n party of twenty to
twenty-five men, and these would assemble just after dusk and wander along
Posen or Hay Alley back to the vicinity of Lone Tree, and there pick up
the rations and water from the transport wagons. The communication
trenches contained a lot of water and caused great hardship to those men
who were not fortunate enough to possess gum boots. These ration fatigues
lasted from three to five hours, after which the men had to continue their
trench duties. Each man cooked his rations as best he could, in his own
mess tin; this meant that he did not get a hot meal which was so badly
needed in the intensely cold weather.

In this sector there was a great shortage of water. Washing and shaving
were impossible, and at times there was not enough to drink. On one
occasion a man was known to have scraped the hoar frost off the sandbags
to assuage his thirst, and some drank the dirty water that was to be found
in shell craters.

At this time there was a great danger of a gas attack, and it was
customary to have a bugler on duty in the front line to sound the alarm
when gas was seen coming over--a scheme which was scarcely likely to be
efficacious, for in a few moments he would have been gassed himself. Each
man had two anti-gas helmets--one with a mica window, and the other with
glass eyepieces and a tube through which to breathe out, and which was
known later as a P.H. helmet. There were Vermorel Sprayers here and there
in the trench, which were entrusted to the care of the sanitary men.
Instruction was given from time to time in anti-gas precautions, but
viewed from a subsequent standpoint these defensive measures were not
good.

Steel helmets were in possession of the bombers, who were then called
"Grenadiers," and wore little red cloth grenades on their arms. These
helmets were called "bombing hats," and regarded as a nuisance. Each man
of the Battalion had a leather jerkin and a water-proof cape, and the
majority had a pair of long gum boots.

There was only one Verey light pistol in each company, and this was
carried by the officer on duty. There was no special S.O.S. signal to the
artillery. Telephonic communication from the front line existed, and this
was freely used. It was not known at the time that the enemy had evolved a
means whereby he could hear these conversations. To prevent an illness
known as "trench feet" each man had to grease his feet daily with whale
oil, which was an ordeal on a bitterly