On June 20th a practice disconnection of all telephones was ordered by the Division. The result as far as we were concerned was highly satisfactory, Battalion Headquarters getting a brief respite from those in authority. As regards the internal routine work it made no difference, as telephone messages had been reduced, at any rate during the daytime, to the lowest possible figure. The repeated warnings that the enemy could pick up messages, and later the presence of a Police Listening Set in the subsidiary line, had greatly cooled our enthusiasm for this form of communication. The daily report of conversations picked up by the Listening Set was, in fact, a source of much merriment, the angry remarks of Major Brookes one day to someone at his battery causing special amusement. We also received a rather futile complaint from the authorities, so to prevent a repetition of similar rebukes we made a suitable arrangement with the Listening Set personnel, who were located in a dug-out they had long coveted; and after that our conversations, when picked up, were treated with more discretion. The enemy evinced considerable nervousness at night, possibly owing to our active patrolling. On more than one occasion he bombed his own wire. His apparent unpreparedness when our raid took place was therefore the more surprising. On the morning of June 20th a serious loss was sustained by the Division. Lieutenant-Colonel Short, C.M.G., the artillery Group Commander, had arranged to visit our Headquarters to discuss certain details in connection with the barrage for the raid. His departure from our Brigade Headquarters happened to synchronize with the arrival of General Broadwood, who decided to walk up with him. They stopped for a few minutes on a rather exposed bridge in Houplines to examine the lie of the land. Whether they were observed or whether it was simply bad luck will never be known, but the bridge at this moment received a direct hit from a 5·9, and both officers were badly wounded. Their orderlies at once carried the General to a place of comparative safety, but while this was being done a second shell arrived, killing the Group Commander on the spot. General Broadwood was taken straight to Estaires, but his wounds proved mortal, and he only lingered for a few hours. He was buried in the cemetery at Sailly. The whole affair was a most unhappy tragedy, and the loss of the General was keenly felt throughout the Division. Colonel Short had been indefatigable in his efforts to ensure adequate support to our raid, and his cheerful disposition and amusing stories had made him very popular at Battalion Headquarters. [Illustration: Photo by Gale & Polden, Ltd., Aldershot. THE BATTALION, WOKING, FEBRUARY, 1917.]