72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

LA COULOTTE.and did some effective sniping with his 18 pounders.Lieut.-Col. Clark, who had resumed command of the Battalion on Brig.-Gen. MacBrien s return to duty, wasevacuated to Field Ambulance with an attack of trenchfever, Major A. D. Wilson, D.S.O., taking over the command. Brigade support at Tottenham caves on VimyRidge was undertaken until the 12th when the Battalionmoved to Comox Camp, near Berthonval Wood. Here fora short time there was a rest during which baseball wassubstituted for its gunnery equivalent, and both officersand men enjoyed the sport, their opponents being the 78thBattalion. Zouave Valley and the front line again now increased to 1200 yards were successively the places occuOn May 22nd there was a Brigade orderpied by the 72nd.for the Battalion to verify a report that had come in tothe effect that the enemy was vacating their positions. Inorder to do this the Battalion raided the block in Cyriltrench. During this tour the trenches were improved andextended. The artillery on both sides was fairly heavy,considerable wire-cutting being done by our artillery. OnMay 24th the Battalion was relieved by the 38th, andmoved back to Givenchy in Brigade support, leaving "A"Company under the orders of the 38th Battalion. Thisperiod was spent in working and salvaging parties. Onthe night of the 27th one of the working parties, whenreturning from work, suffered ten casualties in Cyriltrench.On May 28th the Battalion was relieved by the 44thand moved back to Chateau de la Haie, the whole Brigadegoing out to Divisional Reserve. At this time the Battalion was numerically weaker than at any other time inits history, the trench strength on relief being slightly over300. It was, therefore, with much satisfaction in that whenthe 72nd arrived at the Chateau they found waiting forthem a fresh draft of 300 men from the 231st Battalionto be absorbed into their own ranks. It goes without say-57