able, and suddenly a shell would burst near the artillery
position and one would know the daily Hate and Strafe had started, and
shortly after the sun would rise. We spent some uncomfortable evenings
being shelled in these trenches, and watching and waiting for them to
burst was not an enjoyable occupation. There were no safe dug-outs to
seek safety in, one had to stick it out wherever one was situated and
hope for the best. The damage done was seldom great beyond knocking
the trenches about a bit and these were soon repaired. Having been put
in charge of a digging party one morning in the rearward area whose
duty it was to widen and deepen a communication trench, I saw a good
opportunity while the work was going on of looking for souvenirs in
the shape of Turkish shell caps. So getting out of the trench I
commenced a search and continued for some time but without success,
when I was driven to seek shelter in the trench by a shell bursting in
close proximity, they had evidently spotted someone walking about and
opened fire, but it did not last for long. During our period in the
trenches if there was very little doing, as was usually the case
during the hot weeks, we were in turn sent down to the Depot three
miles behind for two days' rest, and it was an absolute and complete
rest. One had nothing whatever to do, get up at any time, go to bed at
any time, complete relaxation, those two days were a great boon to us.
To have absolutely nothing to do was a great luxury and anything out
of the ordinary routine was enjoyable. During my spell of leave at the
Depot one evening sitting round the Mess table which we had outside on
account of the great heat, we were discussing the movements of the
Regiment during the past 20 years and when I remarked that I had
watched the Regiment embarking at Durban for India 15 years before,
the Quartermaster said, "I was there and out of the whole Battalion
that embarked that day, there are only two of us left with the
Regiment, the Sergeant-Major and myself". I little thought as I
watched the 2nd Battalion saying farewell to South Africa that 15
years later I would share in some of its trials on the banks of the
Tigris. Sitting in the Headquarters Mess in the evening, as I
previously stated, one got all the news, about 8 o'clock the
Quartermaster would appear having come up from the Depot in charge of
the rations party and to make his report. The mails would be
brought up by them too and if th