Ocean trips generally are never very much out of the ordinary, and with the exception of one or two submarine scares, absolutely without foundation, we steamed our uneventful, out-of-the-way course to Merry England—and war. The monotony was relieved by routine, athletic competitions and musical entertainments. It was in the organization of the latter that the popular Canadian composer of present times, Gitz Rice, closely related to the Cape Breton Rices, Brent and Walter, first secured prominence in musical circles. However, if the trip was uninspiring, such could not be said of our reception at Plymouth. Bands playing, throngs cheering, the shores of the city blocked with thousands of people—England certainly did its duty that day in welcoming to its shores her Canadian sons. Disembarkation lasted a week, but finally the “Old 17th” landed at Devonport and were soon en route for Salisbury Plains. Detrained at Amesbury we were greeted with a downpour of rain, and it was very little else we saw in the weather line during the whole of our stay on that historic plain. Mud, mud, mud, and then more mud; drill, drill, drill, and then more drill, sums up Salisbury Plains, relieved only by brief leaves to London and provincial towns. How we cursed the mud! Finally, however, we were moved into comfortable quarters at Urchfont, where we enjoyed real English hospitality and good cheer. Even the Plains had its pleasant side, though. Our first Christmas away from home was spent there, and royally did Major McLeod and his fellow officers endeavor to give us a real Christmas. We spent about a month at Urchfont before the call came for which we had been impatiently waiting. On February 8th, 1915, we left for France. Embarking at Avonmouth we set out for the scene of war. The Allies at that time were being pressed from all sides. The Bases of Calais, Boulogne, and Rouen were seriously threatened. So it was to St. Nazair, a port in the Bay of Biscay, that the Canadians were sent. On February 13th we first set foot in France; on the 16th we detrained within hearing of the guns, at Hazebrouck, marching further in to billets at Borre. From Borre the 6th Battery moved up into action and took its first position at Fleurbaix on March 1st. The first round was fired into the German front line by Captain Tom Kitchen, then Bombardier, and we took it as a good omen that the second round was observed to have sent our enemy’s field kitchen skyward. While at Fleurbaix the Battery played its part in the mix-up of March 10th at Neuve Chapelle, and it was in this same position we underwent our baptism of fire—fortunately with no serious casualties.