The Military situation did not permit of my seeing your Division on its departure from the Corps in order to say Good-bye to you all, and thank all ranks for the services they have performed during the time the Division has been in the Corps. I am compelled therefore to write what I should have liked to speak.
Ever since the Division was formed and posted to this Corps, it has proved itself to possess the finest military spirit. Lord Cavan, and since his departure General Feilding, ably assisted by Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. W. P. Hore Ruthven, G.S.O.I., Lieut.-Colonel Darrell, A.A.Q.M.G., and a most efficient staff, have carried out several offensive operations with distinguished success, including the attacks during the fighting round Loos, the consolidation of a difficult and unmade line about the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and the raid into the hostile trenches along the Rue Tilleloy front. The careful planning of these operations by the Divisional Commander and his general and administrative staff, the accurate reconnaissance and detailed organisation of each by the Brigade Commanders, Brigadier-Generals Heyworth, Ponsonby, and Pereira, and also General Feilding until he succeeded Lord Cavan in command of the Division, together with their staffs, has been a model of good fighting.
The infantry operations have been ably seconded by the artillery of the Division under Brigadier-General Wardrop and his Brigade Commanders, who have spared no pains, both in the construction of forward observing posts and the training and organisation of good observing officers, to secure the success of the infantry.
The Royal Engineers also under Lieut.-Colonel Brough and his field company commanders have been indefatigable in their work on the defences, the water drainage in rear of our line, and in assisting the artillery in the construction of some of the best observing posts in any part of the British line. The Battalion commanders, officers, non-commissioned officers and men who have been called upon to bear the brunt of all this fighting have shown throughout an offensive spirit which in my opinion surpassed any standard reached by the Guards or any infantry in past campaigns, and which will be the admiration of future generations of soldiers. The fine discipline and soldierly bearing of all ranks is also a matter for all of you to be proud of. You have been an example to other Divisions with whom you have been associated, and that example has produced the best results, and has raised the fighting value and efficiency of the whole Corps. I am very sorry to say Good-bye to you, but I am glad you are going to a corps which is commanded by your old Divisional General Lord Cavan, who has the proud distinction of being the first General Officer to command a British Guards Division, and who has so greatly distinguished himself on every occasion.
I can only hope that the Eleventh Corps will find itself before long by the side of the Fourteenth Corps with the Guards Division ready, as it always will be, to lead the way to Victory.
While the 2nd Battalion remained at Poperinghe, it was honoured by the visit of some German aeroplanes which dropped bombs, but fortunately not anywhere near the men's billets. On the 22nd a demonstration of German liquid fire was held, and it was clearly shown that, provided the men kept their heads low down in the trench, no harm would come to them, since liquid fire rises in the air about six or eight yards from the muzzle of the apparatus.
On the 24th the 2nd Battalion proceeded to Cassel, and as the roads were frozen the transport had several adventures. Down one steep hill several wagons and cookers skidded into the ditch, from which they had to be rescued, and there were many accidents. On the 28th the Battalion entrained, and went by rail to Calais Coulogne station, where it marched to No. 6 Rest Camp, about four kilometres from the town on the Dunkirk road. Here it found the 1st Battalion Grenadiers, the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards, and the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.
March.
In this breezy but healthy locality the 2nd Battalion remained for ten days, and the health of the men improved immensely in spite of the extreme cold. On March 5 it returned by train to Cassel, and marched about nine miles to Herzeele, where it went into billets. On the 16th it moved to Poperinghe, and on the 18th took over the line east of Potidje village, with Nos. 3 and 4 Companies in the front trench, No. 1 Company in support, and No. 2 in reserve. Major Glyn left the 2nd Battalion to take command of the 1st Battalion vice Lieut.-Colonel Trotter.
The trenches that had been taken over turned out to be in very bad order, with parapets only waist high, and nowhere bullet-proof. There were no communication trenches, and little or no attention appeared to have been given to the difficult problem of drainage and sanitary arrangements, but the men set to work at once, and before long there was a marked improvement. During the days spent in the trenches by companies, there were a certain number of casualties—among whom was Sergeant-Major H. Wood, who was slightly wounded—and the parapet in the line held by No. 1 Company was blown in by shells from a field-gun not five hundred yards away. On the 24th the 2nd Battalion went to A Camp at Vlamertinghe, where they remained for four days, and on the 28th they returned to the trenches east of Potidje village. Although at first there was a comparatively quiet time, the shelling increased later, and a certain number were wounded, including Second Lieutenant H. G. Carter. On the 30th the shelling increased in intensity, and the trenches of No. 4 Company were completely levelled for about 120 yards. Work was almost impossible at this spot as the enemy's artillery continued to shell it, and it was not until the following day that the men were able to erect another parapet.