During the three days the Battalion was in these trenches there was a great deal of activity on the part of the artillery on both sides. Preparation was being made on our side for an attack by the Welsh Guards on Morteloje Estaminet, while the enemy replied by laying down a heavy barrage over our communication trenches; but as the men had been withdrawn from the first trench the casualties of the 3rd Battalion were not heavy. On the 3rd the Battalion withdrew into support by the Canal bank, and returned again to the front line on the 8th. On the 7th Major Maitland left to take command of the 1st Battalion, and on the 9th Second Lieutenant W. W. S. C. Neville arrived. On the 12th the Battalion retired to the Canal bank, and three days later proceeded to Camp E, where it remained for ten days. On the 25th it proceeded to Volckerinchove, and left the Ypres area. On the 31st it moved down to Le Souich, where it was employed for a week in digging for another Division.
On August 3 Lieutenant G. F. R. Hirst and Lieutenant W. A. Stainton joined the Battalion, and on the 6th Second Lieutenant A. H. Penfold and Second Lieutenant H. St. J. Williams arrived. On the 9th His Majesty the King paid an informal visit to the 2nd Brigade, but there was no actual inspection or parade. On the 13th the Battalion went up into the trenches in front of Bertrancourt, and beyond the usual amount of shelling nothing of interest occurred. On the 15th Lieutenant C. G. Gardner and Second Lieutenant G. M. Cornish joined the Battalion. Two days later the Battalion went into camp at Sailly-au-Bois, where it was packed rather closely together; and when the enemy began shelling that locality it had to be taken out of the camp and placed in artillery formation in the fields in rear. The remainder of the month was spent in training, during which the Battalion was encamped at Bus-les-Artois, Amplier Naours, and finally Morlancourt.
The officers of the 4th Battalion on January 1, 1916, were:
Lieut.-Colonel Lord Henry Seymour Commanding Officer. Capt. J. A. Morrison Second in Command. Capt. H. S. Lambert Adjutant. 2nd Lieut. H. H. Sloane-Stanley Bombing Officer. 2nd Lieut. M. Chapman Lewis Guns. Lieut. I. H. Ingleby Transport Officer. Lieut. E. Ludlow Quartermaster. Capt. C. L. Blundell-Hollinshead-Blundell No. 1 Company. 2nd Lieut. F. G. Bonham-Carter ” ” 2nd Lieut. B. Burman ” ” Capt. C. R. Britten No. 2 Company. Lieut. F. C. Lyon ” ” 2nd Lieut. C. G. Keith ” ” Capt. Sir R. Filmer, Bart. No. 3 Company. Lieut. B. C. Layton ” ” 2nd Lieut. G. C. Sloane-Stanley ” ” 2nd Lieut. E. W. Nairn ” ” Capt. F. O. S. Sitwell No. 4 Company. Lieut, the Hon. E. W. Tennant ” ” 2nd Lieut. D. O. Constable ” ”