The nights were so bright, and movement over the snow visible at so great a distance, that special white overalls were worn by men when patrolling. Unfortunately, no change was made in the colour of the equipment which had to be worn over them. The result was that, though the men of a patrol were practically invisible at no great distance, sets of equipment could be seen moving about in No Man’s Land. There was much patrol activity on both sides, rendered necessary by the hard frost which had made No Man’s Land easily passable. There is also no doubt that the enemy was as anxious to secure identification as the British were. So patrols, both defensive and offensive, were out practically the whole of every night. On the night of December 23rd/24th Sec.-Lieut. J. W. Lumb, while reconnoitring in the neighbourhood of Flinte Farm, narrowly escaped being surrounded by a large enemy patrol. After that, nothing further was seen of the enemy in No Man’s Land for several nights. About 11-0 p.m. on December 28th, a small defensive patrol of one N.C.O. (Cpl. Aspin) and three men left the right company front. They had not been out very long, and were near the north-west corner of Celtic Wood, when they saw a party, about twenty strong, moving towards them along the northern edge of the wood. At first they believed this to be a New Zealand patrol from the battalion on the right, but soon they found it was a party of the enemy. All were clad in long white coats and a few were wearing belts filled with bombs; most were armed with revolvers. The German party tried to surround the small British patrol, and succeeded in cutting off one man and capturing him. The other three broke through the cordon and made for their own line, with the enemy in pursuit. On reaching the wire there was a scuffle in which one man was killed, but Cpl. Aspin and the other succeeded in forcing their way through the wire and gaining one of their own posts. The garrison of this post, warned by the noise, was standing to, but had hesitated to fire for fear of hitting its own men. It now opened a heavy fire with Lewis guns and rifles, and the enemy immediately made off. As soon as one could be organised, a strong fighting patrol was sent out; but the enemy had disappeared. It is probable that the German party was on its way to raid the British line and that the patrol had served its object, though it had been unfortunate enough to lose one man killed and another captured. This mishap was undoubtedly due to the carelessness which had developed owing to previous immunity, and was a salutary lesson to many in the Battalion. The next night the Battalion was relieved and went back into Brigade Reserve. The relief did not pass off without casualties. A shell exploded among a party of H.Q. scouts, as they were crossing the Hanebeek Valley on their way to Westhoek Ridge, killing one and wounding six. In Brigade Reserve the Battalion was very scattered, dispositions being as follows:--