days we spent impatiently waiting for a train, and two more patiently waiting in the train itself; and we arrived at the destination faced with a ten-mile march in rain and pitch darkness. Happily the war was still sufficiently recent for such delay to pass as comedy. At Domart the one real topic was Demobilisation. I could set myself no harder task than a description of the workings of this engine. Few people understood how they were themselves demobilised, and fewer cared how others were. That the scheme worked on the whole well and justly was in great measure due to Symonds, whose zealous energy, though the Battalion was lessoning daily, never flagged. For two months Battalion drill and the 'Education Scheme' occupied our mornings, football our afternoons. Christmas was a great festival. The 'Frolics' pantomime visited the village, in which the Battalion pioneers, under the direction of Cameron, the Brigade signalling officer, had transformed an empty building into a capital theatre. General Thorne, who had so successfully commanded the 184th Infantry Brigade in its last battle, was unstinting in his efforts to give the men's life in the army a happy and useful conclusion. He secured visits from all the best concert parties and raised a fund to finance the department of Brigade entertainments, of which Nicholas, the Brigade Major, was chief minister. A weekly magazine was started, which ran to its fourth number. Truly the arts flourished.

In a windy field south of the village the Battalion was in January presented with its colour by Major-General Duncan. The occasion passed off well. Its feature was the admirable speech made by the Colonel.

In February the Battalion, which it was known would be made up with drafts and retained for service as a unit, was sent to Etaples to assist in the Demobilisation scheme. For a month we remained meeting trains, escorting parties to camps, sorting clothing, and driving herds of the demobilised through the intricacies of a machine called the 'Delouser,' until the arriving trainloads decreased, dwindled, and finally stopped. In March several large drafts of officers and men, to replace all those who had been, or would be, demobilised, joined the Battalion, which, after a pause at Le Treport and some leave, sailed for Egypt. Thither my story does not follow it. When peace was signed, the cadre of the Battalion had not returned to Oxford. On Christmas Dav 1919 the 2/4th Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was still serving overseas.



COMPOSITION OF THE BATTALION ON GOING OVERSEAS

Headquarters.

Colonel W. H. Ames, T. D. Major G. P. R. Beaman, 2nd in Command. Major D. M. Rose, Adjutant. Lieut. C. S. W. Marcon, Signalling Officer. 2/Lieut. H. E. Coombes, Intelligence Officer. Lieut. G. H. G. Shepherd, Machine-gun Officer. Lieut. R. L. Abraham, Transport Officer. Lieut. W. A. Hobbs, Quartermaster. Captain A. Worsley, Medical Officer.

Company Commanders.

Captain H. J. Bennett, A Company. Captain H. N. Davenport, B Company. Captain A. H. Brucker, C Company. Captain R. F. Cuthbert, D Company.

Regimental Sergeant-Major.

T. V. Wood.

Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant.

W. C. Hedges.

Company Sergeant-Majors.

C. A. Witney, A Company. A. Ball, B Company. W. F. Campion, C Company. W. Douglas, D Company.



COMPOSITION OF THE BATTALION AT THE ARMISTICE

Headquarters.

Lieut.-Colonel E. M. Woulfe-Flanagan, C.M.G., D.S.O. Major G. K. Rose, M.C., 2nd in Command. Captain R. F. Symonds, Adjutant. Lieut. T. S. R. Boase, M.C., Signalling Officer. Lieut. W. A. F. Hearne, Intelligence Officer. Captain J. W. Shilson, Assistant Adjutant. Lieut. G. W. Woodford, M.C., Transport Officer. Captain W. G. Murray, Quartermaster. Lieut. E. P. Neary (U.S.), Medical Officer.

Company Commanders.

Captain H. Jones, M.C., A Company. Captain R. E. M. Young, B Company. Captain J. Stanley, M.C., C Company. Captain J. H. D. Faithfull, D Company.

Regimental Sergeant-Major.

W. Hedley, D. C. M.

Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant.

W. C. Hedges.

Company Sergeant-Majors.

C. R. Holder, A Company. A. J. Mudd, B Company. S. Smith, D.C.M., C Company. M. T. Brooks, D Company.



INDEX

Ablaincourt, 55, 56, 75. Abraham, Capt. R. L., 14, 80, 157, 172, 175, 193. Aire, 194, 195, 201. Aitken, Lieut. R., 85, 86. Albert, 23. Allden, Lieut. J. H., 84, 100, 101. Ames, Col. W. H., 7, 13. Amiens, 104, 174. A.S.C., 43, 45, 132, 192. Arras, 107, 111, 144. Arrowsmith, Rev. W. L., M.C., 106. Asylum, St. Venant, 188, 189. Athies, 79. Auxi-le-Chateau, 111, 112. Aveluy, 35. Avesne, 174-176.

Band, the, 200, 211. Baquerolle Farm, 181, 183, 186, 189, 191, 196. Barnes, Lance-Corpl., 109. Barton, Lieut. C. J., 14, 86. Bassett, Col.-Sgt., 1. Baxter, Pte., 137, 139. Beaman, Maj. G. P. R., 14, 66. Beauvoir Line, 163-165. Beechey, C.Q.-M.S., 193. Bellamy, Lt.-Col. R., D.S.O., 14, 30, 43, 51, 104. Bennett, Lieut. A. E. G., 199. Bennett, Maj. H. J., M.C., 14, 15, 23, 43, 86, 92, 145, 164-170. Berks, 2/4th Royal, 25, 35, 51, 55, 66, 77, 98, 102, 122, 124, 161, 163, 169, 170, 181, 204. Bermerain, 218. Bernaville, 111. Bicknell, Capt. A., M.C., 34, 152, 211. Birt, Sgt. J. W., 190, 210. Boase, Lieut. T. S. R., M.C., 175, 182, 186. Boyle, Lt.-Col. C. R. C., D.S.O., 187. Brigade, 182nd Inf., 78, 85, 87, 160, 198, 213. ———— 183rd Inf., 126, 169, 208. Brazier, Sgt., 194, 198. Brooks, C.S.M. E., V.C., 34, 64, 66, 101, 117. Brooks, Sgt. M. T., 194, 211. Broomfield, 4. Brown, Capt. K. E., M.C., 14, 23, 38, 40, 51, 56, 85, 117, 119, 132, 159, 171. Broxeele, 114. Brucamps, 49. Brucker, Capt. A. H., 14, 117, 124. Bucks, 2/1st, 35, 79, 81, 94, 125, 135, 158, 174, 175. Buggins, Father, 79. Buller, Sgt., 109. Butcher, Sgt., M. M., 101. Buttfield, Capt. L. F., M.C., 175, 182.

Cairns, C.S.M. J., D.C.M., 124, 125, 172. Callender, Lieut. J. C., 14, 117, 119, 124. Calonne, 177, 179-183, 204. Calonne Road, 19, 183, 186, 190, 196. Cambrai, 217, 219. Cameron, Bde. Signalling Officer, 219. Canteen, the, 189, 190. Carvin, 179, 191, 196. Caulaincourt, 81, 86. Cepy Farm, 94, 102, 160. Chapelle Boom, 209. Chaulnes, 49, 56, 60, 78, 79. Chemical Works, 142, 149. Chili Avenue, 143. Chocques, 174, 177. Christie-Miller, Lieut.-Col. G., D.S.O., M.C., 197. Christmas Day, 41, 155, 219, 220. Clarence River, 179, 191. Clutsom, Capt. C. R., 175, 197, 211, 214. Coles, Corpl., 63, 66. Collett, Sgt., 30. Connell, Bugler, 190. Contay Wood, 22. Copinger, Lieut. J. P., 117, 140. Coombes, Lieut. H. K., 117, 194. Coucher, Lieut. G. W., 186. Craddock, Lieut., 170. Crosthwaite, Capt. H. T., 213. Cubbage, Lieut., 197, 203. Cunningham, C.S.M., 211. Cunningham, Lieut. J. C., 159, 162. Cupper, Lieut. H. J., 218. Cuthbert, Capt. R. F., M.C., 14, 30, 51, 63, 149, 210.

Davenport, Capt. H. N., M.C., 7, 9, 14, 38, 75, 166, 168. Davies, Pte. A. H., 137. Dawson-Smith, Lieut. C. F., 117. D.C.L.I., 1 5th, 34, 36, 166, 179. Deniecourt, 51. Desire Trench, 25, 26, 38. Dimmer, Lt.-Col. J. S., V.C., 168. Division, 4th, 183, 188. 5th, 201. 15th, 122, 126, 144. 17th, 143. 20th, 166, 168, 175. 32nd, 55, 90. 48th, 122, 124, 126. 51st, 177, 179. 59th, 84, 85, 217. Domart, 219. Douglas, R.S.M.W., 14, 172. Doullens, 174, 177. Dugan, Br.-Gen. W. J., C.M.G., D.S.O., 14. Duncan, Maj.-Gen. F. J., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., 207, 220.

Ellis, Lieut., 210. Enghien Redoubt, 160, 162, 165. Estaires, 17, 212-214. Etaples, 220.

Fabick Trench, 23. Faithfull, Capt. J. H. D., 211. Fauquissart, 10. Fayet, 90, 94, 96, 98, 157, 158, 160-163, 171. Field Trench, 36, 37. Foreshew, Capt. C. E. P., M.C., 159. Framerville, 76, 80. Freudemacher, C.Q.-M.S., 193. 'Frolics,' the, 198, 219. Fry, Lieut., 61.

Gas, 114, 128, 136, 150, 203. Gascoyne, Lieut., 117, 124. Gepp, Bde.-Maj., 33, 148, 149. Gloucester Farm, 19, 191. Gloucesters, 2/5th, 15, 35, 84, 85, 90, 162, 163, 169, 170, 183, 184, 187, 188, 204, 216. Goldfish Chateau, 120, 125-127. Gonnelieu, 153, 154. Goodman, Lance-Cpl., 140. Gouzeaucourt, 152, 153. Grandcourt, 24, 28. Greenland Hill, 105, 149. Guest, Lieut. H. R., M.C., 117, 125, 140. Guildford, Lieut., 64.

Ham, 166, 168. Hangest, 176. Harbonnieres, 49. Harling, Major R. W., 34. Harris, Capt. H. T. T., 117. Hall, Pte., D.C.M., 151. Haussy, 218. Havrincourt Wood, 154. Hawkes, Lieut. T. W. P., 117. Hazebrouck, 177, 195, 200. Hedauville, 30, 33, 34, 43. Hedges, R.Q.M.S. W. C., 14. Hedley, R.S.M. W., D.C.M., 175, 203. Herbert, Lieut. S. E., 109. Hessian Trench, 30, 37, 38, 40. Hill, Lieut. T. A., 117. Hill 35, 131-140. Hinton, Sgt., M.M. 15. Hobbs, Capt. (Q.-M.) W. A., 14, 21, 45, 159. Holder, C.Q.-M.S. C. R., 193. Holnon, 90, 91, 102, 157, 159, 162, 163. Hombleux, 88, 166. Howland, Sgt., 1. Howitt, Capt. (Bde.-Maj.) H. G., D.S.O., M.C., 148, 169, 178. Hunt, Lieut. C. B., 25, 29, 64, 65.

Infantry Hill, 105. Isbergues, 177, 194. Itchin Farm, 212.

Jones, Capt. H., M.C., 44, 100, 101, 117, 162, 171, 172, 211. July 19th, 1916, Operations of, 12, 13. Junction Post, 214-216.

Kemp, Lieut. S. F., M.C. 175, 186. Kilby. Sergt., 100, 101. Kirk, Lieut. J., 175, 193, 198, 203. Kettle, Sgt., 190.

La Gorgue, 10, 212, 214. La Lacque, 194. La Motte, 169-171. La Pierre au Beurre, 185, 188. La Pierriere, 189, 197-199. Languevoisin, 164, 165. Laventie, 8, 10, 176, 214-216. Lawson, Lt.-Col. A. B., D.S.O., 163, 169, 188, 191. Leatherbarrow, Sergt. J., 98, 101, 117. Les Amusoires, 179, 181, 182, 196. Les Fosses Farm, 107. Le Vergier, 84, 85. Liettres, 199. Lindsey, Lieut., 109. Linghem, 198, 216. Lodge, 2/Lt. T., M.C., 175, 181, 186, 187, 189. Loewe, Lieut. L. L., 43. Longford, Pte., 26, 66. Longley, Pte., 66. Lyon, Lieut., 44. Lys River, 176, 212, 213.

Mackenzie, Maj.-Gen. Sir Colin, K.C.B., 49, 165, 195. Maison Ponthieu, 42, 45, 49. Maissemy, 81, 90, 163. Marcelcave, 49, 169, 170. Marchelepot, 56, 60, 79. Marcon, Capt. C. S. W., 57. Maresches, 219. Martinsart Wood, 31, 33, 34. Matthews, Capt. C. S., 117, 159. Merville, 8, 10, 17, 176, 177, 179, 182, 188, 201, 204, 212. Miller, Capt. J. G. R., 186. Moated Grange, 17. Moberly, Capt. W. H., D.S.O., 9, 117, 125, 150, 151, 165, 166, 172. Monchy-le-Preux, 105, 106. Montolu Wood, 81, 86. Monument, at Fayet, 90, 171. Moorat, 23. Moore, Capt. (Bde.-Maj.), L. G., D.S.O., 92, 93, 98. Moore, Col.-Sgt., 1. Mouquet Farm, 23, 35, 36. Moss, C.S.M., 188. Mowby, Sergt. W., 100. Mudd, C.S.M. A. J., 211. Muir, Lt.-Col. J. B., D.S.O., 158. Murray, Capt. (Q.M.) W. G., 159, 172, 175, 193, 197.

Nesle, 168, 169, 175. Neuf Berquin, 201, 204, 211-213. Neuve Chapelle, 10. Neuvillette, 20, 104. Nicholas, Bde.-Maj., 220. Nieppe Forest, 177, 178, 201-206, 209. Noc River, 20, 179, 181, 198. Noeux, 111, 112. Northampton, 3.

O'Connor, Lance-Cpl., 100. O'Meara, Lieut. R. A., M.C., 155, 185. Offoy, 165, 166. Omignon River, 79, 84. Orderly Room, 210, 211. Oxford, Battalion billeted in colleges, 2. Oxfords, 6th, 159, 187.

Pagan, Brig.-Gen. A. W., D.S.O., 176, 183, 196, 198. Palmer, Sgt., 117, 137. Parkhouse Camp, 6. Parsons, Sgt., 43. Patrols, 29, 40. Plate Becque, 201, 204, 210. Pond Farm, 122, 124, 125. Ponne Copse, 86. Poperinghe, 115, 119. Portuguese, 177, 178, 187, 194. P.U.O., 197. Pym, Bde.-Maj., 33.

Raid, at Ablaincourt (by enemy), 58, 63, 64. by A Coy., 15. by B Coy., 9. by C Coy., 191. by D Coy., 92. Rainecourt, 49, 77. Ravenscroft, Sgt., D.C.M., 201. Regina Dug-out, 26. Regina Trench, 25, 27, 30, 38. Riez Bailleul, 17, 19. Robecq, 19, 20, 177-184, 187, 188, 196. Roberts, Pte., 66. Robinson, Capt. A. J., 14, 23, 25, 38, 51, 56, 160, 171, 189, 191. Rockall, Corpl., 29, 61. Rose, Maj. D. M., 14. Rowbotham, Capt. G. V., M.C., 159, 160. Rowbotham, Lance-Cpl., 66, 137, 139, 140. Rowlerson, Lieut. G. A., M.C., 191, 215. Ruthven, Maj. W. L., 43.

Sailly-sur-la-Lys, 212, 216. St. Hilaire, 199, 200. St. Hubert, 218. St. Omer, 195. St. Pol, 174, 177. St. Quentin, 82, 87, 89, 90, 103. St. Venant, 176, 178, 181, 183, 187, 196. Schuler Farm, 122. Scott, Lieut. W. D., 7, 117, 119, 124. Selency, 90, 160, 162. Sepmeries, 218. Shields, Capt. (M.O.), 197. Shilson, Capt. J. W., 211. Short, Pte., 66. Sloper, Sgt., M. M., 101, 117. Smith, Pte., 66. Smith, C.S.M. S., D.C.M., 211. Soyecourt, 81, 82. Spresiano Camp, 204. Stanley, Capt. J., M.C., 185, 188, 215. Stobie, Capt. W., O.B.E., 26, 79, 106, 169. Stockton, Capt. J. G., 7, 23, 43, 51, 84, 117, 124. Suffolks, 5th, 209, 211. Sunken Road (Fayet), 90, 94, 96, 161. Suzanne, 155, 156. Symonds, Capt. R. F., 203, 210, 219.

Taylor, Lieut., 97, 100, 101. Taylor, C.Q.-M.S., 193. Tertry, 81. Thomas, 'Benny,' 144, 159. Thompson, Pte., 66. Thorne, Brig.-Gen. A. F. A. N., C.M.G., D.S.O., 219. Tiddy, Lieut. R. J. E., 7, 15. Tilly, Lieut., 86. Timms, Pte., 25, 63, 66. Transport, the, 192-194. Tremellen, Lance-Cpl., 75. Tripp's Farm, 196. Tubbs, Capt. A., 94. Tullock's Corner, 36.

Ugny, 159, 164, 165. Uzzell, Lance-Cpl., 64.

Vendegies, 218. Verlaines, 166, 168. Vermandovillers, 77, 79. Viggers, Corpl., 76, 97, 140. Villers Bretonneux, 169, 171. Vlamertinghe, 120. Voyennes, 165, 166.

Waldon, Col.-Sgt., 1. Wallington, Lieut. C. H., M.C., 151, 160. Warwircks, 2 6th, 179. 2 7th, 181. Watkins, Sgt., 82, 84. Wayte, Lieut. J. P., M.C., 85, 86. Webb, Lieut. E. S. F., 117. Weller, Lieut. B. O., 157. Wetherall, Lieut.-Col. H. de R., D.S.O., M.C., 104, 111, 132, 150, 187, 196, 203, 204. White, Brig.-Gen. the Hon. R., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., 15, 39, 48, 93, 112, 121, 145-148, 163, 165. Wilcox, Lance-Cpl. A., V.C., 215. Wieltje, 132, 134. Williams, Col.-Sergt., 1. Willink, Capt. G. O. W., M.C., 169. Wiltshire, Lieut. G. H., 149. Winchester Post, 10. Winnipeg, 122. Wise, Lance-Cpl., 140. Wood. R.S.M. T. V., 1. Woodford, Lieut. G. W., M.C., 193. Woulfe-Flanagan, Lt.-Col. E. M., C.M.G., D.S.O., 203, 220. Wright, Bugler, 66. Writtle, 4.

Young, Capt. R. E. M., 211. Ypres, 58, 119, 120.

Zeder, Lieut. J. H., D.C.M., 7, 9. Zollern Redoubt, 36, 38.



HOLYWELL PRESS, OXFORD.



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Transcriber's note:

Page 94: The word "and" has been added in the sentence "The attack was ably dealt with by Tubbs' company of the Bucks-and-had proved abortive for the enemy".

Page 109: "Another development which was destined to play an ever increasing part in the war and to make its closing phases worse in some respects that its early, was the long-range high-velocity gun." The word "that" has been changed to "than".

THE END