d as to
our whereabouts, and took us to be in another vacant position some way
down the road, which was liberally shelled by them whenever fire was
opened by us, and we used to encourage this procedure by occasionally
ceasing in order to lead him into the belief that he was doing us
damage. At all events, the position was never shelled the whole time
we were in possession of it--a somewhat unique experience for a
battery in France.

The infantry were also kept busy at the commencement of this period,
as we had relieved another Indian Division, and on this sector the
parapet had been built for the most part by Ghurkas, who, however
stout fellows they may be at heart, have not the stature of Guardsmen.
The result was the latter found their heads and shoulders showing well
above the parapet, and this necessitated the immediate heightening of
the same some two to three feet.

The O.P. duties were divided equally between the subalterns, each
doing a third daily. The wagon lines were situated east of La Gorgue
within easy reach, and frequent visits were paid to them, although no
officer remained there permanently.

During our stay here the Battery came under the direct orders of the
C.R.A. and was attached to no group in particular. Various tasks were
alloted to us, and these were, as a rule, most interesting and
instructive. To further increase our knowledge the B.C. gave the
majority of these shoots to the Junior Officers, briefly explaining
the orders and then leaving us to our own devices by departing for the
rest of the day to the wagon lines on the pretext that he had a
birthday to celebrate. He had many of them. This plan was much to our
liking, and tremendous keenness was displayed by all. Great pains were
taken to carry out everything to the letter, and the signallers also
carried out their part with equal spirit. The gun detachments at this
time rose to a high pitch of proficiency and could get 10 rounds a
minute out of the howitzers, which, considering the double load and
triple movement, was by no means a bad performance.

A fine level field ran alongside of the position, and it was (p. 017)
speedily made use of as a recreation ground. Goal posts were erected,
and often a hot contest at football would be interrupted by the shrill
blast of a whistle summoning the men hastily to action. Their task
completed, they would calmly return and finish the game.

All kinds of mutual understandings existed between