I could see them with my naked eyes." "Well." he replied, "I will go and look." Later on when I was down in a German dugout which had been turned into the headquarters of our advanced artillery brigade, and was eating the half tin of cold baked beans which my friend, the C.O.had failed to consume, I had the satisfaction of hearing the message come through on the wires, that our artillery had to concentrate its fire on the valley, as the Germans were preparing for a counter-attack.

When I left the warm comfortable dugout, I found that it was quite dark and still snowing.

My flashlight was of little use for it only lit up the snowflakes immediately in front of me, and threw no light upon my path.

I did not know how I should be able to get back in the darkness through the maze of shell holes and broken wire.

Luckily a signaller came up to me and seeing my plight led me over to a light railway track which had just been laid, and told me that if I kept on it I should ultimately get back to the Arras-Bethune road.