The weather all the month of December was very bad, and it was with difficulty that the trenches were kept from falling in. A draft of 66 men under Captain E. O. Stewart arrived on the 3rd, and one of 45 men under Captain the Hon. G. H. Douglas-Pennant on the 12th. On the 15th Second Lieutenant E. H. J. Duberly and Second Lieutenant T. Parker-Jervis joined the Battalion, and on the 17th a draft of 60 men with Lieutenant C. H. Greville and Second Lieutenant C. R. Rowley arrived. On the 21st Second Lieutenant F. O. S. Sitwell, Second Lieutenant C. F. Burnand, and Second Lieutenant C. T. R. S. Guthrie joined the Battalion, and on the 23rd a draft of 41 men under Second Lieutenant G. R. Westmacott arrived. On the 28th Second Lieutenant C. G. Goschen arrived. There were numerous cases of frostbite, and a certain amount of sickness owing to the cold wet weather, but considering the constant soaking the men received, and the amount of water in the trenches, the health of the Battalion was on the whole good. The Battalion was constantly engaged in digging and improving the trenches as far as possible, but the water-logged condition of the ground, combined with the vigilance of the German snipers, made the work difficult. The bombing and sniping continued daily, and were accompanied occasionally by high-explosive shells. The latter were, however, generally directed by the Germans against any place that would be likely to harbour generals or staff. On one of the visits which the Prince of Wales paid to the 1st Battalion, he narrowly escaped one of these shells, which exploded outside the house he was in. On the 19th Lieutenant J. Teece, the Quartermaster, was wounded, and Lieutenant Mitchell took over his duties.