72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

THE SUMMER OF 17.ing occupied much of the time, considerable attention beingpaid to sports. A competition occurring at Paris on July22nd, open to all Allied Armies, the 72nd tug of war teamleft on July 20th to take part in it. They returned on the25th, having won against all competitors. Other items ofrecord include the act of 129716 Cpl. H. G. Matthews, abombing instructor, one of whose class, after pulling thepin of a bomb, dropped it in the trench among his comrades. Cpl. Matthews immediately picked up the bomb andthrew it over the parapet and thus prevented a numberof casualties. During this rest also, the officers of the 72nderected a special marquee and gave a dinner, at whichMajor-General Sir David Watson, Divisional Commander,was present. It was during this period also that the Battalion suffered a serious loss when two of the original officers, Captain R. T. Wilson Herald, M.C., Medical Officer,and Capt. F. R. Glover, Quartermaster, took their departure. By their conspicuous ability, their devoted attention to duty and their whole-hearted loyalty to the Battalion, these two officers had earned the hearty good-willof all ranks.The longest tour in the history of the Battalion beganJuly 25th when the 43rd was relieved on the Avion frontimmediately south of the Souchez river.Headquarters werein Piano dugout*, and the tour lasted 39 days.During the summer of 1917 daylight patrolling wasdeveloped by the scouts of the 72nd to a very remarkable extent. Commencing as early as April 13th, whenLieut.-Col. J. A. Clark and a mere handful of men broughtabout the far-reaching results of the Battalion s attack onthat date by energetic daylight reconnaissance, theof the Battalion began emulating thisachievement.ScoutsThe old way of patrolling at night means stumbling*8o called on account of a piano which the luxury-loving Hun had installedin it. It also contained a 40-foot revolving periscope which enabled theoccupants to survey the surrounding country in security.67