In view of the probability of an attack while the relief was being carried out, three batteries of 18-pounder guns were ordered to put down a barrage on the German front line. This proved to be a great help, and no doubt prevented the 3rd Battalion from suffering as heavy losses as the Scots Guards. There were in all five men killed and sixteen wounded, in addition to Captain R. Wolrige-Gordon, whose leg was grazed by a bullet. The front line was wrecked, but by placing men in the wreckage under what cover there was the trench was made defensible. The enemy, however, showed no signs of life, and the following days were quiet. Meanwhile it was found difficult to drain the trenches, which were in a very dilapidated condition after the bombardment. The whole ground was cut up, and water stood in the shell-holes, while the wooden revetments had been torn to pieces and buried beneath the parapets and parados. The work of clearing away the debris was necessarily slow, and the water could not be got rid of in spite of the good fall in the ground towards Belleward Beer. At first it was impossible to go down the front line for more than a few yards, but after two days’ hard work the trench was so far improved that men could crawl along it, although not without difficulty. On April 3, instead of returning to Ypres, the 3rd Battalion went into camp just west of Vlamertinghe. [Sidenote: April.] The officers of the 3rd Battalion at that time were: Lieut.-Colonel B. N. Sergison-Brooke Commanding Officer. Maj. M. E. Makgill-Crichton-Maitland Second in Command. Capt. O. Lyttelton Adjutant. Lieut. E. H. J. Wynne Transport Officer. Lieut. G. H. Wall Quartermaster. Lieut. the Hon. H. E. Eaton No. 1 Company. Lieut. G. P. Bowes-Lyon ” ” Captain the Hon. R. P. Stanhope. No. 2 Company. Lieut. J. F. Worsley ” ” Lieut. E. R. M. Fryer ” ” 2nd Lieut. R. W. Parker ” ” Capt. E. S. Ward No. 3 Company. Lieut. F. J. V. B. Hopley ” ” Lieut. the Hon. F. O. H. Eaton ” ” Lieut. W. Champneys ” ” Capt. E. N. E. M. Vaughan No. 4 Company. 2nd Lieut. G. D. Jackson ” ” Capt. G. G. Gunnis Bombing Officer. Lieut. the Hon. A. E. F. Yorke Lewis Gun Officer. Monsieur Minne Belgian Interpreter. _Attached_――Capt. A. T. Logan, R.A.M.C.