At 8.15 a.m. the next morning (February 17th, 1917) the battalion was on the road again, this time for Fleurbaix, just behind the line. The column was pursued by a Brigade motor-cyclist, demanding the names of two nominees for commissions. The reply that none were suitable only produced a further and more peremptory demand, and names had to be supplied. This was the beginning of that inevitable process which, more quickly even than the tax levied on the battalion by the enemy, robbed you of your best N.C.Os. as fast as you trained them. The final stages of the march revealed clearly that we were now in the region where more than an occasional shell descended. The people of Strazeele had proudly pointed to isolated bullet marks and so forth, relics of the fighting of 1914, but here there were real shell holes and houses that had been hit obviously by something more effective than a bullet. Fleurbaix itself was a ruined village, though some of the surrounding farms were intact and flourishing. The church was a mere skeleton, and whole sides of some of the streets were in a state of collapse. Windows were few and far between, and the spaces usually covered with glass were now mostly filled with canvas, or in a few privileged places with oil-silk, which lets in the light. According to the local report, the enemy shelled the place heavily at regular intervals, gas shell being particularly plentiful in the previous bombardment. We hoped secretly that the next bombardment would be deferred for a while, and inspected our box respirators carefully before turning in that night. As soon as the battalion reached the village the Commanding Officer and Adjutant reported to the New Zealand Brigade Headquarters, under whose orders we were to come for that night. There we met the Colonel of the 2nd Battalion Wellington Regiment, the battalion holding the line, who had come down to meet Colonel Fletcher. After a few preliminaries it was decided that the Commanding Officer and Adjutant should proceed up the line forthwith (it was then about noon), and the Company Commanders, for whom guides were provided, should come up after lunch. We were somewhat surprised to hear that we could go up on horseback, so after getting rid of spare kit and seizing tin helmets and box respirators we set off.