169TH INFANTRY BRIGADE--Brig.-Gen. E. S. D'Ewes Coke, C.M.G., D.S.O. 1/2nd London (Royal Fusiliers). 1/5th London (London Rifle Brigade). 1/9th London (Queen Victoria Rifles). 1/16th London (Queen's Westminster Rifles). The Division was attached to the VI Corps (Keir) of the Third Army (Allenby). The record of the next three months may be passed over quickly as they were devoted solely to organising and training the new Division in areas well to the rear of the trenches, and it was not until the early days of May 1916 that the various units came under fire as a Division. This prolonged period of rest, which indeed was the longest ever spent in this manner by the Battalion in the whole course of its active service history, was of considerable importance in order that staffs and units might become thoroughly acquainted with each other, and that the individual battalions of each Brigade might have a sufficient opportunity of creating the divisional _esprit de corps_ which experience has shown to be so necessary in action. But the three months of routine work will provide us with a useful respite in which to make some reference to one or two developments in organisation which were carried out before the British forces plunged into the dreary and protracted struggles of the Somme, and which affected the 1/4th Londons equally with other units. One of the developments which took place about this period, and which had an effect on the general efficiency of the Army so far-reaching that its value can hardly be overestimated, was the formation of Army and Divisional Schools, in which the lead was taken by the Third Army. These schools, as is well known, were established under selected bodies of instructors to achieve the double object of keeping the fighting troops, through the medium of the regimental officers and non-commissioned officers who attended them for short courses of instruction, in touch with the progress made from time to time in the art of war, and particularly in the more technical branches, such as gas, bombing, Lewis gunnery, etc., and also of assisting battalions to provide efficient courses of instruction and training for their own personnel while out of the trenches for short periods. The success which in general attended these efforts was great and their influence on the action of our troops in the great battles of the latter part of the War was undoubtedly far-reaching. The 56th Divisional Schools were first established under Major D. V. Smith, D.S.O., 1/1st Londons, at Givenchy-le-Noble and Ambrines in April 1916.