Their commissariat went wrong and they got no food for twenty-four hours. Their hosts saw to it that they had enough to eat, and before dawn had picked sufficient mushrooms for the combined messes, and by dinner enough young new potatoes, carrots, red currants and gooseberries for a good meal.

After a few days in trenches at Le Philosophe, the 47th Division moved into Corps Reserve, the Civil Service Rifles occupying their old billets at La Beuvrière early in August.

The Battalion now lost a very old friend in Lieutenant and Quartermaster W. H. D. Clark, who was ordered to England to take up an appointment in the Ministry of Munitions. Lieutenant Clark had joined the Civil Service Rifles as a private in 1888, and had served continuously since that time, rising through the various ranks of N.C.O. to R.Q.M.S. until he was appointed Quartermaster in 1910. Mr. Clark had been at all times a most enthusiastic worker for the Regiment, and his energy knew no bounds. He took away with him the most cordial good wishes of all ranks. Another old friend in R.S.M. A. Toomey, a Scots Guardsman who for many years had been on the permanent staff of the Battalion, succeeded to the appointment of Quartermaster, and C.S.M. Jolliffe of “C” Company acted as R.S.M. Bernard Jolliffe was undoubtedly one of the most popular members of the Regiment, and it was distinctly unfortunate that ill-health compelled him to return to England a few months after taking up his new duties.

The time at La Beuvrière was spent in Sports (Brigade and Divisional), Football and Cricket, Inspections and Training.

The Battalion distinguished itself by easily defeating both the 6th London Field Ambulance and the Post Office Rifles at cricket and the 4th London Field Ambulance at football. As these teams had previously done well, it was considered a fine performance on the part of the Civil Service Rifles to beat them all. G. Wright, H. E. R. Warton and J. H. Hunt of “D” Company shone as batsmen, and Wright and Second Lieutenant Stevens were the most successful bowlers. Lance-Corporal C. Palser of “C” Company won the quarter mile at the Brigade Sports, and Corporal Williams of the Transport Section was second in the High Jump at the Divisional Sports, where Private W. H. Domoney, an “A” Company bomber, won the open competition for bomb throwing.

It was not all Sports and Pastimes at La Beuvrière, however, and soon the numerous parades and inspections began to pall even as trench life had done. The now historic Brigade Order ordaining that in future the brass tabs on the equipment and the metal parts of entrenching tool handles were to be polished caused one of the Regimental scribes to break into verse, and his effort was a popular item at Company and Regimental Concerts. It was described as the turn of the evening at a Regimental Concert held some months later, and attended by the offending Brigadier himself and the Commanding Officer.

CHAPTER IV
LOOS AND THE SPINNEY

A return was made to the trenches at Maroc on the 1st September, when it was found that the war had livened up considerably during the three weeks’ absence at La Beuvrière. The aerial torpedo made its first appearance to the Battalion, and to judge from the following letter home from a member of “B” Company, caused some consternation:—

“When we first took these trenches over from the French there was hardly a shell or a bullet all day. Now Hell is let loose. The very first morning we were introduced to a novelty in the shape of a gigantic bomb. The trench trembled and the air rushing into our dug-outs almost blew us off our seats. We rushed out to see what damage had been done, and could hardly believe our eyes when we found that the bomb had exploded about 300 yards in front of the trench. The next one burst not 40 yards away, and after the blinding flash and the crash of the explosion I felt nothing. The explosion is apparently upward rather than outward. It is thought that the offending mortar works on a pair of rails and is whisked back by the force of the recoil into the side of the slag heap. Smoke rises when the bomb is fired, but a heavy shelling at this spot failed to silence it. Now an Artillery Observation Officer watches the spot all day, and immediately the smoke is observed his battery fires and tries to catch the mortar before it gets back under cover.”