The outstanding features of life in this area were the heavy trench mortars used by the Bosches in the line, and the very happy days in Noulette Woods, near the village of Aix Noulette, when out of the line.
Early in July the Battalion was ordered to raid the enemy trenches in the Bois en Hache, just north of Souchez, but although five officers and 100 other ranks were specially trained for the event, it was a dismal failure, and it has long been a forbidden topic of conversation in Civil Service Rifles circles. Fortunately the casualties were few, and the Battalion left the area shortly afterwards to return to the dreaded Berthonval sector on Vimy Ridge.
On this occasion, however, a very peaceful time was spent in the front line, and it was hard to believe that it was the scene of the big fight of two months ago.
The thoughts of every one were now turned to the big offensive in the Somme district, and for some time the distant rumble of guns, heard daily from morning till night, had given rise to discussions as to when the 47th Division would move south to join in the fray.
It was therefore no surprise when the Civil Service Rifles marched out of Camblain l’Abbé on the 26th of July, 1916, after four very happy days in that pleasant village, to start the great trek to the Somme district.
CHAPTER IX
THE TREK
During its career in France, the Civil Service Rifles have frequently moved over long distances by route march—a practice known as “trekking”—but the great march of 1916 seems so to have dwarfed all other performances of a similar nature, that it is always referred to simply as “the trek,” and it is agreed by all who took part in it, that the trek was one of the most enjoyable experiences the Civil Service Rifles had during the war.
At the same time the period was one of the most strenuous, the daily programme of work being sometimes so crowded that it hardly seemed worth while to go to bed. The Divisional Commander was evidently a firm believer in early rising, for réveillé was often sounded at the early hour of 3.30 a.m.
The route from the mining district to the valley of the Somme was distinctly roundabout, and for the first two or three weeks of the trek the Division got farther and farther away from its destination, until eventually it came to rest near the coast in the Abbéville district.
A pleasant march on the first day brought the Civil Service Rifles to the village of Houdain, where Lieutenant G. G. Bates organised a very successful Mess Dinner for officers at the Café du Centre, and on the following day, after a short march, the village of Valhuon, near St. Pol, was reached, where four enjoyable days were spent in lovely summer weather. The weather, indeed, was a little too summer-like on the day of the march from Valhuon to Croisette. Not only was it so far the hottest day of the year, but the march took place during the hottest time of the day, and when Croisette was reached at 3.30 p.m. many had fallen by the wayside. Other units of the Division had similar experiences, and hereafter early rising was the order of the day, réveillé generally being sounded about an hour before dawn so that training could be finished before the heat of the day.