[inserted poem with illustration: New Year's Eve In the Trenches - 1915 I came to France prepared to shed my blood But not to perish miserably in mud- I'm ready to attack with might and main And here I've stuck six weeks inside a drain While all that's left of Bill, who took a snooze, Is just a Bayonet, rising from the ooze You find me out a bit of ground that's dry And I'll soon shew the savage Alle-mang why But now I can't advance against the brutes With half a ton of France upon my boots; Although wet through, I still keep bright and cheery, Warmed by the pipe I got from Princess Mary A.F.] corps & looked well fed & quite cheerful. Dec 14 Not much doing Dec 15 Moved back to WESTOUTRE to billets being relieved by the 7th Brigade - the 8th Brigade move to LOCRE - relief finished at 9.30 pm Dec 16 Ride round billets which are very cramped & dirty - have to billet in church and I hear that the inhabitants held a service today with about 150 soldiers still occupying the body of the church. Royal Scots Fusiliers billet in wooden huts which are wet and cold Dec 17-18 Nothing much doing rains most of day Experiment with the rifle ground grenade get a wooden block made