At 10.30 a.m. on December 27th we set off for Warlus Camp. The prospect of our new abode was not enhanced by the cold wind and steady drizzle which we encountered _en route_. We arrived at 12.30 p.m. and proceeded to settle in. All things considered, the camp was far better than we had anticipated in our most sanguine moments a week ago. Lieutenants Beavan and Hooper, with the most able support of Sergeant Patterson and the pioneers and company working parties, had wrought wonders. Duck-board paths were installed nearly everywhere in place of lanes of thick mud; huts had windows, most had stoves and floor-boards, and generally the camp was now in a state which made one feel considerably less hopeless as to its possible amenities. The scheme of operations which had to be worked out now fell under three headings--camp improvement, salvage, and education. To this end companies were allotted time during mornings in succession to put their own huts in order, with the assistance of one or two experts from the Pioneer Platoon. As regards salvage, a very large area--covering ground till recently in our close vicinity at Arras, and now several miles away--had been allotted to us, and for this two companies and a great deal of transport was required daily. Their task was to clear ammunition dumps and convey the material either to a central dump or to a light railway siding for removal, or else to clear barbed-wire defences. Education had to be fitted in with these two demands for men, and very difficult was the problem how to arrange for the right instructors to be available for the right classes. In recreation some ambitious schemes had been formulated at Arras, but the scarcity of suitable ground put a very effective damper on these. We had one football field just behind the camp, but wet weather and frequent use very soon reduced it to a quagmire. There was a fine hospital hut for a general recreation-room, but it had very little flooring, was very draughty, and impossible to keep warm and too big to light with the means at our disposal. However, some flooring was put in and some stoves obtained. The stage which had been removed from Warlus to Dainville, where French troops were billeted, was boldly removed without opposition, and in due course, through the kindness of an Australian Special Works Company, the whole place was lit by acetylene light, including footlights for the stage. Thanks again to the great generosity of our Comforts Fund, and also to Mr. A. Percy Eccles, we had a lot of money to spend on newspapers, novels, and games. A good supply of these was put in the recreation hut, in the Sergeants' Mess--two Nissen huts fixed end on with great skill by Sergeant Patterson--and also the Corporals' hut.