and the
officers of the 7th and 8th Battalions.

The 2nd Brigade, all that was left of them, had been kept hard at it
in this section and were still in reserve behind the 28th Division.
The line of the 28th Division ran thus from Gravenstafel to Fortuyn,
which was still held by us, and along west to where the headquarters
trenches crossed the St. Julien-Ypres Road at Vanenberghem, from
thence almost due west to a part of the Yperlee Canal near Zwaante.
The east bank of the canal was held by the French and Belgians. The
Germans had crossed the canal the night of the 22nd at Lizerne and had
been driven back at the point of the bayonet by our allies.

Strung along from Gravenstafel Ridge in the following order were the
following British Battalions: The Hants, the Rifle Brigade, the 12th
London, the Suffolks, the Northumberland Fusiliers, five battalions,
the 5th Durhams, the Somersets, the E. Yorks, the Yorkshire, two
battalions, two battalions of Yorks and Durhams, the 5th S.
Lancasters, the 1st R. Lancasters, the Lancaster Fusiliers, the Essex,
the 1st Irish, the Monmouths, the 2nd West Riding, the London, the
Royal Kents.

General Hull commanded the 1st R. Warwicks, the 2nd Seaforth
Highlanders, the 1st and 2nd Fusiliers, the 2nd Dublin Fusiliers, the
7th Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders.

Colonel Geddes' detachment held the line from our old general
headquarters to where they linked up with the French troops who were
coming up in some strength. The 1st Canadian Brigade was back west of
the canal, protecting Brielen, while our brigade was again south of
Wieltje.

All the Canadian troops had fought with great valor and had lost over
half the effectives of each battalion. It was my misfortune that I
could not chronicle the many deeds of individual bravery performed by
my countrymen. I could only describe what was taking place in my own
vicinity and in my own corps.

The shelling continued all day of the 27th. There was a chilly wind
blowing but the sun shone very brightly. I had a fairly comfortable
section of trench and tried to snatch a wink of sleep in the bottom of
it during the afternoon. I had not been sleeping long when General
Turner, V.C., our brigadier, came up and I made room for him
alongside of me. His dugout a couple of hundred yards in the rear of
us had been hit several times by German shells and he had a very
narrow escape. When he jumped in alongside of me he picked up several
spent splinters