72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - Electric Scotland

LA COULOTTE.
and did some effective sniping with his 18 pounders.
Lieut.-Col. Clark, who had resumed command of the Bat
talion on Brig.-Gen. MacBrien s return to duty, was
evacuated to Field Ambulance with an attack of trench
fever, Major A. D. Wilson, D.S.O., taking over the com
mand. Brigade support at Tottenham caves on Vimy
Ridge was undertaken until the 12th when the Battalion
moved to Comox Camp, near Berthonval Wood. Here for
a short time there was a rest during which baseball was
substituted for its gunnery equivalent, and both officers
and men enjoyed the sport, their opponents being the 78th
Battalion. Zouave Valley and the front line again now in
creased to 1200 yards were successively the places occu
On May 22nd there was a Brigade order
pied by the 72nd.
for the Battalion to verify a report that had come in to
the effect that the enemy was vacating their positions. In
order to do this the Battalion raided the block in Cyril
trench. During this tour the trenches were improved and
extended. The artillery on both sides was fairly heavy,
considerable wire-cutting being done by our artillery. On
May 24th the Battalion was relieved by the 38th, and
moved back to Givenchy in Brigade support, leaving "A"
Company under the orders of the 38th Battalion. This
period was spent in working and salvaging parties. On
the night of the 27th one of the working parties, when
returning from work, suffered ten casualties in Cyril
trench.
On May 28th the Battalion was relieved by the 44th
and moved back to Chateau de la Haie, the whole Brigade
going out to Divisional Reserve. At this time the Bat
talion was numerically weaker than at any other time in
its history, the trench strength on relief being slightly over
300. It was, therefore, with much satisfaction in that when
the 72nd arrived at the Chateau they found waiting for
them a fresh draft of 300 men from the 231st Battalion
to be absorbed into their own ranks. It goes without say-
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