Prior to August 1917, all drafts for the Division, and men returning from leave, had been passed through the Corps Rest Camp, and the training of officers and men had been carried out in England or at the Army and Corps Schools. These systems had not been found entirely satisfactory, and it was decided that drafts be sent direct to divisions. In August 1917, the 42nd Division Rest Camp accordingly came into being, and in October was changed into the Divisional Reception Camp, Lieut.-Colonel H. Grant Thorold, D.S.O., then assuming the command, which he retained until the end. In this camp at Ghyvelde the training of the drafts in such subjects as _Musketry_, _Bayonet fighting_, _Signalling_, _Machine- and Lewis-guns_, _Scouts_, _duties of N.C.O.s_, etc., was carried out. A Lewis-gun demonstration in November by men of the 7th Manchesters was the first of its kind in the Division, and was very instructive. The Division was fortunate, not only in the officer commanding this camp, but also in its instructors, most of whom came from battalions of the Division. But, perhaps, the chief responsibility for the training which was put to such good account a few months later rests with Captain Edwards, Coldstream Guards. In his classes for junior N.C.O.s, corporals, lance-corporals, and selected privates were put through a short intensive course on all subjects, from cleanliness in billets to tactical exercises with live ammunition and bombs. Sports were also included, this being a subject to which the Divisional Commander attached very great importance. At the end of the month’s course competitions were held and prizes awarded, the best all-round student receiving a watch from the Major-General. Competitions between units in classes and sports became very keen, with excellent results, and Commanding Officers stated later that they invariably found that the best students at these classes made the best leaders in action. [Sidenote: _Incidents at Nieuport_] Two or three instances, selected more or less at haphazard as typical of many, must suffice to illustrate the general character of service in the Nieuport Sector, memories of which are usually associated with the bridges, canals, and dams, each bridge having its own history worthy of individual record if space permitted, and such history would be particularly interesting to the engineers of the three Field Companies. At 4.20 p.m. on October 22, Putney, Crowder, and Vauxhall bridges were destroyed by shell fire while a relief was in progress, and the enemy continued to shell the area to prevent repairs. Lieutenant J. F. H. Nicholson, Corporal Brightmore, and Sappers J. Bennett and J. Rylance, of the 429 Field Company, at once volunteered to repair the bridges, and in spite of heavy shell fire they had restored communications across Putney bridge by 5.55 p.m. All four were decorated.