It took us two and a quarter hours to reach Slag Heap Station, Hermies, and when we did arrive there was no apparent prospect of a train. We sat down accordingly in a field and had some food, and about 12.30 p.m. a train meandered into the station and we set off. There seemed to be more than the usual doubt as to where and when we should arrive, but by the time we had passed Bapaume, Arras, and St. Pol we had a fair inkling that the journey would not be a very short one. Eventually at 4.30 a.m. on October 14th we arrived at Fouquereuil, where we were told to get out. A tiring march of two and a half hours on wet and slippery roads, and with empty stomachs, brought us at last to the little mining town of Ruitz. "A," "C," and "D" Companies were in billets in the village, while Headquarters and "B" Company had to climb a precipitous hill to a small hutted camp in a wood. This spot had been a Corps Headquarters, and consequently had an unusually pleasant aspect. The rest of that day was spent mainly in sleep; the next day mainly in washing. [Illustration: THE FINEST OF FINE TRENCH JOURNALS CHEERIO! ½ᶠʳ· NO 1 AUGUST 18TH 1918 12 PAGES EDITED BY JOHN W WHEWAY ILLUSTRATED BY A. R. INGHAM AND A RUNNER THE JOURNAL OF "B" COY LIVERPOOL RIFLES EDITORIAL ADDRESS "CHEERIO" 7 MINE SHAFT Aᵛᵉ FIFTEEN INCH LANE DUG OUT CITY A SOUVENIR FOR FRITZ] Our idea of a long "rest" had become suddenly dispelled by the news that in a day or two at the latest we were to go into the line somewhere north of Bethune. To be frank, no one was particularly elated by this intelligence. If we were to be in the line, we preferred the clear, open country of the Cambrai area. It was impossible to be very enthusiastic at the prospect of floundering once again through mud and water in the dismal country of Northern France, with which we were already only too familiar and had no wish to renew our acquaintance. A conference for Commanding Officers at Barlin the next day revealed our new destination as Fromelles, and on the morning of October 15th the Quartermaster and other details proceeded thither at an early hour. The battalion followed in busses at 6.45 a.m., and the transport set off at 10 a.m. Our route lay through the outskirts of Bethune and Locon--the former badly damaged, the latter, once a part of Corps Headquarters, the most completely demolished place it is possible to imagine. The mass of shell-holes in every direction testified to the severity of the shelling to which the country had been subjected during the recent push and counter-push.