The History of the Prince of Wales' Civil Service Rifles

by Anonymous

The trenches were mostly sandbagged barricades such as had been seen as Festubert, but here they were neatly revetted with expanded metal, and although there was a good deal of water, all the trench floors were boarded. There were recesses labelled for bombs and S.A.A., and although the trench shelters were not by any means shell-proof, the majority at least were weatherproof.

There were many ambitious schemes for winter comforts. A Brigade gum boot store with lots of thigh gum boots was already established, and large shelters were being erected in each Battalion area as drying rooms, where men would be able to dry their clothes. These shelters, however, never got into working order. Another novelty was the precaution taken to prevent trench feet or frost bite. It was arranged that every man should change his socks and rub his feet with whale oil every day, the old socks being sent down every night and exchanged at the Divisional Laundry for alleged clean ones which were brought up with rations the following night.

Thus it was hoped to combat some of the evils which beset the Army during the previous winter, and there is no doubt that these measures bore good fruit, for the losses through sickness during the winter of 1916-17 were less than half those of the previous winter.

But although the prospect at the beginning of winter was very bright, and the troops were looking forward confidently to a spell of quiet life, it was not long before things began to liven up, as though the Ypres Salient had begun to look to its reputation.

The change was first noticeable when, on returning to the front line after a few days in Divisional Reserve at Ottawa Camp, near the village of Ouderdom, the Battalion took over a section of the front line in what was called the Hill 60 Sector, on the 13th of November.

These trenches differed in many respects from those in the Ravine, in spite of the fact that they were practically adjacent. Mining activities were carried on here on a very elaborate scale, and there were several deep tunnels, some, it was said, running as far forward as the German front line on Hill 60 itself. These tunnels were all being worked by one of the Australian Tunnelling Companies, to whom working parties were sent day and night. The main line of the Ypres-Roulers railway ran through the sector, and the old railway cutting formed the right boundary of the Battalion front. The trenches had been in existence for many months, and owing to the continual bombardments, the ravages of weather, and the quaint ideas of sanitation of former occupants of the sector, the area could hardly claim to be a health resort. Large fat rats abounded in and around every trench, and so fat were they that they had lost their turn of speed, and fell easy victims to any who could find time to hunt them. Bully beef and Maconochie’s famous meat and vegetable rations were to be found everywhere. Some men say that these were often used in place of trench boards.

Those working in the tunnels with the Australians were impressed, almost awestruck, by the magnitude of the mining operations, which they felt sure would end one day in a miniature earthquake, and they fervently hoped they would be at a safe distance when that should happen. The tunnels were lighted by electricity, the power for which was produced by a gas engine installed underground. A privileged few were allowed to explore the wonderful Berlin Sap, a long tunnel which stretched from some distance in rear of Battalion Headquarters to the German lines.

But it must not be imagined that the troops enjoyed home comforts in this area. The Companies holding the left of the Battalion front had practically no protection from either shell fire or weather, and those who have occupied the curiously-named Metropolitan Left and Metropolitan Right will be ready to swear that there was no more miserable place on the western front. They were, however, little better off than those who were stowed away in the tunnels of Marshall Walk, where the atmosphere reduced the occupants, packed in tight, to a state of coma.

The enemy had now begun to bombard the area fiercely with various kinds of shells and minenwerfer bombs, but fortunately he was kind enough, at first at all events, to limit his bombardments strictly to certain hours of the day. His special effort was always served up during the two hours after lunch, and strangely enough it was mostly bestowed on the Marshall Walk area, where the troops were able to squeeze into the tunnels. The men in other parts of the line had to sit under a ground sheet or a bit or corrugated iron and hope that nothing would come their way. In this way five somewhat anxious days were endured with comparatively few casualties before the Battalion moved into support in another of the wonders of the Ypres Salient—the Railway Dug-outs. These were dug-outs formed by tunnelling into the railway embankment between the village of Zillebeke and Ypres itself. Half the Battalion was accommodated here, the men occupying wire beds which were erected in tiers. The atmosphere was thick, to say the least, and fatigue parties were frequently told off to try to fan the foul air out with gas fans. The other two Companies were at Battersea Farm and Château Belge.

The Railway Dug-outs area had its advantages, however, for there was little shelling and there were opportunities during the day to wander out into the fresh air, to visit the Brigade canteen, and sometimes to visit the ruins of the historic city of Ypres. The working parties at night were employed in pushing trucks of R.E. material along what remained of the railway line to the ration dump of the front line Battalion, in the Hill 60 sector. On the whole the five days at Railway Dug-outs were written down as not too bad, and after five more days in the front line in Hill 60 sector, the end of November saw the Battalion in Divisional Reserve in the huts at Ottawa Camp.