We had not been in Fraser Camp for more than two days when we were invited to pay a visit to some taped trenches close to Villers au Bois, and maps of the area which they represented were freely distributed.

The successful capture of Vimy Ridge had certainly improved our position considerably, but there was still a decided salient round the city of Lens, which seemed to create a certain amount of uneasiness among the H.Q. staff. To straighten out this salient was therefore the object now in view, and to this end the entire Canadian Corps was to be engaged. An assault through Avion and Méricourt, which were situated to the south of Lens, combined with a strong demonstration north of that city, was the plan of campaign to be adopted, the result of which, if successful, would not only straighten the existing salient, but would force the Germans to evacuate Lens itself.

Tanks were to be used in conjunction with the infantry, and in order to become acquainted with their peculiarities we attended a demonstration by the Tank Corps at Mailly, which was most instructive. For two solid weeks we worked hard on this scheme, practising over the taped trenches every day, and then suddenly[50] the practices ceased, and strawberry jam was substituted for the everlasting plum and apple. This generally meant that the time for the attack was drawing near, but in this case it did not materialize, for on the 14th of October we received orders to move on the next day to Ourton and to entrain for Godewaersvelde, in Belgium. This change of tactics, quite unforeseen, was not unpopular with us, as we had not yet seen Belgium, and never having been there, we thought we might like it, and this in spite of many prophecies to the contrary.

After a very long and tedious train journey we arrived at our destination and marched to billets in Caestre. After resting here for two days and surprising the natives with our fondness for corn on the cob, which until now they had used entirely as cattle fodder, we were informed of the reason for our enforced presence in this district.

Operations in front of Ypres had reached a deadlock. The troops engaged, consisting chiefly of Australians and New Zealanders, had advanced nearly three miles under conditions that must have been almost heartbreaking. It had poured with rain every day; the mud was well over their knees, and they were enfiladed from both sides by the German artillery, until finally, they were brought to a halt on the top of Abraham Heights through sheer exhaustion and heavy casualties.

The German defences on this front consisted chiefly of “Pill Boxes”—oblong, concrete constructions, made out of Portland cement (?) and divided into several com[51]partments with small, narrow entrances either at the side or back.

The average head protection in one of these was from four to five feet of solid concrete, and our field artiller............