d most of
the Norfolks collected together in a field by the side of the road,
and a stray Bedford company or two looking quite fresh and happy.

As it was necessary to get further orders, I left Weatherby to do some
more collecting and pushed on by myself into the town, where I found
Rolt and some of his Staff; but he knew nothing. There was a hopeless
block at this moment, so I slipped off my horse for ten minutes and
had a bit of chocolate and biscuit, which were quite refreshing. Rolt
was somewhat depressed, for his Brigade had lost heavily, but they too
were gradually coming together. At last, in the middle of the town, I
managed to collect some instructions, and was told that the 5th
Division was to form up in a field near the railway station the other
side of the town. There were also Staff officers at different points,
calling out "5th Division this way, 3rd that," and so on; and as the
men, now more or less in columns of fours, passed them, they perked up
and swung along quite happily.

We were now outside the region of our maps, so I asked my way to a
stationer's, which luckily happened to be open, though it was barely
7.30 A.M., and bought all the local maps I could get hold of: they
were only paper, not linen, but they proved extremely useful. And then
I bought some big rings of bread and some apples, and made Catley
carry them strung on the little brigade flag that S. had embroidered,
and we filled up our haversacks with as much food as we could buy and
carry--for the benefit of the men.

I found my way to the railway field all right, but none of the Brigade
had yet arrived, so I went back to look for them. On the way I found
that a number of the 13th Brigade had taken the wrong turning and were
plodding right away from the town, so I had to canter after them a
mile or more and turn them back. There was a lot of transport further
on, on the move; and fearing that they might belong to us, whilst my
horse was pretty tired, I begged a nice-looking Frenchman with a long
beard--a doctor of sorts--in a motor-car, to lend me his car to catch
them. This he willingly did, and drove me up to them, but they turned
out to be field ambulances with orders of their own, so I came back
to the railway field, leaving a man at the railway turning to turn the
others and show them the way.

Gradually bits of the 15th Brigade arrived--a few Dorsets, half the
Bedfords, and a few Cheshires; and to these I imparted the Staff
in