This was the end of the Battalion’s period of rest. The next day it marched to Caestre, entrained there for Ypres, and spent the night at Infantry Barracks. A very strenuous time was in store for it, and much was to happen, ere it went back into rest again. (_c_) Reutel Sector. This was the first time the 49th Division had held a part of the front line since the strength of a brigade had been reduced to three battalions, and naturally, defence schemes and systems of relief required revision. The Divisional Sector was divided into two Brigade Sectors; the left, which was much the narrower front, was held always by the 146th Infantry Brigade with only one battalion in the front line at a time. On the right, the 147th and 148th Infantry Brigades inter-relieved every eight days. Here, all three battalions of the brigade held sub-sectors of the front line. The Reutel Sector, which was on the extreme right of the Division, abutting on the 33rd Division, was allotted to the Battalion, which, throughout the time it was there, inter-relieved with the 1/5th Battalion York and Lancs. Regt. When in Divisional Reserve, the Battalion usually lived at Maida Camp, near Belgian Chateau. To reach the Reutel Sector the men were taken by light railway trains as far as Birr Cross Roads, and from thence marched straight up the Menin Road as far as Hooge Crater. At this point they bore to the left, through the desolate remnants of Chateau Wood, and then moved along Jargon Track to the vicinity of Polygon Butte; companies then followed separate routes to their respective positions. Although this route had its fair share of shelling, the Battalion was generally fortunate in its reliefs. The front line was rather over a thousand yards in length, and the sector was held as follows:-- Front Line: Two Companies, each having two platoons in the front line, one in the support line, and one available for immediate counter-attack. The front line was the main line of defence. Support Company: One platoon in Patu Support and the remainder of the Company in the reserve line near Battalion H.Q. In the event of enemy attack the whole company was to move up into Patu Support. Reserve Company: In pill-boxes and dugouts to the north of the Polygon de Zonnebeke. In the event of enemy attack this company was to move up into the reserve line, vacated by the support company. Battalion H.Q. was in a pill-box about two hundred yards from the Butte. Inter-company reliefs were carried out in the middle of each tour.