72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - Electric Scotland

BAPTISM OF FIRE.
tour. During this time the weather, for a few days, im
proved, a most welcome relief to all ranks.
But it was not until the following day that touch was
established with the 87th Battalion on the left. During this
tour "D"
Company under the command of Lieut. T. D. M.
Christie, distinguished itself by gaining approximately 300
yards with practically no losses. The right flank was held
by Company under the command of Lieut. F. G. Colquhoun,
and was very much in the air, the Germans holding
"A"
the ground on the immediate right for 800 yards in rear of
the front-line trenches. The position, however, was fully
as unknown for the Germans as it was for the 72nd, and "A"
Company took every opportunity of demonstrating this
point of view with the Lewis guns and their rifles,
the re
sult being that they obtained a complete mastery over their
opponents.
On November 26,
after a six-day tour, the Battalion was
relieved by the 78th and moved back to the Chalk Pits the
same night, and next morning moved to Albert, en route
for the north and away from the nightmare of the Somme
for ever.
In reviewing the Battalion s time on the Somme,
all ranks deserve the greatest credit for their work there.
But in particular that of the Commanding Officer, Lieut-
Col. J. A. Clark, calls for special mention for his tireless
energy, which took him through his Battalion s
water-filled
trenches, daily and under all circumstances. The skill,
the patience, the courage and the tact with which he
handled a comparatively raw unit under new and trying
conditions, earned for him a confidence and affection on
the part of his men that he will never lose.
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