On the 29th October the Connaught Rangers rejoined the Lahore Division. This fine battalion, which did excellent work on many occasions, was the only Irish corps then under my command; six weeks later the 2nd battalion, which had originally formed part of the 5th Infantry Brigade of the Second Division, was also sent to me to supplement its sister battalion; it arrived in a very depleted state, and with only one of its original officers, but soon recovered its condition and rendered splendid service. I have the greatest affection for Irishmen and have done all my regimental soldiering with them and was proud to have so distinguished a regiment under my command. To those who know how to treat them they are indeed impossible to beat in any Army, and I shall hope again some day to meet my comrades, such as may be left of them. The 57th (Wilde’s) Rifles on arrival at the advanced scene of operations found themselves in occupation of trenches near Oost Taverne and between Wytschaete and Messines. Sepoy Usman Khan of the 55th (Coke’s) Rifles (commonly known as “Cookies” on the Frontier) on this occasion won the Indian Distinguished Service Medal. I believe he was the first Indian to gain a decoration in France. As stated before, the 57th took part with the Connaught Rangers in the attack on Gapaard. Lieut.-Colonel Gray, the Commanding Officer, was unfortunately wounded early in the day by shrapnel. He had served with me on Frontier expeditions, and his wild fighting spirit and cheery manner made him a typical leader of Indian troops. It was not long after before he was back in France with his beloved regiment and later went on to the Eastern Mediterranean as a Brigadier-General. The 57th was composed of exceptionally good officers and a fine class of Indian officers and men all round. In this affair they did not have a chance of doing much and their casualties were slight. The composition of this unit was two companies of each of the following classes, Sikhs, Dogras, Punjabi-Musalmans, and Pathans, and their last active service had been in China, 1900. Meantime the 129th Baluchis who were attached to the 3rd Cavalry Brigade and were operating on the left of the Indian battalion had to advance over very bad ground and made but small progress. This battalion had taken over trenches already prepared by the cavalry on the 23rd October, and came under rifle and machine-gun fire for the first time, and as the Commanding Officer reported, “they stood it well.” In the attack on Gapaard a company of the Baluchis got to within 300 yards of the German trenches and were quite annoyed on receiving orders to retire, but it was necessary as the enemy machine-guns were skilfully posted. Captain Hampe-Vincent was killed, and besides there were forty-six other casualties. The battalion carried out various duties between this date and the 30th, losing another twelve men.