9-12 March 1916 Busy learning all about the Division which is composed half of rifle regiments. The Division has a good reputation & has been out here now for about 6 months. A portion of it saw fighting at Loos in September, but until it arrived here it had only been in trenches to the south & had had a fairly quiet time. Lieutenant Colonel Maddox is my General Staff Officer Grade 1 & was out here with the Artillery in the early part of the war. The line of trenches is about the worst I have seen – most of them cannot be got to by day – they all fell in during the winter rains & most of them at present consist only of small butts. The Germans shell fairly heavily daily – our left touches the