the scene of such furious fighting in the
latter stages of Arras battle, immediately in its rear. Half right, to
the south of the river Scarpe, what remained of the village of Monchy
stood out like a sentinel on the top of the hill. This point afforded
a splendid view in all directions and was the veritable keystone of
the whole position. Four of our pieces were placed in a quarry, a few
yards off the road leading through Fampoux, on its western extremity,
while the other two guns were moved forward, east of the same village,
behind a bank, and carefully camouflaged. As this sector was
extraordinarily quiet and there was not sufficient work to keep
everyone occupied, the Battery Commander decided to commence
construction and endeavour to make our position a model one. Two pits,
which were already in existence, were pulled down and rebuilt, (p. 070)
and two others were constructed alongside, and all of them were placed
just as near the front bank of the quarry as would permit of the guns
clearing the crest. The whole position was completely camouflaged, as,
it will be readily understood, a quarry made a conspicuous target for
the enemy at any time, and if he suspected the presence of a battery
therein, there would have been little peace or quiet for us. However,
as things turned out, we had evidently made a good job of our work,
and to our surprise, not a single shell dropped in the quarry during
our period of occupation.

Walls were white-washed and ammunition and charge shelves elaborately
painted, the platforms were neatly tiled or bricked with material
taken from the surrounding ruins, and all manner of "eye wash" was
employed in making the pits look well. A communication trench was dug
from one extremity to the other, rivetted and duck-boarded throughout,
and led to the men's quarters. These when completed were palatial, and
put in the shade any headquarter unit in the line.

The near side of the quarry, which consisted of chalk, was easily and
rapidly mined, and, in the course of three weeks, the men had
comfortable quarters. Beds made of wire netting stretched on wooden
frames, a spacious dining hall, telephone pit, cook house, and they
even possessed a moderate sized bath room, which was highly valued and
put to great use. The officers' quarters were no less sumptuously
fitted out. Each had sleeping accommodation, in cellars of the ruined
houses, running along the main street close to the quarry, nicely
lin