A third visit to the front took place in August 1918, just at the time when the German last effort had spent itself, and the Allied Armies were making a general advance. On the night of August 21, when the Guards Division was commencing its advance, the Germans bombed the whole area in which it was throughout the entire night. Among the many casualties were three Grenadier bandsmen, and although none of their wounds proved fatal, the solo clarinettist, a very fine musician, lost his arm, and thereby his livelihood. In July 1918 the band attended the French Fêtes in Paris, and remained there for the celebration of the Belgian Independence. This function took place in the grounds at Versailles, and was attended by the principal bands of Great Britain, France, America, and Belgium. On another occasion in August 1918 the band played in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris in aid of the American Red Cross Society. CHAPTER XL REGIMENTAL FUNDS AND ASSOCIATIONS [Sidenote: Regimental Funds and Associations.] "Grenadiers look after themselves" has become an accepted axiom not only in war but also in peace time. A short time before the commencement of the war the Old Comrades Association was instituted under the auspices of Colonel Scott-Kerr, who commanded the Regiment at that time, and its object was to ensure that no Grenadier after he had left the Regiment was ever in want. This Association proved a great success, and although two years' service was a necessary qualification for membership, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who joined soon rose to a considerable number. Another tradition in the Regiment was that those who remained behind should look after those who went to fight. In the South African war especially the custom of sending out comforts to the Battalions in the field was brought to a pitch of perfection, and during the two years that campaign lasted the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were well provided for. When the war broke out in 1914, the first care of the regimental authorities was to see that the men in the Expeditionary Force wanted for nothing, and also that their families were adequately provided for. Colonel Gordon-Gilmour, who was temporarily in command of the Regiment in August 1914, came to the conclusion that the mass of routine work was as much as the Regimental Orderly Room could cope with, and that if a Comforts Fund was to be a success, it would be necessary to invoke the aid of an old officer. He therefore asked Major-General Sir Reginald Thynne (an old Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion) to undertake the arduous task. At that time all existing organisations were being strained to their utmost to cope with the vast numbers of men who were flocking to the army.