g Officer ascended into the pulpit
and treated the soldiers to an inspiring address, but it can be safely
assumed that the men enjoyed the meal much more than the lecture.

The New Year was heralded by an intense bombardment by the British, and in
anticipation of the enemy retaliation the front line was cleared, except
for the officer on watch, and Lewis gun teams. The line was badly knocked
about by the enemy fire, but was built up again by the Battalion in one
night.

In January the first Divisional rest for ten months commenced, and it was
spent by the Battalion first at "Z" Camp and then at Proven. The weather
at this time was intensely cold, and as the men in "Z" Camp had only
Nissen huts they suffered greatly in consequence. These huts were made of
unseasoned timber, and large gaps appeared in the floors through which the
cold east wind entered, reducing the temperature to a figure well below
zero.

The first week or so was devoted to training. There was a fear at this
time that the principles of open warfare might easily be forgotten during
the long periods of stagnation in the trenches. Consequently exercises in
open warfare were ordered by the Higher Command, and the Battalion carried
out several tactical schemes, and also some night operations. These latter
struck the men as rather unnecessary, as they had all been on night
patrols in the neutral ground between the lines, which after all was what
might be called the real thing. The other exercises were very beneficial,
as were also the attack practices which took place.

At Proven the men discovered that the term Divisional rest was a misnomer.
Reveille was before six, and in the dim light of the early morning, the
men had to wash and shave in icy cold water in the teeth of a bitter east
wind. There followed a meagre breakfast cooked on an unsheltered field
kitchen in the dark, and often in the rain. The men paraded at seven, and
went out on a working party for the rest of the day. Their tasks were to
load earth on railway trucks and then off-load it after a short train
journey, to serve as ballast for another portion of line that was in
course of construction. The earth was frozen several inches deep and it
was necessary to loosen it by means of a pick before it could be shovelled
on to the trucks. Towards the evening the men returned, cold, weary and
tired, to a draughty barn, with the dismal prospect of a similar day on
the morrow.

For the officers th