the least crack in it rendered the whole helmet useless. As helmets had to be inspected at least three times a day at that time, the wastage was very great. [Illustration: Major E. P. CHAMBERS.] [Illustration: Lieut.-Col. H. A. S. STANTON, D.S.O.] [Illustration: Capt. H. N. WALLER.] From the very beginning great stress was laid on two things--the continual wearing of equipment and sentry duties. These were legacies from the experienced troops with whom the Battalion had undergone its brief course of instruction. Periods in the line were very strenuous. Theoretically, 25 per cent. of the men were on duty by day and 50 per cent. by night. But, owing to the accumulation of odd duties and the provision of working parties, no man got much rest. At Fleurbaix the Battalion laid the foundation of its reputation as a working battalion which it held throughout the war. Breast-works, if they are to be kept in good condition, require even more constant attention than trenches. Few of the men possessed any of the necessary technical knowledge, and visits from the Royal Engineers were rare; but all men were willing and, though some of the earlier efforts were very crude, the work quickly improved. Professional bricklayers were in great demand for sand-bagging, and C.S.M. E. Bottomley in particular was looked upon as a great theoretical authority on this subject in his own company. Not only was the upkeep of the trenches taken seriously in hand, but entirely new work was planned and executed. The route to the front line, by the side of the Convent Wall, was made safer, first by the erection of canvas screens to hide movement, and later by the construction of sandbag walls at the more dangerous points. But the most enduring monument of the Battalion in the Fleurbaix Sector was Dead Dog Alley--a regular communication trench which was taped out, and nearly completed, before the Battalion left the district. The Fleurbaix Sector was a very quiet part of the line. In its inexperience, the Battalion never properly appreciated this fact until it learned real “liveliness” at Ypres. The early War Diaries are full of references to heavy shelling; in reality, the enemy artillery did little. Once a shell dropped right into the Battalion H.Q. Officers’ Mess, but, luckily, two “shorts” had given the occupants timely warning, and they had withdrawn to a safer spot. A few salvoes were fired on different parts of the sector daily, the neighbourhood of the pump receiving most attention; but there is only one recorded instance of the front line being hit. This was fortunate for, so crowded was the line, that well-directed shell fire would have wrought fearful havoc.