ed to the Battalion. Snow fell
but that made no difference to the training programme. The men had to lie
on the frozen snow to fire the various practices, and bearing in mind that
the rifles were very cold to handle, the results attained were excellent.

Christmas was spent here, and the Christmas dinner which took place in the
school and a large barn was a great success, and demonstrated the good
feeling that existed between the officers and men. A few days afterwards
the Battalion was visited by Lieutenant-Colonel Luther Watts, O.B.E.,
V.D., the Town Major of St. Pol, and who had commanded the Battalion prior
to the war, and at Dunfermline and Tunbridge Wells. Those of the officers
and men who had served under him in England were pleased to see their
former commanding officer once more.

While at Lisbourg efforts were made to induce the men to invest in War
Saving Certificates. At first they were somewhat reluctant, saying that
they did not wish to hand back their pay which they had earned. Lectures
on the subject were delivered to them, and when the scheme was fully
explained, and they understood the necessity for money in order to carry
on the war, they readily responded, and over L1,000 was subscribed by the
officers and men, which was the highest figure attained in the Division.
This was an achievement of which the Battalion was justly proud, and shows
the keenness and interest the men displayed in their Regiment, and the
cause for which they were fighting.

In consequence of the reduction of the number of infantry battalions in
the organisation of the British division from twelve to nine, the "first
ninth" being the junior battalion in the Brigade was split up. A selected
party of the officers and men was detailed for the second line Battalion,
and they were regarded with envy by the less fortunate. The remainder was
split up into drafts for the 1st, 4th, and 12th King's. The day of the
break up was a very sad one indeed. To a soldier his regiment is his home,
and to be called upon to leave it, to sever his friendships and to lose
his comrades of many a tragic day is for him very bitter. It is not untrue
to say that as the drafts were leaving and comrades were saying "Goodbye,"
several of the soldiers, who had braved nearly inconceivable terrors, were
almost in tears. As was feared at the time the "Goodbye" in many cases was
for ever, as many were killed shortly afterwards by the German offensive
in March. The D