When the Battalion was finally withdrawn from the Ypres front on December 20th, 1915, it moved back to Elverdinghe Chateau for a few days. There Christmas was spent. Everything possible was done to make the occasion a successful one. Plenty of money was forthcoming and supplies were obtained from Poperinghe--then a much better place for shopping than in later years. Tables, with calico for table-cloths, were set up in the canteen hut, and dinner was served in three sittings. Everything went off splendidly. Plates and glass had been borrowed in Poperinghe, and these were much appreciated by the men, few of whom had had a meal for many months, except from a mess tin. While at Elverdinghe the Battalion was in Brigade Reserve. On December 27th it was relieved and moved by short marches through Poperinghe, where a night was spent in houses in and around the Square, to Houtkerque, arriving there on New Year’s Day. The men were billeted in farms about a mile out of the town and were fairly comfortably housed. Practically no training was attempted. It was realised that the men needed rest more than anything else, and so they were given little to do during their fortnight’s stay at Houtkerque. On January 15th the Battalion marched to Wormhoudt. A band, equipped mainly with Italian horns, had recently been formed; this helped to enliven the march, particularly when the Brigadier’s horse took fright at the unusual sight and noise, and bolted. Near the entrance to the town General Sir H. Plumer was waiting to see the Battalion march past. Most of the men were lodged in farms just outside Wormhoudt. They had a royal time. They thronged the estaminets. They enjoyed the Divisional Band, which played in the Square. Officers’ messes vied with one another in the elaborate dinners they gave. All did their best to make up for the hard time they had had at Ypres. As at Houtkerque, very little training was done. Officers’ classes in Lewis gun and bombing, under Sec.-Lieuts. W. N. Everitt, M.C. and H. H. Aykroyd respectively, were a feature. The latter, it is rumoured, often developed into throwing contests between the instructor and his pupils. On January 23rd some Battalion sports were held, the most interesting item on the programme being a mule race for officers. This race was of the usual type, neither saddle nor stirrups being allowed. Within a few yards of the starting point most of the mules were riderless, Sec.-Lieut. A. E. Mander in particular taking a beautiful dive over his mule’s head and landing on his own. The race was won by Sec.-Lieut. J. G. Mowat, with Sec.-Lieut. E. C. Mee second; practically no one else finished.