Some Portuguese transport men were also sent to the Battalion for instruction, but they learned little. Love of their animals and a high standard in turn-out were strong points with Sergt. Crossley’s men. But the Portuguese were very different. Few of them cared anything for their animals and the majority were deliberately cruel; they knew nothing of “eye-wash” and the appearance of their transport on the road was a standing joke among the British. Their “A” and “Q” departments were also far from efficient. They never seemed to know how many men they had, nor what rations they ought to receive. Certain it was that the Battalion was better off for rations while the Portuguese were in the line with it than it had been before. When the 147th Infantry Brigade finally left the sector it was taken over by the Portuguese and was held by them until the German offensive in April of the following year. On May 16th the Battalion was relieved in the Ferme du Bois Sector for the last time and went back into Brigade Reserve. (_b_) The Cordonnerie Sector. Towards the end of May the whole of the 147th Infantry Brigade had been withdrawn from the line, but, as the relief of the other Brigades of the 49th Division by the Portuguese was not complete, the Division could not yet be made use of in any other sector. Just north of the 49th Division was the 57th Division--a Lancashire Territorial Division, recently out from England. The attack on the Messines Ridge by the Second Army was timed to begin early in June, and the 57th Division had to send two battalions to support the flank of that attack. To replace these in the line, the 1/4th and 1/5th Battalions, Duke of Wellington’s Regiment were lent by the 147th Infantry Brigade. On May 25th the Battalion marched to Estaires, where it remained for one night. The next day it moved to Sailly-sur-la-Lys, and on May 27th it took over the Cordonnerie Sector from the 2/5th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regt. Here it came temporarily under the orders of the 170th Infantry Brigade, 57th Division.