the high narrow
trenches at Hill 60, they were mostly mere breastworks with little or
no back protection. And the C.T.s were hardly deep enough to afford
protection from sniping or indirect rifle fire. Fortunately the
Germans did not snipe these trenches. There were three gaps in the
front line, and two small posts in No Man's Land. A long winding C.T.
brought you from Battalion H.Q., which were at Rossignol Farm about a
mile from the front line trenches. The main features of the landscape
were the Wytschaete Ridge and Petit Bois--a thick wood on our left
front. The German trenches were not at first at all close to ours; and
both their wire and ours was thick and solid. We had a big mine shaft
in the supports, but a good way back from the front line. The
Canadians told us that there had been little fighting there except
between patrols and during raids. And it was evident that they had
spent more time and labour in draining the trenches than in fortifying
them. I had my quarters with most of the bombers in a support trench,
H.5, about 250 yards from our front line. We had the trench all to
ourselves and during my first visit to these trenches, which lasted
six days, it was a quiet, happy home, with a green field behind and an
occasional pheasant crowing in the hedges. Unfortunately for the
bombers, emplacements for 60-pounder trench-mortars (worked by the
R.F.A.) were already being dug at either end of our trench, and I knew
there would soon be trouble for H.5. We had a curious little
bombing-post outside the front line at H.4, which was only held at
night. It was inside our wire, but you could only reach it by
clambering over the top of the parapet after dark. The post was
connected by a string to a sentry-post in the front line. And various
signals were arranged to warn the sentry in the front line as to what
was going on, for example, two jerks on the string: 'Man returning to
trench,' three jerks: 'Enemy patrol on right,' and so on. A similar
bombing-post was also held at night for the first time during this
visit. This was in an old broken-down trench outside our wire, called
'J.3 Right.' It was more difficult of approach owing to the mud and to
its distance from the front line, and of course more dangerous because
it might be attacked by the enemy's patrols. Capt. Hugh Liddell of B
Company found this old trench whilst patrolling No Man's Land. It was
probably once part of the front line which had become waterlogge