he men experienced the unpleasant sight of
the comfortable chateaux and houses in which the German troops were
billeted when they themselves were very badly off in this respect.

Three companies had been in the front in the Lempire position, and as
three companies were necessary to take over the Ossus sector, one company
had to do two successive tours. It was a poor relief to have to move from
one portion of the front line to another, especially as this company had
only one subaltern. The sector held by the Battalion was roughly 2,000
yards, and consequently the three front companies each had from six to
seven hundred yards. The trench strength of the companies was somewhere
between eighty and ninety, the numbers not having been made up after the
Ypres casualties, and consequently there was a great amount of work for
everyone to do.

On the 18th the Battalion moved to reserve at Vaughan's Bank by Epehy,
from whence on the 22nd it moved into reserve at Tincourt. The American
Railway Engineers had constructed a light railway from Epehy to Tincourt,
and they expressed their readiness to convey the Battalion there by rail.
Their offer was gladly accepted, and the Battalion duly arrived at the
station and entrained. There was a slight incline to commence and the
numbers that arrived exceeded the haulage capacity of the only serviceable
locomotive at the station, and consequently no progress was made. As there
was no telegraph a message had to be sent on foot for another engine,
which came along after a long wait, and eventually a start was made. The
couplings were bad and the train soon broke into three portions. As the
way was downhill the various sections glided down to the next station
independently. Here there was another train and a loop line, and it also
happened that one train was too long for the loop. Nothing daunted, the
railway engineers indulged in a considerable amount of shunting, and
decided to take a portion of the waiting train back with the troop train.
All went well until the next incline was reached. There was a great strain
on the engine, but eventually after charging the hill three or four times,
accompanied by much racing of engines and skidding of wheels, the top was
reached, and the Battalion got to Tincourt having taken on the journey
twice the time it would have taken to march the distance.

At Tincourt a pleasant week was spent, after which the Battalion returned
to the Birdcage sector, the porti