' company which was left on piquet because they
could not be relieved in time, and the men of the regimental
transport, which had been left behind owing to there being no facility
for sending the waggons and animals by train with the battalion.

The morning after the departure of the latter I was ordered by the
D.A.A.G. of the divisional troops to proceed to the various camps in
Section A, and find convenient space for the transport waggons. I
found the necessary ground in rear of the camp of the 1st Battalion
Gloucester Regiment, behind the railway cutting leading to the Orange
Free State Junction. Here we were joined in the afternoon by
Lieutenant H. W. Higginson, who took command, and the section of 'G'
company, when the Gloucesters helped us in every way, and made us as
comfortable as they possibly could. All that day we were left in
comparative peace, there being no firing on either side; but the next
morning about 5 a.m. the Boers opened with 'Long Tom' from Pepworth
Hill, and commenced a duel of some hour's duration with our naval 4.7,
which was placed on Junction Hill. They also kept up a continual
cannonade with their long-range twelve-pounders, but did little or no
damage, as they had not yet discovered the exact location of our
camps.

For the next three or four days we remained in the Gloucester's camp
and aided in starting the trenches which eventually formed the fort
known as 'Tunnel Hill.' This was by no means pleasant work, as it was
carried out under fire, the enemy being very quick at spotting our
working parties and remarkably so at obtaining our range. We used to
watch with great interest the duel every morning between the two big
guns. Once the Boers hoisted a large white flag over their epaulement
and proceeded to repair some small damage to their gun--they have very
weird ideas about the white flag.

On November 7th our detachment was suddenly ordered to proceed to
'Bell's Spruit,' and form the guard there. I was ordered to hand over
our transport to the Army Service Corps, so we took away the majority
of the men and brought the strength of our piquet up to thirty-one
men; the transport was sent to the railway station yard for the use of
the Army Service Corps, where it remained throughout the siege. We
were stationed at the mouth of the spruit just where it runs through
the ridge opposite the cemetery. Our fortifications consisted of a
thick wall with sandbag loopholes running right across the