an and inquire for my
brother's battalion. It took me about twenty minutes to get there, but
there was no difficulty in finding the battalion or their H.Q. So I
marched up to the H.Q. hut and asked to see Capt. Buckley. He came out
at once and was very surprised to see me, for he had no idea where I
was at this time. It was a hurried but exceedingly pleasant meeting. I
had only twenty minutes to spare, and he was just going forward to the
front line that night. So we had to 'swop yarns' very quickly. And he
walked back part of the way with me towards Ypres. I thought he looked
very worn out and depressed. He had had a very hard time in the
Salient, and in a few days he was back in hospital with influenza.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] At Coigneux I found a series of early implements in which the
British Museum took considerable interest.

XXVIII

THE PASSCHENDAELE RIDGE

The 50th Division were holding the line in front of Passchendaele
Village and a little to the south. On our right were the West Riding
Territorials, the 49th Division, commanded by Major-General Cameron
(once one of our brigadiers); on the left the 14th Division. Only one
brigade was in the line at a time--another remaining in support around
Ypres and the other back at rest about Brandhoek. Thus a brigade went
to close support for four days, to the front line for four days, and
then back to the rest area for four days. This seems to be an easy
method of holding the line; but, owing to the nature of the ground and
to the heavy shelling that went on most of the day and night in the
forward areas, it was impossible to keep a brigade very long in the
front line. The battle on the ridge had been over for some time, but
neither side was yet prepared to disperse its heavy concentration of
guns. But the heavy firing was gradually, very gradually, becoming
less severe.

Ypres itself had been badly knocked about during the great battle.
Most of the troops billeted in Ypres lived underground, but whilst I
was living there it was never severely shelled. Shrapnel was fired
occasionally at the balloons over the city, and also about the Menin
Gate and the roads leading towards the east end of the city. But there
were no heavy guns in Ypres itself, and there was at present no
particular reason for shelling it. We therefore had not an unpleasant
time ourselves in the city. I believe that the H.Q. at the convent
were shelled whilst we were in the front line, but that