igadier-General
Riddell, who was killed a few hours later not far from St. Julien at
the head of the brave Northumberland Brigade. He was shot through the
head while personally conducting an attack to recover St. Julien.

When we reached La Bryke we found that Captain Duguid, our
quartermaster, had fortunately brought down double rations for a
complete battalion. This enabled us to ration the whole brigade. He
had done the same thing on the Friday night previous. The transports
of the other battalions had been all shot up, but Captain Duguid had
used mules as pack animals. We waited for several hours for orders and
the General did not turn up. The Brigade Sergeant-Major, who had
brought us his orders, said he would remain at La Bryke and notify the
General if he should come while we went back to the transport to spend
the few hours of darkness left. It was necessary for us to go through
and past the bridges over the canal before daylight, otherwise we
would be spotted by aeroplanes and shelled.

It was dawn when the tired battalions made their way into the field in
which all that was left of the transports of the four battalions was
packed. They had hot soup ready and it was a case of bivouac on the
green grass with the heavens as a blanket.

Very soon afterwards General Turner, V.C., and Lt.-Colonel Hughes, his
staff officer, arrived. They both warmly congratulated me on sticking
it out at the hot corner. General Turner, V.C., told me that the
Canadians had been given credit for saving the situation, and that my
battalion, though it had been almost wiped out, had not died in vain.
He was completely worn out, so I gave him and his officers a place
under a piece of tarpaulin after they had had something to eat. They
had not had any rest or sleep since Thursday morning, and in a few
minutes everyone was fast asleep except the transport men.

I had not been in the Land of Nod half an hour when I was roused by
the trample of a horse and the voice of a horseman enquiring for me. I
was up in an instant and found a staff officer looking for General
Turner. I refused at first to awaken him unless the matter was urgent,
but when I was assured that it was, I roused him and he opened his
message. It was an order to take the brigade back immediately to La
Bryke to go into support of the Lahore division under General Snow,
which was to attack that afternoon together with some French troops.

The men were all dead tired and soun