gered along, their teeth chattering as they went.
Their coats, sopping with water and heavy with'
clay. Happed about their knees, and some seemed
on the point of collapse, moaning pitcously as they
stumbled down the road.

The Company now made for the trench.
Instead of moving up quietly as they should have
done, they were ordered to make a dash for it. The
consequent rattle and clatter nuist have given the
Germans in the opposite trench the notion that an
attack was taking place. I'hey loosed off their



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 89

rifles and a machine-gun in rapid fire into the dark-
ness, and it is marvellous that the Company was
not wiped out. Fortunately, owing to the dark-
ness, casualties were wonderfully few. On reaching
the trench it was found that one part simply could
not be occupied, it was so bad. One man promptly
got bogged to the waist, and it was several hours
before a party could extricate him. Even in the
parts of the trench that could be and were occupied
conditions were very bad, nothing but semi-liquid
mud, and stepping off a sandbag or a stray bit of
board meant plunging into it from ankle depth to
over the knee. The men huddled themselves
together, making what they could in the way of
cutting some sort of place to sit. but little could be
achieved. Day broke after a night that seemed
endless, and they found themselves opposite a wood
(Petit Bois). As soon as daylight came everyone
was busy attempting to clean his rifle, all of them
being jammed with. cXsiy in spite of the protective
swathings. Eventually the day also passed, and
at last they were relieved.

Those three days, followed by the ensuing
march to billets, broke the back of No. 4 Company.
The cold and wet knocked out a lot of the men.
The exposure had the effect of thoroughly exhaust-
ing everybody, and the march back to billets was
a terrible ordeal. Half the men of No. 4 never got
there that night at all, straggling by the wayside.
It must be remembered that in addition to the



go ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

'weight usually carried, a thoroughly wet overcoat,
thickly plastered with clay, is appallingly heavy.
In tact, it can hardly be lifted with one hand. The
destination was Westoutre, but on arriving there
after an awful tramp the remnant nearly mutinied
when they found they had another two miles to go
beyond the village. Even the Mole found his
endurance taxed to the utmost limit and only just
managed to stagger in. Another hundred yards
would have been too much. Many of the men did
not even manage to get their boots off before falling
into a stupor of complete exhaustion.

Although trenches gradually improved as time
went on, this is an example of what they were like
in the early days of the Wipers Salient. The ter-
rible march back to billets w^as commemorated in
the alphabet :

" X is the extra two miles that w^e do
When we get to Westoutre and have to go

through."
It seemed to rain continually and never a chance
to get really dry.

French writes in his dispatch dated February
2nd, 1915 : " The troops composing the Army in
France have been subjected to as severe a trial as
it is possible to impose upon any body of men.
Frost and snow have alternated with periods of
continuous rain. The men have been called upon
to stand for many hours together almost up to
their waists in bitterly cold water, only separated



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. qi

by one or two hundred yards from a most vigilant
enemy."

There were no Y.M.C.A. huts where men
could dry themselves, and only later were gum-
boots served out to troops entering the trenches.
The toll taken by exposure was high. Frost-
bitten feet, or, more correctly, "trench feet,"
disabled large numbers. British troops coming
from India lost nearly half their numbers in a
short space of weeks through expos^ire alone.

The H.A.C. now took their turn regularly with
their brigade when it went to the trenches, Kemmel
being the forward headquarters, and either West-
outre or mostly Locre being the rest billets.
When in the trenches they occupied the F sector
of trenches opposite Wytschaete Ridge. Condi-
tions were made more bearable by steady work on
improving the trenches, taking up boards to stand
on, etc.

Each man going up would also take his little
supply of wood, so as to be able to brew tea over
a " fire-bucket." In these early days the trenches
particularly in the clay of "The Salient" wcrt
nothing but undrained ditches. Clips of S.A.A.
(Small Arms Ammunition) dropped were immedi-
atdy engulfed in the mud. In fact, whole boxes
of S.A.A. used to stand on gradually disappeared,
and eventually were entirely buried several feet
deep. Thousands and thousands of rounds must
have been lost in this way.



92 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

[letter]

"December 20, 1914.

" For the first time in weeks I now have an
opportunity of getting another letter written.
Cigarettes have become fairly plentiful now. I
do not see any likelihood of leave.

'' With regard to the commission, I believe the
declination to make a recommendation was due to
a question of policy, as there are so many qualified-
men in the battalion that there would be few left
if all took commissions. For the moment we are,
as an exception, resting without orders to be
* standing by,' which means ready to move off at
a moment's notice. A large amount of time is
spent like this, with all equipment on, and it pre-
vents one doing anything.

" Though we ha\'e been under shell-fire from
time to time, the trenches are pretty well pro-
tected. All movement, marching, getting to and
from trenches, etc., is done at night, and means
stumbling over awful roads, pitted with shell-holes,
and across a morass of fields. If the Germans
send up a star-shell at that time, one has to duck
down and remain motionless until the light of it
goes out. The greatest danger is really from
' snipers ' who conceal themselves in hay-ricks,
etc., by day inside our lines, and pot at you as
soon as it gets dusk. On the other hand, firing
from the enemy's trenches is quite haphazard at
night, as they cannot see anything. The trenches,



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 93

though fairly safe, are deviUsh uncomfortable, and
I have sat for hours with water over the tops of my

boots.

" I have not been replying to individual letters
as opportunities are scarce, and one is so fre-
quently dead-beat that you simply flop down to
sleep whenever you get the chance.

" The eatables have all been welcome, as our
diet has been practically confined to cold 'bully.'
Hot tea, when we can get it, is a godsend. We
have been having a pretty strenuous time all round,
and are badly in need of a real rest."

[letter]

''December 21, 1914.
" For some time past we have been hard at it,
either in the firing-trenches, or as supports and
reserves. The weather and general conditions
have been very trying — almost continuous rain.
The roads and trenches are consequently very bad.
At the best the trench is wet and muddy, and in
the worst places some of the men have been
bogged to the waist for hours before they could
be extricated. We usually go up for three days,
either in the firing->trenches or supports, and then
three days as reserves, billeted in a neighbouring
village or barns. One's feet are perpetually
sodden with water, and frequently one is pretty
wet besides ; and with no chance to get dry it is
really remarkable, after sleeping as best we may in



94 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

the trench, why we don't all get crocked up. We
take turn about at half-hour guards to watch for
attacks. After straining your eyes in the dark for
some time you can imagine almost anything in
front of you.

" I keep quite well on the whole, though a pro-
longed diet of cold ' bully ' and biscuits has made
me subject to indigestion. Still, the hfe, and a
certain amount of mental strain, take it out of you
tremendously, and you feel that you have no re-
serve of strength to draw on. Even the short
marches of a few miles between trenches and billets
are quite exhausting.

" Once in the trench there is comparatively
little danger, as you are well protected. It is on
the way to and from it that there is some risk of
being ' sniped.'

" I haven't had a bath for ages, and frequently
have to go for a week without even a wash or
shave. We hope to get a little rest one of these
days."



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 95

CHAPTER IX

CHRISTMAS, 1914

Christmas was uneventful, except in so far as it
was spent in the trenches, by now somewhat im-
proved in their condition. Reports reached the
H.A.C. that fraternising had taken place with the
enemy in some parts of the line (believed to have
been the case at " Plugstreet "), but nothing of
that kind was evident in their sector. The day was
celebrated by the distribution of the " Princess
Mary boxes," a neat little brass box containing a
pipe and smoking materials, to all the troops at
the Front.

By this time the original eight hundred had
been reduced to about half their strength, partly
by casualties, mostly incurred on the way to or from
the trenches, but even more so by the results of
exposure, trench feet, rheumatism, etc., necessi-
tating invaliding home.

Locre had now become the usual place for the
rest interval, the main billets being in an uncom-
pleted school building (uncompleted as to parti-
tions, etc.) adjoining a convent. The Mole and
some friends got permission to billet themselves in
the vestry of the church, just across the way. The
sisters were pleased to be of assistance to the men,
and made them free of their kitchen for hot water,
etc. One of the sisters turned out to be Irish, hav-
ing come from an Irish convent at Ypres.



96 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

Whenever the brigade was in rest billets the
various battalions took it in turn to supply the men
required for fatigue parties, etc. One battalion
was always detailed to be ready to move off to the
firing-line absolutely complete at fifteen minutes'
notice, at any hour of the day or night. One time,
when it came to be the turn of the H.A.C., there
were circumstantial rumours that a test turn-out
iWould be ordered and the time req\iired would be
carefully noted and compared with that of other
records. So everybody lay dow^n, practically ready
to jump to his feet on the signal. Sure enough
about midnight one of the billet guards on sentry
duty saw a figure appear in the darkness and heard
the order "Turn out." Each guard stuck his
head in the doorway and bawled out the same order.
With a clatter of arms and equipment the battalion
burst out into the street. The N.C.O.'s paraded
the men and checked over their sections, ready to
report " All present *' in record time as soon as the
officers appeared. Nothing happened. Finally a
messenger was sent over to the orderly room. It
was dark and deserted. Eventually the whole tning
turned out to be a hoax, and the perpetrator was
never discovered. The various sentries were all
keyed up for the expected order and no one had
thought of questioning the man who first shouted it.

All the main activities took place during the
hours of darkness, as the enemy could overlook and
observe much of our ground from his ridges. The



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. gr

march from rest billets was always timed to reach
Kemmel Hill after dark, and those for duty in the
trenches would continue up to them, slithering and
sliding over greasy clay fields in single file. On
dark nights one could hardly see the man in front,
and it was difficult not to lose touch. Burdened
with extra loads, a man would have difficulty in
crossing even the smallest ditches or any other
obstacles, and nearly everybody would fall into
some hole or other on the way up. Every check
made itself felt all the way to the rear, and no
matter how slowly those in front moved forward
those behind had frequently to run to catch up.
Orders passed down by word of mouth were
frequently strangely distorted so as to be quite
unintelligible.

On arriving in the trench the men would
take the places of the regiment to be relieved,
fix bayonets and see that rifles were in working
order, a necessary precaution, as, owing to falling
down, etc., the action was nearly always jammed
with clay, in spite of attempts at protection.
Every fourth man or so would be detailed for sentry
duty, while the others busied themselves with the
various activities of the night, filling sandbags,
repairing breaches in the trench, ration parties,
etc. Dusk and dawn were the most likely hours
for an attack by the enemy, and for an hour before
each " stand to " (stand to arms) was ordered, each
man at his place and ready. Slowly the night



gS ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

passes, and finally the long-drawn-out desolation of
dawn reveals the gleaming w'atery waste. After
" stand to " only a few sentries are required to keep
a look-out with a periscope, the remainder eat their
breakfast and are free to achieve what rest and
comfort they can, huddling on the fire-step like
homeless dogs. Dug-outs did not exist, and the
most protection that could be had was by rigging
up something with a " wetter-sheet," w^hich always
gave way w^hen most needed.

Shelling by the enemy was not heavy as com-
pared with later days. Our own guns were still
less active. They were few in number ; it was said
that each gun was limited to '' one round per gun
per day perhaps ! ' ' When the enemy did bom-
bard our trenches our guns often did not reply at;
all, making one feel furious and helpless at the
preponderance of the enemy artillery. It is a
sickening thing to have to endure shelling without
being able to reply to it in any way. From time
to time " artillery duels " were reported in the
Press. Actually this meant that the artillery was
shelling the trenches of the other side, and it wa§
the P.B.I, who got it in the neck. Batteries,
designed to fire with open sights, had now perforce
to use indirect fire from protected positions where
they remained undisturbed for weeks on end. To
those in the trenches the gunners' life seemed like
a haven of rest. This also changed in the later
course of the war when the gunners suffered heavy
casualties from counter-battery w^ork.



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 99

Letter from the trenches by another member
of the H.A.C. {Evening News) : —

" The French have only recently taken this
position from the Germans and to our right are
numerous dead bodies lying about in contorted
attitudes. The enemy is only about eighty yards
away, and, consequently, neither side exposes itself
overmuch. Next to us is our Maxim-gun, and
there is a gap between our trenches so that we have
to keep a careful look-out, especially by night."

From The Times : — " A member of the
H.A.C. writes :

" ' The trenches are awful — in places three or
four feet deep in water — and frostbite is pretty
general. I am still fit, but rheumatic.

" ' On Thursday last a shell came into the
trench and burst right in the middle of our section,
but not one of us was touched. The same day

Corporal , an old golfing friend of mine, was

shot dead through a loop-hole. Such is fate ! Also
on the same day an enterprising German crept up

to trench with a hand grenade. The fuse was

bad, and it blew his hand off, and two of our men
took him prisoner.

"'We are brigaded with three well-known
Regular regiments, and now do exactly the same
work and go through the same routine as they do.
I think we are earning a very good name for solid,
non-theatrical work, but we are losing some jolly
good men. Imagine an unceasing drizzle of fine



100 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

rain, acres of ploughed fields with an average of
12 in. of mud, scores of dead bodies rising to tke
surface, an indescribable stench from these, and
acres of rotten turnips, ruined farms and villages,
not a light shown anywhere, an indescribable
atmosphere of dreariness and misery, a terrific
bombardment, shells everywhere, and yet not a
single battery or soldier, German or English, to be
seen anywhere — all under cover.

'* ' Standing out in relief is the glorious British
Tommy with his superb courage, good humour and
courtesy. I saw one of the Tommies we relieved
a little while ago fall down when coming out of the
trenches from fatigue and frozen feet. He crawled
up and asked us to hold his hands so that he might
feel some warmth, and then, remembering that we
were just going into the same trench, hastened to
reassure us by saying he was all right, ' only a bit
numb.' "



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. loi

CHAPTER X
1915
[letter]



a



4i



January 2, 1915.

The ' Artists ' is, of course, specifically an
O.T.C. regiment, but we see many young lads as
officers out here. What I said about commissions
was never told me officially — I simply have that
impression.

" I have sufficient money, but one cannot buy
a,ny thing up here. The twice weekly idea for
parcels is a good one. I had thought of it before,
but did not want to make too much trouble. We
are always changing quarters, and everything has
to be carried in one's pack. Since wearing out my
own boots I have been wearing Army boots, which
are quite good, though no boots that I know of will
keep your feet dry in the deep slush we have had
to contend with. The weather is very wet again.

" You have no doubt seen various H.A.C.
letters in The Times, which are subsitantially cor-
rect, and will inform you about details I have not
mentioned.

" The ' Tommies ' really are splendid, and the
way they have stuck it is marvellous.

" The pioneers are now to take on a new job.
Since reaching the zone of /active operations they
had little special work to do, and have been going



102 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

into the firing-line like anybody else. They are
now to work under the R.E., trying to improve
the state of the trenches. In fact, they will be, I
gather, a sort of R.E. corps attached to their own
battalion and working for them.

' ' My previous letters have told you about the
trenches, and there is nothing I can think of to
add. My indigestion is better, but I have had
touches of rheumatism, though I am glad to say I
have escaped frost-bitten feet. On the whole I
get along quite well, and I hope you won't worry
too much about me."

The pioneers now came into their own. It had
been announced that the pioneer section was to be
reconstituted and increased from ten in number to
twenty-five, each battalion in the brigade doing^
the same. This body of men was commanded by
the brigade pioneer officer, who, as a matter of fact,
was a lieutenant of the H.A.C.

[letter]

''January 9, 1915.

" We had no truce on our part of the line at
Chri^t'iias, though there was not much firing. It
was not bad, as everybody had loaded up with extra
parcels of eatables for the occasion, and the weather
for a day was passably fine. I am afraid regular
boots are the only practicable thing on account of
marching.



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 103

" I am always much interested in any news you
send, business or otherwise. The cutting from the
Westminster re sappers was quite timely, as the
pioneers have been calling themselves by that name.
The work has been interesting, though fairly
strenuous. Making barbed wire entanglements,
fascines (Anglice faggots 4 to 9 fit. in length),
very useful for making a bottom to the water-
logged trenches, carrying up sand-bags by hun-
dreds, etc. The pioneers make these things dur-
ing the day as well as carry them up to the trenches
every night ; but, on the other hand, get a com-
paratively decent sleep when they do get back late
in the night or early morning hours. Some of the
trenches are now provided with steel loophole
plates, and in others, where the wa/ter is particu-
larly bad, tubs are provided with the idea of men
sitting in them, and thus avoid being in the water
all the time. Anything in this direction is all to
the good, though even in the best trenches sitting
in the rain is not too amusing, particularly as one
is bound to get very wet crossing sopping fields
getting to them.

" I am feeling fairly fit, and getting along all
right."

It was always a great relief to start baek to
Locre after a spell, and as soon as Kemmel Hill
was passed men would light up and start a march-
ing song, if not too tired. The favourite, to the



104 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

tune of "Hold your hand out, naughty boyf"
was : —

" Keep your head down, H.A.C. ;
Keep your head down, H.A.C,
Or a ruddy great hun, with a ruddy big gun.
Will shoot yer, will shoo-oot yer !
If you want to get back to the City Road,
Keep your head down, H.A.C."

This was varied with " Oh, I don't want to die;
I want to go home ! ' '

The H.A.C. were always a considerable puzzle
to the Regulars with whom they were brigaded,
and were always being mistaken for officers, par-
ticularly at night when only the voice could be
heard. The Mole had now acquired a Burberry
in place of the regulation coat which he dumped
alt the convent at Lrocre (presumably it is there
yet), and in this he had the amusing though ©m-
barassing experience of walking the length of the
village holding a large lump of raw meat in his
hand, and receiving salutes from all sides, salutes
which he neither dared nor wished to " take."

One of the Worcesters wrote home (after an
impromptu concert by the H.A.C. at Locre) :

*' We have the H.A.C. ' Terriers ' in our
brigade and they are 'toffs.' They feel proud to
fight with the Worcesters and they are doing very
good work with a good heart. It seems hard to



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 105

see gentlemen like them roughing it. Our chaps
admire them.

" Some of them are lords' sons, and you ought
to hear them talk. They gave a concert the other
night and it was splendid — just like professionals."

There was a good deal of bitterness at the
difficulty of getting a commission, especially as all
knew that at home they were being handed out
indiscriminately .

[letter]

•• January 17. 1915.

" Parcels and papers arriving all right. Christ-
mas Day was not marked by any special features,
except that we saved a few eatables, such as plum
pudding, to take with us for the occasion. The
long menu in the letter in the paper really means
very little if you look into it a bit, and, in any
event, looks rather faked. Oil for boots is not
necessary ; I get hold of grease from time to time ;
dubbin would be quite good.

'• I am feeling comparatively fit now% a good
deal better than I did. You are quite correct
about the nature of the work, which is quite inter-
esting in its way. I believe our efforts are quite
appreciated by the authorities. I know quite
definitely that commissions are only to be had on
the recommendation of the CO., and unless he sees
fit to give it, there is nothing doing. I also happen



io6 ONE MOLE RAMPANT.

to know that efforts to get around this are inadvis-
able, as one man I know of incurred a reprimand.

" Some new underwear will be acceptable soon,
but before sending please sprinkle well with
paraffin and then let it dry. Through sleep-
ing in dirty barns, etc., many of the men have been
troubled with vermin, and this is recommended as
a preventive. I have so far been free, thank
goodness !

"It is no good thinking about arranging a
meeting. There is so little that I can tell you that
I cannot give much in the way of news. Our men
now do a turn of four days in the trenches, half
of the men doing two spells of twenty-four hours,
alternating with the other half, then four days'
relief. A large draft has arrived, bringing us well
up to strength again. The trenches are much the



same.



The postal service seems to be wonderfully
well organised, as very little goes astray."

Bairnsfather has been criticised for depicting an
" unsoldierly type " in his famous drawings. They
were very true to life. Men muffled themselves in
all sorts of weird wrappings in the endeavour to
protect themselves from the inclement weather —
mufflers round their heads, sacking over their
shoulders or even as super-puttees. One man was
adorned with a large piece of linoleum, the checker-
board pattern of which on his back was visible from



ONE MOLE RAMPANT. 107

afar. '' Old Bill " could be found over and over
again amongst the Regulars.

[letter]

" January 24, 1915.

*' We have had numerous rumours of relief, but
that is as far as it goes, rumour being one of the
most plentiful things in the Army. My own par-
ticular guess is that the bulk of reinforcements will
be kept back until the weather is more favourable.

" Yes, the work suits me better, and though
the weather continues very sloppy I'm feeling