For nearly a month the Battalion was out of the line, and most of this time was spent at Road Camp, St. Jans ter Biezen. At first the accommodation was adequate, but, towards the end of May, the huts were becoming very crowded. This was due to the arrival of new drafts, and the return of a number of lightly wounded men. By the time the Battalion went into the line again nearly 200 had joined. Many of these were young soldiers, who had been hurriedly despatched from England to make good the very heavy losses suffered during the enemy’s violent attacks in March and April. They were splendid material and quickly developed into fine soldiers. A large draft of officers also arrived towards the end of April. Here, too, Sergt. A. Loosemore, V.C., joined the Battalion.
The first days were spent almost entirely in reorganisation. This was very necessary after the enormous casualties of the last few weeks. But the organisation of the Battalion had never broken down, and there was a solid framework on which to build. New officers and men were quickly assimilated; new specialists were trained. Long before the rest period came to an end, the Battalion was almost as efficient a fighting unit as it had been at the beginning of April.
On May 14th the 147th Infantry Brigade moved by bus to St. Martin au Laert for four days’ shooting. Tents were pitched about a mile from the town, and, as the weather was gloriously fine, a very enjoyable time was spent there. St. Omer was within easy walking distance of the camp, and the rather unusual experience of having a large town near at hand was thoroughly enjoyed. Enemy bombing planes were common at night, but they restricted their activities mainly to Arques, and never troubled the camp.
Soon after its return to Road Camp, the Brigade moved to Penton Camp, near Proven, for four days’ work on the East Poperinghe Line. At this time an immense amount of labour and material was being used in the construction of defences between Ypres and Poperinghe. Everyone expected that the enemy would make a further attack in that direction, and no less than four defensive systems were in course of construction or improvement between the two towns. The East Poperinghe Line was the most westerly of these systems. A definite sector was allotted to each battalion, and every available man was sent to work on it. Parties paraded early in the morning and were taken up to the work by light railway trains. They did not return until late in the afternoon, so there was not much time for recreation. At Proven, officers met an old friend. Francois, well known to most officers who have seen much of Poperinghe, had transferred his restaurant business to Proven, when the German advance made Poperinghe too warm. As always, dinner at Francois’ was very popular.
The Battalion returned to Road Camp on May 26th, and another week was spent there. At the end of May Lieut.-Col. R. E. Sugden, D.S.O., went on leave. He had scarcely arrived in England when an urgent wire recalled him, to take command of the 151st Infantry Brigade, 50th Division. He had no time to return to the Battalion, but went straight down to the neighbourhood of the Marne, where his Brigade awaited him. Everyone was delighted to hear of his promotion, for it was looked upon as an honour to the Battalion—few Territorial officers attained such high rank during the war. Another source of great satisfaction to everyone was that Major A. L. Mowat, M.C., was appointed to the command of the Battalion; few had seen more service with it, and none had done more for its good than he.
While at St. Jans ter Biezen, permission was given for a photograph to be taken of all the “old originals” still serving with the Battalion. Four officers and 114 other ranks were included in the group. This should have been done on April 14th—the anniversary of the Battalion’s landing in France. But circumstances over which the Battalion had little control—the battle of Steam Mill was fought on that day—had prevented any celebrations.
(b) Zillebeke Sector.
When the enemy broke through to the south of Armentiéres, and, still more, when he captured the Messines Ridge, the situation of the British troops in the Ypres Salient became very critical. Their whole right flank was laid bare, and they were in imminent danger of being cut off. The whole line was therefore withdrawn to a position a little in front of Ypres. With the exception of the Pilkem Ridge, all the ground gained in the terrific fighting of 1917 was thus given up. Indeed, astride and south of the Menin Road, the line was further back than it had been in 1915.
Early in June the 49th Division took over the line, from a point a little north of the Zonnebeke Road, to Zillebeke Lake. This line was divided into two brigade sectors, the third brigade being in divisional reserve. Thus brigades had sixteen days in the front line and eight days in rest. Each brigade had two battalions in the front line so that, now there were only three battalions to a brigade, one battalion had to do a continuous tour of sixteen days.
On the afternoon of June 3rd the Battalion moved by light railway to near Vlamertinghe Chateau, where it detrained. As soon as it was getting dusk, the men marched off to carry out the relief. That night the enemy artillery was extremely active; in fact, it was the “liveliest” night the Battalion had near Ypres the whole summer. Rome Farm was being very heavily shelled as the men went past towards the Menin Road, and when they reached Kruisstraat they passed into an area thick with mustard gas. A heavy bombardment of Warrington Road and the vicinity of the Lille Gate, with 8-inch gas shells, was in progress. This greatly hampered the relief, as respirators had to be worn for considerable distances; but, luckily, the Battalion got in with practically no casualties.