That night we slept _on beds_ in the farm-house, and next morning, November the first, after a hurried breakfast of biscuits and beef, we all set out to join our respective Regiments; but, after wandering about for an hour and seeing no signs of any of ours, my two chums--one of them now holds the V.C.--decided to go back to the farm-house and make a dinner. There was plenty of vegetables in the garden and an outhouse full of potatoes; and we found a spirit-lamp and a pot; so we commenced to prepare our meal. In a short time it was all in the pot, when--alas!--the Germans began to shell our house, sending over incendiary shells. They let us have it battery fire. The first lot took off the off fore-leg of a cow, which along with some others was grazing at the back of the house; the poor thing hopped around on three legs for a second or two and then dropped, the other cows running up to lick the blood from its wound. The next lot hit the top of the house, one shell taking away the roof of the scullery, behind which one of my chums was standing; the other had already run into the trenches fifty yards away. I was the last to go, the other two having thought that I had been hit. I did not leave the place until the house was well alight; and three hours after, when the enemy's guns had died down and the fire had burnt out the house, I went over to see how the dinner had got on, and found it done to a turn, cooked by the heat from the burning house. Needless to say, we did full justice to that dinner--all three of us. We then went into the trenches with the Scots Guards and on the left of them were some of the Gloucesters. On inquiring if they had seen any of the North Lancashires they replied, "Yes; they had gone back to the reserve trenches in the wood, there to reorganize." There we found the Regiment, or rather the few that were left of it--about one hundred and thirty. That night we received from England a draft of reinforcements one hundred strong. After resting in those trenches that night, we were taken a little farther back to a wood in the front of Hooge and on the right side facing the firing line. There we dug new trenches and dug-outs, and always came back to them on after occasions to rest. We were never once taken into Ypres or any buildings, since the enemy had during the last few days commenced to shell the town and some parts were on fire. This information we got from our transport drivers, who had gone back some way behind Ypres.