t work, for whilst we were
resting we figured in many working parties. We all learned to believe
that

Our section was the best in the Platoon
Our Platoon the best in the Company,
Our Company the best in the Battalion,
Our Battalion the best in the Brigade,
Our Brigade the best in the Division,
Our Division the best in the Corps,
Our Corps the best in the Army,
And that the British were the best in the world.

Our old Colonel would have concerts and lectures arranged for us when
we went to rest, and on Christmas day we had quite a big dinner,
thanks to the people at home who helped by sending us quite a lot of
nice things.

As you might know we had quite a lot of Cape Breton boys. They were
needed to do some mining and they were splendid at that work. The
miners work is as follows; first they sink a shaft so many feet down,
and then when they get down deep enough they start sapping forward,
putting up timbers as they go. They have to work very quietly as Fritz
also does some sapping and if too much noise is made the miners
themselves are liable to go up in the air and come down in pieces, and
I do not think that anybody would relish that idea. Mining is done now
on a very large scale. So you see this war is carried on underneath
the earth as well as underneath the water.

I will remember a certain officer who got the creeps after the October
affair and would always go around wearing armored body plates, and
every time he heard a rat scratch he thought it was a mine. He heard a
noise in his dugout and he cleared all the men out of his trench and
had the miners up. They dug down and found that his place must have
been over an old dugout and that there were quite a number of rats
running around having a good time all to themselves. Certainly, I must
admit that I was no hero myself. When our front trenches started to
cave in we had to get out in front into No Man's Land and dig a new
trench and what earth we excavated we had to throw up against our own
front line trench, and although at the present time I would think
nothing of it I was sure some scared. But after you are there awhile
you do not mind it at all. The first winter Bill Cameron, along with
his scouts used to live in No Man's Land. They thought nothing of
doing that. They used to be planning to do all sorts of things, but
the opportunity only seldom came for them to do anything out of the
way, except it was to go over No Man's Land sear