Luckily, another move further south to Locon, was made next day. This was a much more habitable and congenial spot, where the proximity of the La Bassee Canal afforded facilities for bathing, and the town of Bethune, in spite of daily shell fire from the Huns an excuse for a ride.
The only incident to be recorded during the stay of the Battalion in Locon was an ear splitting competition between a battery of French “75’s,” which arrived in the village one evening, and a thunderstorm, which seemed to resent its presence. The thunderstorm won, and, incidentally, did considerable damage.
Whilst in Locon one N.C.O. and two men from the Lincolns, with experience of trench warfare, were attached, as instructors, to each Company, prior to their going into the trenches at Richebourg L’Avoue. In later days New Army Battalions were sent into the trenches in driblets—“opposite numbers”—Platoons and Companies, to mix with trench troops and become well acquainted with trench duties before taking over duty as units, but the Territorial Force had no such preliminary training. The Battalion subsequently had the honour of initiating several Battalions of the New Army into their duties.
The night of the 24th/25th May, 1915, marked the Battalion’s first introduction to the trenches. It was allotted a section near the Ferme-du-Bois, in the neighbourhood of Richebourg L’Avoue, which it took over in the dark hours of the night, and where it underwent its baptism of fire with singularly little protection, owing to the inadequate and dilapidated condition of the trenches. However, it survived the ordeal with considerable credit, and, luckily, few casualties, a congratulatory order being issued by the Brigade.
On taking over the trenches at Richebourg L’Avoue, the first duty was to open up communication with the front line, and turn the parapet of the recently captured fire trenches round the other way so as to face the enemy, also to remodel and establish second and third line trenches and construct communication trenches and dugouts, the existing ones being simply rivers of mud and quite impassable. When taken over there were practically no dugouts and the men not actually on duty had to rest lying in the mud in the trench bottom, not even on duck boards, these luxuries being few and far between.
The bodies of troops engaged in the last assault lay unburied, and the collection of identity discs, the burial of the dead, heavy labour at trench construction, and constant readiness to repel a counter-attack, heat and overpowering smell in the day, and intense cold at night, and, withal, a shortage of water, were the first experiences.
During the time of its occupation of these particular trenches, the Battalion produced a marked improvement in their condition. The only grievances given vent to by the men were their inability to reply to the Huns’ game of long bowls, the noise created by the continuous night firing of the Ghurkas’ Maxim Guns on the left, which disturbed their rest, and the difficulty of locating snipers.
On the night of May 28th/29th the Battalion was withdrawn from the trenches to take up its “rest” quarters at the Redout, near Le Touret. However, owing to the too assiduous attentions of the Huns, who commenced to shell the place heavily immediately on the Battalion’s arrival, inflicting a few casualties, a further withdrawal to the village of Le Touret was made the following morning, and on the 1st June, still further back to the village of Riez-du-Vinage. Here the Battalion remained until the night of the 5th/6th June, when it again proceeded to the trenches.
This time the section allotted was a portion of the old German trench in the much-fought-over Festubert area, and these, again, were of very indifferent construction, both as regards their protective value and the facilities afforded for comfort. The Battalion was here subjected to several daily bursts of shelling at more or less regular intervals, the casualties inflicted being mercifully altogether disproportionate to the amount of ammunition expended.
On June 9th the Battalion found itself once more at Le Touret for a spell of rest, and on the 10th was moved further back to Cornet Malo, just as the Huns were getting the range of Le Touret.